It's been some time since posting and I appologise for that, I have been at sea for the most part of the last 6 weeks. A lot has happened while I have been away and it's time to catch you up.
In June I undertook an expedition out to the Coral Sea Islands to assist with scientific research on the general health of the area's ecosystem, more on that in a later post. We have also finalised designs for our fishing shirts, neck socks and caps; I will go into more detail about this in my next post.
However this post is dedicated to my mistress "Insidious"; our new Hooker Boats 8M Pro Fisherman, and her progress. Things have come a long way over the past 2 months and "Insidious is looking good.... real good. Last time I posted about "Insidious" she was still in the mould hardening up, and all I had to show was a photo of the trailer with a caption about what comes first, the chicken or the egg. Well the chicken is fast catching the egg now and the hull is complete. Stringers and electrical conduits have been laid, the 600 Litre fuel tank has been dropped in, transducer boxes formed and the hull is foam filled producing the product you see pictured below.
John and his crew at Hooker Boats are now full steam ahead working on the deck inlay, console and helm seat. The deck inlay should be fitted to the hull in the next few days, the crew were just trimming up the edges to ensure a neat fit for bonding while I was in the factory yesterday. The Helm seat is off to the upholsterers to get padded and bolstered, once it returns we will fit the flush mounted fridge under the seat, and fit-out the tackle storage area. The console will be out of it's mould this week and we can start fitting the Simrad electronics package.
Work will start on the T-Top soon incorporating custom rod storage as well as the standard rocket launcher, custom outrigger bases, and mounts for radar, GPS and radio antennas.
Things are moving quickly now, and I can't say it enough, John and his team at Hooker Boats are doing a fantastic job building us the ultimate fishing platform. I'm really excited now about this vessel and we should see her on the water early August. Until then I think I will be doing a lot of pacing around the house.
I bags first drive and first fish!
