Well, she’s finally ready to go diving… So am I! How about you???

She’s lookin mighty festive…

Lot’s of yellow…

I have a snorkel trip tomorrow…

Capn Scott

It’s getting really close to finished. Just have some last minute details and then need to weld up a new 100 gallon fuel tank and sew a new bimini top…

a dive ladder and oooohhh a shiny new engine…

Cleats and anchors… oh my…

A windshield…

And for the ladies… the smallest head on the planet…

Getting close to ready to go…

Capn Scott

Just a couple of days can really change stuff… The tarp is just temporary…

Tomorrow will sort out the Spagetti… and start testing equipment…

putting in fire extinguishers and such…

It’s so nice to see electronics on the console…

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Capn Scott

Five coats of varnish so far on the caprail. Need a light sanding and then 2 more to finish it off.

Installing parts and the beginnings of the full bimini.

Wait till you see the cloth top that I picked out…

Nice to start seeing something on the console.

It’ll be a long weekend of work, but it’s so much nicer not to have to drive a long distance to work on the boat…

Capn Scott

This was a short week for the boat building department. They finished all of their tasks and on Monday, the boat goes into the water to return to the boat ramp and back on the trailer. Then the boat will be transported back to scuba charters central in David Panama for the welding, electrical and motor teams to finish it up. The hatches are all done as is the floor over the tank, they will be gel-coated at headquarters, because of the controlled environment (the wind has been howling for a week now). The vessel has been registered with the country and actually has a number and has been named. This is the new “Bugzilla” (named after my favorite lobster)!

There is still alot of finish work and fine sanding that has to be done before the marine varnish will accentuate the teak.

This next week, all the accessories will be added… including the new 1000 watt stereo…

Another peaceful week in paridise…

Capn Scott

This weeks dive boat progress brought to you by “Teak”… not just for breakfast anymore…

This is a view of the new caprail and the beginnings of the bench seats…

This is the anchor pulpit in teak… that is just sexy…

The other side view of the caprail… on the edge of a deck, it would be called a toe rail… Wait a minute… is that a steering wheel???

Coming along well…I’ve had a friend describe the difference between a yacht and a boat as “brightwork” (brilliantly varnished teak). Now, this is by no means a yacht, but I think the teak classes it up a bit…

I’m thinking… party for the boatbuilding team… wooohooo… She’s ready to go back in the water and come home to Scuba Charters Headquarters in Sunny David, Panama. At headquarters, the welding team will get into the swing and so will the engine and electrical teams. Will finish up the bench seats and odds and ends for the rest of the week. The doors for all the hatches are finished, just need to be painted and installed.

Capn Scott

An interesting week here at Scuba Charters Central in Panama…

Sooooo… you don’t just go down to the lumber store to buy teak, like the U.S. First, you go to a lumber broker and ask about teak. He points you to a pile of timbers in the yard and tells you the price per board foot ($.85/ft). You pick out what you think you need, plus a little extra for knots and defects and pay him (10 timbers ranging from 4×4 to 6×7, all 7 foot long, and paid $109). Then you take it to a lumber cutter, who does a rough cut for you (cut 1+” thick with the most width, price $20). Not only do you get to watch, but you are expected to help. Then you take the rough cut boards to a furniture maker and he runs them through a planer. Again, you have to help ($13). Now you have furniture grade lumber. I ended with around 35 boards, 1″ thick, 4 to 7 inches wide and 7+ feet long for around $142, or in the ball park of around $4 per board. I checked the west marine catalog, and they sell a board of teak, 3/8″ Thick x 5 3/4″ W x 5′ L for $80. Hmmmm… I must be in the wrong biz. I could be selling teak instead… I’ll repost this story with pics in the future.

I’ve got the bow of the boat done in teak and the caprail mostly finished. All I have to do now is cut it out. But, it really looks good. I’m chomping at the bit to put a coat of clear varnish over it to bring out the colors and the grains. But, I need to wait until it’s complete. And, again, pics in the near future.

So, this weekend had an open water class. I was kinda dreading it during the week. Also I had to take Friday and Saturday off to take care of the class. Friday was for working on compressors. I have one that won’t start and the other keeps filling with water and takes forever to fill tanks. It took me a full day to fill 12 tanks with a 15cfm compressor. This usually takes only 45 minutes. Good news, I pulled the starter off of the first compressor and had it rebuilt ($17). So, before next weekend, I’ll get it back up and running and be back in great shape.

I have 5 students in my class. And, 2 certified divers as helpers, both surgeons. What a great class. Oh, and by the way, it’s totally in spanish. When I arrived here a year and a half ago, I had trouble ordering food. I was surprised how well this went. Of course, you can only use hand signals underwater, that helped alot. And, the training video and course material were all written in spanish. So… I can’t take total credit. It’s amazing to look at diving through a new students eyes. It kinda gets exciting again. It’s fun showing them things that they’ve never seen before. I can’t wait for the first open water dives, when they feel like a sardine…

The view from the parking lot in front of the pool. The pool is across the street from the David International Airport.

Nice pool… the little dots are my students doing the swim test…

Nice how we’ve taken over and strewn all of our equipment over an area… hmmm… looks like a dive class…

And, of course, am trying out the new u/w video camera…

Gotta check to make sure that it’s waterproof…

The new u/w video is another story for another day…

All in all a pretty good week, that ended well…

Capn Scott

Another long week in the boatyard. Things are moving right along. All the glassing is pretty much finished. Just have the corners to do on the hatch doors. Finished up everything, and then began with the gel-coat. The work put in before the final painting is never truly appreciated. The paint is just color and gloss, but everyone thinks that it is the work. It is only the finish.

Another week the boatbuilding team has stepped up to the plate. Now, it’s up to the woodworking team and the welding team to get into the swing.

A custom fuel tank for 100 gallons, a frame for the Capitan’s seat, and an awning will get things nice and cool.

Then, the woodworking department will put a nice teak caprail and seats.

When everything is done, the electronics, electrical and mechanical teams will be next… The new motor is just sitting there in the crate, waiting to be brought to life. I’m beginning to think that maybe I should be building boats… like I’ve done for the past 20 years of weekends… hmmm… maybe I should post some of my portfolio…

Capn Scott

Another long week at the boatyard. The Scuba Charters boat building team is outdoing itself again. The long hard hours will pay off in the long run. The old dive boat was nicknamed “The Panamanian Water Torture”… Hence the new boat under construction. The front boxes and anchor locker are installed, as are the seat bases.

The door on the side of the console is the entrance to the smallest head ever installed on a boat. A bit of a luxury, but needed for the ladies.

Here you can see some of the rear storage and the hole in the corner is for the awesome sound system. Hmmm… an ipod with 36 gigs of music drives all this. Wait a minute Skippy… how many songs is that??? Somewhere around 6300 songs or over 18 days of solid music.

The seats will be teak slats, like a park bench. This will definitely look and feel just like you’re in Panama… Not to mention, drain a waterlogged diver and provide a nice comfy cool ride.

The grueling hours will be worth it for the final product. A good custom dive boat is always a beautiful thing. Next week, the boatbuilding department will finish glassing everything in, then a light sanding, some putty, another light sanding and then some gel-coat. Then, the teak bench seats and accents will be built. Teak??? Isn’t that a bit over the top???… I would say yes, but… it grows natural here…
Capn Scott

Been a hard working week here at Scuba Charters Panama… The boat building department has been hard at work trying to keep up with the demand of the clients. Here are some new pics on the progress of the boat.

The new center console is in, and so is the floor.

The entire floor has been pumped underneath with foam. Which should aid in any problems with water between the hull and floor. Also, the center console is a bit large due to the fact that you can enter it and use the toilet. Bet ya didn’t expect that kind of luxury…

This next week, the cap rail and forward and stern boxes will be built and glassed. Also the Scuba Charters Panama welding department will get into the swing with a new 100 gallon fuel tank… Whew… what a hard working team… working together as though it were just one person…

Capn Scott