Solitaire
Well-Known Member
Waiting for a ship to arrive with a boat which has to be off loaded and then prepared for delivery is always a hit and miss event. However the ship finally docked at 05.30 on Friday morning and there was the cargo.
After nearly 8 weeks at sea from Taiwan she looked in pretty good condition.
Up close this Outer Reef 70 is BIG.
The bow thruster is not for the faint hearted! It is 38HP hydraulic system as is the stern thruster which was very much needed to get 65 tons away from the side of the ship.
But it does have a good pair to push her forward!
It was vital that the boat be lifted off the ship, but it was getting windier by the minute and there were no shore cranes, just the ships own and there was no way it could be lifted onto the quay as the cranes could not have reached! So it was a tense time as she was lifted.

Once safely in the water alongside the ship, we ran the engines up and had to make sure we could clear the cradle and not take out the stabilisers. We also discovered that the SeaTorque system on the starboard engine had an oil level problem, so or decision not to start the delivery to Southampton this weekend due at first to weather was now reinforced.
The boat was then taken over the Firth to Port Edgar.
She will stay here until at least the end of next week.
The engine room is amazing and in addition to all the main kit, she has twin gennies and compressors.
The Racor filters are larger than most!
The interior is stunning and I can't wait to get back up to bring her back to the Hamble.
I'm often asked what boat I would have - I think I've found it. But at $3.5m it is a bit out of my price range!
After nearly 8 weeks at sea from Taiwan she looked in pretty good condition.
Up close this Outer Reef 70 is BIG.
The bow thruster is not for the faint hearted! It is 38HP hydraulic system as is the stern thruster which was very much needed to get 65 tons away from the side of the ship.
But it does have a good pair to push her forward!
It was vital that the boat be lifted off the ship, but it was getting windier by the minute and there were no shore cranes, just the ships own and there was no way it could be lifted onto the quay as the cranes could not have reached! So it was a tense time as she was lifted.

Once safely in the water alongside the ship, we ran the engines up and had to make sure we could clear the cradle and not take out the stabilisers. We also discovered that the SeaTorque system on the starboard engine had an oil level problem, so or decision not to start the delivery to Southampton this weekend due at first to weather was now reinforced.
The boat was then taken over the Firth to Port Edgar.
She will stay here until at least the end of next week.
The engine room is amazing and in addition to all the main kit, she has twin gennies and compressors.
The Racor filters are larger than most!
The interior is stunning and I can't wait to get back up to bring her back to the Hamble.
I'm often asked what boat I would have - I think I've found it. But at $3.5m it is a bit out of my price range!