SEDATION 4  "Field Trip"
Miami Boat Show 2004

Designing and building a custom yacht requires significant research.  Although the annual International Boatbuilders'' EXposition and Conference (IBEX) is optimum for construction-related information, design and rigging details are best studied at the world's largest  nautical exposition - The Miami International Boat Show.   I spent 8 days at the Miami show in 2003 (immediately following a week at IBEX!) and still only caught a glimpse on what the market has to offer.  Here's a view of this year's in-water power boat show (which I never got around to attending) from aboard the 45' Custom Cat powerboat .
Arriving at the Strictly Sail show by water is a breathtaking experience.  No panoramic lens can do justice to the vista.  In this shot, the bow of the schooner Amistad is visible on the left.  Touring that vessel was another thrill itself.  Last year I boarded the majority of vessels at Strictly Sail and shot hundreds of photos documenting design nuances, both good and bad, for my design project.
Kit-Cats scored a premium exhibit space this year, adjacent to the Multihulls magazine pavilion.  Frequent guests at the Multihulls exhibit include the "who's who" of the industry because publisher/editor, Charles K. Chiodi, is such an amiable, knowledgeable fellow.  If you seek information, contacts, great reading material or just directions ... this is the place to start.
This year's agenda was dedicated to researching details of equipment and systems for SEDATION 4.  A few seminars were in order and numerous meetings with vendors occupied the remainder of my excursion.   A boatbuilder was demonstrating one-off construction techniques and had this cross-section from a John Shuttleworth design on display.  I couldn't resist the photo op :)   Shuttleworth is my favorite hull designer and this section, from the bow of a smaller cat, clearly illustrates his advanced thinking.  Aboard SEDATION 4 this hull section would coincide with the forward closet area in each stateroom.
I took hundreds of photos, documenting everything from ground tackle arrangements to rudder mount designs, and it would require days to explain the basis for each picture.  Click on the images and try to guess what caught my attention.
10 hours touring the main exhibit hall, at the Miami Convention Center, was not enough so another 4 hour visit was required on the following day.  Most time was spent meeting with vendors but I ventured outdoors occasionally for a break.  This unique powerplant, the DynaCam engine, caught my attention and I spent over an hour discussing nuances with their chief engineer.  A twin engine catamaran installation using WaterJet drives may be forthcoming with application engineering by yours truly.  Stay tuned :)
Acquiring detailed information about the Cummins-Mercruiser MS120 powerplant was one of my primary goals for the Convention Center visit .  One was prominently displayed and served as the basis for hours of meetings with several vendors.  Hydraulic steering installation, large-capacity alternator retrofit and other topics  were discussed at length over this display.  I shot dozens of close-up photographs documenting nuances of the installation requirements for the SEDATION 4 diesel project.  This is a fine propulsion package which should serve my needs perfectly.
The plethora of marine offerings at this show is overwhelming.  Suffering from information-overload is customary after such an excursion, but I'll get over it :)   Requested information is arriving daily and several vendors have already provided CAD files of their products, which enhance my design efforts considerably.  I finally decided on a drop-in electric grill for the galley and numerous little details about electrical and water systems' components.  Meanwhile, I've got a yacht to build so it's back-to-work.  I'm already looking forward to next year's Miami International Boat Show.