Day Four

Today marks the end of my time as a temporary assistant to the head production coordinator at the Valiant Yachts headquarters. I do not believe it is quite up to the level at which we can describe this day as “a date which will live in infamy” as quoted by the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but nevertheless I am a bit disheartened to be leaving to say the least. I feel it is only fitting to bring the 32^nd president of the United States of America into the discussion because I owe him a sincere thank you. What did he do for me you might ask? Well, FDR led our country out of the economic crisis of the 1930’s called the Great Depression. At least many historians give him a good deal of credit while others continue to defame his work. I was personally not around at the time of these events so I will refrain from judgment. Anyway, the point being is that due to his leadership and whatever else he had going for himself, the American people were once again able to enjoy the luxuries of a capitalist economy. Let me just tell you that Valiant Yachts are the epitome of luxury at sea. To sum up the previous paragraph, FDR’s actions throughout his 63-year life were vital to the success of companies like Valiant Yachts. Without him, I would have been lost in my search for a senior project, and probably would never have been found like the person in the song “Amazing Grace” thankfully was. In an effort to avoid turning my blog into an online history course I will now move on to share further insight with you all about what went on in the last oh twenty-four hours or so.

I spent the majority of the day once again working on the 50-foot yacht that was dropped off yesterday. Another addition that was desired by the owner of the ship was a rack on the top deck where he could put his inflatable dinghy. There was one condition though. He stipulated that the rack be adjustable so that he could also use it to store his surfboards and such so that they will be of easy access to him as storing them down below somewhere might disrupt the convenience of his lifestyle and throw his day off. None of the above was acceptable so the guys tackled the request as a new problem to solve. I will spare you all and not describe the entire sequence of events that went into the production of a Valiant dinghy rack, but hopefully I can figure out how to post a picture of the almost finished product. One thing that was specifically interesting to me was that under the deck there was a balsa wood layer that met up with a water resistant foam layer. If possible, they wanted to drill through the foam foundation to mount the eye pads that would secure the rack in order to ensure water entrance into the deck would not be a possibility. I never really thought about the small decisions that make up the production process like this that are so crucial in the long run. It’s all relative.

The next activity I partook in involved a walk from the shop down to the dock where the Valiant Yacht they call “187” is located. Let me pause and tell you that Mr. Herridge, the man I was following during my time at the manufacturer, picks his knees up and puts them back down exerting a great deal of force back into the ground at a very high rate. This counter-current flow of my body through the oncoming cool breeze along with the fine mist dropping from the sky made the walk pleasant to say the least. Back to reality. On the “187” they were mounting a wind generator. It looked like a miniature version of a windmill that they were putting on the back. I then had a little lesson on how electricity is generated from the kinetic energy provided by the movement of the wind spinning the blades. The rotation is then turned into electricity one way or another by the generator. I never thought I would learn so much about engineering at a sailboat producer.

In the afternoon I got to take a look at the marina as a whole from the standpoint of a businessman. I did not realize it at first, but the owner of the Valiant Yachts company actually runs the entire marina. It is clear that the current state of the economy has an enormous effect on this kind of business. I never really thought about it this way. The marina just seems like a fun place for families to spend weekends at, but there are so many people that depend on this place to make a living. In the present condition of the economy not many people are willing to pay the hundreds of dollars for a boat slip much less the hundreds of thousands of dollars for a Valiant Yacht. This is the reason they have not been producing yachts lately. I really have a newfound respect for the people that run this operation.

All in all, after 25 hours of yacht galore I can say that my time is done in Gordonville, Texas at least for now. To tell the truth, I would love to wake up tomorrow morning and park my golf cart next to the two management vehicles for one last time. I would go as far to say that I would be honored to strap it up one last time with Mr. Herridge and company. The reality is that I know my twin brother is having a tough time without me in Dallas. So don’t worry brother, I’ve already got P. Diddy’s “Coming Home” playing on the iPod. I said my goodbyes, shook a few hands, but most importantly deposited a crinkled Washington into the vintage coke machine in the shop. The next thing I knew I had a cold Sprite in one hand and 55 cents in the other. I’m coming home.

So long Fred,

Charles R. Cook

Day Three

Hold on to your seats ladies and gentlemen because what you are about to read just might by some slim chance entirely alter the path that your life is taking and quite honestly has the potential to turn your life upside down AND inside out. I will now suddenly refrain from my implausible childish dreams and confess that in all likelihood it will not lead to any of the above-mentioned possibilities, but it will certainly give you a bit of insight into what went on in my life on the day marked by the eighteenth day of May and approximately two thousand and eleven years “Anno Domini”. That is because in this so-called blog post I will be 100% honest with you, whoever you may be. I know that is probably assumed by all but I just wanted to make that crystal clear to take care of any doubts any of you skeptical persons may have about the legitimacy of my claims.

Now for the actual content of my blog that pertains to the adventurous endeavor that is my senior project. Today was a most excellent day on the job at Cedar Mills Marina in Gordonville, Texas. It was beautiful outside, the sun was shining bright and there was a slight breeze coming out of the southwest making for a very comfortable environment to work in if you will. If I were playing ball I would have been in heaven just to give some of you baseball fanatics out there a point of reference with regards to the weather. As I pulled up to the main offices in my state of the art golf cart (which I parked right next to the owner's car) traveling at a maximum speed of about 9 miles per hour plus or minus a couple either way (14.484 kilometers per hour), I saw an eighteen-wheeler with an enormous trailer on the back carrying a giant boat. Yes folks, what I was seeing was one of the ever-famous Valiant Yachts. The owner had taken it in to have a few things refurbished and planned to store it in the shop until the hurricane season is over. He plans on shipping it to Florida, commissioning it there and packing it with anything else he desires to enjoy the comfort of on board, and then sail off into the night all the way to the Bahamas where he will enjoy it for years to come. That is his plan at least.

All of that aside, I would spend most of the day today on this 50-foot vessel. One of the things that the guys were working on was the propeller. The older version of propellers is stationary. The blades do not move on the prop; the whole propeller merely spins. Well, on the new prop that they were installing the blades on the propeller are able to move. In other words, they can spin and change angle depending on the RPMs of the engine. While sailing, the blades will be straight up and down in order to maintain the least amount of resistance against the water possible. When running on the engine, the blades will twist a different direction depending on if it is in forward or reverse so that they can push against the water in the right direction as it spins. This is what they call a max prop. I thought this was pretty cool and a very clever way to enhance the prop and make it more efficient.

After having spent a few days trying to understand the business of boats etc., I see that this is truly a business that requires extraordinary problem-solving skills. Another feature that they themselves installed on the propeller is a sharp component that spins separate of the propeller that will cut any fishing line before it enters the bearing and gets clogged internally. There is so much engineering that goes into all of this and most of it goes unnoticed. And you know what, that is exactly why I am preparing this blog for all of you to enjoy over a cup of coffee or whatever other beverage you like to sip on. Another point of interest I would like to point out was the wind vane that was installed on the back of the sailboat. I had never heard of the wind having the capability to steer a boat, but thanks to technology and those who advance it, the wind is more powerful than it was once thought to be. As the wind blows it causes the extension on the back end of the boat to move “thisaway” or “thataway”. That is not what causes the rudder to move though. Some boats do have the “wind catcher” directly connected to the rudder. That is sometimes inconvenient though because it cannot be taken off very easily. The Valiant way is supreme. The extension is connected to a pulley system and ropes, which connect to the steering wheel. The ropes are responsible for pulling the wheel one way or another as the wind turns the metal extension. If the capability is not desired at any time, the ropes are simply disconnected from the wheel. This simplifies the process and makes life that much more enjoyable for those who like that sort of thing.

In the unlikely event that you are wondering about my current temperament, I would like to inform you that I, Charles Cook, am having a wonderful time at the Valiant Yacht Manufacturer in Gordonville, Texas. I would now like to switch gears and briefly discuss the inspiration and/or motivation that lead to my choosing of Valiant Yachts as the destination of choice for my 2011 version of the senior project. And to be quite frank, I think the senior project should be about pursuing something, whatever that may be (from collecting rocks to exploring foreign galaxies), that you truly enjoy and have a passion for. I have grown tired of receiving questions such as “Do you want to be a boat manufacturer when you grow up???” over the past few weeks leading up to the senior project. No, sadly this has not been my life long dream. The dreams that marked my childhood were a little more far-fetched than that as I would hope any child’s would be. But, I have always been one to question how things work and why things work that way. Something about a 50-foot vessel weighing about 50,000 kilograms (110,000 lbs) gliding beautifully through the water powered at times by nothing more than the wind alone sparks something at the very core of my being. So no, I never dreamt of running a plant that produces these incredible pieces of architecture but rather felt an impulse to explore these extraordinary vessels probably due to my previously described inquisitive nature combined with my love of that which can be described as two hydrogen atoms bonded polar-covalently with one oxygen atom in massive quantities. If you are still reading at this point I commend your efforts and would love to speak with you on this journey that we call life.

With love,

Charles R. Cook

Day Two

Today marks the day that I truly entered into the world of yacht manufacturing and maintenance. Although I did not get to experience the process of molding the hull of a boat, a man named Fred took me through the process. He described the sequence of events that goes on just to have the framework to build a Valiant sailboat. The care that is taken in each step of the process is immense. What stuck out to me was how unattractive the molds look in comparison to the final product. It was also interesting how they get the final piece after it is molded out of the mold. The mold is actually two pieces put together held together by bolts and hinges at the bottom. When it is time to take the piece out, they undo the bolts and release the hinges. The two mold pieces fall to the side leaving the piece in the middle to be taken away. Later we went to work on the last Valiant boat that they produced that is still sitting in the docks waiting to be shipped. Specifically, we were working on the rudder reference indicator. This instrument calculates the degree to which the rudder is turned to either the starboard or port side of the vessel. At first I did not understand why it was necessary to know this information as a driver of a sailboat. But, I learned that it is vital in order for the auto-pilot to function correctly. Later on, Fred took me over to see one of the first valiant yachts that they ever constructed. He said it was probably the third or fourth one ever made. It was cool to see the differences between most recent one that had been constructed and then one of the originals.

Day One

It was a short but interesting first day at the Valiant Yacht manufacturer. I arrived in Gordonville, Texas at about 1:00 in the afternoon and then spent just a couple hours at the company with my mentor. Today I was scheduled to take a tour of the manufacturing site and meet the people that I would be working with for the next few days. It was interesting to me that they have different buildings in which different aspects of the “ship-building” process go on. For example there is a building where all the painting is done. There is another building where all the finishing touches are put on the yacht before it is commissioned. Commissioned in this sense refers to when they put the mast on the boat while it is in the water. This is the final step in the process I learned. I also got to see the machines that are used to lift the yachts out of the water. After the tour, I spent a little time speaking with Chris, the owner of the factory, to discuss the week. He said that unfortunately there is not a ship in the line right now to be constructed. He said that they do not build as many yachts as they used to, but there is still plenty of work that goes on all the time. Now, they primarily focus on building individual parts of boats such as cabinets etc. He said that I might get some hands on work with that this week. I’m excited to get to the real work tomorrow to see what its all about!