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