The spacious saloon
Black Pearl cuts cleanly through the water
The master suite has its own lounge area
sound and heat insulation. When the Black Pearl left the Profab yard her accommodation spaces remained unfinished and she looked to be a bare shell. The quality of the plate rolling and welding could be clearly seen and she showed true, clean lines and strong welds, with minimal heat distortion evident. It was the mark of a team of boatbuilders and engineers who are proud of their trade, with everyone contributing to the high quality of the workmanship. The ship was transported to Napier by road in two
For'ard bunkroom
This part of the build by Profab included constructing and installing all the underwater running gearshafts, rudders and stabilisers, along with two Caterpillar C18 A diesels rated at 437kW. These are coupled to twin ZF 2150 marine gearboxes which deliver a mile-eating service speed of 12 knots. Add to this a pair of Caterpillar C4.4 gensets, hydraulics for her bowthrusters and capstan, an FCI Neptune watermaker producing up to 8800 litres per day and a Climma airconditioning unit and you have a lot of mechanical engineering. To hush all these puppies up, the machinery spaces are completely lined with Pyrotech
6 NZ WORKBOAT REVIEW 2012
parts on low-loader heavy trucks. Once at the port, the top section was lifted onto its parent hull and welded into place. She was then lifted into the water in preparation for the tow north to Oceania Marine's yard in Whangarei for fitting out and finishing. Once again, this was a team effort, with several trades pulling together. Specialist Marine Interiors was responsible for the interior fit-out. This company has developed what it says is a unique system of building complete interiors away from the ship using customised modular construction. Their interlock system enables the entire interior to be
assembled, checked, disassembled, packed and shipped to the host vessel anywhere in the world, where it can then be reassembled within the hull. The sections for the Black Pearl fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle. Soundguard was used wherever noise might travel. Paint, soft furnishings and light oak timber completed the package. The layout starts for'ard with a surprisingly traditional four-berth cabin in a vee-berth configuration, with a separate toilet and vanity to port and a shower to starboard. Guests have stowage space under the lower berths and in lockers built into the outer hull area. There
