Expeditionyacht.org

Last week I attended the Seatrade Cruise convention in Miami Beach.  While this convention primarily focuses on the cruiseship industry (quite a different dresscode than the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show !!) it has a lot of interesting product we can also apply on yachts.

To name a few, think low maintainance furniture, products to give glass new life, high-tech glass coatings that keep heat and UV out, waste incinerators, waste water treatment, coating and flooring systems including a really awesome incredibly good teak replacement from Bolith.  Also great info on sound isoloation and vibration damping.  Danish manufacturer Sika had a lot of interesting products on display.  And then there were lots of manufactures of bedding, fabrics, wall covering materials and items for interior design.  And if you want to impress your guests with a nice scent on your yacht, check out Microfresh.  Very innovative product.  Did I mention security and access systems?  Some very innovative systems out there that can also be used on yachts.

There are really a lot of beautiful materials out there that are safe (meet IMO guidelines) and easy to apply.  George Fisher piping systems was also present.  Awesome products that can replace most steel applications. 

We also had ample opportunity to talk with the folks at Lloyds Register and get all remaining questions answered. Pictured above is a garbage & waste oil incinerator from Teamtec in Norway.  Instead of carrying your waste along (and using valuable freezer space), paying fees to ’shore based facilities’ (who then dump it God knows where) this compact burns everything and is IMO-approved.  Another practical AND green solution. 

All in all a very worthwhile event.

I have replaced the so-called blogroll with links in the right-hand column to something more elegant.

While I  figure out how to create a direct top menu choice to access this page, you can access the new directory here.

To improve our collaboration, information sharing and content management, we have set up a Sharepoint site at http://expeditionyacht.sharepointsite.net/.  To access this site you will need a password.

This collaboration site is also integrated with the new project management software ‘IntelliGantt Plus’ we started just to use.  Made by TeamDirection.com, this quite capable and very affordable  piece of software allows us to easily share and collaborate on projects between different geographical locations. 

With our team members, vendors and other stakeholders in 7 different countries, an online data repository with workflow and project management tools is a great aid to keep this conversion project on track. 

Two artist impressions put into a more natural surrounding. 

At anchor at Portobelo bay an underway..

I just added some nice pictures to the ‘Places to visit’ section.  Use the top menu to check them out.

Kuna Yala is an autonomous territory or “comarca” in Panama, inhabited by the Kuna indigenous people. The name means “Kuna-land” or “Kuna mountain” in the Kuna language. The area was formerly known as San Blas.

Kuna Yala has an area of 924 square miles (2,393 km²) and a population of 36,487 people (2004). The comarca consists of a strip of land stretching 232 miles (373 km) along the Caribbean coast of Panama, bordering Colombia and the province of Darién. The San Blas Islands, an archipelago of over 360 islands, runs along the coast. About 36 of the islands are inhabited by Kuna communities. An additional 13 communities are located on the mainland coast, for a total of 49 communities.  

For more info on Kuna Yala, visit Wikipedia.