Not rain, or snow, or global pandemic can stop the Nordhavn project management team from getting their job done. PMs based in Nordhavn’s Dana Point, CA headquarters are spending their first week of the new year up in Seattle attending to service jobs on their clients’ boats.
“We’re all separated during the day working on our individual boats,” said Project Manager Dave Harlow who is in Seattle working on 475#45 (hull 2 of the series). “But we meet up at the end of the day to compare notes.” It’s kind of like PAE north, right now.
N96 PM Trever Smith is back in Seattle working on the impeccable 9616 to oversee some warranty work needed on the yacht, which was delivered back in the fall. Smith took his twenty-something Covid test yesterday morning before jumping on the boat. While the world reels from chaos, it’s pretty much work as usual for Smith and his colleagues. Certain activities, such as skiing, are immune (for the most part) from the weirdness of Covid life. Cruising certainly falls into that category, and clients are eager to get on their boats. “They can – and want to – use their boats now,” said Smith. “We need to help make sure that can happen.”
After nine months of working with restrictions, the PMs have the gist of it now. In the summer, shipping and receiving parts was a huge issue, but even that has worked its way out. The bottom line now, as it has always been, is trying to keep the customer satisfied. The brand new N475 Harlow is working on arrived just before Christmas to Victoria, BC. Despite commissioning happening in Seattle, PAE arranged to have it offload in Canada so its owner, a Canadian, would have the opportunity to get aboard and see it in person. “It would have been difficult for him to travel to the U.S. to see it,” said Harlow who is spending the week going through all the systems. A delivery crew moved it down to Seattle a few days ago and it will remain there for the rest of commissioning.
Justin Zumwalt, the 68 Project Manager, is also working on a brand new boat in Seattle, hull #37 which shipped alongside the N475. Zumwalt says he actually prefers working under the current circumstances. “It’s way less crowded everywhere you go,” he said. “For certain tasks, it actually makes for a much more efficient process.”
After a long day working on the boat, the three try to meet up for dinner in the evening and share stories of their day over a few cold ones, before calling it a night and repeating the process. Harlow will return to the office at the end of the week while Smith and Zumwalt will be around for at least another week. After they depart, the boats will continue to be in good hands and under the watchful eye of Nordhavn Northwest sales manager Don Kohlmann, who won’t hesitate to summon any of the guys back up to Seattle to make sure everything’s perfect.
