OnBoard Magazine - Issue XII - 2020 Season

Nichols soon realized that with the assistance of electric reels with wired remotes and his own boat, he could target offshore species, including billfish. So he told his wife, Lisa, he wanted to buy a boat. From the beginning, she supported him in his decision to fish offshore. Nichols told his friend and charter boat owner, Todd Porterfield, of his decision to purchase a boat. Porterfield called Earle and Chris Hall of Bluewater Yacht Sales, who showed up at Nichols’ office in central North Carolina two days later. In late 2017, Hall began to search for the perfect boat that would fit Nichols’ needs, and another friendship began. THE SEARCH IS ON Hall knew exactly what he was looking for and he knew the timeline Nichols had in place: to fish the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in June 2018. While Hall found two boats quickly, both of those contracts fell through. Falling behind and approaching the deadline while attending the Miami International Boat Show in 2018, Hall found a 2008 64-foot Viking. He was familiar with the boat, the owner and the heritage—and he knew this was the one. An offer was presented, and the boat arrived at the Bluewater yard in early March. THE TRANSFORMATION Hall and his team at Bluewater are no strangers to reconfiguring boats for people with disabilities. They understand the importance of listening to their customers’ exact needs, rather than telling them what they need for their conditions and access requirements. Not only did the boat require an extensive reconfiguration, the Bluewater team had just three months to complete the task, as the date for the Big Rock loomed. Hall assembled a team led by engineer Brian Motter. The goals were to determine the best way to get Nichols on and off the boat; how to get him into the salon; how to access the master stateroom and head; and to install a Seakeeper for added stability. The transformation from a stock Viking to Knot Done Yet was underway. What appeared to be the first task—getting Nichols aboard—quickly grew difficult. Almost none of the davit manufacturers wanted the liability involved in lifting a person on board a boat in an automated wheelchair. Hall had partnered with Nautical Structures in the past, and the company agreed to provide the davit and assist in any way possible. While most davits are bow-mounted, this one needed to be near the cockpit. So the team designed and manufactured a massive post and platform, substantially tying the davit into the bridge overhang and cockpit deck. They didn’t stop there, because Nichols also wanted to have access to the bridge. There were two apparent complications: the hardtop height and how to get the wheelchair through the belly band at the rear of the bridge. They created access by cutting the belly band in half while the outer sections attached to the tower legs were reconfigured to swivel out, creating a gate. Now one would think that fishing offshore in rough conditions would make the belly- band gate rattle, but after fishing with them during the 2019 Big Rock tournament in some nasty conditions, I did not hear one squeak or rattle, attesting to the exact tolerances of the design and craftsmanship. The other component of bridge access was the height of the hardtop and allowing the davit to swivel beneath it with an automated wheelchair. To solve that matter, a harness was created, allowing less than a half-inch of clearance under the hardtop. Nichols now had his bridge access. A STEP UP Next on the list was access from the cockpit to the salon. The first attempt was an aluminum ramp that mounted to brackets under the salon door. After fishing the 2018 Big Rock, the team realized they needed a better solution. The aluminum ramp could not be easily stored because of its metal construction; access to the starboard side of the cockpit was impaired, and even with a nonskid surface, the aluminum was slippery when wet. Later in the tournament season, a lighter carbon-fiber ramp was developed that solved a few issues. The O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9 5 1 M A R L I the entir allows th scissor-li ing to ma a straight number notbeact the lift w seamless Now t neededi team rem They eng teak to m master st by the re enough r The he easier tra from the Nichol’ the starboard side of the cockpit was impaired, and even with a nonskid surface, the aluminum was lippery when wet. Later in the tournament season, a lighter carbon-fiber ramp was devel- oped that solved a few issues. The new ramp is lighter and can be stored in the salon when fis ing. Als , an aggressive nonskid pat- ternallowseveryonetonavigatetherampwhen it’s inthecockpit. Withinthesalon,twochangesweremade.Thefirstwasremov- ing the starboard-side dinette table, which created a wider lane to reach the companionway steps. Release Marine fabricated a custom fold-out table that is not attached to the salon sole, so it can be moved to the dinette or placed inside the L-shaped sofa on the port side. The second step was removing the carpet, replacing it with a wood laminate for durability, ease of cleaning and easier movement for Nichols’ chair. From the beginning, Nichols wanted to stay on the boat dur- ing tourname t an any extended fishing trips, including a 30-day stay in Chub Cay where the team fished 22 days. How would he access the master stateroom and head with a four- step staircase between the salon and the companionway hile staying in his automated chair? The solution involved cutting out the staircase and attaching Thanks to extensive customization, even the bridge is accessible using the davit (opposite salon has been upgraded to a carbon-fiber version; wood-laminate flooring is durable a doorway leading into the master stateroom; a cleverly engineered scissor lift rise Thanks to extensive customization by the Bluewater Yacht Yard, his Viking's cockpit, bridge, salon and master stateroom are all accessible to Nichols and his wheelchair. OCTOBER 2019 52 MARLINMAG.COM Boatworks President Randy Ramsey about how rough the fish- ing conditions had been. Ramsey retorted, “Perry Nichols and the Knot Done Yet were out there for four days in a row with no complaints!” He labeled Nichols a game-changer, referring to how he lives his life to the fullest. After the Hatteras Marlin Club event, Bluewater had one month to complete the Seakeeper 26 installation. It was indeed a major project and included a partial cockpit deck removal and reconfiguration of the fuel tanks, along with stringer mod- ifications to handle the stress on the hull. While the job was laborious, Bluewater finished right on time. TOURNAMENT FISHING RULES The Knot Done Yet required three months at Bluewater Yacht Sales to prepare her for fishing tournaments in 2018. reconfigured it to make its profile slightly narrower to allow for a smaller-profile cockpit/salon ramp and to avoid widening he salon door. In addition, the t am found smaller wheels with more swivel ability. Foldable, narrow armrests also allowed eas- ier access to the salon. As with the bridge access, the tolerances are tight, yet the process works flawlessly. Withthe2018BigRocktournamentapproaching,allthetasks were complete except the install tion of the Seakeeper. The 2008-model boats were not built to accommodate Seakeepers and this job was a major project. So, the team decided to fish the Big Rock and Hatteras Marli Club urn m nts without a gyrostabilizer. Hall relates a tale about those 2018 tourneys and how Nichols inadvertently set a standard as he fished without a Seakeeper: Several of the owners and captains grumbled to Jarrett Bay Once thought to give the angler an unfair advantage during the fight, many East Coast tournaments have now amended their rules to allow electric reels in their events in order to encourage participation by anglers like Nichols who are unable to use conventional gear. COURTESYKEITHJONES (ABOVE),TOMSPENCER/FISHHUNTPHOTO (OPPOSITE) MAR1019_F-HAN_Fishing is No Handicap.indd 52 8/15/19 10:40 A 19 2020 SEASON