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This page is the place to document the many factory changes which occurred during LNVT production.
Hause-cleats Recessed into Bulwark
Hull #2 without the bulwark recess for the hause-cleat.
Hull #12 with a large bulwark recess for the hause-cleat
Navigation Light Boards
Hull#2 aft mount
Hull#20 above door and elevated
the final iteration
Hulls #1-#8 had their navigation light boards mounted all the way aft on, and flush to, the pilothouse roof. Starting with hull #9 the factory moved the nav light boards forward, just above the Dutch doors. This was done to make it easier for oncoming vessels to see the lights. Visibility and perhaps aesthetics must have remained a concern however because the design changed again in three significant ways. First, the light was moved forward on the board to make it even more easily seen by oncoming vessels. Next the board itself was elevated by about an inch above, and parallel to, the pilot house roof. Then by hull#26, the final iteration, the light was moved to the aft end of the board (as it was in hulls #1 - #8) and the board's aft end was elevated by a standoff to make it level with the horizon (vs. the pilothouse roof). The factory standoffs are 'M" shaped and this fact can be used to help determine provenance.
Shower Room
Hull#2 shower room sink
Hull #4 shower room sink
In hull #2 the counter top runs the width of the room. By hull #4 it's width is halved and a new, smaller sink is used.
Yard in which the LNVT was built
The first LNVT 37s (#1 - #18) were built in the Hai O yard (HAO). The remainder of the 37s (#19 thru #76) and all the 49s (#2 thru #9) were built in the Ocean Eagle Yard (OEY). The 41s were built in the South Coast Marine yard. All the boat yards were in Taiwan.
Indent in Hull Along Waterline
Through at least hull #47 the factory put an indent in the hull to mark the waterline. This practice was discontinued in subsequent hulls.
Companionway Door Handle
Hull #21 Has no handle
Hull #22 Perhaps the 1st factory handle
No handle on companionway door #21 — #27 (Note: #26 Does have a handle.)
Companionway Door Window
Hull#3 No companionway windows
Hull#4 Has companionway windows
The first three hulls had no companionway door windows. Starting with hull#4 both doors received a round window.
grommet in dorade and PH window weep holes #2 — #19
Storage drawer in the steps between the PH and salon #33 — #37
cabinet door locks (wood twist knob vs. finger plunger) #40 — #47
PH drop-down windows: #1 and #2 all 5 windows drop; #3 on only the aft stbd and port ones do.
PH engine controls panel
PH instrument panel
PH glove compartment
PH opening side windows #19, #26 — #27
hull# etched in vs laid in #26 — #33
bronze vs stainless rub rail #2 — #26, #33
salon settee (dead end vs L) #26, #28, 33 — #31
+++Smith Access
engine room access through the pilothouse-to-stateroom steps was first requested by Craig and Rosemary Smith for their brand new hull #33, Rosebud. The yard made it a standard fixture for the rest of the fleet. Since hull #26, which was laid up two months before Hull #33, has a Smith Access, it's probable that Loren Hart that the access was such a good idea he implemented it even before the Smith's tug was built.
sink counter top bow out in head: #26 — #28
BMW vs Cummins: Through hull #30 the BMW engine was used. Hull #31 was the first to get a Cummins. The last BMW engine went into hull #32. The initial 4BT3.9M Cummins was rated at 100hp and was used until at least hull #42. Between #43 and #76 the engine used was the Cummins 4BT3.9M rated at 150hp. The most obvious difference between the 100hp and the 150hp Cummins is the smaller injector pump on the 100hp engine.
dutch door sloped at top-door to bottom-door joint #3 — #8
Stainless ladder into engine room from PH #19 — #33 (Note: #26 may have had the ss steps but were removed by an owner)
stainless handholds on foredeck, PH, and salon side #75
No companionway hatch and tall doors: #75
hot and cold water hose bibb in stern bulwark compartment #2 — #26, #31
Towing Bitt
Bitt (not have, have, and not have again) #2 — #7 — #75 (Note #26 has bitt near ladder to dingy deck)
Shower in and forward of head: #75, #76
Round base on Salon Table #40
Cable vs. Hydraulic Steering #33 — #47 (#26 has original hydraulic steering, pump made in May 1985)
shower room door hinging (left vs right) #2 — #33
Lazarette hatch orientation (port to stbd vs bow to stern) #2 — #26, #33
Access panel on setee vertical face #8 — #33
Floor board sizes
Fuel tanks (6 vs 4) #2 — #26, #33
Drawers under mirror in head (have not vs. have) #2, #26 — #47
Mehrkens Galley
The first starboard side galley was specified by Joe and Hellen Mehrkens for their brand new hull #32, Perseverance. The following hulls are know to have a Mehrkens Galley: 58, 64, 65, 67, 71, 72, 74, 75, and 76.
Port side steering and port side galley
http://www.lnvt.org/local--files/hull-50/nimbus2.jpg
Hull #50 is the only known hull which has portside steering
Stateroom door hinged (stbd vs port) #2 — #26, #47
Midship hause location
Mast (no vs. yes and forward of stack vs aft of stack #47 — #63
Windshield wipers (not have vs have) — #26, #47
Incandescent ceiling fixtures (smooth vs textured lens) #2 — #26, #63
Stbd dorade (to shower vs engine room) #2 — #26, #47
Foam in the Bulwarks
Placing foam in the bulwarks seems to have started very early in the production run as #2 has it.
Fuel fills mounted into the cabin sides
Fuel Fill Location on #33 and #35
The fuel fill plates on #32 are deck mounted. The fuel fills on #33 and #35 are mounted into the cabin side. Since Tommy went back to a deck-mounted on #36 and later hulls, perhaps this was an experiment whose cost exceeded the perceived benefits. Interestingly, John Mackie, JOHN WILLIAM #68, was emptying his fuel tanks because he forgot to replace the deck plate cap after a recent refueling. Seawater found its way into the openning. He probably wouldn't have had the problem with the cabin side fuel fill.
Dutch Door
Hull#1 doesn't have Dutch Doors. Starting with Hull#2 they became standard.
The Different Stateroom Layouts
Hanging locker, berth and double seat (Hull#1 pictured)
Appears to be std config up to #26
also on #26, #27, #28, #29, #37, #48, #53, #66, #67
Hanging locker to port, Queen Berth and Dressing Table (Hull#40 pictured)
w/stool first #38. On #47, #56, #57, #63, #68
Hanging locker, King V-Berth and Tall drawers (Hull#31 pictured)
first (?) appears in hull#31
also on #42
Hanging locker, King V-Berth and another hanging locker (Hull#33 pictured)
first (?) appears in hull#33
also on #44, #58
