BOATING
Kleinknecht, 61, says he has a sensitive ear when
it comes to engine sounds, but he wanted two
cameras in the engine room to allow him to see
a problem before it happened. Irwin also
installed an underwater camera on the hull.
A new control console was needed to accommodate the
electronics modifications. Kleinknecht designed the console,
Irwin engineered the layout and Fort Pierce fiberglass expert
Roger Rucker built a console that looks as though it was
built into the boat before it left the yard. Irwin says it took
an entire week to pull the miles of video, data and networking
cables and a month to complete the job.
One of Kleinknecht’s specifications required Irwin to integrate
the electronics so they could be controlled from the
tower and the helm, something Kleinknecht says individual
vendors were not willing to tackle. When they aren't fishing
Kleinknecht, a Vero Beach resident, can kick back in the
roomy, air-conditioned helm and watch satellite television
with his guests.
Blue lights underwater off the stern attract swordfish, a
fish Kleinknecht likes to troll for whether he's fishing out of
the Pelican Yacht Club in Fort Pierce, an island in the
Bahamas or off Montauk Point, Long Island, NY. The open
cockpit is equipped with its own ice machine, refrigerator
and insulated fish box. Rods can be stowed there as well as
CABO Express 45 owner Peter Kleinknecht, left, looks over navigation equipment on the main deck installed by Steve Irwin, right.
This console provides access to the same equipment as the tower but also has port and starboard transom cameras, DirecTV, computer, digital video
recorder and WxWorx Real Time Satellite weather.
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