Slowing down is great advise for all aspects of life as it is way too short. Slowing down every morning to enjoy life by yourself or your family is key to rewarding life well lived. thanks you so much for sharing your time.
Great video, so glad, you listened to people, remember after it’s all done and your sailing away, the little hiccup’s you’ve had will seem like nothing. Keep up the great work. You guys are inspiring.
Hi Robert, thank you for your kind comment. We know from our past experiences that we will look back on this very busy period with great memories! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
As a 75 year old "Wanna be" sailor who has never yet sailed your videos are gold dust and I have learned a lot from the two I have watched, I found them after looking at the sea cocks on my 77 Centaur (just acquired) and thinking action is required here! Yes I will be contributing and, is it poss to get a list of the make of the parts and materials used on the water inlets and outlets in that video?
Well done old chap. What a cracking boat she looks. You are doing a first class job and not far off going back in the water, I don't imagine. It will be well worth the wait. Best wishes.
Hi James, thank you very much for your comment. When we are sitting together in the cockpit watching the sunset from an anchorage somewhere it will have been worth every minute! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Great video. I have two 240V shop vacs, but they are big and heavy, swine to get up a ladder. Also a 12V Makita, small and light, but no use for wet stuff, and the battery doesn’t last long. The vac you are using looks absolutely ideal for when shore power is available, and is small enough to live on board. My bilge is about 1.60 meter deep, and narrow at the bottom. I’ll be ordering one of these from Screwfix! A tip which may be useful, I pour a solution of warm water and washing soda into the bilge, scrub with an old washing up brush attached to a wooden pole, then vacuum it dry. That revolting gunk is dissolved and the bilge looks pristine!
Cheers Bill, these are brilliant shop vacs and excellent value. We can run ours off our inverter too (Which is a £60 ish non-sine wave inverter), so we can use it whilst we’re at anchor too. Cheers, Chris 👍
In-mast furling. Same on my Bavaria 44. Same era vessel. Key to not have it stuck out at sea: while furling in always keep enough tension on the clew to avoid any folds in the sail (which will get the sail stuck). So while furling in it is a game between outhaul line and winching in the furling line... once you get that right it is a great system as you can reduce main sail in any point of sail. Another great video. You look more refreshed and rested! /Tim
Hi Tim, thank you for your advice. That's good to hear and we are looking forward to getting the in-mast furling technique worked out over time. We're still working hard but are not planning on working any more 20 hour days for a while! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Making good progress, thank you for taking the time to share with us through your videos. Your right to get the real detail and understanding you have to get down and clean everything.
Thank you for sharing, Great vid, and great attention to the keel bolts, ITs a boat you are not supposed to make days its not about deadlines it's about a life, glad you slowed down, love your vids, Again thank you for sharing
I love your videos! You have a great sense of humour, Emma is adorable and I always learn something new. I am happy you have decided to slow down a little. Thank you for sharing :)
Ive been watching your vlogs for a while now and you have given me some great ideas for my own boat that im totally renovating for our new life in the med next year onward. your video on solar panels saved me a small fortune as was going to get a shop to make a frame to hold it. your idea is tops. love it. I really like the way that you explain everything in detail and so that us humans can understand!. LOL. Keep up the great work that you are doing and keep the vlogs coming. Also Hat off to you for all the work you are doing with Baby Emma with you all the time. You are both amazing people with a goal in life that others should learn from. wish you all the best and fair winds and calm seas (when you get there)
Hi there, thank you very much for your kind comment. We wish you the very best of luck and who knows, one day we may share an anchorage with you. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 👍
Some really good points well made. Every cruiser should have an aqua vac. We got ours in the UK from Wickes. Silly money and works from our inverter! We have used it to unblock the holding tank, empty the dingy, unblock the sink. But best of all it inflates our old dingy in about 30 seconds!!! Try it! Great vid guys. When you leaving? Looks like your slipping the lines about the same time as us? Med bound? PM us. Ant and Cid xx
I have the same in mast furling system, it's really simple once you have practised a bit. 1. make sure the topping lift is on properly (otherwise you will get creases while furling) 2. with the sail slightly to port makes it much easier to furl. 3 use the cockpit winch to add tension to the endless reefing line and stop it jumping out of the reefing winch at the mast and in high winds put the reefing winch on to IN mode only and remember you can winch from there if something goes wrong with the endless line (happened to me a couple of times), apart from that it is really easy to furl/unfurl, guests who have only used traditional sails are quite shocked when I show them. :) You do however lose a little angle to the wind as less shape without batons and have to pull the traveller full to wind for any sort of close hauling to be effective.
Hi there, thank you very much for your advice regarding the in-mast furling - it is very detailed and informative. We look forward to practicing soon! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Another great installment. Glad you slowed down, I would hate to see you laid up when it came time to go. I was waiting to see the baby with a sander helping lol. Peace and calm seas
Good video. 'Hoovers' are very handy for all sorts of jobs, both sucking and blowing. I've found that a bit of scrubbing brush action prior to sucking the water out of places like your bilge ends up with a bright and shiny result. Anyway, looking forward to the next video.
Hi Brad, after drying we went over one of the bilge sections with some laundry detergent and it came up like brand new. We'll get round to doing them all eventually... Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Hi Jordan & Desiree! We removed one of the keel bolts to check for crevice corrosion and - despite them being the 26-year-old original bolts - it was in perfect condition. Phew indeed! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
perfect video ... awesome foot action on pumping up the inflatable ...I put a plywood center peace in so the dinghy wouldn't fold in half when I stood up .... cheers
Chris Williams Hi Chris! They are really powerful and are very handy to have on board. It's certainly quicker than a sponge and bucket! They are so cheap too for what you get... Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma :-)
Another great update, so satisfying to have clean bilges and get that muck out from the soundproofing. Glad you are taking things relatively easy and getting good rest. Won't be long now until splash I guess. Andy UK
Hi Andy, we still have plenty to keep us occupied but are now working 12 hour days instead of 20! We definitely feel a bit more like human beings now 😂 Splash video coming soon... 😉 Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma
Good decision Britaly , it’s all about journey not the destination. We love the details of this project you are reviling to us. Very informative and down to earth job. Greetings from Northern Ireland, we are fixing our boat , 26 years old Swedish make , needs more work than yours and we are not conserned about time too much
Hi Iwona, we are glad you are enjoying our videos and finding them useful. My parents are from Northern Ireland - it's a beautiful part of the world and we wish you the very best of luck with your refit. Fair winds! Chris (plus Rossella & Emma) 😊
Another great use for your shop-vac (hoover) is to inflate your rubber tender. It will inflate it in seconds, and the shop-vac will not produce enough pressure to do damage to the tender.
Much more satisfying to take time and pace yourself, fabulous job you are doing! The boat will feel so much more comfortable and enjoyable when your done!! Good luck with the splash day and hopefully there won’t be any leakage 👍
Great vids mate, your top tips are excellent and I love your positive can do approach. Every topic you present I am learning something, real food for thought - I wish I had got a wet & dry while I was doing my big project. I did think about it at the time, but I will get one now for sure after your comment about running the titan on an inverter, and at £35 it would be rude not to really! On the subject of cleaning bilges I did repaint mine so I was looking for something that was fast and got my previously horrible surfaces ready for paint. Guess what I found was best??? Cif - yep, absolutely excellent! Soaks up diesel and grease and sponges away easily - and you can brush it into tight corners and crevices with a paint brush. Most of the time I was ready to paint even after I had cleaned some really nasty bits of the bilges with it including under the engine.
Another great vid, Chris your forestay seemed a little slack when you were furling the headsail, i'm assuming you'll actually tension it when you're underway. Wouldn't mind seeing the results with your keel bolts. This is my biggest fear with our own boat, a 40yr old cavalier, i haven't had ours checked yet as it is a mammoth job. Cheers mate 👍
Hi there, I had slackened off the backstay to adjust the furling mainsail. We have a block and tackle to adjust the backstay so it's very quick to adjust. Stay tuned for the keel bolts episode... 😉 Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Think you may need to recalculate the current draw on your battery. 12v at 1amp = 12w, the cleaner draws 1100w = 90 amp ish. 5.4 amp is only 65w give or take. Still very effective method though and a good idea.
HA, guessed the secret correctly. Was fairly easy though. A wet-dry vac as its known (or shop vac) in the US, a readily purchasable product from any DIY hardware store and commonly used in commercial industry.
Ciao, definitely one of the most useful sailing channels in RUclips, thanks for sharing your experiences Grazie mille for so much learning, if you pass Portugal, let me know me an my sv Noah are based in Sines bay
I just bought my first boat. It’s a Van de Stadt 34 with an in-mast furling mainsail so I’m going to be very interested to see how it works out for you. I’ve got a little bit of work to do on it before I splash and try it out. Hopefully you beat me to it.
Hello there, very many congratulations on your new boat! Van de Stadt have an excellent reputation so we hope you will have many years of happy cruising with her. Good luck with your work and we hope everything goes well for you! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Did you mention you gained experience with something from your time in "the desert"? What do you men by "the desert"? Were you in the British military? If so, what did you do in the military, and which desert did you go to?
@@SailingBritaly Ah, interesting! I'm in the US Air National Guard. I used to be an aircraft technician on the C-130, but now I do Emergency Management. I've been to the Middle East a few times also.
You are making great progress! Amazing that you can do any work on the boat with a baby on board. All three of you have wonderful patience. We call the hover a "shop vac" here in USA. What year was your boat built? Looks very new below.... Regards.
I was going to say 30+ years ago we called them just a simple wet/dry vac here in the US. They are so cheap that for really nasty jobs we have used them and tossed them.
Hi there! Thank you for your comment. Having a baby on board makes this much more complicated but we're just doing the best we can to make it work! Our boat was built in 1992. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
I don't know if they sell this where you are but in the US we have cleaning product called Simple Green It is a very concentrated liquid cleaner. You combine it with water and it is great for cleaning (especially bilges) and it is completely biodegradable so it can go right out the bilge pump. I have even heard of people filling their bilge near full, dumping in some Simple Green, agitate, let sit over night, and pump out. Rinse with fresh water. You can even do this at sea with salt water !
Hi Jack, thank you for the recommendation. I had a quick look at the MSDS for Simple Green and according to that it is 'Very Toxic to Aquatic Life with Long Lasting Effects' simplegreen.com/downloads/SDS_EN-GB_SimpleGreenAllPurposeCleaner.pdf It may be worth bearing this in mind / spreading the word. Fair winds, Chris (+ Rossella & Emma) 👍
I was just thinking today how I was so convincingly taken in by a product name, and that the only thing that was simple, and green was me. But Ive learned my lesson.
Great video and best part is to hear y'all are making quality family Time! The old girl is looking real good and will serve y'all well for many years with your meticulous care.
Sailing Britaly Hey Chris. Seeing your sails going up but not yet seen a downwind sail. I’ve just replaced my snuffer which means I have a slightly tired (but working) one up for grabs. Need it? I’m not a patreon but this will be my bit for your project. I’m near your way today with MrsB and can drop it in.
Hi Andy, apologies for the delayed reply. We have another sail on board and a snuffer- we have no idea how to use them yet but that's another story! Thank you very much indeed for your kind offer though, we really appreciate it. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
It's preferable to have a boat without keel-bolts. An encapsulated ballast is by far the best! My 1974 Formosa 51 is old as hell and still has no keel problems because the 6,000+ lb. of the ballast keel is inside the nearly 1 1/2" thick fiberglass keel. Stay away from iron, ferro-cement and any other sub-par keel material! A keel-bolt-less ballast keel is always best!!! 🇺🇸
Another great video! Worked with in mast systems and they are very easy if set up correctly! Doing a great job and Rosella is a saint! Well done on the work life balance, but isn’t that why we buy a boat? Lol Keep the videos coming
Really play, I just did mine delrin for top bushing .003 clearance( old one had .015) top rudder tube which does not see water and bronze split for the bottom,along with new bottom delrin thrust bearing I machined , no play whatsoever, I can grab it and shake the whole boat in cradle.Bronze wore rudder tube so I lined it with epoxy and kevlar tape and fitted using plug I machined to size of outside of of bronze clamped to rudder post to get size and hi spot blue to .001 ,greased and reassembled. In water now with big difference in steering ,I could feel play in the steering before now nothing. Have those keel bolts been replaced, stainless steel bolts into cast iron is a no no, my boat has zinc dichromate 10.9 bolts ,which are twice the strength of 316 stainless and will not eat the cast as s/s will thru galvanic reaction. They can be used if coated but now you hoping the coating doesn't come off when threaded in. s/s for lead keels sure studs are J cast in with nuts
I, too, worry about unseen parts of my boat! How do you choose which keelbolts to sample? If those look good, are you then assuming others nearby will be in a similar condition? A part of me would want to see every keelbolt and chainplate, end-to-end but maybe that's overly fussy?
Do you find than once removed, the oily water returns to your engine bilge after a period of engine running? i.e. do you have any evident oil or even Diesel leaks from your Volvo Penta engine? I'd be interested in your thoughts/experiences with this I always seem to have around 100-250 mis of oily water in my bilge - the oil level in the engine seems to remain constant so I can only guess that maybe it's diesel mixed with water that comes from around the diesel injector pumps located on the port-side of the engine (mines a VP2002 18hp) - not sure where the water is coming from Motor runs well - like clockwork
Hi there, we also had a diesel leak from the port side of the engine which I saw was coming from one of the banjo unions on the No.2 cylinder injector pump. I tightened it up and the leak stopped (that explains the stains under the sump on our boat). I suggest you check around your diesel pumps for a similar issue. You can use tissue paper or talcum powder to help you trace leaks if it isn't immediately obvious where the diesel is coming from. As for your water in the bilge the first thing I would check is the anti-syphon valve (if fitted). There is a tiny diaphragm inside that and it only takes a tiny salt deposit to stop it from working properly and in this case it can drip constantly. You can take the anti-syphon valve apart easily and clean everything up. I believe a new diaphragm kit costs £4... Fair winds! Chris 👍 (plus Rossella & Emma)
Is that the 16ltr Hoover you have well handy with a baby dry and liquids :o good to see your cracking on prob like me with the lighter nights getting 12 hour days in which is all good
Hi there, yes that's the one - £34.99 from Screwfix. The longer days really help when you want to work long hours, perhaps we should sail up to the Arctic Circle to complete the refit! 😂 Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Hi David, I'm confident the insulation will work in this application. The thermostat on the engine operates well below 100 degrees C so the engine should never get to that temperature. I will also be ordering a stapler and some stainless steel staples, and will go around the insulation stapling it at 25 cm intervals just to double up on the adhesion to the wood panels behind. Fair winds! Chris 👍 (and Rossella & Emma) 😊
Thanks Chris, I was just checking as it is something we are looking at doing also and wanted to make sure there weren't specific requirements regarding temperature. Keep up the good work! Dave
One concern. Can you confirm that the black mess in your bilge is old sound proofing? I am worried about mold with your little girl around. She makes me smile and you are a lucky man.
Hi Tom, it was definitely insulation. A couple of days ago I tasted the water in the bilge to help me do some fault finding... I'm still alive and kicking so I think we'll be fine! Fair winds, Chris (and Rossella & Emma) 😊
Are you able to adapt the Hoover nozzle to inflate the Dinghy? Also noticed you didn't mention the small tub being used as a tell-tale for your anti siphon valve. Best get a kit www.keypart.com/stock/875738-r and give it a service. Cheers Bill
Hi Bill, yes I'm pretty sure we can inflate the dinghy with the vacuum cleaner (it should be pretty quick too!). The anti-siphon valve works as it should (Tested with water flow and by blowing into it) but, as the kit you linked to costs just £4, it's probably a good idea to fit a new diaphragm kit... 👍 Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
I hate to be negative, but the fact that the visible bolt heads are fine does not insure there is no crevice corrosion. The only way to be sure is to remove at least one bolt. Otherwise it's just wishful thinking.
Hi Rick, yes I know that (I went into great detail talking about crevice corrosion in this video). In our latest video I removed a keel bolt for inspection. Fair winds, Chris 👍
we call them 'shop vacs' on this side of the pond :-) was it actually made by Hoover or were you using that as a generic name for vacuum cleaners? (bad boy)
HI Sean, the in-mast furler consists of bearings and crown gears, which we have lubricated with PTFE spray. We will ask someone with this kind of system to have a look at our set-up and give us some advice on the boat, as we do have a lot to learn with it. Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Hi Iain, in the UK lots of people refer to vacuum cleaners as 'Hoovers' after one of the best known original manufacturers. Similarly we call hose clamps 'Jubilee Clips', which you will probably hear me say in our videos... Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Hi Frank, we respect your opinion but beg to differ that this is 'dangerous'. There is a risk assessment to be made based on many factors, including the quality of the cradle - and ground below it - and the weather conditions during the operation. In our case we were on a very well built 6 leg yacht cradle, on hard ground, in relatively light winds, so the operation was not dangerous in any way. Fair winds, Chris
I am rather surprised to see any A2 bolts in a boat instead of A4 bolts. Although it might not even be an issue. Even galvanized bolts are ofted used with cast iron keels, as the threads in the keel itself are most likely corrosion-wise the weakest point in the setup.
Hi Samu, I was very surprised to discover that our keel bolts are made from 304 stainless steel. Watch our next video to see what happens next... :-) Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Hey bro It's nice to see another Christian skipper sharing their experiences You should share a little of your faith too Tell us what scriptures you read today You will be amazed how God will honour you...
Slowing down is great advise for all aspects of life as it is way too short. Slowing down every morning to enjoy life by yourself or your family is key to rewarding life well lived. thanks you so much for sharing your time.
Very satisfying to clean bilges. I even scrub them clean with some simple green cleaner for a nice fresh smell.
Great video, so glad, you listened to people, remember after it’s all done and your sailing away, the little hiccup’s you’ve had will seem like nothing. Keep up the great work. You guys are inspiring.
Hi Robert, thank you for your kind comment. We know from our past experiences that we will look back on this very busy period with great memories! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
As a 75 year old "Wanna be" sailor who has never yet sailed your videos are gold dust and I have learned a lot from the two I have watched, I found them after looking at the sea cocks on my 77 Centaur (just acquired) and thinking action is required here! Yes I will be contributing and, is it poss to get a list of the make of the parts and materials used on the water inlets and outlets in that video?
Well done old chap. What a cracking boat she looks. You are doing a first class job and not far off going back in the water, I don't imagine. It will be well worth the wait. Best wishes.
Hi James, thank you very much for your comment. When we are sitting together in the cockpit watching the sunset from an anchorage somewhere it will have been worth every minute! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Great video. I have two 240V shop vacs, but they are big and heavy, swine to get up a ladder. Also a 12V Makita, small and light, but no use for wet stuff, and the battery doesn’t last long. The vac you are using looks absolutely ideal for when shore power is available, and is small enough to live on board. My bilge is about 1.60 meter deep, and narrow at the bottom. I’ll be ordering one of these from Screwfix! A tip which may be useful, I pour a solution of warm water and washing soda into the bilge, scrub with an old washing up brush attached to a wooden pole, then vacuum it dry. That revolting gunk is dissolved and the bilge looks pristine!
Cheers Bill, these are brilliant shop vacs and excellent value. We can run ours off our inverter too (Which is a £60 ish non-sine wave inverter), so we can use it whilst we’re at anchor too. Cheers, Chris 👍
In-mast furling. Same on my Bavaria 44. Same era vessel. Key to not have it stuck out at sea: while furling in always keep enough tension on the clew to avoid any folds in the sail (which will get the sail stuck). So while furling in it is a game between outhaul line and winching in the furling line... once you get that right it is a great system as you can reduce main sail in any point of sail. Another great video. You look more refreshed and rested! /Tim
Hi Tim, thank you for your advice. That's good to hear and we are looking forward to getting the in-mast furling technique worked out over time. We're still working hard but are not planning on working any more 20 hour days for a while! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Making good progress, thank you for taking the time to share with us through your videos. Your right to get the real detail and understanding you have to get down and clean everything.
Hi Roy, our pleasure, thank you for your comment! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Thank you for sharing, Great vid, and great attention to the keel bolts, ITs a boat you are not supposed to make days its not about deadlines it's about a life, glad you slowed down, love your vids, Again thank you for sharing
Hi there Terry, thank you for your kind words! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Awesome videos thanks so much for taking the time to do these.
I love your videos! You have a great sense of humour, Emma is adorable and I always learn something new. I am happy you have decided to slow down a little. Thank you for sharing :)
Hi Jeffrey, thank you for your comment! We're very glad that you enjoy our videos and find them useful. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Ive been watching your vlogs for a while now and you have given me some great ideas for my own boat that im totally renovating for our new life in the med next year onward. your video on solar panels saved me a small fortune as was going to get a shop to make a frame to hold it. your idea is tops. love it. I really like the way that you explain everything in detail and so that us humans can understand!. LOL. Keep up the great work that you are doing and keep the vlogs coming. Also Hat off to you for all the work you are doing with Baby Emma with you all the time. You are both amazing people with a goal in life that others should learn from. wish you all the best and fair winds and calm seas (when you get there)
Hi there, thank you very much for your kind comment. We wish you the very best of luck and who knows, one day we may share an anchorage with you. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 👍
Sailing S/V Kedim I
Some really good points well made. Every cruiser should have an aqua vac. We got ours in the UK from Wickes. Silly money and works from our inverter! We have used it to unblock the holding tank, empty the dingy, unblock the sink. But best of all it inflates our old dingy in about 30 seconds!!! Try it! Great vid guys. When you leaving? Looks like your slipping the lines about the same time as us? Med bound? PM us. Ant and Cid xx
I have the same in mast furling system, it's really simple once you have practised a bit. 1. make sure the topping lift is on properly (otherwise you will get creases while furling) 2. with the sail slightly to port makes it much easier to furl. 3 use the cockpit winch to add tension to the endless reefing line and stop it jumping out of the reefing winch at the mast and in high winds put the reefing winch on to IN mode only and remember you can winch from there if something goes wrong with the endless line (happened to me a couple of times), apart from that it is really easy to furl/unfurl, guests who have only used traditional sails are quite shocked when I show them. :) You do however lose a little angle to the wind as less shape without batons and have to pull the traveller full to wind for any sort of close hauling to be effective.
Hi there, thank you very much for your advice regarding the in-mast furling - it is very detailed and informative. We look forward to practicing soon! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Make an attachment and use that vac/blower to inflate your dingy in a heartbeat. Beats the hell out of all that foot pumping. Great video. Nice work.
Hi Greg, yes the vacuum cleaner will be put to use as a dinghy inflator! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Another great installment. Glad you slowed down, I would hate to see you laid up when it came time to go. I was waiting to see the baby with a sander helping lol. Peace and calm seas
Hi Ed, thank you for your comment! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
8:35 for the cleaning insturment he used
Good video. 'Hoovers' are very handy for all sorts of jobs, both sucking and blowing. I've found that a bit of scrubbing brush action prior to sucking the water out of places like your bilge ends up with a bright and shiny result. Anyway, looking forward to the next video.
Hi Brad, after drying we went over one of the bilge sections with some laundry detergent and it came up like brand new. We'll get round to doing them all eventually... Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Wohoo! Great to hear that those bolts looks to be in good condition! Phew!!
Hi Jordan & Desiree! We removed one of the keel bolts to check for crevice corrosion and - despite them being the 26-year-old original bolts - it was in perfect condition. Phew indeed! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
perfect video ... awesome foot action on pumping up the inflatable ...I put a plywood center peace in so the dinghy wouldn't fold in half when I stood up .... cheers
Hi Maurice, thank you for your comment. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Hi Chris. Thanks for the great recommendation on the Titan hover. We went straight out and bought one to do our bilge's.
Chris Williams Hi Chris! They are really powerful and are very handy to have on board. It's certainly quicker than a sponge and bucket! They are so cheap too for what you get... Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma :-)
Sailing Britaly Hi, thanks for the reply and good info. Keep up the awesome videos 😀
🙂👍
Another great update, so satisfying to have clean bilges and get that muck out from the soundproofing. Glad you are taking things relatively easy and getting good rest. Won't be long now until splash I guess. Andy UK
Hi Andy, we still have plenty to keep us occupied but are now working 12 hour days instead of 20! We definitely feel a bit more like human beings now 😂 Splash video coming soon... 😉 Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma
Good decision Britaly , it’s all about journey not the destination. We love the details of this project you are reviling to us. Very informative and down to earth job. Greetings from Northern Ireland, we are fixing our boat , 26 years old Swedish make , needs more work than yours and we are not conserned about time too much
Hi Iwona, we are glad you are enjoying our videos and finding them useful. My parents are from Northern Ireland - it's a beautiful part of the world and we wish you the very best of luck with your refit. Fair winds! Chris (plus Rossella & Emma) 😊
Another informative video, Chris. Thanks!
Our pleasure Joel! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Another great use for your shop-vac (hoover) is to inflate your rubber tender.
It will inflate it in seconds, and the shop-vac will not produce enough pressure to do damage to the tender.
Absolutely Rod, we are going to try this. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
the blow function is good for clearing out a blocked hose after suction
👍
Much more satisfying to take time and pace yourself, fabulous job you are doing! The boat will feel so much more comfortable and enjoyable when your done!!
Good luck with the splash day and hopefully there won’t be any leakage 👍
Hi Niccat, thank you very much for your comment! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Great vids mate, your top tips are excellent and I love your positive can do approach. Every topic you present I am learning something, real food for thought - I wish I had got a wet & dry while I was doing my big project. I did think about it at the time, but I will get one now for sure after your comment about running the titan on an inverter, and at £35 it would be rude not to really! On the subject of cleaning bilges I did repaint mine so I was looking for something that was fast and got my previously horrible surfaces ready for paint. Guess what I found was best??? Cif - yep, absolutely excellent! Soaks up diesel and grease and sponges away easily - and you can brush it into tight corners and crevices with a paint brush. Most of the time I was ready to paint even after I had cleaned some really nasty bits of the bilges with it including under the engine.
Hi Lawrie, thank you for your comment, it's very nice to get feedback like this. Cif is great stuff isn't it! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 👍
well done guys. amazing how much work you are all putting into the boat and your dreams. Happy to follow your adventure. Regards from Brazil !
Hi there, thank you very much. We know it will be worth it when we are together in a beautiful anchorage! Bons ventos! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
That was greatly entertaining...AND... informative.
thanks for the upload
Thank you Andrew! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Another great vid, Chris your forestay seemed a little slack when you were furling the headsail, i'm assuming you'll actually tension it when you're underway. Wouldn't mind seeing the results with your keel bolts. This is my biggest fear with our own boat, a 40yr old cavalier, i haven't had ours checked yet as it is a mammoth job. Cheers mate 👍
Hi there, I had slackened off the backstay to adjust the furling mainsail. We have a block and tackle to adjust the backstay so it's very quick to adjust. Stay tuned for the keel bolts episode... 😉 Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Think you may need to recalculate the current draw on your battery. 12v at 1amp = 12w, the cleaner draws 1100w = 90 amp ish. 5.4 amp is only 65w give or take. Still very effective method though and a good idea.
HA, guessed the secret correctly. Was fairly easy though. A wet-dry vac as its known (or shop vac) in the US, a readily purchasable product from any DIY hardware store and commonly used in commercial industry.
Good guess Kevin. Ours was cheap too and definitely worth every penny. Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 👍
OMG--what a cute kid! Rudder looks pretty impressive too.
Hi Tim, Emma melts our hearts but we are very biased! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Ciao, definitely one of the most useful sailing channels in RUclips, thanks for sharing your experiences Grazie mille for so much learning, if you pass Portugal, let me know me an my sv Noah are based in Sines bay
Thank you very much Carlos, we hope to share an anchorage with you one day. :-) Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma
I just bought my first boat. It’s a Van de Stadt 34 with an in-mast furling mainsail so I’m going to be very interested to see how it works out for you. I’ve got a little bit of work to do on it before I splash and try it out. Hopefully you beat me to it.
Hello there, very many congratulations on your new boat! Van de Stadt have an excellent reputation so we hope you will have many years of happy cruising with her. Good luck with your work and we hope everything goes well for you! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Did you mention you gained experience with something from your time in "the desert"? What do you men by "the desert"? Were you in the British military? If so, what did you do in the military, and which desert did you go to?
I'm ex Royal Air Force where I was an aircraft technician and I spent some time in the Middle East. Cheers, Chris 👍
@@SailingBritaly
Ah, interesting!
I'm in the US Air National Guard. I used to be an aircraft technician on the C-130, but now I do Emergency Management. I've been to the Middle East a few times also.
You are making great progress! Amazing that you can do any work on the boat with a baby on board. All three of you have wonderful patience. We call the hover a "shop vac" here in USA. What year was your boat built? Looks very new below.... Regards.
I was going to say 30+ years ago we called them just a simple wet/dry vac here in the US. They are so cheap that for really nasty jobs we have used them and tossed them.
Hi there! Thank you for your comment. Having a baby on board makes this much more complicated but we're just doing the best we can to make it work! Our boat was built in 1992. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
I don't know if they sell this where you are but in the US we have cleaning product called Simple Green It is a very concentrated liquid cleaner. You combine it with water and it is great for cleaning (especially bilges) and it is completely biodegradable so it can go right out the bilge pump. I have even heard of people filling their bilge near full, dumping in some Simple Green, agitate, let sit over night, and pump out. Rinse with fresh water.
You can even do this at sea with salt water !
thanks Jack
Hi Jack, thank you for the recommendation. I had a quick look at the MSDS for Simple Green and according to that it is 'Very Toxic to Aquatic Life with Long Lasting Effects' simplegreen.com/downloads/SDS_EN-GB_SimpleGreenAllPurposeCleaner.pdf It may be worth bearing this in mind / spreading the word. Fair winds, Chris (+ Rossella & Emma) 👍
woops
thanks for your diligence Chris
👨👩👧👦
I was just thinking today how I was so convincingly taken in by a product name, and that the only thing that was simple, and green was me. But Ive learned my lesson.
Great video and best part is to hear y'all are making quality family Time! The old girl is looking real good and will serve y'all well for many years with your meticulous care.
Thank you very much! We aim to look after the boat so that she can look after us in return. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma :-)
Thanks for sharing. Great vid.
Our pleasure Andy. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma :-)
Sailing Britaly Hey Chris. Seeing your sails going up but not yet seen a downwind sail. I’ve just replaced my snuffer which means I have a slightly tired (but working) one up for grabs. Need it? I’m not a patreon but this will be my bit for your project. I’m near your way today with MrsB and can drop it in.
Hi Andy, apologies for the delayed reply. We have another sail on board and a snuffer- we have no idea how to use them yet but that's another story! Thank you very much indeed for your kind offer though, we really appreciate it. Fair winds! Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
OK, so what did you use to clean the bilge i.e. get the old goop to release? How did I miss that?
Another great video. Good job!
Thank you Gus! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Cracking tool for the job Chris 🤙
Hi Clive, £34.99 from Screwfix is money well spent! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
It's preferable to have a boat without keel-bolts. An encapsulated ballast is by far the best! My 1974 Formosa 51 is old as hell and still has no keel problems because the 6,000+ lb. of the ballast keel is inside the nearly 1 1/2" thick fiberglass keel. Stay away from iron, ferro-cement and any other sub-par keel material! A keel-bolt-less ballast keel is always best!!! 🇺🇸
Another great video! Worked with in mast systems and they are very easy if set up correctly! Doing a great job and Rosella is a saint! Well done on the work life balance, but isn’t that why we buy a boat? Lol Keep the videos coming
Hi George, thank you for the advice - it's nice to hear that in-mast furling can be trouble free! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Really play, I just did mine delrin for top bushing .003 clearance( old one had .015) top rudder tube which does not see water and bronze split for the bottom,along with new bottom delrin thrust bearing I machined , no play whatsoever, I can grab it and shake the whole boat in cradle.Bronze wore rudder tube so I lined it with epoxy and kevlar tape and fitted using plug I machined to size of outside of of bronze clamped to rudder post to get size and hi spot blue to .001 ,greased and reassembled.
In water now with big difference in steering ,I could feel play in the steering before now nothing.
Have those keel bolts been replaced, stainless steel bolts into cast iron is a no no, my boat has zinc dichromate 10.9 bolts ,which are twice the strength of 316 stainless and will not eat the cast as s/s will thru galvanic reaction. They can be used if coated but now you hoping the coating doesn't come off when threaded in. s/s for lead keels sure studs are J cast in with nuts
I, too, worry about unseen parts of my boat! How do you choose which keelbolts to sample? If those look good, are you then assuming others nearby will be in a similar condition? A part of me would want to see every keelbolt and chainplate, end-to-end but maybe that's overly fussy?
Sailing Britaly. Chris, I appreciate you posting a reply! Many thanks. The PBO article looks very useful. Best wishes to you all.
Love the vids!!!
Thank you Will! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Great some in mast stuff is a nightmare
Fantastic vids. Glad we found your channel. ,,,,,,,,,,/),,,,,,,,,,,fair winds to you three.
Hi Dan, thank you very much! Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Good your taking your time because it be safer the baby's older.
Emma's safe with us. Fair winds, Chris & Rossella
What is the make and model of the hoover please?
It’s a Titan from Screwfix: cheap and excellent.
Do you find than once removed, the oily water returns to your engine bilge after a period of engine running?
i.e. do you have any evident oil or even Diesel leaks from your Volvo Penta engine?
I'd be interested in your thoughts/experiences with this
I always seem to have around 100-250 mis of oily water in my bilge - the oil level in the engine seems to remain constant so I can only guess that maybe it's diesel mixed with water that comes from around the diesel injector pumps located on the port-side of the engine (mines a VP2002 18hp) - not sure where the water is coming from
Motor runs well - like clockwork
Hi there, we also had a diesel leak from the port side of the engine which I saw was coming from one of the banjo unions on the No.2 cylinder injector pump. I tightened it up and the leak stopped (that explains the stains under the sump on our boat). I suggest you check around your diesel pumps for a similar issue. You can use tissue paper or talcum powder to help you trace leaks if it isn't immediately obvious where the diesel is coming from. As for your water in the bilge the first thing I would check is the anti-syphon valve (if fitted). There is a tiny diaphragm inside that and it only takes a tiny salt deposit to stop it from working properly and in this case it can drip constantly. You can take the anti-syphon valve apart easily and clean everything up. I believe a new diaphragm kit costs £4... Fair winds! Chris 👍 (plus Rossella & Emma)
Is that the 16ltr Hoover you have well handy with a baby dry and liquids :o good to see your cracking on prob like me with the lighter nights getting 12 hour days in which is all good
Hi there, yes that's the one - £34.99 from Screwfix. The longer days really help when you want to work long hours, perhaps we should sail up to the Arctic Circle to complete the refit! 😂 Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
The best thing to do with in mast furling - is to change it to slab reefing :-)
Hi. Great videos. Just wondering what the specs for the engine bay insulation were? Eg is a temperature limit of 180 degrees Celsius sufficient?
Hi David, I'm confident the insulation will work in this application. The thermostat on the engine operates well below 100 degrees C so the engine should never get to that temperature. I will also be ordering a stapler and some stainless steel staples, and will go around the insulation stapling it at 25 cm intervals just to double up on the adhesion to the wood panels behind. Fair winds! Chris 👍 (and Rossella & Emma) 😊
Thanks Chris,
I was just checking as it is something we are looking at doing also and wanted to make sure there weren't specific requirements regarding temperature.
Keep up the good work!
Dave
One concern. Can you confirm that the black mess in your bilge is old sound proofing? I am worried about mold with your little girl around. She makes me smile and you are a lucky man.
Hi Tom, it was definitely insulation. A couple of days ago I tasted the water in the bilge to help me do some fault finding... I'm still alive and kicking so I think we'll be fine! Fair winds, Chris (and Rossella & Emma) 😊
Are you able to adapt the Hoover nozzle to inflate the Dinghy? Also noticed you didn't mention the small tub being used as a tell-tale for your anti siphon valve. Best get a kit www.keypart.com/stock/875738-r and give it a service. Cheers Bill
Hi Bill, yes I'm pretty sure we can inflate the dinghy with the vacuum cleaner (it should be pretty quick too!). The anti-siphon valve works as it should (Tested with water flow and by blowing into it) but, as the kit you linked to costs just £4, it's probably a good idea to fit a new diaphragm kit... 👍 Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Inverted comas? Ohh you mean quotation marks, or in the case of the gesture, Air quotes.
en.oxforddictionaries.com/punctuation/inverted-commas-quotation-marks
Sailing Britaly TIL another thing that brittish people use a different word for. Is the gesture still air quotes, or is it air inverted comas?
Today I learned what TIL means! We can learn from each other 👍 Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Cheers
Cheers! 😊👍
cool
👍
I hate to be negative, but the fact that the visible bolt heads are fine does not insure there is no crevice corrosion.
The only way to be sure is to remove at least one bolt. Otherwise it's just wishful thinking.
Hi Rick, yes I know that (I went into great detail talking about crevice corrosion in this video). In our latest video I removed a keel bolt for inspection. Fair winds, Chris 👍
Wi ked hoover thanks you need to service thT motor in the mAst
we call them 'shop vacs' on this side of the pond :-) was it actually made by Hoover or were you using that as a generic name for vacuum cleaners? (bad boy)
HI Sean, the in-mast furler consists of bearings and crown gears, which we have lubricated with PTFE spray. We will ask someone with this kind of system to have a look at our set-up and give us some advice on the boat, as we do have a lot to learn with it. Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Hi Iain, in the UK lots of people refer to vacuum cleaners as 'Hoovers' after one of the best known original manufacturers. Similarly we call hose clamps 'Jubilee Clips', which you will probably hear me say in our videos... Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Lead is the ONLY way to go...
Dangerous putting your sails up when in a cradle or propped ashore
Hi Frank, we respect your opinion but beg to differ that this is 'dangerous'. There is a risk assessment to be made based on many factors, including the quality of the cradle - and ground below it - and the weather conditions during the operation. In our case we were on a very well built 6 leg yacht cradle, on hard ground, in relatively light winds, so the operation was not dangerous in any way. Fair winds, Chris
I am rather surprised to see any A2 bolts in a boat instead of A4 bolts. Although it might not even be an issue. Even galvanized bolts are ofted used with cast iron keels, as the threads in the keel itself are most likely corrosion-wise the weakest point in the setup.
Hi Samu, I was very surprised to discover that our keel bolts are made from 304 stainless steel. Watch our next video to see what happens next... :-) Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma 😊
Never purchase a boat with an iron ballast! EVER!!!
Hey bro
It's nice to see another Christian skipper sharing their experiences
You should share a little of your faith too
Tell us what scriptures you read today
You will be amazed how God will honour you...
Lip sync is out by a mile
Really? Looks ok to us...
Sorry, got home viewed again all perfect, must of been the carrier or network. Thanks for the reply, regards/
No worries at all, if there was a problem you would have done us a favour by highlighting it. Fair winds, Chris, Rossella & Emma