That kraken….I’ve never seen a more beautiful construction. Can’t imagine the luxury. I also thought that was a bit of sly humor showing Steve fixing the black water pump out on fair isle immediately after showing the gleaming kraken. But yes a Hans Christian is homey.. traditional teak. But if I did have money to burn I’d have that kraken.
The Kraken boltless keel, skeg-protected rudder, layout and finish are indeed impressive. Really like the head and especially galley design, which seems highly useable and practical. The inside watch station has great sightlines. The keel and rudder should perform relatively well, sort of a medium aspect ratio. Overall the design seems very well informed by knowledge and experience while also being very pretty, possessing both form and function.
Have seen many videos on The Krakens and Dick is a great ambassador for the brand. They are lovely and seem to be well built, but comparing Fair Isle to one is unrealistic. Fair Isle has got much more character, is beautifully finished and the interior woodwork is a dream. Having all the bells and whistles is one thing, but would one awaken the emotions that Fair Isle does 👍
I can see why you two love your boat and why the Kracken might be a great new boat if desired. It is in the details isn't it. And easy and si.plicity of use that often in design is most beautiful.. oh how I wish I could ride awhile on a boat even half as glorious as Faor Isle... You are very blessed and thanks for sharing
I had the tour of Kraken Number 1 with Dick when we were neighbours berthed in Palma a while ago, well built yacht and very practical. I recall an incident colliding with a submerged something (whale maybe) at full speed, at night, and in a remote location where the keel config played it's part. Good the see they are going well @KrakenYachts ... Steve, the new hair is a great improvement, Judy perfection is tough to improve upon!
Well if you aren't the epitome of fine, experienced sailors! What a lovely couple, glad to have stumbled across your Channel! I look forward to seeing you under Sail.
Hi to you both,I know that it has already been said that the Kraken is a well built and beautiful boat…but Fair Isle has THE older look STYLE with the addition of the character that you have both put into her…having watched your videos since you left The UK,the love that you feel for her shows with the care you take over her appearance.cheers.Roly🇬🇧
Thanks Roly, yes we wouldn't swap her. To my eye the low freeboard of boats like Fair Isle is what I like but many may prefer the modern lines of a Kraken. And as nice as the interior is of the Kraken and many other high end boats, none can have a fully solid wood teak interior any more, it's just prohibitively expensive to make.
When you said you found a better boat, I figured it was a Kracken. I agree, it’s a fantastic boat, but if I had to pick one…it would be Fair Isle…with you maintaining her. 😂😂😂👍👍👍
Oh I let you know a fair few months ago that you were not far from The Kraken…. Also know as Dick Beaumont! So great you were able to hook up with him and share his fascinating boat desig philosophy! Love the videos thank you for putting all you talent and passion into making them for us, Matt
Hi Steve and Judy , I love your videos and really could not be accused of being jealous of your life style and Fair Isle ! Well a bit , lol. I took my young family years ago to a Welsh seaside town on a lovely sunny day . Just as the light was fading in came the rain , it was Wales after all . So we had something to eat until the rain stopped . So we returned to the car , a very white Renault 5 . The car was not white now though , the rain had carried dessert sand from the Sahara which has iron oxide particles it . The car was pink , like an SAS Landrover ! I had to use the kids toy buckets several times to carry water to clean off the windscreen . All the best and I cannot wait for your next video .
It is a fantastic boat with a lot less bright work, for four times the price of FI. I am wondering if the encapsulated keel is lead. Great light and style and seems like a hardy build. The one major drawback of all center cockpit boats (from the point of view of the chef) is the galley on the side. I much prefer the forward facing galley integral with the saloon, so the chef can socialize. Also I prefer the saloon forward rather than a companionway that drops directly into the saloon. But, who's kidding, if money were a non-issue... We too are scheming on fitting a washing machine and are looking at the wall mounted Daewoo Mini. Thank you for posting.
I agree with all that. We like our little galley in the saloon , I can reach over and grab the wine from the counter top while still sitting! Judy would kill to have space for for a fridge / freezer like that though. We are looking at the Daewoo too. Bloody expensive though.
In my opinion, the Kraken may be a great blue water boat, but I wouldn't swap the warmth and craftmanship of Fair Isle for two of them. Plus would you really want to go through fitting all the upgrades on to a Kraken that you have done, again.
Kraken is a dream boat and thus expensive. There are others for liveaboards, such as Dutch aluminium boats that are also very sea worthy. But your boat has much more charm and good enough for the Med. After Turkey you can check out Greece, lots of islands there.
Fair Isle is not the ideal Med boat, she is made for the open ocean and is very good at that. We love Greece and will enjoy sailing the islands again on the way out and Trade wind sailing.
Any boat is a compromise… Kraken with Dick Baumont’s design is definitely an excellent choice for a cruising family. I have sailed several Hallberg Rassy vessels and really appreciate the design, kindly motion at sea and service available more or less anywhere with such popular boats My own research looking for a boat for live aboard voyaging, including high latitudes, led me to Makkum in the Netherlands with K&M yachts and other builders specialising in aluminium boats. The ease of customisation and robustness of aluminium is a huge advantage over moulded boats
I agree, everything is a compromise. We're currently in touch with Paul and Cheryl from Distant Shores who are in the Netherlands at the moment starting the build of their new aluminium yacht. I looked into aluminium as well when we were buying Fair Isle but dismissed the idea as we didn't have the money for a new boat and I wouldn't want a second hand aluminium boat as it's very difficult to know how it's been kept. This is something that came up just yesterday while visiting some Patreons with an aluminium boat here in Gocek. Even after being very careful with a full survey it turns out areas of the hull were down to less than 0.5mm in places due to historic electrolysis problems. He had to replace much of the hull at great expense!
@@svfairisle A lot of people think that aluminium is “maintenance free” which it almost is… although periodic maintenance and inspections are just as important as on any other vehicle. Strictly speaking, “Electrolysis” is not a technical term… Aluminium can be affected by galvanic corrosion or by electrolytic corrosion, both more often than not caused by poor maintenance of the sacrificial anodes or poor installation and maintenance of onboard electrical systems. I have seen some older aluminium boats that were built with low quality aluminium that really look more like a sieve than a boat… Any reputable builders will be using marine grade aluminium and periodically doing their own tests and inspections of materials from suppliers.
Yes I’m sure what you say about aluminium is true, it’s a great material if properly built and maintained, but I’ve seen enough boats with problems. Usually it seems caused by stray current from electrical systems fitted by people who don’t understand the damage that can be caused by not isolating everything from the hull properly. I’m sure it wouldn’t be beyond the wit of most people to get on top of that with your own boat if an aluminium boat is what you want.
Steve: Release the Kraken! Judy: I found the washer! Fish farming can also have a huge environment impact much like animal feed lots. It’s an industry that’s gone off the regulatory rails in many countries. Dirt rain? That’s a new one.
>"Dirt rain? That’s a new one." Every so often in the UK, we'll get Saharan sand storms that blow up across the Med and come down in a rain storm. We had one earlier this year but I cant find the photos I sent to a friend at the time but everything was coated!
Any new boat is going to be out of reach for us mere mortals, Kraken compare well with other ‘top end’ boats that aren’t as capable. What it means though is there will still be some ocean going second hand boats available in the future that take the place of Hans Christians, Island packets etc as they go out of service.
@@svfairisle Hi Steve and Judy! A bit off topic, but could you share the cost of marinas in Turkey? I tried looking online, but the way they state them is more than a bit confusing. Thank you!
Kraken does look a lovely boat, but Fair Isle has the history and character. Great to see you using the new Meteomatics Mix in savvy navvy too. Hope you're finding the weather upgrade useful. It's a unique feature in the leisure boating world with over 26 global models. Would love your thoughts. David
Kraker yachts those Krakins BUT on a delivery (4000 miles) on a 505 Hanse i found the sliding F/F a pain in the but IF they are port to starboard in a seaway , They should be For to Aft as the weight when full becomes a problem on a healed boat , Lucky the Hanse has a self tacker so we could tack for a minute to get the milk out for a coffee , One crew did serious damage to her toes from the freezer sliding open , We set up a bunji cord to help .
That’s a very good point. I would think the Kraken will be a much stiffer boat than the Hanse though so maybe not as bad? The new owner is a Patreon so I’m sure I’ll get the low down.
First time you have come up on my RUclips recommendations for over 18 months, was a big follower and glad you both doing well and still chilling.good video.
For all the things that the Kraken is and might be, I can't move beyond Fair Isle's aesthetics. If my belief structure wasn't such as it is, I would proclaim Fair Isle to be God's own design. What a beautiful, beautiful yacht you have.
@@svfairisle Yes it does and once people have found their spot they're very reluctant to leave. So they have a Migros supermarket boat, an ice cream boat, a bread and fruit & vegetable boat and a pump out and rubbish collection boat that comes around every day.
Encapsulated keels are certainly hard to engineer but are the most trustworthy option by some margin. The modern Rustler is actually one of the closest to the Kraken keel, well the 37 & 42 anyway, the ones with encapsulated keels.
Well part of this, and something I will be looking into in the tech special, is that manufacturers like Oyster, Hallberg Rassy etc seem to be loosing their way. The pull to compete with production boats that are really marina queens so have cockpits to throw a party and cabins to sleep them afterwards, seems to be spreading to the quality 'blue water' boats. There's only so long some of these guys can live off their name if they continue down that road I think.
The problem is the Med is dead - was so when I sailed in 1993 . Very little fish - Cousteau taught us that - problem is that all water comes through Straights of Gibraltar
As always a brilliant video. I loved the look around the Kraken, although I still say Fair Isle is better looking. I was wondering, as you sail into Bodrum marina, there was a wooden boat being cleaned. What sort of boat was that? I've never seen one like that before and it looked very traditional.
Yes it was a Gulet, it’s a traditional wooden Turkish boat. They are usually schooners & these days are used for tourist trips. Bodrum and Marmaris has hundreds
@Sailing Fair Isle: how happy are you with your stern mounted radar? im considering installing the radar like that, gimbaled as well. would be great to have real life feedback. Kraken are outstanding boats, perhaps a classic in the making due to the unique tech involved, but Fair Isle is a classic now, and far more beautiful, personally.
Yes the stern mounted radar is excellent. It requires the long stainless tube that runs up the backstay to mount it on which would be expensive to make, but it's definitely the best place to put your radar & easy to gimbal. Only down side is we sometimes get a shadow on the solar
the Cracken and others, why dont they design berths that actually have the portlight just above your head so the tropical breeze flows down you body? it can be done even if its via an outside cockpitt locker. no good having it in the deck above you as the airflows over your feet if youre lucky. one other thing bring the nav screen closer to the helm chair so when you operate the screen you dont bang your head on the bulkhead. details
I agree good ventilation is very important, I like our opening port holes on Fair isle, maybe the idea with Kraken is to use the Air Con? They do have an opening port hole in the master cabin that opens into the cockpit so it's sheltered and can be left open in a tropical downpour. However the thing that I really like about the way they do things is that it's constantly evolving. Dick can't help himself from being involved even though he would rather be sailing and retired. He was there to test the boat and still has his black book, now in electric form, to update and improve on ideas. The inside nav station may be one of them, I know he was having discussions on seat placement.
Innovative, indeed worth a few notes, but way too big for me. Even your HC, which I have met 3 on my travels, all the owners catching up with their varnish work, too high maintenance for me. I may trade out of my 365 ketch and build a 10m power tri around a pilothouse concept not dissimilar to a Grand Banks but on 3 hulls with a great cabin aft. I guess we all have dreams ....
@@svfairisle I was being sarcastic LOL. I know what a dorade is , I have a Bristol . Love my dorades , nowadays I get asked what they are for all the time . That and Bensons Bars or just Bensons .
Fish farms are really not good. The fish are packed in and have to have treatments to stop them having fungal problems etc. There’s lots or run off & damage to the area they are in
Well neither are great! The main problem with fish farms is the fact they pack them in to such an extent they have to use masses of chemicals, fungicides etc to try & fight off disease. You end up with loads of this in the water along with excess food and fish poo. If fish farms are in place too long everything around them dies. If you’ve ever anchored in a bay with fish farms you wouldn’t be a fan!
I don't get it? I have been noticing lately that many sailors have de-emphasized their mainsails. In some cases to the point where the main is the first sail to come down and the last to go up.
Well this is only on dead down wind sailing & actually is a good way of doing things in lots of ways, i'll dive into this a bit on the tech video. Actually a true cutter like Fair Isle is the way to emphasise the main. The mast is set further back on a cutter so you have a smaller main & room for 2 head sails. The Craken actually has a tall mast and a powerful mainsail. This means you really need power winches to cope with that and the large headsails, if you're not going down the powered route then cutters win for me every time, but I have to say i was swayed somewhat by the Solent rig.
@@svfairisle You will be hard pressed to convince me of this being a good way. I look forward to debating the justification. A couple of things that come to mind; When the going gets tough as it often does, a reefed mainsails is a friend. And without it, your options are severely limited. For one thing without the main up, you can’t heave-to. What if you had to sail closer than 90 degrees to the wind when it’s blowing is not possible without the mainsail set. With that said, a number of sailors, and many that I respect, advocate taking the main down when the wind is aft and carrying on under one, or even two, boomed out headsails. I agree that the dangers of not having the main up in this situation are less than when not near land, but most certainly not when inshore. Even offshore, I still like to have the mainsail up, primarily because of the ease of heaving-to at a moment’s notice and also using the main to blanket the asymmetrical for hoist and deploy. I also find that the boat balances very nicely(COE) with the jib poled out on one side and the main controlled by a proper preventer on the other. Or better yet, nothing beats blasting along VMG sailing under main, Asym or code sail.
Hey you're preaching to the converted, I'm a cutter fan through and through for many of the reasons you've said I have to say though that I liked the Solent rig more than I though I would and Dick has done way more trade wind sailing than me so you've got to respect his decision to go that way.
@@svfairisle Dead downwind sailing is certainly a challenge and one I prefer to avoid. To be honest Dick's background is far more impressive as a business man and boat builder than performance sailor. There is also the comfort factor which I find all important on a long passage. When your are rolling gunwale to gunwale and the crew is pucking their guts out and wife is screaming she will never do a long passage again might give one pause.
Hi Walter, If you mean Split, Croatia then no we won’t go back to Croatia, but we may end up near to it as we will need to spend some time out of Schengen on the way out of the med and Albania and Montenegro are both good options.
Ha! Well young man perhaps as you grow up you’ll get yourself and education? Here’s a start… there are many types of fog, Radiation fog, Valley fog, Orographic fog, Convection fog, Evaporation fog to name a few. Sea fog is usually Advection fog, but what they all have in common is that they are a blanket form of saturated air with the possible exception of Hill/Valley fog which can just be clouds running up the hill. Clouds, Fog, Mist, all different thing, now run along and do you homework!
It's true we won't be seeing too many, but that's nothing to do with the price, it's because they will only be making In fact they are cheaper than other yachts that people might choose like the Oyster 495 for instance... although maybe the word cheap shouldn't be used in a sentence where you're talking about almost a million dollars!
If I had about a million bucks laying around that's what I'd get. But I don't and Dick can be somewhat of, shall I say his namesake, when describing other boat builders, sooo..
Having spent quite a bit of time with Dick I can tell you it's just enthusiasm for what he's doing. You'll see from the further interviews we have with him he absolutely understands that just because a boat has a bolt on keel and twin rudders it doesn't make it a bad boat, just a boat for a different purpose than his.
Regarding the fish farming, questions of cruelty, sanitation, and environmental effects side, with all of our factory protein farming globally a pressing question is one of nutrition. Are fish, beef, chickens, eggs, or pigs fed with artificial grain and silage based feed as nutritious as if they're truly free ranging. I'd say probably not. It will have an unhealthy omega 3 vs Omega 6 profile, sand lack many nutrients. It's the same thing with the industrial agriculture of making so many processed foods from GMO corn, wheat, and soybeans grown in soil void of life from pesticides and fed with chemical fertilizers, but missing trace elements and other key nutrients. It's not a wonder that we're opulent but also sick. Especially in the US where we don't have much in the way of food purity laws. We spend lots of money on "food" that is only loosely "food" and is killing us slowly. Everyone should have an organic garden, if only in containers, just so we don't forget what real food tastes like. If you get the opportunity to butcher and eat a heritage breed hog raised humanely and free to forage, I highly recommend it. Heaven on a plate. If this topic interests you, look at Joel Salatin's books on agriculture. The huberus of man always bites us in the butt. With our depleted or unbalanced gut microbiomes and inflamed malnourished bodies it's not a wonder that we have a real epidemic of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes globally along with cancers and Alzheimer's.
Thanks for the recommendation, I will certain look out the book. I completely agree we are making big trouble for ourselves farming the way we do. In my opinion arable and animal farming must not be separated. We need mixed farms so that the manure can be used in the soil for crops and smaller areas of different crops can be rotated. It's difficult because we have too many people to feed and the focus is always on obtaining cheap food. Food needs to be something that people are happy and able use more of their budget for.
@@svfairisle relative to organic farming and the use of a variety of animals to create abundance on a small plot, I love the book called The New Self Sufficient Gardener by John Seymour. He gardened in Wales I believe. Great book on raised beds and intensive agriculture if you can find a copy. Could be a fun pursuit if and when you ever become land lubbers again.
I know something about fish farms: The capture of migrating tuna for farming is a bloody affair, with the loss of thousands of fish but the profit is so high that no not cares. So much for susteinability.
So you are *appalled by fish farms?* Well, not every family father has the financial means (as you do) to feed his family with free swimming fish. Also, if every fathers did that, the oceans upon you sail so marry and effortlessly would be empty of free fish. Well in most parts of the world they are already empty so I suggest you literarily dive more into the problem of farms vs overfishing before you come with such blatant comments.
Sounds like the type of person who is not appalled by the sight (and smell) of caged poultry or caged pig raising. Fish farming has many of the same problems, including the need to control disease with large doses of chemicals. Free roaming fish may or may not be happier than penned farmed tuna without room to roam but while maybe farming is needed it maybe should be handled a little differently.
Really? Constant referrals to Turkey and to “the Greek island of Kos” (as in being shrouded in mist) were not big enough hints for you, not to mention the maps! My mother’s words come to mind: “Far better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
I had the tour of Kraken Number 1 with Dick when we were neighbours berthed in Palma a while ago, well built yacht and very practical. I recall an incident colliding with a submerged something (whale maybe) at full speed, at night, and in a remote location where the keel config played it's part. Good the see they are going well @KrakenYachts ... Steve, the new hair is a great improvement, Judy perfection is tough to improve upon!
That would have been White Dragon you saw, she’s a big boat! The 50’s are an evolution of that and improving all the time. The whale Dick hit was actually in his old long keeled boat, not a Kraken, but it’s part of what prompted him the build the way he does. He sailed on but realised it was only because of the way the boat was built and an unprotected rudder would have been gone. I know of three people now that have hit whales hard, more common that you think!.., don’t worry though Paul, your X-Yacht would fly over it!
That kraken….I’ve never seen a more beautiful construction. Can’t imagine the luxury. I also thought that was a bit of sly humor showing Steve fixing the black water pump out on fair isle immediately after showing the gleaming kraken. But yes a Hans Christian is homey.. traditional teak. But if I did have money to burn I’d have that kraken.
The Kraken boltless keel, skeg-protected rudder, layout and finish are indeed impressive. Really like the head and especially galley design, which seems highly useable and practical. The inside watch station has great sightlines. The keel and rudder should perform relatively well, sort of a medium aspect ratio. Overall the design seems very well informed by knowledge and experience while also being very pretty, possessing both form and function.
Have seen many videos on The Krakens and Dick is a great ambassador for the brand. They are lovely and seem to be well built, but comparing Fair Isle to one is unrealistic. Fair Isle has got much more character, is beautifully finished and the interior woodwork is a dream. Having all the bells and whistles is one thing, but would one awaken the emotions that Fair Isle does 👍
We agree and won’t be swapping!
I can see why you two love your boat and why the Kracken might be a great new boat if desired. It is in the details isn't it. And easy and si.plicity of use that often in design is most beautiful.. oh how I wish I could ride awhile on a boat even half as glorious as Faor Isle... You are very blessed and thanks for sharing
That's how you berth your boat folks, no need for panic or shouting, nice one Steve.
Hope you guys are OK back on the little 48.....
Susan & Tony here, We just love your channel. It is great to see you weekly. Thx
I had the tour of Kraken Number 1 with Dick when we were neighbours berthed in Palma a while ago, well built yacht and very practical. I recall an incident colliding with a submerged something (whale maybe) at full speed, at night, and in a remote location where the keel config played it's part. Good the see they are going well @KrakenYachts ... Steve, the new hair is a great improvement, Judy perfection is tough to improve upon!
Thank you for taking us along.
Well if you aren't the epitome of fine, experienced sailors! What a lovely couple, glad to have stumbled across your Channel! I look forward to seeing you under Sail.
Well done video ,again
The Kraken looks good, Judy looks as lovely as ever! Looking forward to sharing your adventures this summer. Stay safe
Hi to you both,I know that it has already been said that the Kraken is a well built and beautiful boat…but Fair Isle has THE older look STYLE with the addition of the character that you have both put into her…having watched your videos since you left The UK,the love that you feel for her shows with the care you take over her appearance.cheers.Roly🇬🇧
Thanks Roly, yes we wouldn't swap her. To my eye the low freeboard of boats like Fair Isle is what I like but many may prefer the modern lines of a Kraken. And as nice as the interior is of the Kraken and many other high end boats, none can have a fully solid wood teak interior any more, it's just prohibitively expensive to make.
@@svfairisle it is a wise decision I think,sticking with what you know and love.
When you said you found a better boat, I figured it was a Kracken. I agree, it’s a fantastic boat, but if I had to pick one…it would be Fair Isle…with you maintaining her. 😂😂😂👍👍👍
Oh I let you know a fair few months ago that you were not far from The Kraken…. Also know as Dick Beaumont! So great you were able to hook up with him and share his fascinating boat desig philosophy! Love the videos thank you for putting all you talent and passion into making them for us, Matt
Kraken .. would love one. Seen before and drooled over. Love the detail and practicality of the design. thanks
Hi Steve and Judy , I love your videos and really could not be accused of being jealous of your life style and Fair Isle ! Well a bit , lol.
I took my young family years ago to a Welsh seaside town on a lovely sunny day . Just as the light was fading in came the rain , it was Wales after all . So we had something to eat until the rain stopped . So we returned to the car , a very white Renault 5 . The car was not white now though , the rain had carried dessert sand from the Sahara which has iron oxide particles it . The car was pink , like an SAS Landrover ! I had to use the kids toy buckets several times to carry water to clean off the windscreen . All the best and I cannot wait for your next video .
Wow, reached all the way to Wales, impressive!
Lovely boats well thought out. Personally teak decks require alot of maintenance
Yes they do
That Kraken is a lovely solid boat
It is a fantastic boat with a lot less bright work, for four times the price of FI. I am wondering if the encapsulated keel is lead. Great light and style and seems like a hardy build. The one major drawback of all center cockpit boats (from the point of view of the chef) is the galley on the side. I much prefer the forward facing galley integral with the saloon, so the chef can socialize. Also I prefer the saloon forward rather than a companionway that drops directly into the saloon. But, who's kidding, if money were a non-issue... We too are scheming on fitting a washing machine and are looking at the wall mounted Daewoo Mini. Thank you for posting.
I agree with all that. We like our little galley in the saloon , I can reach over and grab the wine from the counter top while still sitting! Judy would kill to have space for for a fridge / freezer like that though. We are looking at the Daewoo too. Bloody expensive though.
In my opinion, the Kraken may be a great blue water boat, but I wouldn't swap the warmth and craftmanship of Fair Isle for two of them.
Plus would you really want to go through fitting all the upgrades on to a Kraken that you have done, again.
Looking forward to your views on the Solent rig and to revisiting some of the southern Turkish anchorages we have explored in years gone by 😊
Just came across your Channel, subscribed, great video n catch up, cheers from Vancouver Canada
That is the brightest moon I have ever seen 0:19.
Another Great insight into your life aboard, got to say that the Kraken looks fantastic, but Fair Isle has character….. Enjoy your summer in Turkey.
Love your video. Such pretty scenery !!!
Love Krakan yachts ... love them ...
Kraken is a dream boat and thus expensive. There are others for liveaboards, such as Dutch aluminium boats that are also very sea worthy. But your boat has much more charm and good enough for the Med. After Turkey you can check out Greece, lots of islands there.
Fair Isle is not the ideal Med boat, she is made for the open ocean and is very good at that. We love Greece and will enjoy sailing the islands again on the way out and Trade wind sailing.
Any boat is a compromise… Kraken with Dick Baumont’s design is definitely an excellent choice for a cruising family. I have sailed several Hallberg Rassy vessels and really appreciate the design, kindly motion at sea and service available more or less anywhere with such popular boats
My own research looking for a boat for live aboard voyaging, including high latitudes, led me to Makkum in the Netherlands with K&M yachts and other builders specialising in aluminium boats. The ease of customisation and robustness of aluminium is a huge advantage over moulded boats
I agree, everything is a compromise. We're currently in touch with Paul and Cheryl from Distant Shores who are in the Netherlands at the moment starting the build of their new aluminium yacht. I looked into aluminium as well when we were buying Fair Isle but dismissed the idea as we didn't have the money for a new boat and I wouldn't want a second hand aluminium boat as it's very difficult to know how it's been kept. This is something that came up just yesterday while visiting some Patreons with an aluminium boat here in Gocek. Even after being very careful with a full survey it turns out areas of the hull were down to less than 0.5mm in places due to historic electrolysis problems. He had to replace much of the hull at great expense!
@@svfairisle A lot of people think that aluminium is “maintenance free” which it almost is… although periodic maintenance and inspections are just as important as on any other vehicle.
Strictly speaking, “Electrolysis” is not a technical term… Aluminium can be affected by galvanic corrosion or by electrolytic corrosion, both more often than not caused by poor maintenance of the sacrificial anodes or poor installation and maintenance of onboard electrical systems. I have seen some older aluminium boats that were built with low quality aluminium that really look more like a sieve than a boat… Any reputable builders will be using marine grade aluminium and periodically doing their own tests and inspections of materials from suppliers.
Yes I’m sure what you say about aluminium is true, it’s a great material if properly built and maintained, but I’ve seen enough boats with problems. Usually it seems caused by stray current from electrical systems fitted by people who don’t understand the damage that can be caused by not isolating everything from the hull properly. I’m sure it wouldn’t be beyond the wit of most people to get on top of that with your own boat if an aluminium boat is what you want.
Steve: Release the Kraken!
Judy: I found the washer!
Fish farming can also have a huge environment impact much like animal feed lots. It’s an industry that’s gone off the regulatory rails in many countries.
Dirt rain? That’s a new one.
>"Dirt rain? That’s a new one."
Every so often in the UK, we'll get Saharan sand storms that blow up across the Med and come down in a rain storm. We had one earlier this year but I cant find the photos I sent to a friend at the time but everything was coated!
I love Kraken !!!
The Kraken boats are amazing. I have watched several videos on them. True go anywhere boat. To bad no one is making that style for us mere mortals.
Any new boat is going to be out of reach for us mere mortals, Kraken compare well with other ‘top end’ boats that aren’t as capable. What it means though is there will still be some ocean going second hand boats available in the future that take the place of Hans Christians, Island packets etc as they go out of service.
@@svfairisle Hi Steve and Judy! A bit off topic, but could you share the cost of marinas in Turkey? I tried looking online, but the way they state them is more than a bit confusing. Thank you!
Don't think the perfect boat actually exists. But from what you've shown us of Fair Isle, she seems pretty close :)
Looking forward to the Tech corner video
Some nice features that are also available on other boats with a much smaller price tag? Sail Safe Guys, Ant & Cid.
Probably but the overall sail of the Kraken is lovely. If you had the money and wanted a new boat? Not relevant for us!
Get the cheque book out Steve. 😂. Few purchases for Fair Isle methinks. 👍
Kraken does look a lovely boat, but Fair Isle has the history and character. Great to see you using the new Meteomatics Mix in savvy navvy too. Hope you're finding the weather upgrade useful. It's a unique feature in the leisure boating world with over 26 global models. Would love your thoughts. David
Kraker yachts those Krakins BUT on a delivery (4000 miles) on a 505 Hanse i found the sliding F/F a pain in the but IF they are port to starboard in a seaway , They should be For to Aft as the weight when full becomes a problem on a healed boat , Lucky the Hanse has a self tacker so we could tack for a minute to get the milk out for a coffee , One crew did serious damage to her toes from the freezer sliding open , We set up a bunji cord to help .
That’s a very good point. I would think the Kraken will be a much stiffer boat than the Hanse though so maybe not as bad? The new owner is a Patreon so I’m sure I’ll get the low down.
@@svfairisle All yachts are small in good sea way but your right the weight factor will make the movement easier .
Great content as always guys. Keep up the good work .👍
Sailing Millenial Falcon also did a couple of films on the Kracken and went for a sail for a few days with Dick on one.
if I hit the lotto, I'm getting a Kraken.
First time you have come up on my RUclips recommendations for over 18 months, was a big follower and glad you both doing well and still chilling.good video.
Arh, the vagaries of RUclips!
For all the things that the Kraken is and might be, I can't move beyond Fair Isle's aesthetics. If my belief structure wasn't such as it is, I would proclaim Fair Isle to be God's own design. What a beautiful, beautiful yacht you have.
I release the Kraken every morning when I leave a dump.
Great video. There was a fantastic Indian restaurant in Bodrum when we were last there.
Good grief, and you tell me that now that we’ve left!!!
@@svfairisle Sorry. I suspected you might have but hoped you hadn’t. It was like finding an oasis in the desert except it served freezing cold lager!
Well, “Fair Isle” has class. By the way, if you go into Gokova, suggest to visit Kucuk Cati bay on the south side.
Hi Salim We missed it this time round as we went straight south but we visit on the way back. It looks lovely
Great episode!
The anchorage at Gümüşlük is quite tight and don't even consider it at the height of summer.
Yes we’re looking forward to getting to Goecek tomorrow, I gather that area gets busy in the summer too.
@@svfairisle Yes it does and once people have found their spot they're very reluctant to leave. So they have a Migros supermarket boat, an ice cream boat, a bread and fruit & vegetable boat and a pump out and rubbish collection boat that comes around every day.
An encapsulated modern fin keel is a very strange beast, hard to engineer and not to be trusted. Hardly the same as a Rustler.
Encapsulated keels are certainly hard to engineer but are the most trustworthy option by some margin. The modern Rustler is actually one of the closest to the Kraken keel, well the 37 & 42 anyway, the ones with encapsulated keels.
@@svfairisle I respectfully disagree.
Kraken's appear to be very good. Up there with Oyster etc
Well part of this, and something I will be looking into in the tech special, is that manufacturers like Oyster, Hallberg Rassy etc seem to be loosing their way. The pull to compete with production boats that are really marina queens so have cockpits to throw a party and cabins to sleep them afterwards, seems to be spreading to the quality 'blue water' boats. There's only so long some of these guys can live off their name if they continue down that road I think.
Lekker man lekker 🇿🇦
The problem is the Med is dead - was so when I sailed in 1993 . Very little fish - Cousteau taught us that - problem is that all water comes through Straights of Gibraltar
What is the significance of water coming through Gibraltar?
@@judyaslett2it’s an easy trap for fisherman to catch all the migratory fish. I think that’s what he means.
As always a brilliant video. I loved the look around the Kraken, although I still say Fair Isle is better looking. I was wondering, as you sail into Bodrum marina, there was a wooden boat being cleaned. What sort of boat was that? I've never seen one like that before and it looked very traditional.
Yes it was a Gulet, it’s a traditional wooden Turkish boat. They are usually schooners & these days are used for tourist trips. Bodrum and Marmaris has hundreds
@@svfairisle Best Gulet of them all in Bodrum is "Capricorn 1", check her out online. We chartered her in Croatia and she and her crew were exemplary.
I would prefer an Amel 53 or 54😃😃
Just have the Amel for the weekends and a Kraken for the expeditions ;)
@@svfairisle as long as you guys are happy🙏🙏
Outremer? Or use a Grinde 27😂😂😂
Use=just😁
@Sailing Fair Isle: how happy are you with your stern mounted radar? im considering installing the radar like that, gimbaled as well. would be great to have real life feedback.
Kraken are outstanding boats, perhaps a classic in the making due to the unique tech involved, but Fair Isle is a classic now, and far more beautiful, personally.
Yes the stern mounted radar is excellent. It requires the long stainless tube that runs up the backstay to mount it on which would be expensive to make, but it's definitely the best place to put your radar & easy to gimbal. Only down side is we sometimes get a shadow on the solar
@@svfairisle great. indeed reassuring of my choice.
the Cracken and others, why dont they design berths that actually have the portlight just above your head so the tropical breeze flows down you body? it can be done even if its via an outside cockpitt locker. no good having it in the deck above you as the airflows over your feet if youre lucky. one other thing bring the nav screen closer to the helm chair so when you operate the screen you dont bang your head on the bulkhead. details
I agree good ventilation is very important, I like our opening port holes on Fair isle, maybe the idea with Kraken is to use the Air Con? They do have an opening port hole in the master cabin that opens into the cockpit so it's sheltered and can be left open in a tropical downpour. However the thing that I really like about the way they do things is that it's constantly evolving. Dick can't help himself from being involved even though he would rather be sailing and retired. He was there to test the boat and still has his black book, now in electric form, to update and improve on ideas. The inside nav station may be one of them, I know he was having discussions on seat placement.
Innovative, indeed worth a few notes, but way too big for me. Even your HC, which I have met 3 on my travels, all the owners catching up with their varnish work, too high maintenance for me. I may trade out of my 365 ketch and build a 10m power tri around a pilothouse concept not dissimilar to a Grand Banks but on 3 hulls with a great cabin aft. I guess we all have dreams ....
There's no such thing as the perfect boat!
The Kraken is nice, but not a patch on Fair Isle
Didn't you find an awful lot of vinyl for bulkheads in there, you know what that will look like in 10 years. Mold garden
I think the biggest factor by far with mold is ventilation, a lot of production boats are built without dorades these days, a very bad move!
@@svfairisle Yes and I have seen moisture get in behind the vinyl to the foam that supports it and make a big mess . Dorades ? what are those ??
@@svsalserenity4375 trumpet shaped vent on the deck that lets in/out air but not water
@@svfairisle I was being sarcastic LOL. I know what a dorade is , I have a Bristol . Love my dorades , nowadays I get asked what they are for all the time . That and Bensons Bars or just Bensons .
what are the caged fish being feed, is it as healthy as sea feed fish?
Fish farms are really not good. The fish are packed in and have to have treatments to stop them having fungal problems etc. There’s lots or run off & damage to the area they are in
She's a beautiful boat but not Fair Isle.
Fair Isle is everything you need and more. 🤔👌🤗🌹
were you able to sail the Kracken
Yes. Next episode editing now….
Surely fish farms are better than the unsustainable ravaging of the world’s fish stocks we’ve seen over the past 50-odd years
Well neither are great! The main problem with fish farms is the fact they pack them in to such an extent they have to use masses of chemicals, fungicides etc to try & fight off disease. You end up with loads of this in the water along with excess food and fish poo. If fish farms are in place too long everything around them dies. If you’ve ever anchored in a bay with fish farms you wouldn’t be a fan!
No
I don't get it? I have been noticing lately that many sailors have de-emphasized their mainsails. In some cases to the point where the main is the first sail to come down and the last to go up.
Well this is only on dead down wind sailing & actually is a good way of doing things in lots of ways, i'll dive into this a bit on the tech video. Actually a true cutter like Fair Isle is the way to emphasise the main. The mast is set further back on a cutter so you have a smaller main & room for 2 head sails. The Craken actually has a tall mast and a powerful mainsail. This means you really need power winches to cope with that and the large headsails, if you're not going down the powered route then cutters win for me every time, but I have to say i was swayed somewhat by the Solent rig.
@@svfairisle You will be hard pressed to convince me of this being a good way. I look forward to debating the justification. A couple of things that come to mind; When the going gets tough as it often does, a reefed mainsails is a friend. And without it, your options are severely limited. For one thing without the main up, you can’t heave-to. What if you had to sail closer than 90 degrees to the wind when it’s blowing is not possible without the mainsail set. With that said, a number of sailors, and many that I respect, advocate taking the main down when the wind is aft and carrying on under one, or even two, boomed out headsails. I agree that the dangers of not having the main up in this situation are less than when not near land, but most certainly not when inshore. Even offshore, I still like to have the mainsail up, primarily because of the ease of heaving-to at a moment’s notice and also using the main to blanket the asymmetrical for hoist and deploy. I also find that the boat balances very nicely(COE) with the jib poled out on one side and the main controlled by a proper preventer on the other. Or better yet, nothing beats blasting along VMG sailing under main, Asym or code sail.
Hey you're preaching to the converted, I'm a cutter fan through and through for many of the reasons you've said I have to say though that I liked the Solent rig more than I though I would and Dick has done way more trade wind sailing than me so you've got to respect his decision to go that way.
@@svfairisle Dead downwind sailing is certainly a challenge and one I prefer to avoid. To be honest Dick's background is far more impressive as a business man and boat builder than performance sailor. There is also the comfort factor which I find all important on a long passage. When your are rolling gunwale to gunwale and the crew is pucking their guts out and wife is screaming she will never do a long passage again might give one pause.
No solar on this boat?
Not yet, I think the new owner might rectify that.
Are you stoping in Split?
Hi Walter, If you mean Split, Croatia then no we won’t go back to Croatia, but we may end up near to it as we will need to spend some time out of Schengen on the way out of the med and Albania and Montenegro are both good options.
Almost certainly will go to Montenegro
Nothing beats Fair Isle , can’t be compared to a Kraken .
👍👍
Did this guy just realise at age 70 that fog is actually low hanging clouds?
Ha! Well young man perhaps as you grow up you’ll get yourself and education? Here’s a start… there are many types of fog, Radiation fog, Valley fog, Orographic fog, Convection fog, Evaporation fog to name a few. Sea fog is usually Advection fog, but what they all have in common is that they are a blanket form of saturated air with the possible exception of Hill/Valley fog which can just be clouds running up the hill. Clouds, Fog, Mist, all different thing, now run along and do you homework!
✨💯✨
In the coming years, you'll like not see many Kraken boats. Not because they they are poor choices. They simply are too expensive.
It's true we won't be seeing too many, but that's nothing to do with the price, it's because they will only be making In fact they are cheaper than other yachts that people might choose like the Oyster 495 for instance... although maybe the word cheap shouldn't be used in a sentence where you're talking about almost a million dollars!
There is no better boat for me I think ...
If I had about a million bucks laying around that's what I'd get. But I don't and Dick can be somewhat of, shall I say his namesake, when describing other boat builders, sooo..
Having spent quite a bit of time with Dick I can tell you it's just enthusiasm for what he's doing. You'll see from the further interviews we have with him he absolutely understands that just because a boat has a bolt on keel and twin rudders it doesn't make it a bad boat, just a boat for a different purpose than his.
How dare you think there are better, prettier boats than a Hans Christian 😅😇
We don’t really think that. We do love our boat
Regarding the fish farming, questions of cruelty, sanitation, and environmental effects side, with all of our factory protein farming globally a pressing question is one of nutrition. Are fish, beef, chickens, eggs, or pigs fed with artificial grain and silage based feed as nutritious as if they're truly free ranging. I'd say probably not. It will have an unhealthy omega 3 vs Omega 6 profile, sand lack many nutrients. It's the same thing with the industrial agriculture of making so many processed foods from GMO corn, wheat, and soybeans grown in soil void of life from pesticides and fed with chemical fertilizers, but missing trace elements and other key nutrients. It's not a wonder that we're opulent but also sick. Especially in the US where we don't have much in the way of food purity laws. We spend lots of money on "food" that is only loosely "food" and is killing us slowly. Everyone should have an organic garden, if only in containers, just so we don't forget what real food tastes like. If you get the opportunity to butcher and eat a heritage breed hog raised humanely and free to forage, I highly recommend it. Heaven on a plate. If this topic interests you, look at Joel Salatin's books on agriculture. The huberus of man always bites us in the butt. With our depleted or unbalanced gut microbiomes and inflamed malnourished bodies it's not a wonder that we have a real epidemic of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes globally along with cancers and Alzheimer's.
Thanks for the recommendation, I will certain look out the book. I completely agree we are making big trouble for ourselves farming the way we do. In my opinion arable and animal farming must not be separated. We need mixed farms so that the manure can be used in the soil for crops and smaller areas of different crops can be rotated. It's difficult because we have too many people to feed and the focus is always on obtaining cheap food. Food needs to be something that people are happy and able use more of their budget for.
@@svfairisle relative to organic farming and the use of a variety of animals to create abundance on a small plot, I love the book called The New Self Sufficient Gardener by John Seymour. He gardened in Wales I believe. Great book on raised beds and intensive agriculture if you can find a copy. Could be a fun pursuit if and when you ever become land lubbers again.
I know something about fish farms: The capture of migrating tuna for farming is a bloody affair, with the loss of thousands of fish but the profit is so high that no not cares. So much for susteinability.
....why?
I have a better boat in every way Elley Grey sorry love my boat !
We all love our own boats!
So you are *appalled by fish farms?* Well, not every family father has the financial means (as you do) to feed his family with free swimming fish. Also, if every fathers did that, the oceans upon you sail so marry and effortlessly would be empty of free fish. Well in most parts of the world they are already empty so I suggest you literarily dive more into the problem of farms vs overfishing before you come with such blatant comments.
Sounds like the type of person who is not appalled by the sight (and smell) of caged poultry or caged pig raising. Fish farming has many of the same problems, including the need to control disease with large doses of chemicals. Free roaming fish may or may not be happier than penned farmed tuna without room to roam but while maybe farming is needed it maybe should be handled a little differently.
Ridiculous complexity for no need.
That’s one opinion!
Stop talking around in circles, where are you in the world at 10 min, not a clue to where you are.
So the two maps in this episode and the fact I say ‘we’re going into Bodrum marina’ at 10 mins didn’t give you a clue then!?
@@svfairisle can you say what country or what world you are in ????
Really? Constant referrals to Turkey and to “the Greek island of Kos” (as in being shrouded in mist) were not big enough hints for you, not to mention the maps! My mother’s words come to mind: “Far better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
I had the tour of Kraken Number 1 with Dick when we were neighbours berthed in Palma a while ago, well built yacht and very practical. I recall an incident colliding with a submerged something (whale maybe) at full speed, at night, and in a remote location where the keel config played it's part. Good the see they are going well @KrakenYachts ... Steve, the new hair is a great improvement, Judy perfection is tough to improve upon!
That would have been White Dragon you saw, she’s a big boat! The 50’s are an evolution of that and improving all the time. The whale Dick hit was actually in his old long keeled boat, not a Kraken, but it’s part of what prompted him the build the way he does. He sailed on but realised it was only because of the way the boat was built and an unprotected rudder would have been gone. I know of three people now that have hit whales hard, more common that you think!.., don’t worry though Paul, your X-Yacht would fly over it!