When you have the time get an extension to fit over the tiller, turn the pole around and steer from the cockpit, a good lesson learned here, and thanks for sharing, you showed great grit and determination both of you, make sure you carry a spare chain in the spare parts as well.
All great thoughts and comments, thank you. I’m happy to report we have multiple extensions, extra chains and new procedures all from this massive learning experience. I’ll be talking to all these points and more in the next video. 👍
Great Video, I am so glad you guys are safe... Thanks for sharing this video. I can't tell you how important this video is for the sailing community. Your emergency, your actions, you filming the emergency will certainly save lives. You guys remaining calm certainly benefited you. Great teamwork, you guys rock.
Thank you for all the kind comments AND for taking time out of your day to watch. When Maki started editing I didn’t even know we filmed as much as we did. I’m glad we did because our hope with so many of these videos is to share as much as possible so others may benefit.
My two cents.you need two tillers.tie them off centered. Now you can control direction from the helm using the throttles on the engines. You both did a great job under extreme conditions!well done !!
Thank you Tom for your kind comment. We now have multiple tiller extensions on board and we were talking about getting a backup tiller as well. We are in talks with Leopard/Robertson & Caine to engineer a way to lock the rudders in place in the engine bays so we can as you said steer the boat using the throttles. 👍👍
Thanks David. We’re certainly glad it all ended well and without any injuries or damage. Now just trying to share with others in hopes it helps them be prepared.
I had the chain snap on my Leopard 40 also at night, about 02h00 in the morning beating into 27 knots apparent wind. We needed to trim the sails a bit and the boat sailed in a straight line on its own. This was then great to be able to climb into the system. The chain broke near the end which seems to be where it brakes. I put the chain back on to when and tied up the section of broken chain with dyneema and within 30 minutes were sailing again. In the morning we removed the whole chain whilst still sailing and used a dremel to cut off the broken links and joined the rest back again. I sailed the boat another 500nm til I was able to get a new chain. We never bothered with the emergency steering as a balanced sail works much better especially if you have loads of water. Do some trials next time out. Take the pressure off the main my moving the boom to leeward and it reduces the pressure and the boat will sail more straight. You might need to fool in the Genoa as well til you are balanced.
Hi Marc, thank you, glad you enjoyed and are able to take something away from the video to benefit your time on the water. It was a crazy 24 hours but we’re all ok and have become better because if it. Now just trying to share the entire experience to hopefully help others.
we have a similar emergency tiller. I had a breaker bar sized for it to extend the tiller length and give more leverage. You could also use your cockpit table leg to slide over the tiller to give more leverage. our tiller post is located further up the transom and does not have the 45-degree angle yours does (which i think would be very helpful.) I would get a 2-foot breaker bar to attach to it and position it so the tiller points forward like a traditional tiller so that you aren't standing on the lowest part of your transom. nice job getting it under control and getting your family to a safe place to do some field repairs.
All great ideas, thanks. We now have 3 tiller extensions on board with the ability to tie off for longer straight runs and face forward like a traditional tiller handle. Hopefully we never have to use it! 😁
That emergency tiller should really have some grooves or holes. Then you have the option to run lines through blocks up to your winches to help with the forces and also being able to helm from the cockpit. Or tie on a makeshift extension from whatever you have on board. And oh, the tiller should have a wire with a clip so you can secure it. Would be even more trouble if it suddenly pops out of the socket and goes into the sea.
You guys are champs. We’re so glad you came out of this situation okay, albeit very bruised, sore, and tired. Thanks for sharing. We love and miss you guys. Oh and by the way, we picked up a pvc pipe that fits over the tiller before we set sail to the Caribbean thanks to your suggestion.
Hi Jeff! We were so exhausted and yes bruised on the hips from pushing / holding the tiller but glad, really glad it all ended well for crew and boat 🤪. I now have 3 tiller extensions on board…a PVC pipe the same diameter you suggested and 2 additional pipes cut from the Starlink yard pole I bought for our Starlink mount on the boat. Anyway hope you guys are well! Miss you and Adrienne and hope we connect soon! Love you both. ❤️
Thank you Thomas. We’re of course happy we made it back to Florida free of any injuries or damage to us or the boat. That said I hope that’s the last major event we ever see 🤞
Thank you Brien. Not something we’d ever want to repeat but, we learned a lot in a very short period of time and are better off because of the experience. Now we’re just trying to share it all so that others can hopefully benefit.
Amazing video…thank you so much for sharing. How quickly things can change for the worse at sea. Your preparation really paid off. Glad you and the family safely made it. Very inspirational.
Hi Greg, you’re right, one minute we’re having a beautiful night sail and the next we’re wildly out of control. It was a moment of truth for us as a family and crew and conversations and procedures we’d talked about all came together…..perhaps the most important, to stay calm. On the back end, we’ve learned a lot on all levels about us, the boat etc and are better off because of it.
Is there no extension handle that fits onto that angled pole. It seems that there is not enough leverage to do it comfortably as you did. An extension will allow you to steer it from above.
First thanks for sharing and good job your endurance was amazing. You got me thinking I sail solo a lot so as I watched the video I was thinking if I was alone it would be harder. So I have begun to explore a cheap way to try and control a fee wheeling rudder
Awesome! Preparedness is the best and it makes us feel good that these Emergency At Sea videos stir conversations and thought so others make sure they are better prepared and safe while enjoying our beautiful oceans! 👍👍
Yeah I'm watching more of your video you need a larger tiller for sure just make it easier on your body and it's good that you have that emergency tiller
Hi Kelly, it was extremely exhausting but in the middle of it you just know you have to push thru no matter what. It all worked out and we’re better off because of it but, hope that was our last big event at sea! 😜
I heard the story long ago, but seeing the footage is quite the experience. Also made Noa and I go over where’s that tiller and how do we open our caps. And we want to see more of Maki here!!
It's never anything any of us plan for, I guess that's why it's called a "emergency" but it's definitely a good idea as a family and crew to go over all the safety equipment and procedures just in case. I've been working on getting Maki in front of the camera.....she has LOTS to share, some about the boat but we're a family team and all the crazy amazing foods she makes, boat schooling the boys and as the former skin care specialist to many Hollywood stars.....she has a seemingly endless bank of knowledge for skin care wether on land or at sea! Stay tuned! 🙂
The emergency tiller needs an extension to reach the cockpit deck level. Leverage, trying to think of what I have on board to gain that advantage for my short stubby E-tiller. Dingy oar?
Hi Alex, dingy oars are a great idea 👍. We didn’t think of that in the midst of this emergency but I’m happy to report we now have 3 extensions on board and also a spare steering chain setup…….hopefully we’ll never need either! 😜
Well Done on the handling of the emergency while at sea. Perhaps for any one else who experiences a similar event while under way, they might think to secure the emergency tiller in place with Life Lines in the straight ahead position and then steer the boat using the engines from the safety of the helm position. Much safer and less physical stress on body and mind and less chance of falling overboard. Others might even think to have a piece of rod made up with attaching brackets to secure the emergency tiller in place attaching it to one of the hand rails. There are lessons to be learned in all events such as this. One thing which does surprise me is that this brand of Cat still uses a chain and cable to steer the boat, Perhaps Hydrolic steering may be more reliable and more easily serviced. David. Down Under.
Hi David, thank you for the comments and ideas. 👍. When we first began using the tiller, the seas were pretty rough so I was just happy getting the boat under control and steering it in the general direction of our newly set waypoint. A few hours into using the tiller we tried multiple times tying off the tiller in a locked off straight position however the emergency tiller is smooth stainless steel stock with no possible way to secure anything to it. Lines we tried using simply slid down to the floor with the violent seas pushing on the tiller. I’m happy to say we now have 3 tiller extensions with the ability to lock them off however I hope to never go thru this type of emergency again 😁. Once we were able to anchor, we patched the chain together which allowed me to hand steer the remaining 700nm back to Florida from the comfort of the helm. I’ll be sharing more in the next video
I’m a new sailor. Thank you for sharing your experience on this matter. I researched and discovered chain and wire systems require maintenance and in certain locations like Florida and Caribbean the chain and wire system is required to be replaced every 3-5 years. Jefa system appears to be best.
Thank you for taking the time to watch our adventure and welcome to sailing! That's awesome you did some research on the matter.......our catamaran obviously has the steering chain which is attached to two large diameter cables......the cables which can be tensioned in the engine bays. Ours have been tensioned and lubricated but I will definitely ask about changing them out for new as scheduled maintenance and care. Thank you again and happy sailing!
I’m so glad to have finally happened across your channel this morning! I can see I’ll have to “catch up” , which should be interesting as I admire you guy’s & your sense of adventure and your safety measures and/or thoughts.
What amazing spirit Thankyou for sharing and what a great video So much knowledge /experience to take away and think about You guys are awesome Stay safe , healthy and happy ⚓️🐾🐬
Thank you Michelle. We hope by posting these videos of our emergency at sea it helps others be better prepared or at the very least to think about it. Thanks for taking the time to watch 😊. More to come!
Cheesus, you are well trained and calm! Not lucky, that would have meant thet this never happend. But you solved it and everyone is ok, including OliLuki! A job well done! /Catta
Thank you, thank you. Without a doubt staying calm is key and both Maki and I have had years of Emergency Training at the airlines which really kicked in to asses, make a plan and execute. Not something we want to go thru ever again but our hope now is to share the entire experience so others can benefit and be better prepared.
Hi Jordan! I think you’re referring to the Sonihull Electronic Antifouling system we had installed. I can honestly say it has been a game changer on how often we need to clean the bottom. There are many factors I believe that drive how well this system works but the top 3 are 1) how warm is the water the boat is in? Warm water brings growth. 2) how often is the boat moving? More sailing, less sitting, less growth. 3) where is the boat geographically? In the Bahamas water is cool and crystal clear = less / little growth. Sailing or sitting in the Chesapeake Bay, waters are filled with crustaceans and lots of growth. The Sonihull battles all conditions but in general the more clear and cool the water the less growth. Because we live and travel with the boat regularly I only dive the bottom for cleaning and even then the only areas that need a little touch up are the front upper areas of the bows, the sail drives and props and the very bottom underside of the keels. In general our hulls stay free of nearly all growth.
The steering system makers suggest changing the chain and cables every ten years. I recently changed mine as I figured the previous owner wouldn’t have changed them in thirty years. I took the sprocket (like a bicycle cog) down to a motorcycle dealer and found a tougher chain that fit; they had a special tool to break the chain. We matched the new chain to the length of the old one, and enclosed a thimble for the new cable into last link and replaced the pins with the special tool. It’s all good. I haven’t made a duplicate chain and cable set, maybe I should as a spare. I have tested the emergency steering a few times. Your’s should be fitted the other way round and should have an extension to bring it to the helm, it comes in two parts for easy storage. The longer the extension the easier it is move. The oar of a dinghy would work nicely it the original is lost. With a little ingenuity you would be able to set up blocks at strong points on port and starboard to give you control using ropes. A boat steers mostly with the sails, the tiller is for fine tuning. You could have set the emergency tiller using ropes at a central point or just off Centre and balanced the Genoa and main sails and it would have sailed fine with almost no pressure on the tiller. You can also setup a ‘sheet to tiller system’ which acts as self steering, so zero effort once set; this works off the Genoa clew, back through a block ti the tiller on both sides, and bungee giving tension; when the boat goes off course the tiller is pulled by the bungee to bring it back; this is worth setting up anyway for its beauty; it works up wind not really down wind. There’s a little book on that system.
Hi Andrew, thank you for all the great ideas and suggestions. I may look into the motorcycle chain as you’re the 4th person to suggest it. Thanks. I’m happy to say we now have several long tiller extensions on board but am having a fabrication shop make a custom one for our tiller shaft and also long enough to stand at helm height to make steering much, much easier! 👍
Hahahaha! I think Tom Cruise has us beat especially with his motorcycle stunt off the cliffs of Norway for the latest Mission Impossible movie! We had a rough 24 hours but we're all fine, the boats fine and we're better off from the whole experience, not that any of us want to do anything like it ever again!
I kept wondering why in the world don't they have a metal extension pipe of some sort at the ready to put over the emergency tiller bar for more leverage and so you can turn the bar around 180° and hand steer from inside the cockpit?!? no need to hang off the back of the boat like a piece of shark bait lol.
Happy to see you are all well and safe - shocked the sails did not make it much much worse - i guess it may make sense to get a backup autopilot that attaches directly to the rudder shaft and see about some properly shaped extensions to the manual tiller as i think that tiller is way to short and should go up. Glad you all are safe, thank for sharing - ps your videos have not popped up in many months. Seems to be happening to many your tubers :( have seen that asking those that do get the videos to thumbs up and comment and look up a couple more vids to do the same thumbs up and comment helps bring them back for others.
I’m happy to say we now have several long tiller extensions but hopefully it never happens again and we’ll never use our tiller or extension! 😜. We’ve considered the additional autopilot direct connected…..will check it out once we’re back to the U.S.
Not a catamaran sailor so I don’t know what I am talking about but couldn’t you just tie off the tiller or somewhere in the steering system then use the two engines to steer?
Ugh. What a nightmare. We suddenly lost steering when the bolt on our autopilot chain came out on the way from Sint Maarten to Stuart, FL this past week. (Be sure to check that on yours!) The chain was just swinging back and forth when we opened the panel. Luckily my husband was able to engineer a solution with the help of one of our crew in 1hr 45mins.
what about a tiller arm extension -- say 6 to 8 foot " pole " -- specifically designed for more POWER - -- would give you more leverage and possibly allow you to get up higher on back of boat -- safer position and more "power" on the lever ??? Just asking
Hi Roderick, yes a tiller extension would have been fantastic, but we didn’t have one 😜 Our next video will go over lessons learned and changes we’ve made since this event.
Wow that is a terrible situation, I think you could have turned on the engines even with sails up and gained control of direction then trimmed down sails kept her straight while trying to fix the broken link maybe. super hard to think about fixes under the duress of the situation im sure.
There are so many things that can go wrong at any time. I had once the port engine stuck in forward gear in the busy harbor as the cable detached itself. Just a question, was there a way to fix the rudder in a forward direction and steer the boat with the engines?
Hi Gordon, sounds like you’ve had your share of boating excitement too! 😜👍 To answer your question, the short answer is NO, not during the actual emergency event. Locking the rudders in place on our boat is at the center hub of the helm wheel which was completely useless because the steering chain was no longer on the sprocket so locking the helm wheel would only keep the wheel from rotating but have no locking affect on the rudders. I’ll be going over all of this in the next video as well as the changes we’ve made since this emergency.
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 Thanks. I was more thinking of tying the emergency rudder in position to the rest of the boat so that you do not have to hold to it for 18 hours. That must have been a mission! I am looking forward to your next video.
@@gordanbrkic7318 yeah we tried but it didn’t work for a variety of reasons…..mainly due to big seas and the tiller stock is made of solid, smooth stainless steel so everything we tied to the tiller slid to the bottom of the tiller and became useless. We didn’t have a lot of try this or that because the moment I let go of the tiller it went flying to Port then back and we became seriously concerned about the tiller popping out and falling in the ocean and then we’d be super screwed. More to come in the next video. 🤪
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 on our Lightwave catamaran we have locking pins available in each rear engine room to fix the rudders in dead ahead position; then steer via engines.
@@glenntaylor5638 hi Glenn! That’s very cool. Our catamaran has nothing like that so unfortunately driving with the engines wasn’t much of a choice. We are in touch with the boat builder to suggest they add them moving forward.
For some reason your videos were not showing up in my feed until now. I missed you guys! I hope all is well with the family. I ended up gettig ASA certified partially due to videos like yours. I rented a catamaran in the BVIs from a friend and he captained it for us for 10 days and I got hooked! I am sure you'll have people come try your boat out. That is a great offer.
The BVI is a great place to try a catamaran and is easy to see how you could get hooked! 👍 congratulations on your ASA certification and hope you can continue to get out on the water! Our hands on educational experience is definitely something Maki and I would have signed up for before taking delivery of our boat and are putting a program out there that allows anyone to immerse themselves in the cruising lifestyle while learning about the joys, complications and challenges of long term sailing. This isn’t day sailing and lunch and it even amazes us how much information there is to share.
Click the bell up top next to "subscribed" and youtube will let you know when there are new videos. Just subscribing doesn't have much influence over what YT's algorithm decides you should see, which is what will maximize revenue for them, not happiness for you. Cheers.
Not at the moment. We’ve made changes aboard OliLuki in case anything like this happens again, hopefully not but we’re better prepared and a stronger crew because of the experience.
Had a south African tell me along time ago drop the fu#!ing sails then do damage control. I was waiting to see if you was going to say you had sails up when i seen the figure 8s you did glad you guys are safe stay safe out there
The drop / furl the sails right away at least in our situation is good advice. We did that but not right away. The sudden onset of the emergency loss of steering threw the boat violently in to a spin and our natural reaction was to find the problem and get the boat under control. Now having this life experience behind us I would definitely furl the sails and then find the problem asap. 👍
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 have not seen to many cats with in mast main so you would drop sail i see you are about your terminology me not so much droping sail or furling sail is the same effect sails go away and you stop moving in turn you gain some control 6 to 8 foot seas are pretty normal seas in any ocean Dont think you will be in the Southern Ocean or do any real heavy weather selling in almost any scenario that you will be in dropping sails in any situation sould be the first thing you do im not being rude and i am a experience sailor who is setting in hiva-oa in process of my second circumnavigation better to drop sail then flip that cat lock that into memory my friend it could save your life with all respect from one salt dog to another panic has no place on a boat im really not trying to come off the wrong way at all but sometimes you just have to say it for what it is stay safe out there guys
@@earlboyd2616 Hi Earl, I completely agree with what you’re saying and certainly didn’t mean any disrespect nor was I offended by your comments. On the contrary, I totally appreciate your feedback and suggestions👍👍.
Hi Pascal, I was in contact with Robertson & Caine who builds the Leopard line of boats. We have since had a brand new steering chain installed and will be sharing in the next video how and why we believe the chain snapped in the first place.
Hey Andy, crazy story! I am so glad it all worked out for you! My wife is now paranoid about going long distance without a buddy boat. Just curious, was tying up to Marco's boat and having him haul you an option? was it discussed at all? I am trying to learn from your experience and will ensure we do more safety drills.
Hi Vito, we’re happy it worked out too!! 😁 So both Maki and I would say to your wife, don’t be afraid to go long distances alone. Having a buddy boat, sure I guess it’s better (safety in numbers) however, to be honest there is not much our buddy boat could do to help us. 6-8’ seas would crush both boats and would be very dangerous to come near each other. Abandoning our boat (thankfully we weren’t taking on any water and didn’t need to abandon) would be super dangerous too as our 16 ton catamaran was rising and falling, slapping the water, it was absolutely pitch black so it was NOT in my mind to have my family deploy the emergency raft and get off the boat. We would have had the same dangers trying to get on our buddy boat. We will cover all of this in detail in the next video(s) but we can honestly say we learned a lot from this experience and not only want to share it all but can say cruising as a couple / family is safe and the best we can all do is practice / talk about emergency procedures and if you find yourselves in a emergency situation, simply say one thing: “we’ve got this” stay calm, asses the situation, make a plan, execute. Once at anchor / marina, pour yourselves a well deserved ice cold beverage of your choice. Stay tuned, more to come 👍
Well, you're officially a Salty SeaDog now! Tested by Neptune and you passed. Congratulations! You kept your cool and did what you had to do. Interestingly, in the last year, probably 4 or 5 of the sailing channels I watch have had auto-pilot problems at sea. Wonder what's up with that. Is there a manufacturer who put out a faulty product? Something to look into. Your boat is so new, this shouldn't be happening, Yikes. Glad you are ok. That track looked like a pretty wild ride out there in the dark.
Thank you although I’d be okay being physically less salty (😜) but glad we passed Neptunes test! In our case it was the steering chain that snapped. The steering and autopilot chains are separate (thank heavens) and to be honest it would have been infinitely better for the autopilot chain to have snapped and still be able to hand steer from the helm but that’s not the test Neptune had in mind for us. That said I have heard of autopilot units having a variety of issues. It unfortunately comes with all the technological advancements and systems on board, at some point some issue will arise and we’ll just need to deal with it.
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 Still, new yacht, that's not ok. Way too soon for that to be happening. Glad ya'll are ok and thank heavens for buddy boating, right? Always wise. lol
Drop the Sails put tiller in tie it Off Tiller straight use the engines to Steer the boat. I would Add a Extension on that tiller Next Port to gain Leverage. Leopard should Put in a Way to Lock Rudders Straight in an Emergency US the Sticks to Drive ( Engine thrust )
A few years ago I crewed a leopard 45 delivery on the West Coast and I remember at the time that our very experienced skipper saying that the steering chain was dry and it was something that gets neglected - the chain needs regular oiling. I also think that on a 2 year old boat, that kind of metal fatigue is worrying. The other thing that I noticed on the Leopard, is the emergency tiller is very short and watching you handle the boat, its clear that it needs an extension. However, while this is a serious situation, you have emergency tillers and you also have the ability to steer the boat with your twin engines, so talking about "abandoning ship" is a bit ridiculous. If you'd snapped a rudder or were tracking on water maybe but you weren't in that kind of danger. Another tip - always always always carry a sailors knife or swiss army knife on passage! And anything important should be velcroed, not zip tied and Leopard really need to correct this. Yet another sign that Leopard's build their boats for charter not cruising.
Great job recovering from this incident! Y’all are awesome. I am now adding to my training procedures actually sailing with the emergency tiller once every 6 months (for now). On my last trip up from PR to Charleston I walked my crew through locating the tiller and where to install it but we never actually practice it. I am adding this to my drills. I have a couple questions for you and maybe you cover in the future video so I can wait if so. During the onset of the emergency you all started the engines to maintain propulsion, which I believe I would have done as well, did you find that later once the initial emergency was “resolved” and maybe once it was light, that the sails were able to help balance the boat? I know this helps on a monohull but on our cats this might not make a difference so just curious. Second question, do you have emergency tiller access on both port and starboard sides? I have the Lagoon 450 and we have access to each rudder post so just curious? Again, awesome job saving your family and the boat!
Hi Bob, thank you for the kind comment, appreciate it. I absolutely love and applaud you having your crew actually remove the tiller from its stowed position, install in the rudder post and use it both procedurally and just plain feel. Fantastic! I’ll be going over a lot more in the next video but to answer your 2 questions, 1) yes we can use the tiller on either Port or Starboard transom rudder post access points and 2) once it was daylight we did put out a double reefed Genoa for the exact reason you mention, stability but that was it. I was happy to just be making way to our little sliver of an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands so we did not mess with the main sail or anything else. I’ll cover all this and more in the next video.
Hey guys great video great video I had that happen my dad's boat 28 foot pacemaker twin screw we were coming back from Catalina Island in fog and we were halfway between Catalina and Redondo Beach and the steering cable snapped and we started to go we started to go in circles but since we had two engines we were able to use the engines to steer the boat and we were able to get home it just took 7 hours more. I would recommend what we did we replace all the cabling with a hydraulic steering system and man does that make a difference oh let me tell you it's night and day hydraulic steering system is so wonderful but you should be glad that you have a manual helm you know what I would do though get a bigger tiller that little tiller is too little I got something three times the size do you have more leverage safe sailing
Gang, thank you for the video. Did you establish root-cause for what caused the chain to break? Seems like it would take a lot of pressure. Also, isn't there an extension for the emergency tiller? Maybe use a dingy oar and some 100mph tape? Also, if the autopilot is disabled, couldn't you remove some of the gear from the pole keeping the rudders aligned and make you effort require less muscle? I'm imagining your fighting some hydraulics or something.
Hi Geoff, thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts. Root cause seems to have been a slight slip in the steering cable causing enough slack in the chain that it hopped around on the sprocket when the autopilot was working hard in big seas putting a side load on the chain and breaking it. Regarding our autopilot and even steering system…..there are no hydraulic systems at play so the only pressure on the tiller was the seas pushing on the rudders which I can share was significant! 😊. Since this incident, I now have 3 tiller extensions onboard and rigging. Murphys Law says it will never happen again! 😂
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 That's good to hear, that you've got it figured out. There's nothing wrong with the rudder indicator that tricked the autopilot into going hard-hard-hard over to stress the chain/cable?
@@geoffstrebel2808 rudder indicator…not that we were able to see. I’ve had the entire steering and autopilot system checked and tuned, twice for good measure.
Did you say you had to borrow a tiller from your friends? If so you don't have a tiller for hand steering and also don't have spare chain or at least joiner links to fix your auto pilot chain? If so you shouldn't be sailing anywhere offshore (or inshore for that matter) that is madness.
Thanks for watching, but no we didn’t need to borrow anything. We have our own emergency tiller and lots of spare parts to fix or at least patch together everything critical on the boat so we can always get ourselves back to land. It was definitely a rough 24 hours, but we’re a stronger, better crew because of it. All is good and we’re back out to sea!
Hi Steven, when the steering chain snapped it took the autopilot out as well, meaning without the steering chain, the autopilot has zero affect in keeping the boat on course. The steering and autopilot chain sprockets are on the same shaft which of course goes through the helm wheel. Our next video is coming in a few days and I’ll address why we didn’t use the autopilot for the remaining 700+ miles after we patched the chain together on anchor in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 I think it's more common and desirable to have the autopilot servo motor directly connected to a rudder shaft, eliminating the single point of failure that the chain poses in your current system. Well done on your recovery!
@@davidbrunkow64 Hi David, I completely agree. Our current setup has a single point of failure but the system is back to factory and now we’re trying to engineer a better system for the future. Thanks for the kind comment 👍
Yikes!!!!! I hope this is not what prompted you to sell the boat at one point. I will tell you one thing: The boys learned a valuable lesson: Don’t panic - just persevere - you can overcome - think - react. You all did an amazing job.
Hi Catherine, no this had no bearing on our thought to sell the boat. We simply thought we continue to adventure in a different way. We obviously kept the boat and are loving being out here. That said, when something like this happens, it takes everyone staying calm and helping. This was a scary moment but we all pulled through fine and learned a lot along the way.
![Emergency At Sea, Part 2; The Greatest Challenge and Test of Crew Oliluki!!! [Ep.35]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SVMaTLYqulo/mqdefault.jpg)
![Emergency At Sea, Part 2; The Greatest Challenge and Test of Crew Oliluki!!! [Ep.35]](/img/tr.png)
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When you have the time get an extension to fit over the tiller, turn the pole around and steer from the cockpit, a good lesson learned here, and thanks for sharing, you showed great grit and determination both of you, make sure you carry a spare chain in the spare parts as well.
All great thoughts and comments, thank you. I’m happy to report we have multiple extensions, extra chains and new procedures all from this massive learning experience. I’ll be talking to all these points and more in the next video. 👍
Great Video, I am so glad you guys are safe... Thanks for sharing this video. I can't tell you how important this video is for the sailing community. Your emergency, your actions, you filming the emergency will certainly save lives. You guys remaining calm certainly benefited you. Great teamwork, you guys rock.
Thank you for all the kind comments AND for taking time out of your day to watch. When Maki started editing I didn’t even know we filmed as much as we did. I’m glad we did because our hope with so many of these videos is to share as much as possible so others may benefit.
My two cents.you need two tillers.tie them off centered.
Now you can control direction from the helm using the throttles on the engines.
You both did a great job under extreme conditions!well done !!
Thank you Tom for your kind comment. We now have multiple tiller extensions on board and we were talking about getting a backup tiller as well. We are in talks with Leopard/Robertson & Caine to engineer a way to lock the rudders in place in the engine bays so we can as you said steer the boat using the throttles. 👍👍
Great story , good response. Be proud of yourself. And your family
Thanks David. We’re certainly glad it all ended well and without any injuries or damage. Now just trying to share with others in hopes it helps them be prepared.
I had the chain snap on my Leopard 40 also at night, about 02h00 in the morning beating into 27 knots apparent wind. We needed to trim the sails a bit and the boat sailed in a straight line on its own. This was then great to be able to climb into the system. The chain broke near the end which seems to be where it brakes. I put the chain back on to when and tied up the section of broken chain with dyneema and within 30 minutes were sailing again. In the morning we removed the whole chain whilst still sailing and used a dremel to cut off the broken links and joined the rest back again. I sailed the boat another 500nm til I was able to get a new chain. We never bothered with the emergency steering as a balanced sail works much better especially if you have loads of water. Do some trials next time out. Take the pressure off the main my moving the boom to leeward and it reduces the pressure and the boat will sail more straight. You might need to fool in the Genoa as well til you are balanced.
So glad to see your videos again. Your experience will make all of us better prepared for a similar situation. Thank you.
Hi Marc, thank you, glad you enjoyed and are able to take something away from the video to benefit your time on the water. It was a crazy 24 hours but we’re all ok and have become better because if it. Now just trying to share the entire experience to hopefully help others.
Saw your q&a and had to go back and see what happened. Great info and something more to think about. Thanks for sharing.
we have a similar emergency tiller. I had a breaker bar sized for it to extend the tiller length and give more leverage. You could also use your cockpit table leg to slide over the tiller to give more leverage. our tiller post is located further up the transom and does not have the 45-degree angle yours does (which i think would be very helpful.) I would get a 2-foot breaker bar to attach to it and position it so the tiller points forward like a traditional tiller so that you aren't standing on the lowest part of your transom. nice job getting it under control and getting your family to a safe place to do some field repairs.
All great ideas, thanks. We now have 3 tiller extensions on board with the ability to tie off for longer straight runs and face forward like a traditional tiller handle. Hopefully we never have to use it! 😁
unreal story. cool, calm & collected in an emergency situation. love your videos!
Thank you 🙏. We are working on getting more videos out…. Hopefully not about anymore emergencies 😜
Best luck Holy! Best solo sailing channel for sure..saludos!
That emergency tiller should really have some grooves or holes. Then you have the option to run lines through blocks up to your winches to help with the forces and also being able to helm from the cockpit. Or tie on a makeshift extension from whatever you have on board.
And oh, the tiller should have a wire with a clip so you can secure it. Would be even more trouble if it suddenly pops out of the socket and goes into the sea.
Really, really great video. A lot to think about. Thank you. And very fine job by all aboard.
Thank you Gregg. It wasn’t fun, that’s for sure but we’ve come through unharmed and now a stronger better crew because of it.
You guys are champs. We’re so glad you came out of this situation okay, albeit very bruised, sore, and tired. Thanks for sharing. We love and miss you guys. Oh and by the way, we picked up a pvc pipe that fits over the tiller before we set sail to the Caribbean thanks to your suggestion.
Hi Jeff! We were so exhausted and yes bruised on the hips from pushing / holding the tiller but glad, really glad it all ended well for crew and boat 🤪. I now have 3 tiller extensions on board…a PVC pipe the same diameter you suggested and 2 additional pipes cut from the Starlink yard pole I bought for our Starlink mount on the boat. Anyway hope you guys are well! Miss you and Adrienne and hope we connect soon! Love you both. ❤️
Very glade you’re OK. Congrat to you, Maki and Andy. excellent control of the situation and very very good seamanship.
Thank you Thomas. We’re of course happy we made it back to Florida free of any injuries or damage to us or the boat. That said I hope that’s the last major event we ever see 🤞
Well done guys for having the courage and determination to pull through. Amazing effort👍
Thanks Robert! 👍
I know where my emergency tiller is, but I haven’t taken it out to drill with it. I will now.
👍🏻
Glad you guys are ok!!!! Koodoos for you guy’s quick thinking and decisive actions.
Thank you Brien. Not something we’d ever want to repeat but, we learned a lot in a very short period of time and are better off because of the experience. Now we’re just trying to share it all so that others can hopefully benefit.
Amazing video…thank you so much for sharing. How quickly things can change for the worse at sea. Your preparation really paid off. Glad you and the family safely made it. Very inspirational.
Hi Greg, you’re right, one minute we’re having a beautiful night sail and the next we’re wildly out of control. It was a moment of truth for us as a family and crew and conversations and procedures we’d talked about all came together…..perhaps the most important, to stay calm. On the back end, we’ve learned a lot on all levels about us, the boat etc and are better off because of it.
Groovy episode
Is there no extension handle that fits onto that angled pole. It seems that there is not enough leverage to do it comfortably as you did. An extension will allow you to steer it from above.
well done guys, you're proper sailors now.
Thank you thank you. It was a crazy 24 hours but all is well and we have become a better crew because of it. Stay tuned much more to come! 😁
First thanks for sharing and good job your endurance was amazing. You got me thinking I sail solo a lot so as I watched the video I was thinking if I was alone it would be harder. So I have begun to explore a cheap way to try and control a fee wheeling rudder
Awesome! Preparedness is the best and it makes us feel good that these Emergency At Sea videos stir conversations and thought so others make sure they are better prepared and safe while enjoying our beautiful oceans! 👍👍
Yeah I'm watching more of your video you need a larger tiller for sure just make it easier on your body and it's good that you have that emergency tiller
Impressive indeed! Truly remarkable. Stay well. Have fun at THE HELM!
Thank you Guy. There’s more to come! 👍
Wow!! How crazy and exhausting that must have been! Glad you are all ok! Looks beautiful where you are at now!
Hi Kelly, it was extremely exhausting but in the middle of it you just know you have to push thru no matter what. It all worked out and we’re better off because of it but, hope that was our last big event at sea! 😜
I heard the story long ago, but seeing the footage is quite the experience. Also made Noa and I go over where’s that tiller and how do we open our caps. And we want to see more of Maki here!!
It's never anything any of us plan for, I guess that's why it's called a "emergency" but it's definitely a good idea as a family and crew to go over all the safety equipment and procedures just in case. I've been working on getting Maki in front of the camera.....she has LOTS to share, some about the boat but we're a family team and all the crazy amazing foods she makes, boat schooling the boys and as the former skin care specialist to many Hollywood stars.....she has a seemingly endless bank of knowledge for skin care wether on land or at sea! Stay tuned! 🙂
Wow! Well done.
The emergency tiller needs an extension to reach the cockpit deck level. Leverage, trying to think of what I have on board to gain that advantage for my short stubby E-tiller. Dingy oar?
Hi Alex, dingy oars are a great idea 👍. We didn’t think of that in the midst of this emergency but I’m happy to report we now have 3 extensions on board and also a spare steering chain setup…….hopefully we’ll never need either! 😜
Well Done on the handling of the emergency while at sea.
Perhaps for any one else who experiences a similar event while under way, they might think to secure the emergency tiller in place with Life Lines in the straight ahead position and then steer the boat using the engines from the safety of the helm position. Much safer and less physical stress on body and mind and less chance of falling overboard.
Others might even think to have a piece of rod made up with attaching brackets to secure the emergency tiller in place attaching it to one of the hand rails.
There are lessons to be learned in all events such as this.
One thing which does surprise me is that this brand of Cat still uses a chain and cable to steer the boat, Perhaps Hydrolic steering may be more reliable and more easily serviced.
David. Down Under.
Hi David, thank you for the comments and ideas. 👍. When we first began using the tiller, the seas were pretty rough so I was just happy getting the boat under control and steering it in the general direction of our newly set waypoint. A few hours into using the tiller we tried multiple times tying off the tiller in a locked off straight position however the emergency tiller is smooth stainless steel stock with no possible way to secure anything to it. Lines we tried using simply slid down to the floor with the violent seas pushing on the tiller. I’m happy to say we now have 3 tiller extensions with the ability to lock them off however I hope to never go thru this type of emergency again 😁. Once we were able to anchor, we patched the chain together which allowed me to hand steer the remaining 700nm back to Florida from the comfort of the helm. I’ll be sharing more in the next video
I’m a new sailor. Thank you for sharing your experience on this matter. I researched and discovered chain and wire systems require maintenance and in certain locations like Florida and Caribbean the chain and wire system is required to be replaced every 3-5 years. Jefa system appears to be best.
Thank you for taking the time to watch our adventure and welcome to sailing! That's awesome you did some research on the matter.......our catamaran obviously has the steering chain which is attached to two large diameter cables......the cables which can be tensioned in the engine bays. Ours have been tensioned and lubricated but I will definitely ask about changing them out for new as scheduled maintenance and care. Thank you again and happy sailing!
I’m so glad to have finally happened across your channel this morning! I can see I’ll have to “catch up” , which should be interesting as I admire you guy’s & your sense of adventure and your safety measures and/or thoughts.
Hi Christi! Welcome aboard and thank you for taking the time to join the adventure 😁
What amazing spirit
Thankyou for sharing and what a great video
So much knowledge /experience to take away and think about
You guys are awesome
Stay safe , healthy and happy ⚓️🐾🐬
Thank you Michelle. We hope by posting these videos of our emergency at sea it helps others be better prepared or at the very least to think about it. Thanks for taking the time to watch 😊. More to come!
Wow, well handled. Seems unusual for this to break, is it common? I'm guessing you'll cover a lot of this in video 2.
Thanks,
Hi Brien, it’s not common at all, thankfully. We’ll be sharing / showing more in the next video. 👍.
Good that you all safely got through the emergency. You would think they could do a better system.
It was a crazy passage but we made it through and are a stronger, better crew because of it.
This is a procedure that should be practised by anyone with offshore ambition.
Cheesus, you are well trained and calm! Not lucky, that would have meant thet this never happend. But you solved it and everyone is ok, including OliLuki! A job well done! /Catta
Thank you, thank you. Without a doubt staying calm is key and both Maki and I have had years of Emergency Training at the airlines which really kicked in to asses, make a plan and execute. Not something we want to go thru ever again but our hope now is to share the entire experience so others can benefit and be better prepared.
How is the hull shield working? I see videos of ppl adding but never long term follow ups.
Hi Jordan! I think you’re referring to the Sonihull Electronic Antifouling system we had installed. I can honestly say it has been a game changer on how often we need to clean the bottom. There are many factors I believe that drive how well this system works but the top 3 are 1) how warm is the water the boat is in? Warm water brings growth. 2) how often is the boat moving? More sailing, less sitting, less growth. 3) where is the boat geographically? In the Bahamas water is cool and crystal clear = less / little growth. Sailing or sitting in the Chesapeake Bay, waters are filled with crustaceans and lots of growth. The Sonihull battles all conditions but in general the more clear and cool the water the less growth. Because we live and travel with the boat regularly I only dive the bottom for cleaning and even then the only areas that need a little touch up are the front upper areas of the bows, the sail drives and props and the very bottom underside of the keels. In general our hulls stay free of nearly all growth.
The steering system makers suggest changing the chain and cables every ten years. I recently changed mine as I figured the previous owner wouldn’t have changed them in thirty years. I took the sprocket (like a bicycle cog) down to a motorcycle dealer and found a tougher chain that fit; they had a special tool to break the chain. We matched the new chain to the length of the old one, and enclosed a thimble for the new cable into last link and replaced the pins with the special tool. It’s all good. I haven’t made a duplicate chain and cable set, maybe I should as a spare.
I have tested the emergency steering a few times. Your’s should be fitted the other way round and should have an extension to bring it to the helm, it comes in two parts for easy storage. The longer the extension the easier it is move. The oar of a dinghy would work nicely it the original is lost. With a little ingenuity you would be able to set up blocks at strong points on port and starboard to give you control using ropes. A boat steers mostly with the sails, the tiller is for fine tuning. You could have set the emergency tiller using ropes at a central point or just off Centre and balanced the Genoa and main sails and it would have sailed fine with almost no pressure on the tiller.
You can also setup a ‘sheet to tiller system’ which acts as self steering, so zero effort once set; this works off the Genoa clew, back through a block ti the tiller on both sides, and bungee giving tension; when the boat goes off course the tiller is pulled by the bungee to bring it back; this is worth setting up anyway for its beauty; it works up wind not really down wind. There’s a little book on that system.
Hi Andrew, thank you for all the great ideas and suggestions. I may look into the motorcycle chain as you’re the 4th person to suggest it. Thanks. I’m happy to say we now have several long tiller extensions on board but am having a fabrication shop make a custom one for our tiller shaft and also long enough to stand at helm height to make steering much, much easier! 👍
Excellent seamanship in a tough cliffhanger situation 🙏Tom Cruise has some serious competition now 👍
Hahahaha! I think Tom Cruise has us beat especially with his motorcycle stunt off the cliffs of Norway for the latest Mission Impossible movie! We had a rough 24 hours but we're all fine, the boats fine and we're better off from the whole experience, not that any of us want to do anything like it ever again!
I kept wondering why in the world don't they have a metal extension pipe of some sort at the ready to put over the emergency tiller bar for more leverage and so you can turn the bar around 180° and hand steer from inside the cockpit?!? no need to hang off the back of the boat like a piece of shark bait lol.
Would it have been possible to just tie up the tiller in the general direction you needed to go?
Happy to see you are all well and safe - shocked the sails did not make it much much worse - i guess it may make sense to get a backup autopilot that attaches directly to the rudder shaft and see about some properly shaped extensions to the manual tiller as i think that tiller is way to short and should go up. Glad you all are safe, thank for sharing - ps your videos have not popped up in many months. Seems to be happening to many your tubers :( have seen that asking those that do get the videos to thumbs up and comment and look up a couple more vids to do the same thumbs up and comment helps bring them back for others.
I’m happy to say we now have several long tiller extensions but hopefully it never happens again and we’ll never use our tiller or extension! 😜. We’ve considered the additional autopilot direct connected…..will check it out once we’re back to the U.S.
Not a catamaran sailor so I don’t know what I am talking about but couldn’t you just tie off the tiller or somewhere in the steering system then use the two engines to steer?
Ugh. What a nightmare. We suddenly lost steering when the bolt on our autopilot chain came out on the way from Sint Maarten to Stuart, FL this past week. (Be sure to check that on yours!) The chain was just swinging back and forth when we opened the panel. Luckily my husband was able to engineer a solution with the help of one of our crew in 1hr 45mins.
Bummer but glad you guys were able to solve the problem and get back to land safely 👍🙌
Same with you!
what about a tiller arm extension -- say 6 to 8 foot " pole " -- specifically designed for more POWER - -- would give you more leverage and possibly allow you to get up higher on back of boat -- safer position and more "power" on the lever ??? Just asking
Hi Roderick, yes a tiller extension would have been fantastic, but we didn’t have one 😜
Our next video will go over lessons learned and changes we’ve made since this event.
Good job saving everything!
Wow, that is so scary. Well done! 👍🏻👏
It was definitely scary but in the moment we just focused on getting ourselves home safely. Now when I look back on it I think, Holy Crap! 😁
Wow that is a terrible situation, I think you could have turned on the engines even with sails up and gained control of direction then trimmed down sails kept her straight while trying to fix the broken link maybe. super hard to think about fixes under the duress of the situation im sure.
There are so many things that can go wrong at any time. I had once the port engine stuck in forward gear in the busy harbor as the cable detached itself.
Just a question, was there a way to fix the rudder in a forward direction and steer the boat with the engines?
Hi Gordon, sounds like you’ve had your share of boating excitement too! 😜👍
To answer your question, the short answer is NO, not during the actual emergency event. Locking the rudders in place on our boat is at the center hub of the helm wheel which was completely useless because the steering chain was no longer on the sprocket so locking the helm wheel would only keep the wheel from rotating but have no locking affect on the rudders. I’ll be going over all of this in the next video as well as the changes we’ve made since this emergency.
@@sailingsvoliluki6938
Thanks.
I was more thinking of tying the emergency rudder in position to the rest of the boat so that you do not have to hold to it for 18 hours. That must have been a mission!
I am looking forward to your next video.
@@gordanbrkic7318 yeah we tried but it didn’t work for a variety of reasons…..mainly due to big seas and the tiller stock is made of solid, smooth stainless steel so everything we tied to the tiller slid to the bottom of the tiller and became useless. We didn’t have a lot of try this or that because the moment I let go of the tiller it went flying to Port then back and we became seriously concerned about the tiller popping out and falling in the ocean and then we’d be super screwed. More to come in the next video. 🤪
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 on our Lightwave catamaran we have locking pins available in each rear engine room to fix the rudders in dead ahead position; then steer via engines.
@@glenntaylor5638 hi Glenn! That’s very cool. Our catamaran has nothing like that so unfortunately driving with the engines wasn’t much of a choice. We are in touch with the boat builder to suggest they add them moving forward.
For some reason your videos were not showing up in my feed until now. I missed you guys! I hope all is well with the family. I ended up gettig ASA certified partially due to videos like yours. I rented a catamaran in the BVIs from a friend and he captained it for us for 10 days and I got hooked! I am sure you'll have people come try your boat out. That is a great offer.
The BVI is a great place to try a catamaran and is easy to see how you could get hooked! 👍 congratulations on your ASA certification and hope you can continue to get out on the water! Our hands on educational experience is definitely something Maki and I would have signed up for before taking delivery of our boat and are putting a program out there that allows anyone to immerse themselves in the cruising lifestyle while learning about the joys, complications and challenges of long term sailing. This isn’t day sailing and lunch and it even amazes us how much information there is to share.
Click the bell up top next to "subscribed" and youtube will let you know when there are new videos. Just subscribing doesn't have much influence over what YT's algorithm decides you should see, which is what will maximize revenue for them, not happiness for you. Cheers.
Amazing video
Is it possible to set up your emergency tiller with its own “tiller pilot”?
Not at the moment. We’ve made changes aboard OliLuki in case anything like this happens again, hopefully not but we’re better prepared and a stronger crew because of the experience.
Had a south African tell me along time ago drop the fu#!ing sails then do damage control. I was waiting to see if you was going to say you had sails up when i seen the figure 8s you did glad you guys are safe stay safe out there
The drop / furl the sails right away at least in our situation is good advice. We did that but not right away. The sudden onset of the emergency loss of steering threw the boat violently in to a spin and our natural reaction was to find the problem and get the boat under control. Now having this life experience behind us I would definitely furl the sails and then find the problem asap. 👍
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 have not seen to many cats with in mast main so you would drop sail i see you are about your terminology me not so much droping sail or furling sail is the same effect sails go away and you stop moving in turn you gain some control 6 to 8 foot seas are pretty normal seas in any ocean Dont think you will be in the Southern Ocean or do any real heavy weather selling in almost any scenario that you will be in dropping sails in any situation sould be the first thing you do im not being rude and i am a experience sailor who is setting in hiva-oa in process of my second circumnavigation better to drop sail then flip that cat lock that into memory my friend it could save your life with all respect from one salt dog to another panic has no place on a boat im really not trying to come off the wrong way at all but sometimes you just have to say it for what it is stay safe out there guys
@@earlboyd2616 Hi Earl, I completely agree with what you’re saying and certainly didn’t mean any disrespect nor was I offended by your comments. On the contrary, I totally appreciate your feedback and suggestions👍👍.
Glad your ok
So are we! 😁👍 it all turned out ok and we’ve become a better, stronger crew because of it.
Have you already had contact with Leopard? The solution offered in this case is clearly insufficient. They must find a better solution for the future!
Hi Pascal, I was in contact with Robertson & Caine who builds the Leopard line of boats. We have since had a brand new steering chain installed and will be sharing in the next video how and why we believe the chain snapped in the first place.
Hey Andy, crazy story! I am so glad it all worked out for you! My wife is now paranoid about going long distance without a buddy boat. Just curious, was tying up to Marco's boat and having him haul you an option? was it discussed at all? I am trying to learn from your experience and will ensure we do more safety drills.
Hi Vito, we’re happy it worked out too!! 😁
So both Maki and I would say to your wife, don’t be afraid to go long distances alone. Having a buddy boat, sure I guess it’s better (safety in numbers) however, to be honest there is not much our buddy boat could do to help us. 6-8’ seas would crush both boats and would be very dangerous to come near each other. Abandoning our boat (thankfully we weren’t taking on any water and didn’t need to abandon) would be super dangerous too as our 16 ton catamaran was rising and falling, slapping the water, it was absolutely pitch black so it was NOT in my mind to have my family deploy the emergency raft and get off the boat. We would have had the same dangers trying to get on our buddy boat. We will cover all of this in detail in the next video(s) but we can honestly say we learned a lot from this experience and not only want to share it all but can say cruising as a couple / family is safe and the best we can all do is practice / talk about emergency procedures and if you find yourselves in a emergency situation, simply say one thing: “we’ve got this” stay calm, asses the situation, make a plan, execute. Once at anchor / marina, pour yourselves a well deserved ice cold beverage of your choice. Stay tuned, more to come 👍
Well, you're officially a Salty SeaDog now! Tested by Neptune and you passed. Congratulations! You kept your cool and did what you had to do. Interestingly, in the last year, probably 4 or 5 of the sailing channels I watch have had auto-pilot problems at sea. Wonder what's up with that. Is there a manufacturer who put out a faulty product? Something to look into. Your boat is so new, this shouldn't be happening, Yikes. Glad you are ok. That track looked like a pretty wild ride out there in the dark.
Thank you although I’d be okay being physically less salty (😜) but glad we passed Neptunes test! In our case it was the steering chain that snapped. The steering and autopilot chains are separate (thank heavens) and to be honest it would have been infinitely better for the autopilot chain to have snapped and still be able to hand steer from the helm but that’s not the test Neptune had in mind for us. That said I have heard of autopilot units having a variety of issues. It unfortunately comes with all the technological advancements and systems on board, at some point some issue will arise and we’ll just need to deal with it.
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 Still, new yacht, that's not ok. Way too soon for that to be happening. Glad ya'll are ok and thank heavens for buddy boating, right? Always wise. lol
Drop the Sails put tiller in tie it Off Tiller straight use the engines to Steer the boat. I would Add a Extension on that tiller Next Port to gain Leverage. Leopard should Put in a Way to Lock Rudders Straight in an Emergency US the Sticks to Drive ( Engine thrust )
Cool video
Thanks Trent, glad you enjoyed it. There’s more to come 🤪
A few years ago I crewed a leopard 45 delivery on the West Coast and I remember at the time that our very experienced skipper saying that the steering chain was dry and it was something that gets neglected - the chain needs regular oiling. I also think that on a 2 year old boat, that kind of metal fatigue is worrying. The other thing that I noticed on the Leopard, is the emergency tiller is very short and watching you handle the boat, its clear that it needs an extension. However, while this is a serious situation, you have emergency tillers and you also have the ability to steer the boat with your twin engines, so talking about "abandoning ship" is a bit ridiculous. If you'd snapped a rudder or were tracking on water maybe but you weren't in that kind of danger. Another tip - always always always carry a sailors knife or swiss army knife on passage! And anything important should be velcroed, not zip tied and Leopard really need to correct this. Yet another sign that Leopard's build their boats for charter not cruising.
Great job recovering from this incident! Y’all are awesome. I am now adding to my training procedures actually sailing with the emergency tiller once every 6 months (for now). On my last trip up from PR to Charleston I walked my crew through locating the tiller and where to install it but we never actually practice it. I am adding this to my drills. I have a couple questions for you and maybe you cover in the future video so I can wait if so. During the onset of the emergency you all started the engines to maintain propulsion, which I believe I would have done as well, did you find that later once the initial emergency was “resolved” and maybe once it was light, that the sails were able to help balance the boat? I know this helps on a monohull but on our cats this might not make a difference so just curious. Second question, do you have emergency tiller access on both port and starboard sides? I have the Lagoon 450 and we have access to each rudder post so just curious? Again, awesome job saving your family and the boat!
Hi Bob, thank you for the kind comment, appreciate it. I absolutely love and applaud you having your crew actually remove the tiller from its stowed position, install in the rudder post and use it both procedurally and just plain feel. Fantastic! I’ll be going over a lot more in the next video but to answer your 2 questions, 1) yes we can use the tiller on either Port or Starboard transom rudder post access points and 2) once it was daylight we did put out a double reefed Genoa for the exact reason you mention, stability but that was it. I was happy to just be making way to our little sliver of an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands so we did not mess with the main sail or anything else. I’ll cover all this and more in the next video.
Hey guys great video great video I had that happen my dad's boat 28 foot pacemaker twin screw we were coming back from Catalina Island in fog and we were halfway between Catalina and Redondo Beach and the steering cable snapped and we started to go we started to go in circles but since we had two engines we were able to use the engines to steer the boat and we were able to get home it just took 7 hours more. I would recommend what we did we replace all the cabling with a hydraulic steering system and man does that make a difference oh let me tell you it's night and day hydraulic steering system is so wonderful but you should be glad that you have a manual helm you know what I would do though get a bigger tiller that little tiller is too little I got something three times the size do you have more leverage safe sailing
Add a master link to the tool kit!
I have 2 on board now! 😁. Thanks!
Gang, thank you for the video. Did you establish root-cause for what caused the chain to break? Seems like it would take a lot of pressure. Also, isn't there an extension for the emergency tiller? Maybe use a dingy oar and some 100mph tape? Also, if the autopilot is disabled, couldn't you remove some of the gear from the pole keeping the rudders aligned and make you effort require less muscle? I'm imagining your fighting some hydraulics or something.
Hi Geoff, thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts. Root cause seems to have been a slight slip in the steering cable causing enough slack in the chain that it hopped around on the sprocket when the autopilot was working hard in big seas putting a side load on the chain and breaking it. Regarding our autopilot and even steering system…..there are no hydraulic systems at play so the only pressure on the tiller was the seas pushing on the rudders which I can share was significant! 😊. Since this incident, I now have 3 tiller extensions onboard and rigging. Murphys Law says it will never happen again! 😂
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 That's good to hear, that you've got it figured out. There's nothing wrong with the rudder indicator that tricked the autopilot into going hard-hard-hard over to stress the chain/cable?
@@geoffstrebel2808 rudder indicator…not that we were able to see. I’ve had the entire steering and autopilot system checked and tuned, twice for good measure.
Did you say you had to borrow a tiller from your friends? If so you don't have a tiller for hand steering and also don't have spare chain or at least joiner links to fix your auto pilot chain?
If so you shouldn't be sailing anywhere offshore (or inshore for that matter) that is madness.
Thanks for watching, but no we didn’t need to borrow anything. We have our own emergency tiller and lots of spare parts to fix or at least patch together everything critical on the boat so we can always get ourselves back to land. It was definitely a rough 24 hours, but we’re a stronger, better crew because of it. All is good and we’re back out to sea!
What a POS the Leopards are. How are they still using chains in 2024?
Why couldn’t you use the autopilot?
Hi Steven, when the steering chain snapped it took the autopilot out as well, meaning without the steering chain, the autopilot has zero affect in keeping the boat on course. The steering and autopilot chain sprockets are on the same shaft which of course goes through the helm wheel. Our next video is coming in a few days and I’ll address why we didn’t use the autopilot for the remaining 700+ miles after we patched the chain together on anchor in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
@@sailingsvoliluki6938 I think it's more common and desirable to have the autopilot servo motor directly connected to a rudder shaft, eliminating the single point of failure that the chain poses in your current system. Well done on your recovery!
@@davidbrunkow64 Hi David, I completely agree. Our current setup has a single point of failure but the system is back to factory and now we’re trying to engineer a better system for the future. Thanks for the kind comment 👍
No entendi NADA.
Sera porque no hablo ingles ? 🤔
Yikes!!!!! I hope this is not what prompted you to sell the boat at one point. I will tell you one thing: The boys learned a valuable lesson: Don’t panic - just persevere - you can overcome - think - react. You all did an amazing job.
Hi Catherine, no this had no bearing on our thought to sell the boat. We simply thought we continue to adventure in a different way. We obviously kept the boat and are loving being out here. That said, when something like this happens, it takes everyone staying calm and helping. This was a scary moment but we all pulled through fine and learned a lot along the way.
P r o m o s m