What has been your biggest boat “purchase regret”?

By way of background, I sailed the west coast of Mexico for 8 winter seasons, averaging about 5 months each season, so I'll share my experiences/opinions on a few of the things mentioned. Davits were so useful there for coastal cruising. Every night the dinghy was secured in the davits, safe from wandering away, the bottomed stayed clean, it didn't bump the hull in the night, and also, if the wind came up at night and I had to bail on an anchorage, I didn't have to deal with the dinghy, in the dark, nothing was getting sucked into the prop as I dealt with other stuff. When I sailed offshore for extended passages I either deflated it, or a few times, lashed it on deck... deflated was a lot easier and uncomplicated... nothing to snag. My Raymarine Auto pilot, for me, worked flawlessly ( one of the few things that did) and used less than a couple amps an hour usually... it was the best crew I ever had, it never went to sleep on it's watch, had minimal appetite for energy and put in years of reliable service. There was no resistance felt at the helm... unless it was engaged :^) If you feel increased friction on the helm after an install then I believe something is not right.. and that could explain a big power draw too? I would consider checking the auto pilot rudder arm that engages the rudder stock.. that it is all lined up correctly, and that the system moves freely. The actuator arm on your auto pilot drive should have very little to no resistance as well. Your electric auto pilot could also be a useful backup system to use if the Monitor fails for some reason.. frees up hands at the helm when you might need them. Wind vanes are great for long offshore passages but that usually represents a very small percentage of time actually spent on the boat, at least in my world. Some wind vanes give you the redundancy of a 2nd rudder, which could be priceless. I would consider taking off the wind vane when not doing long passages and keeping your dinghy on davits when coastal... Battens do allow for a better shaped main, and therefore better sailing performance, and I would not consider them to ever be a negative when thinking of a mainsail. Sometimes new technology doesn't work out as it's presented... Your laminated sail experience sounds terrible... bummer.. big time bummer... but I wouldn't throw out the battens with the bathwater. Best ever investment.. Solar panels, solar panels... and more solar panels. Cruising for most people is about power management and solar gives and gives. Don't leave home w/o them. Some form of self steering might be next on the list. I guess some form of dinghy is right up there too :^) RD, I really enjoy your videos, lots of good stuff, you're out there, and deserve all the cred and props. I'm just sharing my experience and opinions and appreciate your input and initiation of these topics. Thanks. Enjoy and be safe.

My biggest monetary regret is buying a home and not a boat.

Thanks for your honesty. Us newbies appreciate it.

It's amusing to see the dichotomies of opinions like this. I often hear the comment, "We saved too much for too long to live like we're camping!" Usually in reference to saving any money on doo-dads and extras that make life more comfortable. Then the other side of the coin is, "Keep it simple, only spend on what you need. The more stuff that you have is just more stuff that will break." I have both tiller pilot and wind vane. Each has its purpose. I hesitate to use the tiller pilot, but we did use it on one trip where we had numerous 10-hour days chugging away on diesel. Wind vanes are useless under power without sails. I can't say I regret any of my boat purchases other than trying to replace an old electronics package with the same (old) vintage "to save money". In the end, I replaced the old tech 2 years later which is what I should have done at the beginning. My view is keep it simple, buy good quality instead of quantity, and buy based on your budget - not someone else's. Big Budget and lots of time? Buy everything you want. Small budget and no time? Buy quality, NEW, bare essentials - you don't want to spend your sailing time fixing stuff. Small budget, lots of time? Buy quality gear with the option of buying used (since you have time to maintain and fix it). There's no room for low-quality - either it breaks when you depend on it, or it breaks and you don't care which means you didn't need it in the first place.

That was really good. It definately gives one pause about the whole "more is better" philosophy. The latest is not always the greatest - and less is often, more. I may not have had those exact experiences, but plenty just like them. Thanks for that... your honesty is so helpful.

What a brilliant, informative video which I'm sure will save boat owners a ton of cash. Thanks for sharing your mistakes, painful though some of them turned out to be. Kudos.

New yacht owner here. Thanks for saving us a bunch of money! Love your channel. Binge watching right now.

No one likes to admit mistakes but should cause we all love to learn how not to waste $$$$. Excellent Video Cheers

I love these video reviews from people who have actually used stuff and found it wanting. Also of course the videos about stuff that is worth having. There's so much jargon and marketing claims out there from businesses that turns out to be just words on the wind. You guys will save us guys a ton of money, thanks very much.

So many choices to make for a cruising boat. This is a great video. We learn more from failures than successes, so thanks for sharing. Some of these "regrets" are things I've pondered, so you may have saved me a few bucks!

I'm vary happy with my Raymarine Auto pilot. I installed it with help from my dad and ran it night and day for long trips south...plus love the radar and chart set up. It was great to spot the markers going in thick fog NFLand and also avoiding vessels that had no Ais.

Sorry to hear that you spent all that money on a fully battened Mylar mainsail for cruising. In the UK they seem to be mainly used by rich people for racing. I hope you got a good price for it. Great idea, though, to advise people on what not to buy. Very useful vid.

The best sailing channel. Love the detail

Lessons learned. Thanks for the info.

I’ve not watched your other videos but based on your comments here I’m thinking your opinions are based on a relatively small sample size. Let me provide some counter balance. First regarding davits. I carry my inflatable on davits and love them. Granted I’ve yet to find the wave large enough to fill my tender with water but I doubt the weight of the water would cause any damage, certainly not the kind of damage you described. While maybe not the best idea I travel with the drain plug out so my dinghy will self drain. It’s easy enough to put back in when needed. The davits also allow me to raise the tender out of the water while at anchor so it is less prone to theft and will not be banging against the hull all night. All of that said my davits are designed to carry the anticipated load and my tender is very well secured while at sea. I agree you can’t have a wind vane along with davits but my electronic auto helm works like a champ. It draws very little power, keeps the boat tracking along the course I want and the only noise it makes is a little squeak. Mildly annoying yes, but better than hand steering. Lastly I can’t speak to the high tech fabric that caused you so much grief but my main is fully battened and can get caught on the lazy jacks when raising it, but it’s no big deal to raise the main carefully to avoid getting it hung up and I’ve never got them caught on a shroud. I can’t even see how that could happen, at least not on my boat. So for those looking for guidance I’d suggest doing your own research, for your own type of sailing. In my limited experience I’ve found almost everything on my boat is a compromise. I like the convenience and security of the davits and my properly installed and calibrated auto helm performs perfectly and I take a little extra care when raising the main cuz I know where he battens might get hung up. I may sacrifice something for those conveniences but it works for me.

Summary of #1 and #2 : stay away from fancy, high tech equipment and stick with simple, "tried and true" equipment !

Loved the regrets! Thanks for sharing...I have a few things on my list that I need to scratch off ⛵👍🙆‍♂️

Very informative and useful clip. Thanks!

Arguably, most of your regrets were just a bad fit for your particular boat. The laminated mainsail is a good option for faster hulls that can makes use of them. The tanbark sail is a better fit for yours. Same goes for the autopilot. Folding solar panels are a good fit for a smaller coastal boat, but not good for bluewater use. The prop paint is another story. Maybe they meant the prop should be moving instead of just the boat? Still hard to justify if it did work. That being said, "learning to sail" isn't just about handling your boat just like "learning to hike" isn't just about how to put one foot in front of the other. It's also about the lessons we learn along the way. Thanks for the video!

Excellent information. Helped me cross off at least a couple of things on my wishlist!

Great video guys! Thanks for the info.

Very informative. Thank you so much

What a fabulously useful video, and I haven't even got a boat (yet)...you two are a peach and a pearl and passing on this sort of info is invaluable....many thanks.

Great video guys. That was a sweet list of things to avoid. We have noticed the flexible solar are quite flimsy as well. Dont fully agree about the davits but we have lost a bad set with a wave as you described. But still think they are worth it for calm non offshore passages. Although if we ever wanted a wind vane we would have to get ride of them. We have noticed our autopilot loves to oversteer as well but its a small unite for lighter winds mounted on the wheel.

Thank you! I really appreciate this information

I usually single hand sail and use my Raymarine autopilot all the time. It is great, I can't imagine sailing without it. You bought wrong brand or type. I've had problems such as bad connectors, accidently cut cables which caused other problems like blown fuses and failed to use loctite on tillar arm bolts. Payed about $2500. Not shilling for Raymarine, they have terrible customer service at times.

Here is how to rig a fisherman's anchor. You securely fasten the chain to the tee where the shank is welded to the arm and then secure the chain to the ring with 1/8" line. If the anchor gets stuck in the rocks the winch breaks the twine or you run the engine full speed to break the twine and release the anchor from the rocks.

Love your channel!

Cheers to sharing. I appreciate you guys.

Awesome vid, thank you!

Great info, thank you

Our thoughts on your list after 10 years of building/sailing/cruising: 1. Electric autopilot, love ours, its old but goes through very little power, use it much more than our windvane because of the ease. If our below deck ever fails and is not repairable we would still replace it. If you have a wheel check out CPT, easy install. 2. Battenless main. Completely agree. We have the same on Prism, including a soft head, and a leechline that goes back to the tack. 3. Flexible solar panels, been there done that, agree unless you want to spend the $$$ for the top of the line but even then not worth it. 4. Lightwind main. I get it and have considered doing this as well to go along with our drifter but have yet to for the same reasons and we are currently mostly in the trades so not really needed. 5.Fishman anchor. Never bothered either 6. Davits. Agree, our first boat had them and we nearly ripped off the pushpit. 7. Gopro sessions. They where never that great nor where they supposed to compete with the hero. The simple controls are all we had on the original hero. They are really designed to do one thing, record. Dont try to mess with any settings in the field. As we would say "mash it and forget it". 8. Prop speed. We use bottom paint or zinc paint depending on what prop we are using. If it begins to need more we pull the prop in the water (we have a prop puller) clean a reapply. 9. Hand line. They work, but its call fishing, not catching. 10. Hard Dinghy. Ok this is the one I really dont agree with. All the things you bring up can be addressed with a well suited hard dinghy. We cruised 4 years with a Walker bay 8, loved it and just recently moved up to a fatty knees 8. What you guys dont mention is that with an inflatable you are pretty much reliant on using an engine if the wind is up. With a good hard dinghy you can row in pretty much any conditions in an anchorage. You cant pop them and when you do need an engine they motor great with a 2hp 18lb outboard. And if you want to cover some ground without the motor you can sail them quite well. Also a hard dinghy will last forever and can be easily repaired. I'm going to go out and say you just havent seen the light yet when it comes to this one.

Great video. Thank you. What was the make and model of the autopilot, so we may avoid it?

I think you just saved me some money great video, I also think that the ten best would be a great accompanying video!

Thank you! All of the items you mentioned are fantasy and I just crossed them off my list😊. The hard dingy? Yup future yard ornament. All others I just could not afford or I am just too cheap. Greatly appreciated this video cheers

Great video 👍

As someone who has a similar budget traveling the country on a lower paying job, this video is absolutely invaluable, cruising is one of the things i am saving up for and avoiding financial pitfalls is a must if i plan to realistically cruise in the next decade. Thank you both very much!

Thanks for the info about prop speed!

Good tips to think about in sailing adventure planning. Wish you sweet sailing. Thanks for the video.

Autopilot can be adjusted in order to have more or less response. Yes, use a lot of power but help a lot when is well adjusted.

I agree on the below deck autopilot for your specific application with a larger boat auto is a good thing for long passages but only to supplement the steering when under power the windvane is a far better choice i have an old RVG windvane and love it but it works a trim tab on an auxiliary rudder for redundancy

Hi thanks for making this video. Sorry that you've had to go through the pain, but I'm glad I now don't have to!

Thanks for your insights. The biggest mistake purchase has to be to buy any boat followed by buying the wrong boat. Been there got the T shirt and still went in 2017 to buy another boat. They say boats are like standing under a cold shower tearing up large notes like $100 if its a smaller boat and more for larger boats . I prefer small old boats less than 25 feet but could only get a 1970 era 27 foot cheap this time . As a project boat doing it up to sail away from Ireland ,2020.The boat before was 34 foot cat which cost too much in marina costs so had to sell up so was the wrong boat . Before that had 20 to 25 footers and stayed in budget and cheap enough to park them and fly home to get work to continue the journey .Also smaller boat if weather is bad on the anchor just get ashore and stay there until storm is over and if the boat breaks the anchor and is lost not so much money lost .I prefer to try to sail alone but always so far on big jumps ended up with crew .I prefer to crew on my cousins boat 37 foot cat as he paid the bills but after a decade of that he died from cancer at 53 so was forced to buy the 27 footer in 2017: Cruising boats don't need half the equipment of race boats but nice if you can get it free or cheap second hand . I avoid too much investment in electrical stuff and normally prefer oil lamps and gas cooking. However this time prices of solar panels at ~$1 a watt makes getting 4 of the 100 watt hard type panels ( about 400 ,watts total ) and 4 of the 6 volt golf cart 220 amp batteries at ,$200 a pop or $800 total in Expensive ireland is maybe a possibility . Either that or its going to be a 100 amp AGM and one of the 100 watt panels and normal car battery to start the 10 HP SAAB inboard . That is enough power to use the simplex piston type direct to tiller electronic self steering solutions which wit KISS keep it simple stupid works most the time . There is one eastern Europe guy every year he buys a ,20 to 25 foot boat in Holland in the start for the summer tweaks it a bit hardly buys any extra equipment and then sails into the north a!Atlantic for the summer . Then he returns to Holland after a few months .Then he sells the boat and repeats the solution the next year . No destination problems just sail around the north Atlantic . That guy might be onto something few if any marina costs and sail in the warmer times in the region where winds are often strong so less risk of no wind . I do respect the owners of big boats for their choices but as I get older my preference is smaller cheaper and even to bring a tent and camp out when I arrive the new location as much cheaper than owning a much bigger boat .As I get older smaller sails make life much more easy. For younger folk with energy and also some with a family then bigger boats can make more sense. I might even in 2025 look to get 21 foot type boat to join in the Mini Sat race across the Atlantic . Some 100 boats all limited to max size of 21 feet race across the Atlantic as single handed sailors . Most boats are not going to win they just do it for the entertainment factor as the race machine that win cost over $ 60,000 plus The rest of the fleet are often just homebuilt wooden crafts along for the joy ride. Lots of choice's

4-stroke outboard motor, electric start only. I have never rowed so much in bad weather as that summer. When a multimeter and a spare starting battery is higher on the checklist than petrol something is wrong. The positive from this is that I'm planing on making a gaffrig for the boat during the winter.

such a funny vid, can't stop larfing here...HNY guys take care

Thank for the money saving tips.

This video hooked me. I would like a fully battened main... but I don’t cruise trades. I’m down in the 40s. But it wouldn’t be a laminated sail. I’m surprised about your comments on electronic auto pilot. That can wait clearly. All the breakages of windvanes means they make me nervous too..... might have to have both😁. The others are spot on, and very helpful. I plan on having davits... easy to launch and retrieve with kids etc. but will have a high pressure roll up, rather than RIB to make stowage for passage easier. Very interested in your solar panel experience, not what I expected at all! Can’t wait to see more.

The scenery is so beautiful and stunning.Very enjoyable! Reminds me of my trips where I take the good music like the Guns N Roses, Imagine Draongs or the Delta Parole and then enjoy the powerful feeling of the sea. ¡vamos!

Great info. We have a leaking sink hose. $70 to get a new one but very hard to install. Then we found out about a basin wrench. So that's next.

Thank you for the very helpful video! What brand of main did you end up with? I would like a battenless main for my boat as well, but I couldn’t quite catch the name you mentioned. Thanks much!

We were thinking about flex panels for our electric boat....no so much now. It is a little Cape Dory 30 and we wanted something that would not ruin her good looks. We have an electric motor like yours, cept smaller, we also have the honda generator we have not tired run and gen. Do you have an idea what may be causing the problem? Ours is pretty simple, no solar or wind generator. Nice video I lost track when you were on land. Glad you are back in the water. Everyone has made mistakes....some admit them some don't and some folks think they never have but we all know they have. Dee and Deb

These videos are most helpful to newbies.

Thank you, this type of video save your viewers actual $$$ just found your channel, this is the first vid, will catch up thx

You have so much more patience than I. I have read EVERY comment on this film, and I appreciate what you've done, and the courage that you showed by putting it out. Whether I agree with you or not in every instance, you are providing your experience, and those people who comment about their conclusions based on their experience are doing exactly the same thing, and all the information is just more information that can be used by still others to help them make a decision. To those jerks (and yes, they are jerks), who want to look down their "highly experienced" noses, and tell the world to disregard what you say because you have only been a practitioner of living in your boat for a few years, I say, if you just want to denigrate a young couple trying to help others to avoid screwing-up where they did, and can't provide any information from your own (presumably) deep well of experience, you should just crawl back into your bitter, nasty shell, and wait until next Halloween to come out.

Great vid. Really surprised to hear that you guys had purchased a laminate main and such an elaborate auto pilot knowing how you guys cruise. I pray that I don't have the same issue with my auto pilot but we shall see. Cheers Arch

This was one of your very best informative videos, and I'm sure there's a lot of people out there who are saying , gosh ! if only he posted this video 3 months ago ! LMAO Thanks for sharing your "Wisdom" Cheers

Nice job! I've made similar mistakes the prop paint was a dud. Our Cuban yo-yo works fine on coastal water with smaller fish. I have not been able to land Mahis or larger pelagic with mine. I also destroyed my first set of flexible solar panels. Now I have 500W (4 panels) on my bimini- they work very well and are out of the way. On our boat (50ft), our autopilot is an indispensable crew member. Unless I have a full crew of sailors on-board, our pilot steers 95% of all passages. But your 100% correct that they suck amps, ours will require 6-10 amp/h depending on point of sail and sea state. 2 wind generators are now being installed on our brand new arch!. Arches are expensive and detract from aesthetics, but lifting the dinghy on deck was a hassle for my wife and I.

Appreciate your candor!

You both are lovely people and I wish every thing great in cruising and stay safe.🥰🙄

Can you share what brand of electric auto pilot you had issues with? Thats strange because if you look at Delos they have always used an auto pilot and no wind vane but they have had issues with there's though. There boat is also a bit bigger and has a generator.

I reckon a collapsible dinghy that can be taken apart for stowage would be a good option for a tender - something like the passage makers - stitch and glue one together yourself in a week.

Very useful. Thanks! `

If you dont like the performance of propspeed, your best option is to leave the prop bare. Sealing a metal propeller in a cuprous oxide bottom paint can create issues with dissimilar metals and cost you the entire prop.

Biggest regret... using a camping toilet (not composting, just a seat with a tank below it) onboard. Can't use it when the boat is heeling over too much. Can't use it when the boat is bouncing over waves too much. Second biggest regret: Selling the boat.

Thank you for a very informative post. Cheers Gray and Irene

Got swamped and sunk = problem solved. I have a house, always something to fix , very expensive, always something to do in the yard ,plus tax and insurance. Boating is a great way to go. Stuff we need and need to fix a part of life. Nice young couple, ya'll learned from regrets at 60 I learned a lot from this video. Sail on enjoy!!!!!

I have a Raymarine Evolution with mechanical linear drive (36feet 10ton steel sailboat), you cannot hear it from the cockpit, it handles all weather and do not use a lot of power. I use it 90% of the time on all my sailing. It connects to remote, my old autohelm wind, depth, course, speed and to a plotter. It took probably 5 minutes to get it all working after install. I can even steer from my Galaxy phone with Raycontrol. There is absolutely no added force needed to steer the boat either. It costs about 5000$ and I would rather lay dead in a ditch, as someone just said, then swap it for a wind vane. :)

I personally have had good experiences with prop speed, but that was on power boats that are probably only used once or twice a week for a few hours. Also heard good things about the flexible solar panels. Interesting to hear what you had to say on them.

Any thoughts on getting a tiller pilot to hook to your wind vane? Not exactly necessary, but I see them pop up on Craigslist for $100 every now and then. 100 watt panels in an aluminum frame are down to $84 on Amazon. It amazes me how they are less than half the price I paid for mine one year ago.

Wow, very interesing! Thanks for posting this! I wonder - if you turn this around - what has been the 10 most successful investments of gadgets or equipment you put on your boat? Not thinking about the boat itself or safety equipment, but things you find rewarding?

What type of bottom paint did you use to paint the propeller and what was the propeller made of? If it was a copper based bottom paint, and the prop was some sort of metal, did you have any galvanic corrosion?

Gosh... thank you so much for this....👍👍

I use my auto pilot to change sail or use the head. I will leave it on on long hauls but be closely monitoring it. It does freak out occasionally but I just shut it down and take the helm.

Hello. Thank you. I am finishing up my Downeast 32 cutter re fit and have been agonizing over the electronics. I have a good vhf radio and an ipad with digital charts. Looking at wind vane vs raymarine but keep hearing about problems.

I just meet a guy who got into a multi day storm and had a dinghy on davits that was banging so bad after a couple of days he cut the lines and abandoned it.

In cruising, simple and low tech is the best.

Another great video. Thanks. I have the NEMa nightmare on my boat. Helloooo monitor. The harder it blows the better she goes. Not one volt of electricity used and never a crash. Any advice on a boom brake?

Thanks very helpful

Folding fisherman/admiralty anchor is a great spare, but can easily trip themselves with change of wind or tide direction! Inflatable dinghy with a hard bottom is really hard to beat as a tender, both because they are so stable and friendly when along side! The hard bottom means that they’ll plane easily and take some punishment on the shore!

10K on a sail??? 10 K on an auto pilot,,, wow,, I have a 36 trawler,,, and never ever spent that kind of cash, granted I do not cruise every day, but really??

I never had any issues with my gopro session but i ultimately lost it in the ocean while paddle boarding!

What brand and model of autopilot did you have installed? I had an Alpha on my previous 35 foot sloop, and it drew much less power than my Alder Barbour frig, even in a blow.

I have a raymarine evo autopilot going into my nmea 2000 system it took 3 days to set it up changing wires to inputs now it works brilliant it settles down after awhile learning the role of the sea and not correcting just for waves. It knows when your rolling off a big wave and corrects to allow the boat the roll down the side rather than falling off the top it then corrects back on to the course set. It follows a wind angle at the push of a button it follows a charred route from the plotters at the push of a button,

I loved your video even though I don’t have a boat or have plans to get one. It was probably cathartic to get all that off your chests. I think the Rock Anchor was my favorite mistake, but listen, sometimes we just have to experience things first hand. I will keep watching and good luck to you two.

Hand held digital depth sounders for scouting anchorage spots from the dinghy. The lead line lasts forever but it took two dead hand held sounders to appreciate my 30 year old lead line.

A round tail dinghy to replace our old transom dinghy. Both were the same size and yes the round tail folds up small, but boy is it unstable compared to the transom dinghy. So we patched up the transom dinghy and put it back on the boat. The round tail is now sat in the garden and no one wants to buy it. Then there was a magma BBQ, that wouldn't stay lit even with lighter fuel poured on it. That will be going on e bay in the Spring. Finally a 140% genoa. Good quality cloth but it is too big. In light winds the cloth is too heavy to fly properly and when its really blowing its rolled up so looses its sail shape with a huge great round area in the luff. Next one will be in the 110 to 120 range.

Your very very smart to continue using paper charts , traditional navigation methods, sextant, etc. Also very smart to use trysail, staysail on inner forestay with running backstays to keep the loads low and centered on the mast in questionable weather conditions. Electronics are nice but as Don Street says “electricity and seawater together make green gunge.

Strange how experiences differ. I absolutely love flexible solar panels. Of course you shouldn’t walk on them.. Hang your spares on the sea fence, one on each side or use carabiners to change the sides according to the sun. This is what I do and one 100W panel powers my electrical tiller pilot all day long, provided that it is partially sunny. Works great for 3 months and 3000 miles now.

This is an invaluable video. I’m buying a sail boat and most people brag about their auto pilot but it’s always a short subject.

Thanks for that great video - now I know what I really don't want to buy !

After reading the comments I decided to add my story.... I live in the Puget Sound area so boats are everywhere. But I wanted a home with heat, a roof, and carpet and that homie stuff. So I purchased a fixer upper since I have the skills to do the remodel work. After the purchase I did all the repairs out of pocket. So in the end I have a 2500 sq ft home with 3 bedrooms, dining room, living room, kitchen, 2 1/2 baths, and a 12'x20' enclosed back porch with a view of the Olympic Mountains.... My monthly mortgage payment $ 420.00 a month. Taxes and insurance another $325.00 a month... So $745 dollars a month for my home leaves me plenty of cash to save up for First Class Vacations every year. I fly first class, stay in 5 star hotels all around the world.... I just don't have to sail to get there and I am not limited to seaside attractions. LIVE is what you make it....

I think I agree with nearly everything you've said with the possible exception of the hard dingy. I have a Portland Pudgy which I keep on the foredeck (the davits I also ditched.) Yes I have to hoist it aboard and launch it with the main halyard, but that's where it belongs anyway. It also doubles as a lifeboat which doesn't have to be inflated. The best part is that it requires no outboard motor but rows beautifully. Nobody wants to steal it because it's heavy and motorless. I've owned at least a half dozen inflatables and they've all made their way into the trash. My autohelm also stopped working but my (very old) Sayes Rig, wind vane steering, refuses to quit. It works even with the engine running at low RPM's and just the staysail set. Prop paint is also only good for people who let their engine sit for months. As soon as you start the engine, all the paint comes off PDQ. You're absolutely right, a little anti-fouling paint is as good as anything "high-tech." And high tech sails are only for guys who change sails like racecar drivers change tires.

A dinghy on a Davit needs to be properly secured so it doesn’t move (or bang around) we secure ours with 4” truck straps underneath crossing in an “x” pattern and winched tight. Tip the side closest to the stern slightly down so you expose the bottom of the dinghy to a wave as opposed to making a scoop water collector. Also remove the drain plug so water drains out. Davits can be a real asset when used to secure a dinghy correctly.

Hi guys, very useful and interesting information. The spinnaker cloth main....ehh who talked you into that? The full batten Mylar main, interesting about the taffata cover fibers..... If it had been built with reef points it might have worked but it also needed to be left up and used continuously. Raising , lowering and treating it like a cruising sail does not work well. I remove my racing Mylar mainsail at the end of the day and carefully roll it .The battens actually also help stop the sail 'flapping' which is death to a Mylar sail..... Auto pilots are a huge problem and show the limitations of you non-hybrid electric yacht. I wonder if simple tiller type autohelm on the weather vane could be a low power solution ' doubt it. Biggest regret...... buying a boat that needs more work than I thought and had time or enthusiasm for! Fortunatly the initial outlay was low ish ...... Cheers Warren.

Thanks for making this video it will help those who know nothing ,like me .

One of the reasons for not using standard bottom paint on your propeller is the copper in the paint starts causing electrolysis in your propeller. Propeller specific antifouling is what to paint it with.

I know it’s a few years old. But as someone planning to spend my life cruising it was really interesting and helpful.

Nice job guys!

Good content, so far have not made any of your mistakes ... so consider myself lucky. The Raymarine autopilot was toast when I bot my boat but we knew it wasn't getting replaced because of all the groaning and noise it made even in standby. Went with a new but old school design CPT autopilot and wow this thing is nice. Accurate, quiet and sips energy.