Sailing New Zealand, Boat Chores Cleaning, Chain, Lost Items, Ep 51, Off the Starboard Hull

[@geoff8751]

Another informative video, thanks Scott & Laurie

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Geoff Hall thanks!

[@jwrappuhn71]

Good vid ya'll, the small things make a big difference and it's always fascinating watching and knowing how you take care of the problem.

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

jwrappuhn71 thanks. Prevention of small problems by good maintenance and keeping things clean goes a long way to keep our trip from having nasty surprises.

[@charliejenkins4176]

Scott, Love the videos. You inspired us to put the L400 at the top of our list and we now have a contract on a 2012 L400 (last year before the S2 model). We are taking possession of the boat next month, Feb 2020, in Barcelona. The boat has two solar panels mounted on the davits, but I really want to upgrade to your setup. Do you have any drawings or specs that I can show to the fabricators that I will have to hire in Spain? Thanks, Charlie

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Charlie Jenkins , hi guys. Congrats, you will love the little cat. I do have drawings for the bracket. My email is [e-mail] Send me a message and I will try to forward it. The bracket I’m referring to is the mount on the top cap of the compression posts holding up the roof. Again, congrats Send pics Cheers Scott

[@SailingBlownAway]

Love your videos : ). My favorite one is the one about the solar arch you built. Really nice! Question . . . we are thinking about purchasing either a new 40' lagoon or a five-year-old 45' catamaran. After having cruised for as long as you have in your 400 S2 are you happy with the amount of space or if you had to do it all over again would you opt for a larger but older boat? I would really appreciate your advice. Thanks!

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Blown Away we are asked this question many times. The answer is a resounding “we love our 40 foot boat and would purchase the same one again” for sure. It fits easily into a 40 foot dock space which is a common slip dimension, it is super comfortable in all weather, easy to maneuver into the dock and easy to manage with 2 people. Are there any questions related to your situation that you would like to ask? Cheers

[@SailingBlownAway]

@@offthestarboardhull8913 That's awesome and what I wanted to hear. Maybe a good subject for an upcoming video? Thank you so much and happy travels!! : )

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Blown Away good idea. I think we did mention that in one video, but it is not the topic of a video. Thanks for your support. The repairs get more expensive and frequent as the boat gets older so buying a new boat would give you a “honeymoon” period of about 5 years after you initially outfit it for offshore, which can be pricey. Buying a 5 year old older boat would get you into replacing many items right away, especially if the boat was either high mileage or poorly maintained (or unused). Cheers

[@Ivansgarage]

Scott, like all your videos .... Like the boat maintenance stuff to ....

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Thanks Ivansgarage! The maintenance videos do seem to be more popular than our trip videos.

[@gregmcbeth8585]

Scott I love watching your videos, keep up the great work Splicing a s/s eye to the rope then tested shackle to the chain will eliminate chaff

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Great tip, thanks Greg McBeth!

[@stuartsimmons956]

Love the mundane and please, more details

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Much more to come. Our video storage is full of the mundane. Stay tuned for details of the haul out coming soon.

[@ChrisMcEvoy]

Great video as usual :)

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Chris McEvoy thanks! Nice to see you back commenting on our videos. Cheers

[@ChrisMcEvoy]

@@offthestarboardhull8913 Yes, been a while. I took a break from watching sailing videos as I got side tracked on doing my Ancestry and finding new relatives that I didn't know I had :) .. I am back at watching videos now so will try my best to comment on videos :)

[@Gusinabus]

Good to get caught up. I had missed a few episode as I have been tavelling and investing time in my own youtube channel

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Gus inabus thanks for continuing to keep tabs on our travels while you are doing your own thing.; Cheers

[@dnihilist]

Scott, how do prices at Cater compare with Defender/WM? Cost and quality of work done?

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

I have nothing but good things to say about Cater Marine. They have over the top service. The prices seemed OK, I think you could do a bit better if you ordered from the US but to have it at the dock or the next day is something that to me is priceless. We’re anchored in downtown Auckland tonight and working our way back North, Cater has some stuff for me. True story. Cheers

[@dnihilist]

@@offthestarboardhull8913 Hope you replaced all your thruhulls and valves with TruDesign while you were there!

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

I did replace with Truedesign

[@jacorin]

well NZ is the seventh state of Australia,so you were close :)

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Oops! Similar to Canada being regarded as an American state...

[@jacorin]

@@offthestarboardhull8913 yep pretty much lololol...... though don't tell the kiwis that

[@kenkaz3376]

Hello Scott. You mentioned saildrives were being serviced/repaired? Did you have any issues? Also, do you have folding props fitted? If so do you carry a cheap spare encase you spin a hub or have some mechanical issue with them? I recently found a supplier in China and they are looking at the viability of nylon emergency props; like a donut tire on a car. If you spin a prop you replace with the a nylon prop until you can get the good one repaired or replaced. Some folks carry an OEM standard 2 blade but even those things are 200-300 dollars. Wondering what your thoughts are on that. OK.....now I'm cleaning my boat. You're right on about mold. If you're on the offensive no big deal. On defensive......stuff gets green and very unhealthy.. not only that, it will absolutely destroys your investment. Every nook and cranny. Spotless bilges a must. I always carry bags of desiccant encase we leave the boat for extended periods. Leaving 12 volt fans on in around the berths help greatly when leaving the boat too. If you have good solar array you can do that and walk off without worry or running the batteries down. Boy, listen to me.........lol. Anyway good video thanks. Capt Kaz

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Ken Kaz , oh my heavens------- the sail drives. MUSKOKA came with SD - 50’s and there is enough chatter on social media regarding the issues with the reliability of said drives to sink a ship. That said mine were chugging along just fine thank you , that is until Opua where I pulled out the cone drives and proceeded to Lapp the surfaces. Much to my fright the main shaft on the vertical drive was in rough shape. So bad it would have been unable to be reinstalled. I had to replace the shaft and the bearings affected , total cost for all parts was $5,200 NZ. I almost crapped my pants, not an expense I needed. After the shock subsided I started to look at other options, one that stood out was to totally replace the SD-50 with a new SD-60. To my surprise the SD-60 was $7,400 NZ. I ordered the new drive the same day. Now the story gets better ( worse). Because I needed at least one motor to get around I waited to service the Starboard side until the new drive was up and sorted out. When everything was good with the new drive I pulled the clutch out of the old SD-50 for service. An guess what, it to had shaft wear issues, not nearly as bad but far from good. Right now I have a new 60 and an old 50. Do I get another SD-60 prior to sailing away from NZ or bite the bullet yet again. Time will tell. As for the folding props , yes I do have folding props and yes I do have a factory propeller just in case.

[@kenkaz3376]

@@offthestarboardhull8913 oh my, oh my.....I love it when the repair folks say, "well it's a boat" as if that's an answer to suspicious equipment. You know maintenance only goes so far. My frustration has always been exceeding any tech manual and recommended maintenance, and it's still messed up! If it wasn't for an ability to Jerry-rig, we'd be lost! Hope you sort that all out Scott. (Its a boat right........lol) Take car, giv'er hell. Capt Kaz

[@Every_Day_Adventure]

I can't help myself but "dicks on the hard"?? hahahahaha...I just cracked up

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Had to back and see that we were referring to Dick of S/V Maia who was hauled out. Good ears!

[@jimanderson2518]

Scott you are toooo funny .love your sense of humor. Started with the bear spray. Anyway a question.... do you have a power washer for all this cleaning. I am definitely thinking of installing one on the boat once we get sailing . I want to run a permanent hydraulic line to the bow for quick connect ( anchor/chain cleaning) and one at the stern.. Either link the pump to one of the engines with clutch or electric motor 3hp 208/220 3ph . Weg VFD In your apinion would this type of set up be beneficial in the long run ?such as hull cleaning and deck cleaning Fyi we are talking 3000psi industrial not Canadian tire special:) .. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Cheers ,btw it's a catamaran Fairwinds from the @captains.chair

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Jim Anderson , I do have a wash down pump that has reasonable pressure, it’s installed in the anchor locker and is used to clean the chain primarily. It’s fresh water so I use it sparingly, if a chain is muddy it’s so much easier to leave the mud and clay in the ocean. Cheers

[@CatamaranChannel]

31st :p

[@offthestarboardhull8913]

Catamaran Channel , I don’t quite understand. I am old so perhaps an explanation is needed. Scott