12] GIRL VS CATAMARAN: Boatyard Life | Sailing Kittiwake

[@TheDevilshire]

This is the best sailing channel ever. Simplicity becomes charm.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Wow ☺️ we’re blushing! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@kerrypitt9789]

You have basically changed the paradigms we live within which we all live within. You are a working couple, living in an aquatic home, it could change how the younger generation folks, such as you or younger, it could change how we perceive our lives and everything it encompasses. I hope you find your way with great success and safety. I think if you can buy a nylon cutting board you can cut it to make backing plates. I did that mounting my fishing down riggers onto my boat. I will move on to the continuation of your journey. I want you to know how inspirational you both are

[@graemebowyer1713]

Well guys, I could not resist watching a few more videos and following your journey some more. i'm going to try to not watch any more until after the weekend and look forward to watching your next season. it seems strange to say as I don't know you but am proud of all the work you do to live your dream, from the freelance work to boat improvements and just plain maintenance. As a non sailor I find your videos so entertaining and informative. you seem such a grounded pair and what can I say, I am inspired, thanks for the videos and keep it up. I can see I am a couple of years behind so wonder where you are now and what you are up to, all will be revealed I guess. PS I took a look at the Sealand racer ship, your pal spoke about, that must have been so scary, especially alone. take care you two.

[@mowhoknow5098]

Wow the mountain footage is beautiful

[@SailingKittiwake]

Thank you ☺️

[@RoyClare]

Hi guys .... what a lovely episode. Your channel never fails to please ... you’re an awesome pair of humans having a happy, practical adventure. Thanks so much for sharing in your characteristically understated way. Really appreciate the narrative and insights. Hey, and I’ve just Coppercoated my boat and I’m looking forward to seeing how things go this first season. As others have said here, it’s an historic concept ... and is not a “no maintenance” solution, but it should be a “lower maintenance” one. I hope - as it wasn’t cheap to do. ☺️ Also, I’ve just been to see my niece in Bolzano ... such a beautiful environment up there, but not enough seawater for me ... 🤣

[@philenglish6611]

Love the simplicity and honesty of your videos, I am only following you and sailing Uma now, the others have all disappeared up their own popularity !

[@SailingKittiwake]

Wow thanks Phil! We love Sailing Uma 😊

[@SuperDiagnostic]

Nice one.. can't wait to see how you get on with the Copper-Coat.. Nearly bought a Etap 26i with Copper-Coat a couple of years ago and feel cheated I didn't follow through with the purchase!

[@JjCoronet]

When i was younger i played golf along that stretch, on one hole you have to hit across a rivene but everyone looses a ball onto the beach below which is only accessible by boat, if you collect all the hundreds of balls off the beach you could make a fortune reselling all the lost balls back to the golf course 4 balls cost £16 when i played golf last

[@SailingKittiwake]

Lol. On the way down we met a guy who funded his cruising by getting his metal detector out on the beach when the tourists had gone home after dropping all their loose change. I'm sure if he'd known about your idea he'd have been there like a shot!

[@tedrenard472]

He wasn't off a Wharram cat called Jaya, by any chance? He's one of my best friends, and very skilled at boat & canvas work, if you ever know of someone who needs a hand. His wife is great too, a very intelligent Turkish lady.

[@SailingKittiwake]

No, he was on a tiny monohull. We’ve met Mark and his wife though 😊

[@niccat7051]

She will look spiffy when she’s finished!! Good job guys 👍

[@SailingKittiwake]

Thanks NICCAT, she certainly does look spiffy!

[@evanofelipe]

I'm highly supportive of your adventures and totally agree that a boat yard is no place for girls, or men for that matter, but they are a necessary evil. Having endured months in them it's truly wonderful to 'get the hell out' and finally to be rid of dust, grime and constant noise. Ryan, you're a very lucky lad to have such a persevering wife, evidently willing to share it with you and make the best of the grim world of 'boat yard life'. Never mind, the end justifies the means and I'm sure Kittiwake will be all the better for it.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hi Evano, thanks so much for the comment :) boat yards are a hard place for any human being. Although I'm sure some of the guys in Portimao had been living there for over 5 years so they must have enjoyed it. In an upcoming episode you'll get to see the huge beaming smile on Elena's face when we get out of the yard. Kittiwake is looking smart and cutting through the water like never before. Hopefully we won't have to go back in a yard for a long time!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Elena here. I just read these comments. I’d just like to point out, for the sake of precision, that we’re not married. And yes, I couldn’t be happier to be out of the yard! 😁

[@evanofelipe]

Hi Elena, no worries, it’s the relationship that matters, not what it’s called.

[@AndyUK-Corrival]

Great video guys. 26ft but lots of hull area as she is a cat but hats off to you lots done. Good ideas and work on rudder too. Loved the drone footage etc and the mountains. Always love the music on your videos. Hope you guys are having fun in the Med now. Andy UK

[@SailingKittiwake]

Lovely to read you, Andy. Thanks so much. Your comments make shooting and editing all worth it😊

[@stuartfoster3067]

Another great episode! Good plan for painting the hull a lighter color for all the reasons you mentioned and more. Nice choice of music, will you post author and name. s/v Looner Drift

[@kendorsey4320]

Plastic tarps are your friend. I can't wait to see her in the spring.

[@SailingKittiwake]

We couldn't source one, but we're sorted now ;) We do love the new look!

[@geremychubbuck3730]

Great video, guys, as usual. Keep up the great work. Your maintenance work on your boat looks great.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Thanks Geremy! We’re pretty happpy with how it came out, considering it was our first time doing all those works 😁 it’s not perfect, but no one will notice anyway 😁

[@805gregg]

Use a piece of aluminum for backing places and hex head for new machine screws

[@SailingKittiwake]

Is it not better to avoid dissimilar metals? Also aluminium is way softer than the GRP we used. It's nice to work with though.

[@patricklaine6958]

I like it that the two of you are 'living the dream' but also continuing to work. I worry a bit about some of the other channels with young people (that are excellent), but they seem to have dropped out of life, for much more than a sabbatical. What happens when they reach 65? You need savings and 'points' for a pension. So, keep making your great videos, but I wanted to add my 'bravo' for continuing to work as well. Fair winds

[@SailingKittiwake]

Aw. Thanks Patrick 😊 We want this lifestyle to be long-term, so we keep working to make a living and save up. At the same time, if anything happened to us or Kittiwake and we needed to go back to land, we’d need to be employable with a good CV 😊 We like having a plan B, although we really hope plan A will work out 😊 Thanks for stopping by and leaving another lovely comment. Fair winds!

[@Kampup]

Can anyone tell me How much does it cost to stay in a boat yard?

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hey, we’ll publish our breakdown of all yard expenses on Monday together with the last boatyard video 😊 stay tuned to find out the price.

[@juliaweeks5075]

Great vid, as always. Really interested in how your copper coat works for you - something I've been considering as well. Looking forward to the vid on the topsides paint, as that is something we will need to address on Snowflake in the near future.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Thanks so much Jules 😊 We’ll let you know 😊 we’ve been in the water for a month and it’s still gold and no growth. I wonder when it’ll become green. We’ll see 😉

[@wayneskorupka3530]

Hi guys I'm doing the same job striping it back to the gel coat I'll be happy when it's done. Great video keep them comeing

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers Wayne. Pace yourself and treat yourself to a beer each evening! It's the only way ;-) More videos on their way soon.

[@brianpetersen3429]

Always love your video's, some beautiful footage of northern Italy! Your new hull colors look great!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Thanks for stopping by and leaving yet another lovely comment, Brian!

[@clarisd]

I wish I would have known you were coming our way on Lake Como, we would have liked to buy you dinner and hand over a case of local wines! Perhaps next time!!!!!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Ohhhh we forgot you live there! Bummer. We went there for the day on a road trip, but it’s so close to Bergamo! #FacePalm

[@PuntBamaPunt1972]

Future reference: when hydraulics fail they invariably are designed to fail shut so your boat would be safe as houses if suspended from a lift in the event of a hydraulic failure. It is very much a garden variety and somewhat common fault.

[@KSAMarc]

Great job as ever. Having removed the whole underwater gelcoat on a 27 ‘ boat with a drill and a sanding attachment ‘I feel your pain ‘. Looking forward to seeing the finished results.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Ouch! That sounds like a nightmare. Luckily we didn't need to remove the gel coat, but there was a lot of stuff that had been added over the years that we did have to take off! Hard work but worth it in the long term.

[@pwijland]

Tre Cime was the name of my first boat. I spend 1,5 week hiking in that area and spend a night in the Drei Zinnen hütte

[@SailingKittiwake]

That’s so cool! What a coincidence 😊

[@frankrice5364]

Nice boat glad we found you guys ...great camera works thank you guys for sharing

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers Frank! 😊 We’ve been working on our camera work - hopefully you’ll see it improve in the next few videos 😊

[@danielprinsloo2917]

Hi guys - great video keep up the good work - God bless you both.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers Daniel! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and give us feedback. Much appreciated. All the best, Elena & Ryan

[@lesbutler9174]

Another good video, think about copper coat very carefully, I put it on my boat 3 years ago, and have just spent the winter stripping it off !! It had bubbles underneath it, it worked brilliantly as an anti foul , but it must have sealed in the moisture. My boat was out of the water for 2 years before I applied the copper coat, so dry as it could be, even tested it with a damp meter. Maybe just bad luck on my part , it’s not cheap if you have to take it off again after 3 years !!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Oh dear. That is scary! For us, it'd still save us money as that'd save 3 haul outs in the Med and it costed us as much as 1 haul out. But we cannot even think of stripping it all off after only 3 years. It's too late now by the way - we're floating.

[@lesbutler9174]

That was why I did mine with it !! Just hasn’t worked out for me, hopefully you will have better luck 👍

[@SailingKittiwake]

Fingers crossed!

[@ajax1137]

There is *nothing* so valuable as having a dedicated partner such as Elena. Hookie is right, the boatyard is a necessary evil, and you feel so much better about the boat when you depart. Elena- My family is from Teramo, in Abruzzo. My cousin now lives in Florence. :)

[@SailingKittiwake]

Aw thank yooouuu! ☺️ Ciao Ajax! Io sono di Bergamo 😊 Dove vivi?

[@ajax1137]

lo sono di U.S. Mi famiglia ha lasciato Teramo intorno al 1903, ma visitiamo quando possiamo.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Fantastic! I never met an Italian American. It’s so cool you watch our videos 😊

[@ajax1137]

Sailing is a universal language. ;)

[@CheersWarren]

Hi Coppercoat. That will be interesting, been around quite a while actually (30+ years) was talking to a tech guy from the old Manufacturer years ago. I dont know why more boats are not made with it from New as an in mold coating. I remember him saying even the externally applied was very good and helped with some blister protection. Developed in UK. I will be very interested in how it goes , I finally have a Boat to try it on sometime. Sailing Uma used their homemade version that has been working well for them. Good choice. Cheers Warren

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers Warren. It was quite stressful to apply in the warm sun 😁 but it was worth it. If you ever do it, we’d recommend mixing up half a pack at a time, rather than the whole thing. With the two of us, it was hard to keep up with its drying time. And after 3 coats the rollers become sooo heavy 😂 Elena could barely lift hers up at the end of the day 😁 In terms of it being new, I think Ryan meant it’s only been a few years since you can do it DIY using the original Coppercoat product, or so he thought.

[@tedrenard472]

Never complain about doing something in the warm sun. You can always come back here to the UK and try applying Coppercoat on a hull that's been out of the water for years but is still wringing wet, and then paint the stuff on while it's raining :-). Sun? Gimme more!!!

[@HundredRabbits]

Wonderful humans

[@SailingKittiwake]

Aw. Right back at ya!

[@clarisd]

The Copper paint will still require you to clean the hull. Unless it is a very costly product, even so you will have to clean her every now and again!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yes, but much less often than our old anti-fouling, which turned into a forest after a month 😁

[@feshfeshsailing]

Hey guys. I just left Horta a couple hours ago. Should pass by the Algarve area around May 1st, after making a stop-over in Ponta Delagada and Lisbon. I promised you a couple of drinks, so where will you be?

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hello! Hmmm we’ll probably be somewhere on the South coast of Spain or Formentera. It depends on the winds. We’re currently in Gibraltar, hoping to set off soon.

[@feshfeshsailing]

Sailing Kittiwake . Well, then it looks like a rain check. Got to deliver the boat in Malaga on May 6th, and that's as far as I will go into the Med.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Ah what a shame. If the winds are too strong and we stop before Malaga, we’ll let you know 😊 you never know what happens with the Med winds 😉

[@SailingKittiwake]

What a shame. We might end up sheltering in Roquetas de Mar on Sunday, but we’re not sure. Next time 😉

[@feshfeshsailing]

Sailing Kittiwake. Arrived Lisbon this morning, 4 days and 3 hours after leaving Ponta Delgada. Dropped off one crew member and picked up two news ones. Left Lisbon for Portimao about one hour ago. Will change crew members in Portimao before heading to Cadiz. Boat starting to feel like a countryside bus, stopping at every village.

[@tedrenard472]

Hi guys. This might be a bit late, but there's a company called Owatrol that makes a very good product called Marine Strip. It's very useful for stripping antifouling off without damaging gel coat. I use it, paint it on in the evening, let it work overnight (stops it drying out) and get to it with a good scraper first thing. It doesn't have any fumes like normal paint strippers, and you don't end up breathing in toxic dust for days. Sweep up the scrapings. I believe it's not environmentally harmful as antifouling dust as well. Also check out a random orbital sander. Get one that has a rotary (ie spinning) setting as well as the usual "vibrating" setting. It's not as extreme as a belt sander, but on heavy paint removal you can get a lot done quickly, then for finer stuff set it on a gentler setting. I've had a Metabo one for years now, and it's paid for itself many times over just in terms of me still being able to function when the job's done, time saved and reduced yard & sometimes, labour costs. Those square or rectangular pad type sanders are great for smooth finish work, but for jobs like yours you want to get the work finished before you are!

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hi Ted, we didn't know about the spinning sander - we just used a normal random orbital sander and it took ages! Getting paint off is the worst, but we're glad we did it :)

[@adriansargent8230]

Have you considered a canopy of cockpit area, boat looking good...

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hi Adrian - good point! We had a sort of boom tent / shade made up while we were in Portimao it'll feature in an upcoming video :)

[@crikycrocky]

In those southern climes the more of the deck you can get in shade the more bearable the interior will be. You will be very thankful you painted the topsides a lighter colour too. I had an old sail I used as a cover in the Caribbean and could not believe the difference it made when at anchor or in the yard.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Cheers! We can already feel the difference :)

[@Save-our-war-buildings]

Can I ask how much the foreign boat yard costs? I assume you have electric for your Sanders, etc. available?

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hey Conrad, you can look at prices on the Marina de Portimão Boatyard website. Our stay costed us a total of €830, including haul out and haul in fees. Water, electricity and showers included. It’d cost more for a bigger boat though and prices for 2018 have increased, so it’s worth checking the website. That said, we wouldn’t recommend this boatyard. You’ll see why in episode 14 😉

[@Save-our-war-buildings]

Sailing Kittiwake Thanks for that, would love to follow doing something similar, but without working, lol. Hence the questions

[@SailingKittiwake]

Haha. You can’t escape boat work on any boat unfortunately.

[@Save-our-war-buildings]

Sailing Kittiwake Sorry, I meant money earning work, hence keeping costs to a minimum, just wanted to know what an emergency haul out would abroad...

[@SailingKittiwake]

Oooh we see 😁 This was the cheapest price we could find. Prices vary wildly - in the Med we would have paid 10 times more as the fees go up the longer you stay in the yard.

[@myjeepzia]

It's a question did you guys ever cross English channel

[@SailingKittiwake]

Yep, in episode 3 😊 kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4iwfHuMYryfn9k

[@manfredschmalbach9023]

👋

[@SailingKittiwake]

Hey Manfred! 👋🏻 Nice to see you around these parts.

[@dmain6735]

Ace

[@Oxnate]

Coppercoat is new? Copper sheathing has been around since 1750, so before the American Revolutionary war. Anti fouling paint has been around since 1900 for sure. Wiki was less sure on the dates for that.

[@SailingKittiwake]

Ah, you're right. I just didn't realise that they were encapsulating the copper sheathing in epoxy in the 1750s 😜