Excellent points. I especially like how you show people to visualize their boat in the dark, in 35 knot wind with waves flying across the deck. Better to visualize than to face the challenges in the storm. Told my kids, "You don't want to learn to sail in a squall." Learn first, then go sail. Thanks James!
Love you Mario, sorry about all the rookie mistakes. You just need your own UA-cam channel with you just being you talking with all your funny stuff. You could also talk some smack about James! Lol. Love you too James!
Nice video! Instead of a pin to secure the anchor I use a line with a trucker’s hitch and a slip knot like you did with the dinghy. I’ve found this to be nice and secure with the benefit that you can quickly untie it or even cut it if required for release.
Thank you for this. This brings back fond memories of sailing with my Dad. I did not realize that all the things I do today, storing cords etc. were all learned on the sailboat. I enjoy your channel very much!
Nice demonstration, good explaining on lines and storage. Fender storage on most boats appears to be an ongoing issue. We found the Solomon for minimum crew sailing. On one boat we store them on the walkway as where they are. Yes they take a dip so now and then but moments later they get onboard again. At the other boat we keep them on the rail to but they have a bottom clip so they hang horizontally under the wire. Sailing single handed or it’s no choice to walk around with fenders. Obviously they have to get in place before you enter the harbour similar action is needed to ready the anchor winch. Inflatable fenders , I love to hear about those as being tested during time. Obviously not usable for the minimum crew of older people.
James - love your work. I like tucking the fenders over into the cockpit as well. Another great reason for doing this is for man over board. You can then easily throw them off the back with anything else that floats. Ideally you don’t slip on the solar panels to require this 😂
The fender holders are in a terrible spot. The fenders will be washed onto the deck, washed over the rail, drag in the water, and rip this off. To foresee these problems is experience! All of it is great info! Thank you!
Thanks heaps young fella....am a total novice, yet I was so able to understand your rope work.. Am an aged bloke, a wanna be sailor( another dream which is some family heritage) but am now kicking myself for not beginning years earlier. But, thanks for your inspiration..Cheers, and fair winds..👍
Lots of good advice, for the anchor I usually wrap my snubber around the Sampson posts so it's just long enough to clip onto the anchor so it can't accidentally deploy, also we have a isolation switch on the anchor winch so it can't accidentally be bumped
Great video and I learn so much from your videos. One correction: I believe the railing along the stern is called the pushpit. The pulpit is at the bow. Let me know if I'm wrong.
Correct. Should be noted though that saying “bow pulpit” is redundant and unnecessary but you hear it all the time. So referring to the pushpit as the “stern pulpit” likely confuses nobody even though it is no longer redundant but just incorrect. 😂
I’m a power. Later so I can only comment on 1-3. 1) you’re there to help/teach/captain you should have had the solar panels removed before going underway. 2) loose the plastic fender whip crap. Use a clove hitch or modified clove hitch. 3) 100% agree! Nice job. 😊
Well played sir. Very informative. Just bought two sunfish, and gonna learn with the kids... tiny boats but the principles apply. Dreaming of deep blue from the mountains of Tennessee.
Very good video. Super useful. I would add that however you stow the lines, the crew should be shown how to disassemble them. If they don't know what to do, bad things can happen
I like to use rolling hitches when I'm tying down gear. I got used to doing that knot when I was aboard TeVega. That was a very common knot that they used for securing their halyards under load and it was a tremendous amount of load. Shocking that the gear was able to handle all that force.
Awesome video man🎉 I got a video suggested for you go through the UA-camrs that are doing dangerous things on their sailboats and promoting it😮 great example of these guys that are buying these 18 to 24 ft vessels and crossing the Atlantic with no eperb life raft. Personally I think nobody should cross the Atlantic or the Pacific unless they got at least a 30 ft vessel.
Hello James, regarding the webbing vibrating and driving you crazy, a common solution to that (triied and true for transport of windsurfing gear on 70 mph car top) is to twist the straps three or four times. Totally emulates vibration and preserves your sanity. Totally agree on cheap metal for rusting....
Great points. I'll add that the bow roller pin will help keep the rode in the roller and contribute some transverse strength. You don't want the rode jumping out. Right, Scott?
Great tips. Thanks. All webbing tie downs have to be twisted. Then they won't buzz, slap, wear out, carve holes. Webbing can be incredibly useful and strong. Flat might look nice but it buzzes. A twisted jackline on the deck is also a lot easier to clip on to. What I learned about knots. You have to practice them in isolation; same with cleat hitches, rolling hitches, flaking lines. Just working with them doesn't seem to do it. You have to just decide, I'm going to tie this knot over and over, then tie it with your eyes closed. Then when I think I've got it, comeback the next day and do it some more. Then a few days later. I find I just tidying up the boat after a sail is good time to practice flaking lines quickly, efficiently, perfectly. And do it over if it's not effortless. This pays dividends later when you need it most. I always bring some rope. It always gets used for something. And during watches you can practice. Good instruction James. Direct, easy to follow. I've seen videos where they spend half the video showing you what not to do. We learn what we see and do most. How's that going to work? Or their hand is blocking the key step. Flaking a line? Almost every video I found when I was a noob was junk. Some even showed doing it wrong. A lot of don't do it like this. Let me show you again how not to do it. Instead do it this way. Wait! what just happened? And I've been on boats with experienced sailors that had more hockles than anything else.
Thats why us semi drivers with flatbed trailers twist our straps. Sometimes they wont buzz or make any noises but its a good idea to twist the straps like you said.
New subscriber to your channel and found your rescue video amazing! Your follow up with the Rigging suggestions were great and informative. Will continue to follow your channel and follow you and your family on their excursions. Cheers!
Liked the vid a lot. When we as people are feeling insecure we tend to "control" the things we can control. At 19:12 the guy is so nervous he feels the need to straiten the seat cushions... YA THATS GUNNA HELP. I enjoyed it most for the reactions you provoked in all the "RICH ALPHA MALES " that are 15 years older than you but clearly have more money than brains or experience. Men like these hire a manager to run their company and then fire him even though the company is doing better. They are so intimidated by someone that knows more about their world than they do. This was the first vid of yours I have watched... going to the channel now... wonder what I will find.?
Great video, James! Your instructional videos are always on point and easy to understand. I really appreciate the gentle reminders. It would be awesome if you could make a separate playlist for these instructional videos for easy access. Keep up the great work, you're such a patient and knowledgeable sailor. Many thanks for sharing your wisdom with us! 👍🌊
That Alaskan Hitch paid for the price of admission. I've used hitches that are similar for years, we call it the truckers Hitch but that one was really nice and I like the way it came loose ! And cool to hear your baby in the background. Captain Ron "If it happens it happens out there should be If It Happens it Happens OUT THERE AT NIGHT !
My dad was always maniacal about keeping the decks clear of anything that could interfere with footing. Fenders went into lockers, hank-on sails went into hammock bags in place or into lockers.
Any flat strap will buzz in the wind. A simple solution is to put a two or three twists in it. When we would airlift heavy vehicles or artillery pieces we would always put three twists for every 15 - 20 feet and that would keep the vibration next to nil which every helicopter pilot would love.
good Video!! have crossed the gulf of twanapec(sp?) ... The wind comes from caribean side(thru a notch i mountains, which acts like a Veturi accelerating wind speed & force[you can 1 mile off beach and get slammed, no real lee protection of the hills there) My crew called the winds/gusts:"twana-peckers";>) we had three reefs in main & fore & small staysail up.[ 90 foot marconi rigged S&S schooner]........ It was beautiful,: sun out , large seastate, nothing broke, "bone in her teeeth" !!!!!
Hey James, very new sailor here... (besides my years in the USN....lmao) How you tied off the staysail sheets/clew lines on the winch, why not do the same for the Jib & Staysail halyards forward and hang them on the mast cleats?
Hey brother. They would just fall apart if I hung them that way. The way I hang the sheets isn't secure enough for the halyards. As the halyards are non-working lines (they are not required to be manipulated daily), and the hang on the mast, they need to be tied up a little more securely, but not so much as to render them impossible to let go in an emergency. Hope that makes sense. Thank you for your service, shipmate!
That Alaskan Alpine Hitch....I learned it in the Army as a single butterfly, and a varient with 4 turns around the hand called a double butterfly. We used the for building rope bridges. Later I used it for things like this.
Great video James. I worked on drilling rigs for many decades as a young buck and one of the critical pieces was learning how to tie proper knots for the years I was a derrickman. Your knowlede of knots is terrific. The knot used to make a purchase wrapping around 3 times and then pulling the middle one and go through the centre was brilliant. How would I find out about coming on a cruise with you? I want to learn more.
Hey there James, Mario and Bill, Anna and all. We’re watching you guys, looks like you made it to Chiapas. We’re excited to see more videos of your epic Journeys. We will be in Chiapas if the gods permit, by the 28th or so. I’m guessing you’ll be long away by then, best of luck aka fair winds and following seas and easy transit. Brian and Katia out 😎
That tie-down rope trick is called a Truckers' Hitch. The first knot used to make the loop looks like some bastardization of an Alpine Butterfly Loop (maybe it *is* one?). When using throw-away cordage you can get away with a simple slip-loop, and a slip half-hitch for the securing bit, and it's a one-pull release. ;-)
I noticed that most people who learned to sail later in life and on a big cruising boat, without doing much racing or without having spent a childhood in dinghies that they do not loosen up the sails enough. To them, if the sail is not flopping then it must be good when in reality the sails must be loosened as much as possible to the point where they just start flopping at the head. Surely they must wonder why the main sheet is so long, cluttering up the cockpit, when they hardly ever use half of it. I've seen boats going downwind with the main sheeted in as if reaching. Not only does the boat go much slower but it puts pressure on the wrong spots, the sheet, the sail and especially the rudder as it is always trying to compensate for weather helm. It's good sailing skills that keep you out of trouble in bad weather.
"Alaskan" Alpine Butterfly ......never heard the Alaskan part before. It looks and ties like an Alpine Butterfly, an excellent knot that is tied in the (single) bight.
Bloody good video, I love your videos that teach. 'Top stuff" James to quote one of my countrymen. Merry Christmas or happy holidays what ever you like. Hey and same for all the viewers, I pray you all have a good festive season and God bless all your loved ones. Matt from Plucky land...
Cool info James I'm in Puerto Vallarta heading south in a couple weeks to Panama. Still wondering if I should run my storm sails through Tehuantepec but I'm gonna hug the coast. I had my anchor let loose at night in about 400 feet at 9 kts. Spun the boat 180 pretty quick!
I stow everything like fenders, sails and spares, tools in the v birth which i don't use. Have a solar generator on board and hardly use the batteries of the boat.
Right on with the rachetting tie-downs rusting and needing to be cut off, this rookie made that mistake. An alternative to lines over the dinghy on the foredeck that I use is two lines from the inside frame of the dinghy tied to the handrails at the front of the boat. Out of the way, cannot trip on them, and very secure (and of course one at the bow to the base of the staysail). But all halyards and reefing lines on my boat are led back to the cockpit with no simple place to hang them all. You would not like my approach, but I just leave them in little piles under the dodger on the first-in-last-out principle and it works well.
On the stern it’s a pushpit. No big deal but educational content requires a higher standard with the vernacular. Stainless steel ratchet straps are available on Amazon for a fair price and they achieve better results with less fussing than the best truckers hitch with most perfect line. Eliminate harmonic vibrations by twisting the straps. It is very likely that at some point in the “40,000 miles” (James, have you crossed the Caribbean 40 times on your Oyster?) somebody had to crawl up on the foredeck to relash the dinghy. Re panels on the deck at Anchor. Great idea. Put them wherever is sunniest. Save a few minutes lashing the dinghy down and stow them for the passage. If you were crewing your friends boat that was probably your job. If you were captaining, you forgot to tell someone to do that. Yes, of course I’m jealous. But still…
Lots of different names for the same thing. Pushpit, taffrail, pulpit... Don't get hung up on the 'vernacular' because it's just that, vernacular. It will change again in the coming years. Ratchet straps have no place on a boat, stainless or not (IMHO). Panels on the deck are a horrible idea. Don't do that. They are slippery, not made to be walked on, and SCREWS into the TEAK? (closes eyes, shakes head). Rookie move. And, btw, I've sailed every one of those 40K miles, 16k this year alone (we went back to easter isaland, Galapagos, Cocos, French Polynesia, now we're back in the Atlantic). That's just on this boat, I put another 45Knm on the cat.
Taffrail would have worked. Pulpit is on the bow pushpit is on the stern simple as that. Much in the way we have different words like ‘bow’ and ‘stern’ that mean different things. You should not try to change our language just to paper over your small errors. Nobody said screwing a solar panel to a teak deck is a good idea. Deploying extra panels at anchor and stowing them for passages is a good idea. You just forgot to stow them and you threw your mate under the bus. Weren’t you there to help him learn stuff? If you can keep a diesel engine going on a sail boat, you can keep a stainless ratchet strap going. I’ve got over 2 million nautical miles on my stainless ratchet straps with zero issues.
![Full SAILBOAT TOUR [$68,000 Cozy Catamaran 33.5', Solo Sailed, Can Anchor ANYWHERE!!!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/OUeLamVCpxE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Full SAILBOAT TOUR [$68,000 Cozy Catamaran 33.5', Solo Sailed, Can Anchor ANYWHERE!!!]](/img/tr.png)
Excellent points. I especially like how you show people to visualize their boat in the dark, in 35 knot wind with waves flying across the deck. Better to visualize than to face the challenges in the storm. Told my kids, "You don't want to learn to sail in a squall." Learn first, then go sail. Thanks James!
Love you Mario, sorry about all the rookie mistakes. You just need your own UA-cam channel with you just being you talking with all your funny stuff. You could also talk some smack about James! Lol. Love you too James!
I just started watching this channel two days ago. Have been binge watching ever since.
Many thanks for all your good hints! Love that Alaskan knot! I guess one may use it for the anchor chain snubber as well. Right?
James you’re a great teacher. Excellent video 👍👍
EXCELLENT TECHNIQUE/ADVISE/ SEAMANSHIP JAMES! 💯 THIS IS WHAT I WATCH ALL THESE CHANNELS FOR!!!!! I can use this on my powerboat lines! Amazing!
Glad you dig the content, Dewayne.
James, you are taking it to another level with these instructional videos. Really nice 👍 Thank you.
Such a helpful video. Great instruction, James. Thank you.
Nice video! Instead of a pin to secure the anchor I use a line with a trucker’s hitch and a slip knot like you did with the dinghy. I’ve found this to be nice and secure with the benefit that you can quickly untie it or even cut it if required for release.
I wanna see a deck side fight between Mario and James. The only weapon they're allowed to use is a dead sea trout. What an episode that would be!
Best to the point advice I have seen on sail channels!
Thank you for this. This brings back fond memories of sailing with my Dad. I did not realize that all the things I do today, storing cords etc. were all learned on the sailboat. I enjoy your channel very much!
Nice demonstration, good explaining on lines and storage.
Fender storage on most boats appears to be an ongoing issue.
We found the Solomon for minimum crew sailing.
On one boat we store them on the walkway as where they are.
Yes they take a dip so now and then but moments later they get onboard again.
At the other boat we keep them on the rail to but they have a bottom clip so they hang horizontally under the wire.
Sailing single handed or it’s no choice to walk around with fenders. Obviously they have to get in place before you enter the harbour similar action is needed to ready the anchor winch.
Inflatable fenders , I love to hear about those as being tested during time. Obviously not usable for the minimum crew of older people.
Top-notch advice! Thank you Captain :)
James - love your work. I like tucking the fenders over into the cockpit as well. Another great reason for doing this is for man over board. You can then easily throw them off the back with anything else that floats. Ideally you don’t slip on the solar panels to require this 😂
The fender holders are in a terrible spot. The fenders will be washed onto the deck, washed over the rail, drag in the water, and rip this off. To foresee these problems is experience! All of it is great info! Thank you!
Thanks heaps young fella....am a total novice, yet I was so able to understand your rope work.. Am an aged bloke, a wanna be sailor( another dream which is some family heritage) but am now kicking myself for not beginning years earlier. But, thanks for your inspiration..Cheers, and fair winds..👍
Lots of good advice, for the anchor I usually wrap my snubber around the Sampson posts so it's just long enough to clip onto the anchor so it can't accidentally deploy, also we have a isolation switch on the anchor winch so it can't accidentally be bumped
I’m an extreme beginner, but this video definitely helps me out a whole lot, thank you!
Great video and I learn so much from your videos. One correction: I believe the railing along the stern is called the pushpit. The pulpit is at the bow. Let me know if I'm wrong.
Correct. Should be noted though that saying “bow pulpit” is redundant and unnecessary but you hear it all the time. So referring to the pushpit as the “stern pulpit” likely confuses nobody even though it is no longer redundant but just incorrect. 😂
Nice tips on the linekeeping! I'm gonna fancy mine up tomorrow!
I’m a power. Later so I can only comment on 1-3.
1) you’re there to help/teach/captain you should have had the solar panels removed before going underway.
2) loose the plastic fender whip crap. Use a clove hitch or modified clove hitch.
3) 100% agree!
Nice job. 😊
Love this episode! I appreciate your experience, James!
Well played sir. Very informative. Just bought two sunfish, and gonna learn with the kids... tiny boats but the principles apply. Dreaming of deep blue from the mountains of Tennessee.
Bought 2 for my kids years ago. They loved them. How to tack, gibe.
I love your attention to detail!
Great video James been practising that alpine hitch, always used a truckers version this is way neater, thanks.
Truckers hitch is still easier to untie
Very good video. Super useful. I would add that however you stow the lines, the crew should be shown how to disassemble them. If they don't know what to do, bad things can happen
Just signed up. I don't have a boat but love sailing and I really admire your rope work and line management, so lots for me to learn.
Best regards.
Fantastic! Yeah, that's how we coiled cables in film school...many moons ago.
Very important to show whay some things should be done in certain ways. Really cool knots!
I like to use rolling hitches when I'm tying down gear. I got used to doing that knot when I was aboard TeVega. That was a very common knot that they used for securing their halyards under load and it was a tremendous amount of load. Shocking that the gear was able to handle all that force.
I love this channel. So much info and entertainment involving sailing.
Brilllllliant - James' Alpine is the only knot I can remember in a pinch.
Thanks James..good advice..lessons learned!!
Awesome video man🎉 I got a video suggested for you go through the UA-camrs that are doing dangerous things on their sailboats and promoting it😮 great example of these guys that are buying these 18 to 24 ft vessels and crossing the Atlantic with no eperb life raft. Personally I think nobody should cross the Atlantic or the Pacific unless they got at least a 30 ft vessel.
Fantastic knots review!!!
That was Real Cool. Thanks. Explaining the Logic of the Layout was Great.
Hello James, regarding the webbing vibrating and driving you crazy, a common solution to that (triied and true for transport of windsurfing gear on 70 mph car top) is to twist the straps three or four times. Totally emulates vibration and preserves your sanity. Totally agree on cheap metal for rusting....
Great points. I'll add that the bow roller pin will help keep the rode in the roller and contribute some transverse strength. You don't want the rode jumping out. Right, Scott?
The pin goes through the anchor, but can act as a keeper if you're leaving the boat for awhile. I saw a nice boat wrecked because of just that.
Great tips. Thanks. All webbing tie downs have to be twisted. Then they won't buzz, slap, wear out, carve holes. Webbing can be incredibly useful and strong. Flat might look nice but it buzzes. A twisted jackline on the deck is also a lot easier to clip on to.
What I learned about knots. You have to practice them in isolation; same with cleat hitches, rolling hitches, flaking lines. Just working with them doesn't seem to do it. You have to just decide, I'm going to tie this knot over and over, then tie it with your eyes closed. Then when I think I've got it, comeback the next day and do it some more. Then a few days later. I find I just tidying up the boat after a sail is good time to practice flaking lines quickly, efficiently, perfectly. And do it over if it's not effortless. This pays dividends later when you need it most.
I always bring some rope. It always gets used for something. And during watches you can practice.
Good instruction James. Direct, easy to follow. I've seen videos where they spend half the video showing you what not to do. We learn what we see and do most. How's that going to work? Or their hand is blocking the key step. Flaking a line? Almost every video I found when I was a noob was junk. Some even showed doing it wrong. A lot of don't do it like this. Let me show you again how not to do it. Instead do it this way. Wait! what just happened?
And I've been on boats with experienced sailors that had more hockles than anything else.
Thats why us semi drivers with flatbed trailers twist our straps. Sometimes they wont buzz or make any noises but its a good idea to twist the straps like you said.
Thanks! I just found your channel and I am enjoying it. Mario's shirt is awesome! I need one of those.
Thank you, James. You're as cool as Plukky. 😊
For fenders just get Fendertex, love mine, they stow tiny.
Also the aft railing is called a pushpit not a pullpit
Thank you. Now I can look like a pro next summer😎
Great stuff. I'm a newbie and these instructions are GOLD. Thanks for sharing👍
Love this instructional stuff! Tell us, what amount of time or damage indicates when it's time to replace lines such as those halyards?
New subscriber to your channel and found your rescue video amazing! Your follow up with the Rigging suggestions were great and informative. Will continue to follow your channel and follow you and your family on their excursions. Cheers!
Liked the vid a lot.
When we as people are feeling insecure we tend to "control" the things we can control. At 19:12 the guy is so nervous he feels the need to straiten the seat cushions... YA THATS GUNNA HELP.
I enjoyed it most for the reactions you provoked in all the "RICH ALPHA MALES " that are 15 years older than you but clearly have more money than brains or experience.
Men like these hire a manager to run their company and then fire him even though the company is doing better. They are so intimidated by someone that knows more about their world than they do.
This was the first vid of yours I have watched... going to the channel now... wonder what I will find.?
Great video, James! Your instructional videos are always on point and easy to understand. I really appreciate the gentle reminders. It would be awesome if you could make a separate playlist for these instructional videos for easy access. Keep up the great work, you're such a patient and knowledgeable sailor. Many thanks for sharing your wisdom with us! 👍🌊
The rear pulpit is also reffered to as a pushpit.
Agreed.Pulpit is where you would pull the boat from. The pushpit is where you would push the boat ie the stern!
@@changingclips Yeah I like it when stuff makes.
Great content, good instruction, thanks
That Alaskan Hitch paid for the price of admission. I've used hitches that are similar for years, we call it the truckers Hitch but that one was really nice and I like the way it came loose ! And cool to hear your baby in the background. Captain Ron "If it happens it happens out there should be If It Happens it Happens OUT THERE AT NIGHT !
Once again OG James keepin us all on point!
This is pure gold 👍😀
My dad was always maniacal about keeping the decks clear of anything that could interfere with footing. Fenders went into lockers, hank-on sails went into hammock bags in place or into lockers.
Invaluable practicle lesson to share with a beginning crew. Then the boat owner can also learn this at the same time 😮
Great video Mario.❤😊🎉the best teacher...
Another excellent video that I really enjoyed keeping my dream alive Thank You!!
Any flat strap will buzz in the wind. A simple solution is to put a two or three twists in it. When we would airlift heavy vehicles or artillery pieces we would always put three twists for every 15 - 20 feet and that would keep the vibration next to nil which every helicopter pilot would love.
love your vids James cheers from BC
good Video!! have crossed the gulf of twanapec(sp?) ... The wind comes from caribean side(thru a notch i mountains, which acts like a Veturi accelerating wind speed & force[you can 1 mile off beach and get slammed, no real lee protection of the hills there) My crew called the winds/gusts:"twana-peckers";>) we had three reefs in main & fore & small staysail up.[ 90 foot marconi rigged S&S schooner]........ It was beautiful,: sun out , large seastate, nothing broke, "bone in her teeeth" !!!!!
Thank you for a very informative and practical video.
Hey James, very new sailor here... (besides my years in the USN....lmao) How you tied off the staysail sheets/clew lines on the winch, why not do the same for the Jib & Staysail halyards forward and hang them on the mast cleats?
Hey brother. They would just fall apart if I hung them that way. The way I hang the sheets isn't secure enough for the halyards. As the halyards are non-working lines (they are not required to be manipulated daily), and the hang on the mast, they need to be tied up a little more securely, but not so much as to render them impossible to let go in an emergency. Hope that makes sense. Thank you for your service, shipmate!
@@thelastpirate Much appreciated !
That Alaskan Alpine Hitch....I learned it in the Army as a single butterfly, and a varient with 4 turns around the hand called a double butterfly. We used the for building rope bridges. Later I used it for things like this.
Such good advice James.
This is some great information! Thanks!
Finally, something useful on this channel! lol. Jus'kiddin.
I can definitely see how a really long pin like the one we saw you set could bend. Maybe a shorter one in a different spot?
James thanks great info, the bold guy was a bit jealous about your skills..
Excellent information James.
Great tips man! Much appreciated.
Enjoyed there’s tutorial sessions. More please!
Great video James. I worked on drilling rigs for many decades as a young buck and one of the critical pieces was learning how to tie proper knots for the years I was a derrickman. Your knowlede of knots is terrific. The knot used to make a purchase wrapping around 3 times and then pulling the middle one and go through the centre was brilliant. How would I find out about coming on a cruise with you? I want to learn more.
Hey there James, Mario and Bill, Anna and all. We’re watching you guys, looks like you made it to Chiapas. We’re excited to see more videos of your epic Journeys. We will be in Chiapas if the gods permit, by the 28th or so. I’m guessing you’ll be long away by then, best of luck aka fair winds and following seas and easy transit. Brian and Katia out 😎
Sorry we're already back to the boat in Panama. You missed us by a couple weeks. Hope to see you in the future though!
That tie-down rope trick is called a Truckers' Hitch. The first knot used to make the loop looks like some bastardization of an Alpine Butterfly Loop (maybe it *is* one?). When using throw-away cordage you can get away with a simple slip-loop, and a slip half-hitch for the securing bit, and it's a one-pull release. ;-)
THANK YOU! Now all I need is a boat!
Thanx a bunch!!!!
I noticed that most people who learned to sail later in life and on a big cruising boat, without doing much racing or without having spent a childhood in dinghies that they do not loosen up the sails enough. To them, if the sail is not flopping then it must be good when in reality the sails must be loosened as much as possible to the point where they just start flopping at the head. Surely they must wonder why the main sheet is so long, cluttering up the cockpit, when they hardly ever use half of it. I've seen boats going downwind with the main sheeted in as if reaching. Not only does the boat go much slower but it puts pressure on the wrong spots, the sheet, the sail and especially the rudder as it is always trying to compensate for weather helm. It's good sailing skills that keep you out of trouble in bad weather.
Love it thanks for sharing 👍🏻
"Alaskan" Alpine Butterfly ......never heard the Alaskan part before. It looks and ties like an Alpine Butterfly, an excellent knot that is tied in the (single) bight.
Great video! Thanks
One of the best videos I have seen on sailing.
Bloody good video, I love your videos that teach. 'Top stuff" James to quote one of my countrymen. Merry Christmas or happy holidays what ever you like.
Hey and same for all the viewers, I pray you all have a good festive season and God bless all your loved ones. Matt from Plucky land...
Great non nonsense information.
Cool info James I'm in Puerto Vallarta heading south in a couple weeks to Panama. Still wondering if I should run my storm sails through Tehuantepec but I'm gonna hug the coast. I had my anchor let loose at night in about 400 feet at 9 kts. Spun the boat 180 pretty quick!
Thanks, James!
You teach well! 👍
Thanks for the hot tips.
Great info James Thanks !! :))
Great video.
On sailing UMA there is this guy who makes foldable solarpanels.
these are awesome, probably a good alternative.
I stow everything like fenders, sails and spares, tools in the v birth which i don't use. Have a solar generator on board and hardly use the batteries of the boat.
YOU ARE VERY EXCELANT AT TEACHING/EXPLAINING. PLEASE PUT SOMETHING OUT THAT IS MARKETABLE AND CAN HELP FEED YOUR FAMILY. PEST WISHES.
Merry Christmas 🎄🎁
much appreciated. 👏
Hello from Melbourne Australia 🦘🐍. I enjoy your shows.😁
Well said captain
Bravo
Did you ever do the live stream of the trip?
He did a Zoom call live stream for the Patrons, it was epic!
Right on with the rachetting tie-downs rusting and needing to be cut off, this rookie made that mistake. An alternative to lines over the dinghy on the foredeck that I use is two lines from the inside frame of the dinghy tied to the handrails at the front of the boat. Out of the way, cannot trip on them, and very secure (and of course one at the bow to the base of the staysail). But all halyards and reefing lines on my boat are led back to the cockpit with no simple place to hang them all. You would not like my approach, but I just leave them in little piles under the dodger on the first-in-last-out principle and it works well.
very educating
Practical. Nice
On the stern it’s a pushpit. No big deal but educational content requires a higher standard with the vernacular.
Stainless steel ratchet straps are available on Amazon for a fair price and they achieve better results with less fussing than the best truckers hitch with most perfect line. Eliminate harmonic vibrations by twisting the straps. It is very likely that at some point in the “40,000 miles” (James, have you crossed the Caribbean 40 times on your Oyster?) somebody had to crawl up on the foredeck to relash the dinghy.
Re panels on the deck at Anchor. Great idea. Put them wherever is sunniest. Save a few minutes lashing the dinghy down and stow them for the passage. If you were crewing your friends boat that was probably your job. If you were captaining, you forgot to tell someone to do that.
Yes, of course I’m jealous. But still…
Lots of different names for the same thing. Pushpit, taffrail, pulpit... Don't get hung up on the 'vernacular' because it's just that, vernacular. It will change again in the coming years. Ratchet straps have no place on a boat, stainless or not (IMHO). Panels on the deck are a horrible idea. Don't do that. They are slippery, not made to be walked on, and SCREWS into the TEAK? (closes eyes, shakes head). Rookie move. And, btw, I've sailed every one of those 40K miles, 16k this year alone (we went back to easter isaland, Galapagos, Cocos, French Polynesia, now we're back in the Atlantic). That's just on this boat, I put another 45Knm on the cat.
Taffrail would have worked. Pulpit is on the bow pushpit is on the stern simple as that. Much in the way we have different words like ‘bow’ and ‘stern’ that mean different things. You should not try to change our language just to paper over your small errors.
Nobody said screwing a solar panel to a teak deck is a good idea. Deploying extra panels at anchor and stowing them for passages is a good idea. You just forgot to stow them and you threw your mate under the bus. Weren’t you there to help him learn stuff?
If you can keep a diesel engine going on a sail boat, you can keep a stainless ratchet strap going. I’ve got over 2 million nautical miles on my stainless ratchet straps with zero issues.