Very impressive. My son just bought a 1983 Catalina 25 and has already decided it's too small and is looking at the Ericson 26. Seeing all the modifications you did to this boat really makes it sea worthy for long trips, something he'd like to do as well. Thanks for sharing.
That is one of the most comprehensive boat tours/upgrade summaries I have seen on any yacht channel...excellent. I follow many yachting channels and you have won yourself a new subscriber. Well done👍
Haha Thank you very much! We are glad to have you along for our epic sailing adventure! =D We also noticed that you are subscribed to "Sailing Saoirse". We met them while in Florida when we got back from The Bahamas, and became good friends.
This is the mos informative sailboat video I’ve ever seen. Thank you also for the absence of music! What a joy. I single handed on a much bigger more complex boat. If I were to do it again I would go your route. Smaller and simpler.
Fantastic detail on your boat and the upgrades. Anyone would be proud to have all that you have done to make your boat not only safe but very functional. Great job!
Thank you so much for your support! We are happy that we have had the opportunity to share our home with other people who can appreciate the hard work and details that went into it. Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment!
Awesome. I appreciate your thoroughness. Also, I think it's pretty awesome of you to show that you carry a shotgun on board. I haven't seen any other cruisers on youtube do that. Thanks for being brave enough to leave that in.
We debated on wether or not to show it, but we wanted to be completely honest and show every aspect of our trip and of ourselves. We've always kept a loaded shotgun in our home and felt no different about keeping one on our boat. Thank you for your compliments! We appreciate you watching our videos!
Thanks for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment with your questions. In the case of sailing to Mexico or any other country where we know that firearms are not allowed, we would not take them. We have respect for other countries and their choice in laws and will do our part to obey their instructions when visiting. It is always a good idea to research the laws of your destination, before traveling there. Before we left for the The Bahamas, one of the things we researched was their firearm laws. We found some helpful information concerning entering The Bahamas with a firearm, and also good information about leaving and re-entering the U.S. with a firearm. Leaving the USA with a firearm has no legal ramifications unless the items are "export restricted" (typically military weapons) Re-entering the USA however, requires proof of ownership in order to avoid taxation and import paperwork. (proving you owned the gun before leaving the country and then bringing it back) and it requires a specific customs declaration paper. (Form 4457 from the CBP) You can also use this form as documentation to show customs when you get to the Bahamas. They will want a full list of each gun (limit of 3) and specific counts of ammunition for each gun. You must be able to security lock the guns on board and they must remain on board at all times. If you end up leaving your boat in the Bahamas to fly home, you will need to deliver the firearms and ammunition to a local police department for safe keeping while you are gone. We took not only a 12 Ga. shot gun, as you probably saw in the video, but also a 357 revolver. We got nothing but pleasant smiles from officials when checking into the Bahamas and never felt any negative vibes. We have lived in states where we are able to carry concealed on a daily bases and it felt only natural to take guns with us on our trip. We were very appreciative of the Bahamas for being welcoming to not only us, but also our rights to protect ourselves. Each country might have different rules, so just research before going. Thanks again for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment. Hope this could be of some help to you. Show less
As a long time live aboard solo sailor I tell you well done. Smaller boats like yours make excellent escape pods and are very practical for those who want to live the dream.
Damn this is so refreshing. In an ocean full of seniors that bought themselves a mansion on water and call themselves sailors and young couples that say they renov their boat but really they just pay for every little things, this was just perfect ! Young couple with a good small boat and nice DIY skills ! Let's go turtle =)
Hey thanks man! We really appreciate your inspiring words and can't thank you enough for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us such a great comment!
I had owned a 1983 26 Ericson and I can’t believe how you have modernized your boat. Much better than new in many ways. Very professional. Safe sailing.
Great job!! I bought a Freedom 21 with trailer and kicker for $3000. I then put $10,000 in new equipment. Friends were shocked at the cost. You have confirmed money well spent!!
Yes! Fixing up old boats can be spendy, but well worth it in the end! It's kinda like fixing up an old hotrod, but better. Thanks so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to connect with us here in the comments. Fair Winds!
If I recently got divorced and had the house listed and wanted to start my life anew, I would start with this sailboat you have put so much time and thought and effort into! Best You Tube on sailboats I have ever seen! Well done and you never know!!! I am so grateful to you for taking the time to make such a great video! Legend!
Wow.. this boat has everything in absolute first class condition after you've done the job with it. So much to take home from this, thank you for sharing and for tons of tips! Greetings from Norway, SV Tiger Lily
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment! We are happy to hear that you like our upgrades and hope that they can be helpful to you! =D
Thank you! Randall has spent 25 years of his life building and working on boats, studying and researching EVERYTHING and has a true passion for sailing, working hard, and doing a job well done the first time around. We are both excited to share our experiences with everyone and are so glad that you found our channel. Thank you so much for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment!
I'm writing separate comments because they're separate issues..I'm sorry if this is improper UA-cam etiquette. You've done such incredible work on your boat..it's amazing. You have single handedly increased the value of the Ericsson 26 without a doubt. And your boat..you could probably have an auction and get twice the value just because it's your boat and you did the work. The sugar scoop stern...I've often wondered if that could be done. You proved it...it can be done! Dude..I'm extremely handy and creative with mechanical things, and you blow me away. I'm talking about repairing things, improving things, using a part for something it was not designed for and it's awesome, etc. MacGyver stuff but real life. I'm in awe. Cheers. If you and the guy from Sailing Uma ever got together you'd be able to design the sickest boat ever in the history of boat design. Where does you anchor locker drain to? They make..as I'm sure you know..stainless steel drain..um..things that screw onto the outside of your boat. You make sure you've found the lowest point in the shelf inside the locker. You drill a hole outside film inside the locker and attach the stainless steel drain piece onto where the drilled hole is. They work really well and it makes it did that you don't have to drain the chain locker into the bilge.
Hahaha Thank you so much for the compliments! When we sold Turtle we did get twice what we paid for it, but only 1/2 of what we put into it. I suspect we could have done better if our channel had launched by the time we had put her up for sale…also rushing to get the boat sold just as hurricane season was beginning, didn't do us any favors. To answer your question about the anchor locker drain, the boat originally had a small drain hose out near the anchor locker bottom, like you described. When I removed the anchor locker pan to create a larger space for our anchor and rode, this drain system was naturally eliminated. I installed a new floor pan in the anchor locker that angled forward with its lowest point right at the bow stem just above waterline. At this point I drilled a drain hole directly through the bow stem so that every drop in the anchor locker quickly drained out with no potential of any water to ever reach the bilge. This also created a watertight crash bulkhead for the first 3 feet of the bow.
You are the MAN 💪😎👊 . Thank you for the detail and the super PROFESSIONAL explanations. Seems like you are quite the well to do Craftsman, excellent ideas. Looking forward to more videos capitán. May God bless you and your family with Peace, Patience, Clarity, Guidance, Wind, 🐟, 🥥, and 🌞 sunny sunny days.
Wow, this is fantastic! Lots of excellent upgrades that look extremely well thought through and implimented. I'll be considering a lot of these when I finally get a boat worthy of this level of attention. Looking forward to watching you put her through her paces!
Thank you so much! It was a lot of hard work that payed off in the end. We are very happy with how our little home turned out and are so glad that we get to share it with everyone through our videos. Thanks for watching and for leaving us a comment! We wish all the best of luck with your boat projects!
Thank you so much! We appreciate you watching our videos and for SUBSCRIBING! We are happy that you found our channel and are excited to have you along for our sailing adventure! We post a new video each week and still have a lot more to share.
I've just bought a very similar boat, a Bowman 26 (videos of how she is now on my channel) & plan to do some refitting/remodelling, some great ideas here and very nicely executed...
David thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a fun comment! We checked out your channel and Subscribed so we can follow your sailing adventures as well. Thank you for sharing your boat with us. We love it when we can connect with our viewers!
Glad to hear! Thank you for watching our videos and for taking the time to let us know that you liked some of our upgrades! We are glad that our video could be helpful to you and wish you all the best with your boat projects!
Thank you so much for watching and for reaching out to us. We miss our Ericson as well. It was such a great boat for us, but after living aboard Turtle for 5 1/2 years we knew we would need a bigger boat. We are getting closer to our goals and hope to get back on the water soon.
I'm late for the show! This video is simply amazing! The best indepth boat tour I've ever seen. I just bought a small boat myself and will binge watch this video many times. One day I will physically shake your hand with a cheque. Keep living the free world brother 🙏 💯 💪 🙌 👌
Definitely stop us to say hi if you ever see us out and about. We are glad that this video is inspirational for you! Good luck with your boat and fair winds!
This is simply impressive! SO many ideas... and they all got executed with excellence and top rate craftsmanship. Agree, one of the most engaging and comprehensive boat tours I have ever come across. Again, what an amazing job. Thanks for sharing this very inspiring video!
Thank you so much for watching our video and for taking the time to leave such a great comment. We really appreciate your kind words and are glad that you liked what you saw!
That is the best buncha upgrades I've ever seen. I must say I dig the sugar scoop really makes things easier for so many reasons. As well as all the other upgrades that were done.....brilliant. I'd feel safe to sail anywhere in that. Plus I learned so much!
July 2020 . Just had this drop in my suggested videos, nice photography and great narrative. The boat looks newer and larger than it is, which is kudos to you all. Subscribed
I've always been a small - ish cruising boat fan. I believe that if done correctly they are all that most couples need. And, you have taken a very good basic desingned boat and done it up right. Congatulations.
Thank you so much for your kind words and support! We are happy we get to share our boat with so many people and love it when we can connect with our viewers.
Wow. That's a great refit. Congratulations on making so many substantial upgrades to safety and durability without bolting on anything that looks silly on a 26 footer. Well done!
Extremely well thought out and everything you did serves a purpose. I found this channel while looking for ways to improve your boat and how people work with a surveyor to fix issues found during a survey.
We are glad that you found our video and are happy to hear you enjoyed the work that we put into our boat. Thanks for watching and for taking the time to leave us a great comment!
Hi well I hope you read this just because I’m so impressed thank you your time with this video!!!! I’m 43 and just became interested in sailing and buying a boat but I’ve only been around power boats , this is the most comprehensive and informative video I have seen excellent excellent job 🙏
Chad, thank you for leaving us this comment! We do read every comment we receive and try our very best to reply to each one the best we can, in a timely manner. We really appreciate you watching our videos and are so glad that you like what we did to our boat. There is so much freedom that comes with owning a sailboat. Being able to sail where ever the wind takes you and being able to experience new and exciting placing in such a natural way is so rewarding. There really isn't anything quite like it. We have had so much sailing and hope you will too once you get yourself a sailboat. We wish you the best of luck!!!!
@@SailingTurtle I designed the interior and sailplan for a 30 ft. sailboat hull/deck based on the lines of a H28 by Hershoff so I understand what you had to consider for each upgrade. I made the the first one out of the mould the designer had made from his one-off. Such a joy.
Thank you so much for leaving us a comment and for SUBSCRIBING!! We are so glad that you found this video to be helpful. It's always fun for us to connect with people with similar boats and who share our same passion for sailing. Thanks for watching! =D
Thanks for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a good comment. We needed to go with small solar panels because we din't have an enough space available for larger sized panels, and we didn't want a large contraption built above to cockpit. It also meant that if one panels got shaded, it only stoped a small portion of solar energy instead of losing an entire large pannel's worth. We got plenty of energy and never felt limited on power.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment! We are happy that we can share our upgrades with others and really appreciate your support.Good luck on your boat projects! Hope everything turns out great!
My current passion is refurbing a 20' 'Trailer Sailer' as we call them in this part of the world (pocket cruiser in America?) Always looking for good, smaller yacht, ideas. Your video is awesome! Plenty of inspiration right here!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW, so many cool upgrades, love the water maker design, that was one of my biggest concerns when we started planning our trip to the Bahamas on our Dana 24, having enough water and knowing that to purchase water in the bahamas can get expensive, so we purchased a Rainman Portable Watermaker, great little unit, takes up very little space, is powered by a honda engine and makes 37 gallons of water per hour, the only other big change we did, was do away with the marine head and all the plumbing and installed a composting toilet....
Thank you for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us an awesome comment! We really appreciate your support! It sounds like you also have a great set up on your boat! We love it when we can connect with our viewers and get excited when we hear other people with small boats planning their sailing adventures. We knew that we would want to sail to further out Islands and wanted to have the freedom to stay there for as long as we wanted. Having a water maker aboard allowed us to do just that. Do you document your sailing trips and share them online? We would love to follow your story if you do.
I miss your videos and I hope you both are doing well in life. I love boating and I watch lots of UA-cam videos and I miss looking through you guys window of life.
We miss it too! We CAN'T WAIT to get back out on the water! We watch a lot of sailing youtube vides too, just dreaming and waiting for our next adventure to start. The past couple of years have been rough with little adventure in our lives; 2020 didn't help the situation at all... BUT we are doing great! We have been working hard, going to school and saving our pennies to purchase our next sailboat. And when we do you know there will be plenty more fun videos to come! Thanks for watching our content and for reaching out to us. Your message meant a lot to us.
Truly great work! You have made a really solid pocket cruiser! I am always looking for ideas for my 31ft HR Monsun offshore cruiser, and found your work and enthusiasm most inspiring! Thanks for sharing! Best regards from Norway.
Martin, thank you so much! We are so glad that you found our videos and that you like what we did to our boat. We really appreciate you leaving us a comment and letting us know where you're from! It's so exciting to connect with people who share our same interests. Happy Sailing! Thanks for watching.
Well thank you! We are glad to hear that you have been enjoying our videos so far and that you started from the beginning! We post a new video every week and still have more to share! Thanks for leaving us comments too, we really appreciate it!
I was just about to suggest that you add an alternate companion way opening mechanism from the inside just in case something happens to the primary opening mechanism...and then you described the secondary option you had designed and installed! Excellent! I don't know what you do as a profession, but you're an engineer at heart, you're a engineer by design, you're an engineer whether you like it or not! When you were "all done" with your upgrades, did you create a new owners manual or training manual? You really should if you haven't yet. Creating a new, updated, extremely detailed safety section and having every crew member, even young children if they're aboard frequently, do safety drills, could get you a reduced general liability rate. From what I see of your work, I don't think anything that you build that's designed to float, will sink, unless you build a submarine.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to reach out to us in the comments! It's always nice when someone fully comprehends the thought and ingenuity that goes into these upgrades. I really was truly proud of that companionway latch system and it worked so incredibly well, our next boat is definitely getting the same treatment. (We are currently boat shopping for our next adventure.)
Absolutely awesome tour Sir! I am looking for a 38 Ericson at the moment and was just thrilled to have bumped into your channel. Keep em coming your guys are future Utube stars!!
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us an awesome comment! We really appreciate your support! The Ericson's really are great boats! Let us know when you find yours and if you ever plan on sharing your adventures on it. We would love to follow along.
I just found your channel and have been watching your videos. I am looking for a trailerable vessel that is blue water capable. I recently retired from the Army and am now working a civilian job but am trying to do something similar to what you're doing. Very respectable work on the boat. Lots of great ideas. Congratulations.
Sweet! Welcome to our channel! We are so glad that you found us and that you have been enjoying our videos so far! We try to post a new video every Sunday and still have quite a bit more to share. We are stoked to hear that you are looking for a boat! There are a lot to choose from. We wish you all the best in finding the perfect one for you and getting out on the water soon! =D Thanks!
Love your video! You have some really cool ideas going on. When I'm feeling skint though I may pop over with a small tooth pick for your companionway hatch, sneak in, grab the key for the shotgun then reach above the locker below the galley stove for your big stash of cash!☠
LOL sounds sneaky and adventurous! Hahaha We appreciate you watching our videos and for leaving us an awesome comment! We have had a blast sharing our story with everyone and are glad to have you along for the adventure!
Really well thought out systems for the real world practically of cruising and nicely explained. Well done, sir, and especially well adapted for such a compact platform. I especially like the swim step addition. If you haven’t already, I’d love to see how you built it and added it, as I’ve often thought you’d want to do that for a lot of older boats, but I’ve also wondered how you could do it and still have it work with a self steering gear set up so you have a back up if you lose your autopilot.
Yes, we do have a video showing how we built the swim platform. We contemplated that same question during our design build phase, and decided that there was not enough space for a wind-vane with such a small sugar scoop. I've seen it done on larger boats where there's room for an off center wind-vane installation that still gives space to make the swim platform useable, but that was not practical for us. Instead we chose to carry a back up autopilot. Thank you so much for watching our videos and taking the time to leave us a comment with your thoughts. We appreciate you being part of our sailing journey.
It is always refreshing to me when people recognize and appreciate Randall's talents. You get him! Thanks for watching and for commenting. Also, let us know if you have any questions in the future. We try our best to respond when we can. You might get a quicker response if you message us on Instagram.
Thank you so much for watching our video and for leaving us such a great comment! We have loved being able to share this video, along with all of the others with everyone and are glad to have you along for the journey!
Thank you! The hinged security bars on the forward hatch are secured with an all stainless marine-grade padlock and retains enough size in the hatch opening that we can still crawl through for egress or to shove a spinnaker through the hatch etc. It's a pretty simple addition, but gives us both peace of mind both on and off the boat to be able to leave the hatch open and still have security. I welded it out of aluminum scrapes that were lying around the shop, but it could be built out of any material a person has available to them and has the ability to work with. I could have just as easily cut it out of 3/4'' marine-grade plywood coated with epoxy, paint, etc. Thanks for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment! We appreciate you being part of our adventure!
@@SailingTurtle So new to replying to comments, only realized what the "BELL" symbol means :( Thanks for replying back to me. Will be looking at doing something similar to my boat. Will continue watching your videos.
Hello SV Beduin from Norway! Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us such a fun comment! We love being able to connect with our viewers and really appreciate your kind support!
The exhaust water temp alarm is brilliant. I find it amazing that in 2020 the best impeller design still relies on a rubber (I know, they're usually neoprene) impeller. Rubber is an old silly term so it's fitting for this comment. With so much at stake, the health, or should I say the death of your marine engine, a silly $20 rubber impeller is all that stands between a healthy cool engine and an engine with a warped cylinder head or worse. And you're right, the engine temp gauge doesn't work to prevent engine damage, it's too late. All marine engines that rely on rubber impellers for bringing cooling water to the engine should have some sort of alarm like you showed for when the impeller shits the bed. 99.99% of the time, if you replace the impeller as per manufacturer specs you'll have no problems. But when you have a boat that doesn't get used a lot, maintenance schedules get...complicated. I really like your approach to everything on your boat. I'm very handy, I do everything myself...i never have anyone fix anything except standing rigging, but I'm learning from you! Thank you
Thanks for the comment, we treat our boats very much like airplanes; replacing or rebuilding important systems long before they expire. I typically replace the rubber impeller every spring, but like you, I still don't trust it. I debated between the temperature alarm and a flow sensor alarm, which can also be installed in-line with the raw water flow. The flow sensor alarm would probably give earlier warning, but has a real potential for a clog from debris. In the end, we were happy with the added sense of security. Thanks again for watching our videos! We really appreciate it and love it when we can connect with our viewers!
Randall very much likes his Nixon 51-30 (It also tells the tide) hahaha ;) Thank you so much for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment! We appreciate you being part of our adventure!
Thank you very much! It was a lot of hard work that we feel has paid off for us. Thanks for leaving us a comment and for watching our videos, we really appreciate it!
We had one of those with a 60hp on the stern. We sold it in 2004 as part of the Divorce. No roller furling. I think we had Radar on it. Nice boat. Not the best to wind.
Welcome to our sailing adventure! Thank you so much for leaving us a comment and for watching our videos, we really appreciate it! We post a new video every Sunday and still have a lot more to share (:
Yeah it is nice to have the extra counter space when we need it without it being in the way all the time. Thanks for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment!
Thank you. We are proud of the hard work we put into our tiny home. Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment!
My friend replaced his windows much like you did, but the flex from the boat under load showed him exactly why he should have stuck with the old frames. Your experience may vary.
Do you recommend also having a water mineralizer as well to replace the important hydrating minerals that the water maker is removing? Maybe you could just add a packet of electrolytes to the fresh water jug that your water maker just made? I like the peacemaker you keep in the safe you made. I love watching little boats like yours because I love all the innovations that you put into your boat to make it as comfortable and up-to-date as possible. You're the Bob Villa of sailboats! Great job!
Hahaha This comment is great! Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to reach out to us! We love connecting with our viewers as much as possible. We didn't add any minerals back into the water during our trip, but that is probably a fantastic idea as a general rule, regardless whether you are drinking reverse osmosis water or not. I drink trace minerals on a daily basis b/c most of the food that we eat no longer contains the vital minerals that used to be obtained through garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. We also exclusively use Redmond Mineral Salt, which by happy coincidence comes from where Kenzie grew up.
What an informative video, I shall bookmark this for when I am refitting my future boat. A couple of questions: why no windvane or hydrovane? The swim step (which looks great) is probably incompatible with a windvane. How does the swim step affect sailing with large following seas breaking over the stern? It looks like it could cause problems.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment! We really appreciate your support and are glad that this video could be helpful to you. We actually had one particularly nasty storm that we went through that had substantial waves crashing over the stern after we launched our sea anchor, but the swim step never really caught hold of them. The water just washed over the transom as if the swim step wasn't there at all. I don't think it had any effect what so ever. I considered building and adding a wind-vane to our boat, but ended up wanting the swim step more. Haha The Raymarine Evo 100 Autopilot worked so incredibly well that we never had a second thought for alternate means of steerage. It was also gentle enough on power usage that we never ran low on power, even when 1/3 of our solar was down. We did meet some other sailors while in The Bahamas who had wind-vanes and some of them told us they were a pain in the butt. Here is a link to the autopilot if you want to check it out. Thanks again for watching and for commenting! The Raymarine Evo 100 Raymarine Autopilot: amzn.to/2J9yWZA
Randall your quite the accomplished handy man, you know this is a treasure trove of excellent material here. I know about a third of the gadgets from research mainly with the communication equip. I absolutely love your paperclip pin hole unlocking device , I work on computers alot and sometimes i need to open that darn CD ROM drive that hangs up ((( that is a great idea on turtles hatch door ))). That autopilot you got rid of I just changed my mind on it. It was regarded as pretty good on another channels video . I am glad to see you changed it to the 1000 dollar model. I watched the whole install of the older unit that cost half as much but 10 times the trouble on ( Sean & Julia Sailing ). Your EPIRB is very nice. I also watched the water maker vids on the repair you made to it. ( could you have used a gasket sealer on the motor housing ? like RTV perhaps? to stop the leaking. The coverage of your vessel was awesome to see, hey about the lead acid batteries. Why didnt you go AGM ? I am presently considering AGM for a new solar array. Okay too much stuff here to list and jaw over like using Dyneema instead of steel cable for your rigging, but I could talk for hours ....LOL.....KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK ! God BLess & nice tig welds on the anchor plate.
To answer your first question about the water maker repair, yes possibly. If I couldn’t have fixed it I would have tried that next, but I didn’t want to do anything that might contaminate the filter membrane. It is very sensitive to oils and petroleum based contaminants. As for batteries, AGM technology is a fine choice especially when space, weight and efficiency are at the top of your list. For us weight and space was not an issue and we saved some money going with the lead acid batteries instead. (Even we had to cut some corners occasionally for cost) AGM would certainly be my first choice if money wasn’t an issue. And lastly, standing rigging. I did consider using Dyneema standing rigging, but have some friends who have had trouble with it, so I chose not to use it. It has it's fair share of problems, especially when chafe enters into the paradigm. …Not to mention what happens to wet Dyneema during a lightning strike… LoL who knows what would happen then! Thanks for watching!
I just watched some episodes you prolly have seen, but I cried while watching because of sticker shock. This video came out about a month ago, but different people have installed similar ones for 2 - 5 years. UMA bought Lithium Ion batteries at $1000 per battery. They used quite a few in this video. But it is mainly for propulsion and more than likely paid by from Patreon and a little bit by YT .
Thank you for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment! We love connecting with our viewers! We are in the process of putting together a video showing how we raise the mast by ourselves and are hoping to get that posted in the near future. Unfortunately we don't have any video of us building the rudder, just pictures, but we agree that having a video talking about how and why we built our rudder could be helpful and good to have on our channel. We will see what we can put together. Thanks again!
Really glad for you that you made it with the boat, wish you many great days ahead. I will be making my captain certification hopefuly next spring. But I will start with charter boats :) I think you really shown that buying a boat is just the beginning, and that refiting it can easily double or tripple the initial cost, you done a really great job there!!! Btw one additional question I have, the reinforcement of the hull, can you please make a video about that as well. Fiberglass hull is a bit concerning for me in case of a collition with a floating object, I quite worry about the hull especially on fiberglass. Thank you and keep posting :)
Wow! That has to be about the best equipped 26 footer out there... I'm guessing you have spent more on the upgrades than on the original boat cost not to mention the time you have dedicated to it. A superb result.
Yes that is about what it comes down to. It was all worth it. We have loved every minute with our little boat and are happy to be able to share our experiences with everyone. Thank you so much for watching our videos and being part of our sailing adventure!
Hey thanks for watching our video and for leaving us a comment! We hope you like the rest of our videos. We post a new video every Sunday and still have a lot more to share!
Just add a wow! here, likewise impressed as an avid boat channel watcher and owner of a 28 ft old boat that would be 10 times better with just a few of these upgrades.
really cool stuff thanks...how much did you spend on all this? how much can you expect to spend i mean this sounds like a huge investment even if you buy a descent boat...and will it not cost much once you do the necessary upgrades?
Well we bought the boat and trailer for 10k and probably roughly put an additional 30k into everything else that we did with the boat including upgrades, slip fees, traveling across the country and sailing The Bahamas. We made upgrades along the way, as we could afford to and made a great effort to live debt free while preparing for our adventure. We saved money by living aboard the boat for the 5 years we spent working on all of the upgrades. We were able to keep living expenses low by keeping the boat on our family's property during the winter months instead of in the local boat yard, and then during the summer months we kept the boat in a slip at the local marina which was very affordable. Monthly cost of sailing per month....Honestly once everything is paid for and the sails are up, you can easily go a month without spending a dollar, but then again you probably spent 40k to get to this point, so it's a bit tricky to assign a dollar amount. If you counted our average monthly expenditure we averaged between $200-$400 a month, but if you count the cost of preparation, purchasing the boat, outfitting, traveling across the country, provisioning food etc. you could say we spent 5k a month! It just depends on how you look at it. It took several years of us saving money, working multiple full time jobs and countless hours of hard work to get to where we are now, but we are happy with it all and wouldn't change anything. We wouldn't have been able to afford to go on the trip if we had bought a new boat to begin with. We really appreciate you watching our videos and for leaving us a great comment! Thank you! =D
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment! We have listed a handful of links in the description for a lot of the equipment that we used on our boat. We weren't able to list everything unfortunately, but if there is something more specific that you would like to know more about please feel free to let us know. We love connecting with our viewers and would love to share our knowledge and experiences with everyone.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to connect with us! We are so excited for you! It looks like a great boat! We can't wait to see all that you will do with her and the places you will go. Good luck and Fair Winds!
The battery box was vented into the bilge which gets evacuated every time the engine is run. Thanks for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment!
@sailingturtle where did you purchase that pull-down latch for your new door? I definitely like the way that one works for Cat 2 requirements. U mentioned you have it rigged up so you can open from outside as well. How did you do that? Thanks,
Very impressive. My son just bought a 1983 Catalina 25 and has already decided it's too small and is looking at the Ericson 26. Seeing all the modifications you did to this boat really makes it sea worthy for long trips, something he'd like to do as well. Thanks for sharing.
The best equipped 26fter I have ever seen! Nice work!
Thank You!!!
Probably most expensive also.
Watching 7 years after…. And, wow, just wow, well done 👍⛵️🧿👏
That is one of the most comprehensive boat tours/upgrade summaries I have seen on any yacht channel...excellent. I follow many yachting channels and you have won yourself a new subscriber. Well done👍
Haha Thank you very much! We are glad to have you along for our epic sailing adventure! =D We also noticed that you are subscribed to "Sailing Saoirse". We met them while in Florida when we got back from The Bahamas, and became good friends.
Seconded!
Thank you so much for being part of our sailing adventure!
I subscribed as well. $-)
@@speckledperch4158 Thank you for your support by Subscribing! We are glad to have you along for our adventures.
This is the mos informative sailboat video I’ve ever seen. Thank you also for the absence of music! What a joy. I single handed on a much bigger more complex boat. If I were to do it again I would go your route. Smaller and simpler.
Hey thanks! We appreciate you watching our videos and for leaving us a great comment! Fair winds!
Fantastic detail on your boat and the upgrades. Anyone would be proud to have all that you have done to make your boat not only safe but very functional. Great job!
Thank you so much for your support! We are happy that we have had the opportunity to share our home with other people who can appreciate the hard work and details that went into it. Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment!
Awesome. I appreciate your thoroughness. Also, I think it's pretty awesome of you to show that you carry a shotgun on board. I haven't seen any other cruisers on youtube do that. Thanks for being brave enough to leave that in.
We debated on wether or not to show it, but we wanted to be completely honest and show every aspect of our trip and of ourselves. We've always kept a loaded shotgun in our home and felt no different about keeping one on our boat. Thank you for your compliments! We appreciate you watching our videos!
Thanks for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment with your questions. In the case of sailing to Mexico or any other country where we know that firearms are not allowed, we would not take them. We have respect for other countries and their choice in laws and will do our part to obey their instructions when visiting. It is always a good idea to research the laws of your destination, before traveling there. Before we left for the The Bahamas, one of the things we researched was their firearm laws. We found some helpful information concerning entering The Bahamas with a firearm, and also good information about leaving and re-entering the U.S. with a firearm.
Leaving the USA with a firearm has no legal ramifications unless the items are "export restricted" (typically military weapons) Re-entering the USA however, requires proof of ownership in order to avoid taxation and import paperwork. (proving you owned the gun before leaving the country and then bringing it back) and it requires a specific customs declaration paper. (Form 4457 from the CBP) You can also use this form as documentation to show customs when you get to the Bahamas. They will want a full list of each gun (limit of 3) and specific counts of ammunition for each gun. You must be able to security lock the guns on board and they must remain on board at all times. If you end up leaving your boat in the Bahamas to fly home, you will need to deliver the firearms and ammunition to a local police department for safe keeping while you are gone. We took not only a 12 Ga. shot gun, as you probably saw in the video, but also a 357 revolver. We got nothing but pleasant smiles from officials when checking into the Bahamas and never felt any negative vibes. We have lived in states where we are able to carry concealed on a daily bases and it felt only natural to take guns with us on our trip. We were very appreciative of the Bahamas for being welcoming to not only us, but also our rights to protect ourselves.
Each country might have different rules, so just research before going. Thanks again for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment. Hope this could be of some help to you.
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yes, and the SECRET shelf in the kitchen for cash? I hope know one looks directly for that from online LOL:(
I think an AR -15 would be better.
@@stvsanders For the range it would be used, shotgun is better.
As a long time live aboard solo sailor I tell you well done. Smaller boats like yours make excellent escape pods and are very practical for those who want to live the dream.
Thank you! We really appreciate you watching our video and for taking the time to reach out to us.
Damn this is so refreshing. In an ocean full of seniors that bought themselves a mansion on water and call themselves sailors and young couples that say they renov their boat but really they just pay for every little things, this was just perfect ! Young couple with a good small boat and nice DIY skills ! Let's go turtle =)
Hey thanks man! We really appreciate your inspiring words and can't thank you enough for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us such a great comment!
I had owned a 1983 26 Ericson and I can’t believe how you have modernized your boat. Much better than new in many ways. Very professional. Safe sailing.
Great job!! I bought a Freedom 21 with trailer and kicker for $3000. I then put $10,000 in new equipment. Friends were shocked at the cost. You have confirmed money well spent!!
Yes! Fixing up old boats can be spendy, but well worth it in the end! It's kinda like fixing up an old hotrod, but better. Thanks so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to connect with us here in the comments. Fair Winds!
What a really smart guy. You have done some great things to your boat.
Thanks! It was a lot of hard work that really payed off in the end. Thanks for watching our videos!
If I recently got divorced and had the house listed and wanted to start my life anew, I would start with this sailboat you have put so much time and thought and effort into! Best You Tube on sailboats I have ever seen! Well done and you never know!!! I am so grateful to you for taking the time to make such a great video! Legend!
Thanks Jon! That means to world to us!
Wow.. this boat has everything in absolute first class condition after you've done the job with it. So much to take home from this, thank you for sharing and for tons of tips! Greetings from Norway, SV Tiger Lily
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment! We are happy to hear that you like our upgrades and hope that they can be helpful to you! =D
Wow! You have truly gone above and beyond what the average sailor would do. Cheers!
Thank you! Randall has spent 25 years of his life building and working on boats, studying and researching EVERYTHING and has a true passion for sailing, working hard, and doing a job well done the first time around. We are both excited to share our experiences with everyone and are so glad that you found our channel. Thank you so much for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment!
I LIKE HOW YOU THINK IN TERMS OF "JUST IN CASE" VERY NICE!
....the shotgun....Yes! Hahaha because you just never know! Thanks for watching our videos we really appreciate your support!
I'm writing separate comments because they're separate issues..I'm sorry if this is improper UA-cam etiquette.
You've done such incredible work on your boat..it's amazing. You have single handedly increased the value of the Ericsson 26 without a doubt. And your boat..you could probably have an auction and get twice the value just because it's your boat and you did the work. The sugar scoop stern...I've often wondered if that could be done. You proved it...it can be done! Dude..I'm extremely handy and creative with mechanical things, and you blow me away. I'm talking about repairing things, improving things, using a part for something it was not designed for and it's awesome, etc. MacGyver stuff but real life. I'm in awe. Cheers.
If you and the guy from Sailing Uma ever got together you'd be able to design the sickest boat ever in the history of boat design.
Where does you anchor locker drain to? They make..as I'm sure you know..stainless steel drain..um..things that screw onto the outside of your boat. You make sure you've found the lowest point in the shelf inside the locker. You drill a hole outside film inside the locker and attach the stainless steel drain piece onto where the drilled hole is. They work really well and it makes it did that you don't have to drain the chain locker into the bilge.
Hahaha Thank you so much for the compliments! When we sold Turtle we did get twice what we paid for it, but only 1/2 of what we put into it. I suspect we could have done better if our channel had launched by the time we had put her up for sale…also rushing to get the boat sold just as hurricane season was beginning, didn't do us any favors. To answer your question about the anchor locker drain, the boat originally had a small drain hose out near the anchor locker bottom, like you described. When I removed the anchor locker pan to create a larger space for our anchor and rode, this drain system was naturally eliminated. I installed a new floor pan in the anchor locker that angled forward with its lowest point right at the bow stem just above waterline. At this point I drilled a drain hole directly through the bow stem so that every drop in the anchor locker quickly drained out with no potential of any water to ever reach the bilge. This also created a watertight crash bulkhead for the first 3 feet of the bow.
You are the MAN 💪😎👊 . Thank you for the detail and the super PROFESSIONAL explanations. Seems like you are quite the well to do Craftsman, excellent ideas. Looking forward to more videos capitán. May God bless you and your family with Peace, Patience, Clarity, Guidance, Wind, 🐟, 🥥, and 🌞 sunny sunny days.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us an awesome comment! We really appreciate your compliment and support!
Wow, this is fantastic! Lots of excellent upgrades that look extremely well thought through and implimented. I'll be considering a lot of these when I finally get a boat worthy of this level of attention. Looking forward to watching you put her through her paces!
Thank you so much! It was a lot of hard work that payed off in the end. We are very happy with how our little home turned out and are so glad that we get to share it with everyone through our videos. Thanks for watching and for leaving us a comment! We wish all the best of luck with your boat projects!
Buddy you guys have thought of everything extremely impressed and I learned a lot happy sailing and safe travel.
Thank you so much! We appreciate you watching our videos and for SUBSCRIBING! We are happy that you found our channel and are excited to have you along for our sailing adventure! We post a new video each week and still have a lot more to share.
wow, your video is 4 years old and still amazing..thank you !
Oh wow has it been 4 years?!?! Time sure has flown by. Thank you so much for watching and for reaching out to us!
@@SailingTurtle the video on Turtles upgrades was EPIC, thank you!! I loved "Turtle",curious how much didi you get for her?
I've just bought a very similar boat, a Bowman 26 (videos of how she is now on my channel) & plan to do some refitting/remodelling, some great ideas here and very nicely executed...
David thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a fun comment! We checked out your channel and Subscribed so we can follow your sailing adventures as well. Thank you for sharing your boat with us. We love it when we can connect with our viewers!
It’s one of the best boat tours I’ve ever seen. Thank you for many smart ideas, I’ll borrow some of them for my C&C 25.
Glad to hear! Thank you for watching our videos and for taking the time to let us know that you liked some of our upgrades! We are glad that our video could be helpful to you and wish you all the best with your boat projects!
A lot of great ideas. Nice work, and great looking vessel. I had an Ericson 32 that I miss.
Thank you so much for watching and for reaching out to us. We miss our Ericson as well. It was such a great boat for us, but after living aboard Turtle for 5 1/2 years we knew we would need a bigger boat. We are getting closer to our goals and hope to get back on the water soon.
I'm late for the show! This video is simply amazing! The best indepth boat tour I've ever seen. I just bought a small boat myself and will binge watch this video many times. One day I will physically shake your hand with a cheque. Keep living the free world brother 🙏 💯 💪 🙌 👌
Definitely stop us to say hi if you ever see us out and about. We are glad that this video is inspirational for you! Good luck with your boat and fair winds!
This is simply impressive! SO many ideas... and they all got executed with excellence and top rate craftsmanship. Agree, one of the most engaging and comprehensive boat tours I have ever come across. Again, what an amazing job. Thanks for sharing this very inspiring video!
Thank you so much for watching our video and for taking the time to leave such a great comment. We really appreciate your kind words and are glad that you liked what you saw!
Thank you for the most informative boat tour Iv'e ever seen. You have done an amazing job of fitout and upgrades.
Thank you! We really appreciate your kind words and can't thank you enough for watching our videos.
That is the best buncha upgrades I've ever seen. I must say I dig the sugar scoop really makes things easier for so many reasons. As well as all the other upgrades that were done.....brilliant. I'd feel safe to sail anywhere in that. Plus I learned so much!
July 2020 . Just had this drop in my suggested videos, nice photography and great narrative. The boat looks newer and larger than it is, which is kudos to you all. Subscribed
I've always been a small - ish cruising boat fan. I believe that if done correctly they are all that most couples need. And, you have taken a very good basic desingned boat and done it up right. Congatulations.
Thank you so much for your kind words and support! We are happy we get to share our boat with so many people and love it when we can connect with our viewers.
Wow. That's a great refit. Congratulations on making so many substantial upgrades to safety and durability without bolting on anything that looks silly on a 26 footer. Well done!
Thank you so much! We appreciate you watching our videos!
I'm impressed by just how livable such a small space can be made. Nice work!
Extremely well thought out and everything you did serves a purpose. I found this channel while looking for ways to improve your boat and how people work with a surveyor to fix issues found during a survey.
We are glad that you found our video and are happy to hear you enjoyed the work that we put into our boat. Thanks for watching and for taking the time to leave us a great comment!
Hi well I hope you read this just because I’m so impressed thank you your time with this video!!!! I’m 43 and just became interested in sailing and buying a boat but I’ve only been around power boats , this is the most comprehensive and informative video I have seen excellent excellent job 🙏
Chad, thank you for leaving us this comment! We do read every comment we receive and try our very best to reply to each one the best we can, in a timely manner. We really appreciate you watching our videos and are so glad that you like what we did to our boat. There is so much freedom that comes with owning a sailboat. Being able to sail where ever the wind takes you and being able to experience new and exciting placing in such a natural way is so rewarding. There really isn't anything quite like it. We have had so much sailing and hope you will too once you get yourself a sailboat. We wish you the best of luck!!!!
clear, concise, great camera work, covered so much, and I love all the original ideas. Thank you.
Thank you for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment. We appreciate it!
@@SailingTurtle I designed the interior and sailplan for a 30 ft. sailboat hull/deck based on the lines of a H28 by Hershoff so I understand what you had to consider for each upgrade. I made the the first one out of the mould the designer had made from his one-off. Such a joy.
The best refit on You tube. I have a Ericson 30+ so this is very helpful. Thanks
Thank you so much for leaving us a comment and for SUBSCRIBING!! We are so glad that you found this video to be helpful. It's always fun for us to connect with people with similar boats and who share our same passion for sailing. Thanks for watching! =D
You really know your vessel. Some intuitive ideas on the improvements. It looks like you invested a lot of time and effort and it shows. Cheers.
Thanks for watching our videos! :)
I gotta say that was quite a tour of your boat. Good job and well done.
Thank you! We appreciate you watching our videos and for leaving us a comment!
nice run thru. Sounds like you've kept busy. The solar cells look small for the juice puting out, cool.
Thanks for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a good comment. We needed to go with small solar panels because we din't have an enough space available for larger sized panels, and we didn't want a large contraption built above to cockpit. It also meant that if one panels got shaded, it only stoped a small portion of solar energy instead of losing an entire large pannel's worth. We got plenty of energy and never felt limited on power.
I have a trailer sailor 26ft, but you gave me some things to think about. Fantastic job. Congratulations!
Very nice updates, some of which I'm working on currently. Definitely a nice equipped 26'. Lots of sound safely features. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment! We are happy that we can share our upgrades with others and really appreciate your support.Good luck on your boat projects! Hope everything turns out great!
One of the best boat\upgrade tours on UA-cam. Great explanation for all!
Best tour I have ever seen. Meticulous planning. Awesome!
Thanks for watching our videos! We really appreciate your compliment and support!
My current passion is refurbing a 20' 'Trailer Sailer' as we call them in this part of the world (pocket cruiser in America?) Always looking for good, smaller yacht, ideas. Your video is awesome! Plenty of inspiration right here!!!
Thank you so much! We appreciate you leaving us a comment and for watching our videos! Good luck with your projects, we hope it all turns out great!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW, so many cool upgrades, love the water maker design, that was one of my biggest concerns when we started planning our trip to the Bahamas on our Dana 24, having enough water and knowing that to purchase water in the bahamas can get expensive, so we purchased a Rainman Portable Watermaker, great little unit, takes up very little space, is powered by a honda engine and makes 37 gallons of water per hour, the only other big change we did, was do away with the marine head and all the plumbing and installed a composting toilet....
Thank you for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us an awesome comment! We really appreciate your support! It sounds like you also have a great set up on your boat! We love it when we can connect with our viewers and get excited when we hear other people with small boats planning their sailing adventures. We knew that we would want to sail to further out Islands and wanted to have the freedom to stay there for as long as we wanted. Having a water maker aboard allowed us to do just that. Do you document your sailing trips and share them online? We would love to follow your story if you do.
Your the first sailing channel that Ive seen that keeps a firearm onboard! A shotgun is a great boat gun too! Merica!! lol
I miss your videos and I hope you both are doing well in life. I love boating and I watch lots of UA-cam videos and I miss looking through you guys window of life.
We miss it too! We CAN'T WAIT to get back out on the water! We watch a lot of sailing youtube vides too, just dreaming and waiting for our next adventure to start. The past couple of years have been rough with little adventure in our lives; 2020 didn't help the situation at all... BUT we are doing great! We have been working hard, going to school and saving our pennies to purchase our next sailboat. And when we do you know there will be plenty more fun videos to come! Thanks for watching our content and for reaching out to us. Your message meant a lot to us.
Truly great work! You have made a really solid pocket cruiser! I am always looking for ideas for my 31ft HR Monsun offshore cruiser, and found your work and enthusiasm most inspiring! Thanks for sharing!
Best regards from Norway.
Martin, thank you so much! We are so glad that you found our videos and that you like what we did to our boat. We really appreciate you leaving us a comment and letting us know where you're from! It's so exciting to connect with people who share our same interests. Happy Sailing! Thanks for watching.
You're on a next level. Absolutely the best refit on UA-cam.
Well done!
Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment! We really appreciate it.
If i was doing up a boat, I'd want to borrow this guy for a month. Awesome detail mate 🙂
Hahaha Thank you for the compliment! We appreciate you watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us an awesome comment!
Thank you for sharing all your great details. Your boat is very well planned out.
Thanks for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment! We really appreciate your support!
Nice tour,lots of great upgrades!
Thanks for taking the time to make a quality presentation.
Thank you so much! We are glad that you found our videos!
My wife and I are about 10 videos and to your series from the beginning and quite Enchanted looking forward to more
Well thank you! We are glad to hear that you have been enjoying our videos so far and that you started from the beginning! We post a new video every week and still have more to share! Thanks for leaving us comments too, we really appreciate it!
I was just about to suggest that you add an alternate companion way opening mechanism from the inside just in case something happens to the primary opening mechanism...and then you described the secondary option you had designed and installed! Excellent! I don't know what you do as a profession, but you're an engineer at heart, you're a engineer by design, you're an engineer whether you like it or not!
When you were "all done" with your upgrades, did you create a new owners manual or training manual? You really should if you haven't yet. Creating a new, updated, extremely detailed safety section and having every crew member, even young children if they're aboard frequently, do safety drills, could get you a reduced general liability rate.
From what I see of your work, I don't think anything that you build that's designed to float, will sink, unless you build a submarine.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to reach out to us in the comments! It's always nice when someone fully comprehends the thought and ingenuity that goes into these upgrades. I really was truly proud of that companionway latch system and it worked so incredibly well, our next boat is definitely getting the same treatment. (We are currently boat shopping for our next adventure.)
Absolutely awesome tour Sir! I am looking for a 38 Ericson at the moment and was just thrilled to have bumped into your channel. Keep em coming your guys are future Utube stars!!
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us an awesome comment! We really appreciate your support! The Ericson's really are great boats! Let us know when you find yours and if you ever plan on sharing your adventures on it. We would love to follow along.
I just found your channel and have been watching your videos. I am looking for a trailerable vessel that is blue water capable. I recently retired from the Army and am now working a civilian job but am trying to do something similar to what you're doing. Very respectable work on the boat. Lots of great ideas. Congratulations.
Sweet! Welcome to our channel! We are so glad that you found us and that you have been enjoying our videos so far! We try to post a new video every Sunday and still have quite a bit more to share. We are stoked to hear that you are looking for a boat! There are a lot to choose from. We wish you all the best in finding the perfect one for you and getting out on the water soon! =D Thanks!
Love your video! You have some really cool ideas going on. When I'm feeling skint though I may pop over with a small tooth pick for your companionway hatch, sneak in, grab the key for the shotgun then reach above the locker below the galley stove for your big stash of cash!☠
LOL sounds sneaky and adventurous! Hahaha We appreciate you watching our videos and for leaving us an awesome comment! We have had a blast sharing our story with everyone and are glad to have you along for the adventure!
Really well thought out systems for the real world practically of cruising and nicely explained. Well done, sir, and especially well adapted for such a compact platform. I especially like the swim step addition. If you haven’t already, I’d love to see how you built it and added it, as I’ve often thought you’d want to do that for a lot of older boats, but I’ve also wondered how you could do it and still have it work with a self steering gear set up so you have a back up if you lose your autopilot.
Yes, we do have a video showing how we built the swim platform. We contemplated that same question during our design build phase, and decided that there was not enough space for a wind-vane with such a small sugar scoop. I've seen it done on larger boats where there's room for an off center wind-vane installation that still gives space to make the swim platform useable, but that was not practical for us. Instead we chose to carry a back up autopilot. Thank you so much for watching our videos and taking the time to leave us a comment with your thoughts. We appreciate you being part of our sailing journey.
its like you're an engineer but more like an artist. will be using this as a guide for my refit.
It is always refreshing to me when people recognize and appreciate Randall's talents. You get him! Thanks for watching and for commenting. Also, let us know if you have any questions in the future. We try our best to respond when we can. You might get a quicker response if you message us on Instagram.
, Fantastic Tour! I appreciate all you have done and showing us. You have a great boat and made so many improvements. Thank you!
Mitchell
Thank you so much for watching our video and for leaving us such a great comment! We have loved being able to share this video, along with all of the others with everyone and are glad to have you along for the journey!
Fantastic, you have covered points Ive overlooked in the past. Would like to see more details on your window hatch grill. Great job :)
Thank you! The hinged security bars on the forward hatch are secured with an all stainless marine-grade padlock and retains enough size in the hatch opening that we can still crawl through for egress or to shove a spinnaker through the hatch etc. It's a pretty simple addition, but gives us both peace of mind both on and off the boat to be able to leave the hatch open and still have security. I welded it out of aluminum scrapes that were lying around the shop, but it could be built out of any material a person has available to them and has the ability to work with. I could have just as easily cut it out of 3/4'' marine-grade plywood coated with epoxy, paint, etc. Thanks for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment! We appreciate you being part of our adventure!
@@SailingTurtle So new to replying to comments, only realized what the "BELL" symbol means :(
Thanks for replying back to me. Will be looking at doing something similar to my boat. Will continue watching your videos.
Well done! Really like the sugar scoop on the transom, you have some great skills!
Thank you! We really appreciate you watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment! We really appreciate it.
@@SailingTurtle Where and how did you pick up all your skills and know how?
You did a wonderful job of building your boat up. I've done many of the same things on my 27 footer but did not publish it. Great job.
That's awesome! It's made such a huge difference on our boat. Thanks for leaving us a comment and for watching our videos!
Very interesting. I've a similar boat, a Westerly Tiger 25 foot. But, I've fitted a windpilot windvane, the Pacific Light.
Wow that sounds awesome! Happy sailing and thank you for watching our videos! We appreciate you being a part of our sailing adventure.
Great upgrades, thanks for sharing! Fair winds and greetings from SV Bedúin, Norway.
Hello SV Beduin from Norway! Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us such a fun comment! We love being able to connect with our viewers and really appreciate your kind support!
The exhaust water temp alarm is brilliant. I find it amazing that in 2020 the best impeller design still relies on a rubber (I know, they're usually neoprene) impeller. Rubber is an old silly term so it's fitting for this comment. With so much at stake, the health, or should I say the death of your marine engine, a silly $20 rubber impeller is all that stands between a healthy cool engine and an engine with a warped cylinder head or worse. And you're right, the engine temp gauge doesn't work to prevent engine damage, it's too late. All marine engines that rely on rubber impellers for bringing cooling water to the engine should have some sort of alarm like you showed for when the impeller shits the bed. 99.99% of the time, if you replace the impeller as per manufacturer specs you'll have no problems. But when you have a boat that doesn't get used a lot, maintenance schedules get...complicated. I really like your approach to everything on your boat. I'm very handy, I do everything myself...i never have anyone fix anything except standing rigging, but I'm learning from you! Thank you
Thanks for the comment, we treat our boats very much like airplanes; replacing or rebuilding important systems long before they expire. I typically replace the rubber impeller every spring, but like you, I still don't trust it. I debated between the temperature alarm and a flow sensor alarm, which can also be installed in-line with the raw water flow. The flow sensor alarm would probably give earlier warning, but has a real potential for a clog from debris. In the end, we were happy with the added sense of security. Thanks again for watching our videos! We really appreciate it and love it when we can connect with our viewers!
I love that enormous wrist watch. You can see that from across the room
Randall very much likes his Nixon 51-30 (It also tells the tide) hahaha ;) Thank you so much for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment! We appreciate you being part of our adventure!
Congratulations,you did a fantastic upgrade.
Thank you! We appreciate you watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a comment!
just found your channel...great tour, one of the best I've seen...look forward to seeing more...need all the help I can get...favorable winds
Well done! Very well thought out. Ericsson should take heed. Cheers!
Thank you very much! It was a lot of hard work that we feel has paid off for us. Thanks for leaving us a comment and for watching our videos, we really appreciate it!
We had one of those with a 60hp on the stern. We sold it in 2004 as part of the Divorce. No roller furling. I think we had Radar on it. Nice boat. Not the best to wind.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment!
GREAT TOUR!! You've given me a lot of ideas for my future boat. Thank you
Happy to hear! Thank you so much for watching our videos and for leaving us a great comment!
Some brilliant mods. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for watching!
Just found your channel. Impressive set of upgrades. Well thought out.
Welcome to our sailing adventure! Thank you so much for leaving us a comment and for watching our videos, we really appreciate it! We post a new video every Sunday and still have a lot more to share (:
And that Aluminium rudder and shaft is epic!
i like the moveable kitchen counter system. A fully thought out system.
Yeah it is nice to have the extra counter space when we need it without it being in the way all the time. Thanks for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment!
What a nicely and well thought out set up on yalls boat! Thanks for the video!
Thank you, and Thanks for watching our videos!
so many good ideas in here. I probably won't include a shotgun in mine, but if it makes you feel safe go for it!
Hey thanks for watching our videos and for taking the time to connect with us here in the comments. We really appreciate your support!
That is a very well equipped boat. Great job!
Thank you. We are proud of the hard work we put into our tiny home. Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment!
My friend replaced his windows much like you did, but the flex from the boat under load showed him exactly why he should have stuck with the old frames. Your experience may vary.
Hey thanks for watching our videos and for leaving a comment! sorry to hear about your friends window troubles.
Best tour ive seen thus far.
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Do you recommend also having a water mineralizer as well to replace the important hydrating minerals that the water maker is removing? Maybe you could just add a packet of electrolytes to the fresh water jug that your water maker just made?
I like the peacemaker you keep in the safe you made. I love watching little boats like yours because I love all the innovations that you put into your boat to make it as comfortable and up-to-date as possible. You're the Bob Villa of sailboats! Great job!
Hahaha This comment is great! Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to reach out to us! We love connecting with our viewers as much as possible. We didn't add any minerals back into the water during our trip, but that is probably a fantastic idea as a general rule, regardless whether you are drinking reverse osmosis water or not. I drink trace minerals on a daily basis b/c most of the food that we eat no longer contains the vital minerals that used to be obtained through garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. We also exclusively use Redmond Mineral Salt, which by happy coincidence comes from where Kenzie grew up.
what a little beaut is a picture from outside,just love
What an informative video, I shall bookmark this for when I am refitting my future boat. A couple of questions: why no windvane or hydrovane? The swim step (which looks great) is probably incompatible with a windvane. How does the swim step affect sailing with large following seas breaking over the stern? It looks like it could cause problems.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment! We really appreciate your support and are glad that this video could be helpful to you. We actually had one particularly nasty storm that we went through that had substantial waves crashing over the stern after we launched our sea anchor, but the swim step never really caught hold of them. The water just washed over the transom as if the swim step wasn't there at all. I don't think it had any effect what so ever. I considered building and adding a wind-vane to our boat, but ended up wanting the swim step more. Haha The Raymarine Evo 100 Autopilot worked so incredibly well that we never had a second thought for alternate means of steerage. It was also gentle enough on power usage that we never ran low on power, even when 1/3 of our solar was down. We did meet some other sailors while in The Bahamas who had wind-vanes and some of them told us they were a pain in the butt. Here is a link to the autopilot if you want to check it out. Thanks again for watching and for commenting!
The Raymarine Evo 100 Raymarine Autopilot: amzn.to/2J9yWZA
Randall your quite the accomplished handy man, you know this is a treasure trove of excellent material here. I know about a third of the gadgets from research mainly with the communication equip. I absolutely love your paperclip pin hole unlocking device , I work on computers alot and sometimes i need to open that darn CD ROM drive that hangs up ((( that is a great idea on turtles hatch door ))). That autopilot you got rid of I just changed my mind on it. It was regarded as pretty good on another channels video . I am glad to see you changed it to the 1000 dollar model. I watched the whole install of the older unit that cost half as much but 10 times the trouble on ( Sean & Julia Sailing ). Your EPIRB is very nice. I also watched the water maker vids on the repair you made to it. ( could you have used a gasket sealer on the motor housing ? like RTV perhaps? to stop the leaking. The coverage of your vessel was awesome to see, hey about the lead acid batteries. Why didnt you go AGM ? I am presently considering AGM for a new solar array. Okay too much stuff here to list and jaw over like using Dyneema instead of steel cable for your rigging, but I could talk for hours ....LOL.....KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK ! God BLess & nice tig welds on the anchor plate.
To answer your first question about the water maker repair, yes possibly. If I couldn’t have fixed it I would have tried that next, but I didn’t want to do anything that might contaminate the filter membrane. It is very sensitive to oils and petroleum based contaminants. As for batteries, AGM technology is a fine choice especially when space, weight and efficiency are at the top of your list. For us weight and space was not an issue and we saved some money going with the lead acid batteries instead. (Even we had to cut some corners occasionally for cost) AGM would certainly be my first choice if money wasn’t an issue. And lastly, standing rigging. I did consider using Dyneema standing rigging, but have some friends who have had trouble with it, so I chose not to use it. It has it's fair share of problems, especially when chafe enters into the paradigm. …Not to mention what happens to wet Dyneema during a lightning strike… LoL who knows what would happen then! Thanks for watching!
I just watched some episodes you prolly have seen, but I cried while watching because of sticker shock. This video came out about a month ago, but different people have installed similar ones for 2 - 5 years. UMA bought Lithium Ion batteries at $1000 per battery. They used quite a few in this video. But it is mainly for propulsion and more than likely paid by from Patreon and a little bit by YT .
Wow that is amazing I think you made a great checklist for all the other owners :) in particular would you please make a video on the mast and rudder.
Thank you for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment! We love connecting with our viewers! We are in the process of putting together a video showing how we raise the mast by ourselves and are hoping to get that posted in the near future. Unfortunately we don't have any video of us building the rudder, just pictures, but we agree that having a video talking about how and why we built our rudder could be helpful and good to have on our channel. We will see what we can put together. Thanks again!
Really glad for you that you made it with the boat, wish you many great days ahead. I will be making my captain certification hopefuly next spring. But I will start with charter boats :) I think you really shown that buying a boat is just the beginning, and that refiting it can easily double or tripple the initial cost, you done a really great job there!!! Btw one additional question I have, the reinforcement of the hull, can you please make a video about that as well. Fiberglass hull is a bit concerning for me in case of a collition with a floating object, I quite worry about the hull especially on fiberglass. Thank you and keep posting :)
Wow! That has to be about the best equipped 26 footer out there... I'm guessing you have spent more on the upgrades than on the original boat cost not to mention the time you have dedicated to it. A superb result.
Replying to myself but I've just read the other comments again and see 10k for boat and 30k on upgrades over the years. Thanks
Yes that is about what it comes down to. It was all worth it. We have loved every minute with our little boat and are happy to be able to share our experiences with everyone. Thank you so much for watching our videos and being part of our sailing adventure!
.....and now I need to watch your beginning videos. Nice tour!!!
Hey thanks for watching our video and for leaving us a comment! We hope you like the rest of our videos. We post a new video every Sunday and still have a lot more to share!
Just add a wow! here, likewise impressed as an avid boat channel watcher and owner of a 28 ft old boat that would be 10 times better with just a few of these upgrades.
really cool stuff thanks...how much did you spend on all this? how much can you expect to spend i mean this sounds like a huge investment even if you buy a descent boat...and will it not cost much once you do the necessary upgrades?
Well we bought the boat and trailer for 10k and probably roughly put an additional 30k into everything else that we did with the boat including upgrades, slip fees, traveling across the country and sailing The Bahamas. We made upgrades along the way, as we could afford to and made a great effort to live debt free while preparing for our adventure. We saved money by living aboard the boat for the 5 years we spent working on all of the upgrades. We were able to keep living expenses low by keeping the boat on our family's property during the winter months instead of in the local boat yard, and then during the summer months we kept the boat in a slip at the local marina which was very affordable.
Monthly cost of sailing per month....Honestly once everything is paid for and the sails are up, you can easily go a month without spending a dollar, but then again you probably spent 40k to get to this point, so it's a bit tricky to assign a dollar amount. If you counted our average monthly expenditure we averaged between $200-$400 a month, but if you count the cost of preparation, purchasing the boat, outfitting, traveling across the country, provisioning food etc. you could say we spent 5k a month! It just depends on how you look at it.
It took several years of us saving money, working multiple full time jobs and countless hours of hard work to get to where we are now, but we are happy with it all and wouldn't change anything. We wouldn't have been able to afford to go on the trip if we had bought a new boat to begin with. We really appreciate you watching our videos and for leaving us a great comment! Thank you! =D
really good tour, really good forethought and craftsmanship. but you forgot prices of the equipment (except the autopilot)
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to leave us a great comment! We have listed a handful of links in the description for a lot of the equipment that we used on our boat. We weren't able to list everything unfortunately, but if there is something more specific that you would like to know more about please feel free to let us know. We love connecting with our viewers and would love to share our knowledge and experiences with everyone.
Nice boat and great work!
I'm on the beginning of this way.
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for taking the time to connect with us! We are so excited for you! It looks like a great boat! We can't wait to see all that you will do with her and the places you will go. Good luck and Fair Winds!
@@SailingTurtle Thank you too.
Yes, I have a lot of job here, just need to "keep putting one foot in front of the other".
Bet can do blue water but not sure in storm with fold down mast and not sure how big keil is. ....u got my attention..nice boat captain
Really great job with everything and excellent work!
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I’m in awe. Biggest watch I have ever seen.😀
Thank you so much for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment, we really appreciate it!
Randall very much likes his Nixon 51-30 (It also tells the tide) hahaha ;)
Great modifications and safety tips!
Great job this is the best setup I have seen on any boat!! please do more video thank you
Thank you so much! We really appreciate your support and for watching our videos! We are happy we get to share our boat with so many people.
very nice, well layed out boat with real good explanation - any concern with the out gassing of the batteries during charging? thanks
The battery box was vented into the bilge which gets evacuated every time the engine is run. Thanks for watching our videos and for leaving us a comment!
Are the pans important if you sail in really cold waters ?
@sailingturtle where did you purchase that pull-down latch for your new door? I definitely like the way that one works for Cat 2 requirements. U mentioned you have it rigged up so you can open from outside as well. How did you do that? Thanks,