We are Danielle & Kivanc. We left our careers in high-tech at its peak, sold most everything we owned, said goodbye to our friends and family in San Francisco and bought a 45' sailboat in the Mediterranean. We named her Sea Bee in honor of our beloved bee hives and started exploring the world in it. Our journey started April 2021 in Croatia and continued to Montenegro Greece and Turkey. You can join the adventure on our Sea Bee Sailing channel.
If there is a place to repair and haul out your boat, it is not Turkey my friend, it is Greece. Turkey is not in the EU and the parts are made in the EU. Turkey's economy and inflation are running at 75% per year minimum. Greece is in the EU, so marinas are better equipped and the parts cost less. Greece has 6 times more leisure boats than Turkey so if there is no part in Greece there is not in Turkey. This is the concept.
No Stress on "Sress" (the C is smoooooooth). Luckily I get in contact with your channel. When have you been to Cres in 2021? Possibly we just missed each other 🙂
Top tips I’ve picked up over the years… Line up, start the reverse, drop the anchor just into the water. Drop anchor at skippers command 3 boat length out is normally sufficient. Once you start reversing do not stop the reverse and do not stop letting anchor chain out( this will cause the anchor to bite and swing you off and then you also lose steerage) when 2metres from dock stop the chain/ windlass but keep the boat in slow reverse. All being well the boat should come to a stop pulling against the anchor stepping distance from the dock. Someone then steps off and takes the windward line ashore. Tighten and repeat with other line. Then neural and let the boat settle and adjust lines & anchor chain to suit.
So glad I found your channel. I’m in the exact same situation but my wife is from Albania and there is where we want to live. I’m in the early stages of searching for a boat.
Unbelievable! I have a center console boat and spent $3,800.00 just to replace the Power Assist Hydraulic Steering Pump. Looking to buy a sailboat and was worried about maintenance costs but after watching your video I’m happy to find out is much cheaper. Thank you for sharing. Your sailboat looks gorgeous.
She didn’t hear you on time. Stop means stop. Needless to sa, that anchor must have tug to dig in. Don’t use the winch for that job. It’s not made for that. Get your self a remote switch so your wife can be nearby. Never step off if no one can handel that boat.
Thank you for all the details and sharing your hard won research! I have arranged a charter this summer with my family on an Impression 45 in Greece (Ionion Islands) to get an in depth feel for if it will be a good option for our family in a couple years.
I've been thoroughly enjoying your channel, particularly the content focusing on purchasing and ownership costs. This topic is especially relevant to us as we're planning to purchase a yacht in late 2025 and embark on our full-time adventures by Q2 2026, starting in the Mediterranean. What captivates me most is your approach to engaging contractors, a strategy I intend to adopt. At this stage in our lives, similar to yours, we're inclined to delegate tasks and hire contractors for annual and major work instead of relying on the DIY methods we've used before. Rest assured, I'll remain actively involved because it's crucial to maintain an understanding of the boat's operations. For context, with a professional background in boat repairs and maintenance in Australia, nowadays, I work in management within a slightly different sector of the boating industry in another location. I'm eager to see more content about boat ownership, operational and living costs, especially anticipating part 2 of your series, and following along with your adventures!
Sacrificial zincs/anodes (meaning you sacrifice those zinc anodes instead of more valuable or important or hard to replace materials on the boat) - not superficial (which means "not deep or significant" - like "I had a minor accident with my car - only had superficial damage to my paint, but nothing more)
Hi there, my wife and I have been missing you. Good to see you are back. Thank you so much for the informative clip. Was that bow thruster been installed the wrong way back in the Elan facility? I understood the props were pulling the water instead of pushing, right? Means the efficiency was reduced somewhat? Best regards from Germany.
I honestly don't know who/when it was installed, most likely the previous owner. What I found out was that in most boats, the props are interchangeable, meaning the design and the rotation are identical. On our boat one is clockwise the other counter-clock and they are labeled as LH and RH. So you need a pair of trained eyes to identify which goes where.
Thank you for a clear and organized description of your process. Ihave two questions tho: !1why would anyone flag and deflag a vessel 2)what is ti status
Your sailing you tube channel is so informative for being another sail boat owner, love how you let us know the process and cost in these other countries!!!
I wander why did you fabricated the rudder bearing where you can buy it from Jefa rudder bearings product? No doubt, the service done by the people in that marina is stunning! Turkish people are well known as very good tradesmans, who do care about job done properly, reputation and good words about the jobs done. This brings clients to come again, even being further sailing. If this jobs have been done in Australia, that would cost you three times more!
I honestly did not know there was an offering. I believe the issue was not the bearing but the post guide, as the bearing's thickness needed to be widened so it fitted in the guide. An off-the-shelf product with same specs may have presented the same problem.
Great video. I really like the detail you provided, the clean video shots and the clear explanations of what you're doing to maintain Sea Bee. I'm preparing for my eventual purchase of my dream sailboat and getting a clear understanding of the maintenance and expected costs is very helpful. Thanks!
Great video, thanks! I’ve sailed in Canada, USA and BVI for more than 30 years, anchored hundreds of times yet never had to do a Med moor (yet!) . I have however set a stern line to shore many times in a crowded bay to limit swinging room, which I imagine is pretty similar. I’ve even set a stern line to shore a few times while single handing, which is especially tricky! But in those cases I usually wasn’t too close to other boats so didn’t have to worry about hitting them or fouling their ground tackle. A couple of questions: 1. I noticed you did not seem to set your anchor before the final approach to the dock. I usually set the anchor by backing down on it under power to make sure the set is good and there is no slack in the chain. In this case you didn’t really put the anchor under load until the last few meters before reaching the dock, but what if the anchor didn’t grab? Do you ever find the anchor will not grab the first time and you need to reset it and try again? If that’s a significant possibility I would tend to set the anchor first before doing final approach to the dock. 2. In this case the wind was on your bow pushing you almost straight back which is the ideal. What do you do when the wind is more on the beam? I have found it very challenging (sometimes impossible ) to set a stern line when the wind is on the beam, especially when singlehanding because you need to leave the helm to take the stern line ashore. In that case there’s little choice but to let the boat drift down wind on the hook, take a very long line ashore (like 50m or more ) using a dinghy, then pull the stern toward the shore to get the boat lined up. I think that would be very hard to do in a crowded harbour with other boats close by.
Excellent questions, thank you for taking the time, I am no expert, but here is my take. As for setting your anchor before your final approach. I believe your proposal would be ideal if there were no other boats around. The immediate issue with your suggestion is that once you set your anchor, you lose speed; therefore, you lose steerage. At that point, you are at the mercy of wind and/or current, whichever is stronger. Your next move would be to reorient your boat so that you can steer her to the desired spot. For that, you have to maneuver, and that is where you would likely hit trouble. First, you limit your boat's movability with your ground tackle down. Second and more importantly, you would drag your chain on the sea bed where other chains and anchors are present. This is the risk you are taking. With the most commonly accepted approach, which is what we exhibited in this episode, the risk you are taking is your anchor is not hooking. If the case you go out and retry. I found that most town keys in Greece are rather shallow, 3-5m. By the time you let 30-40m you have plenty of scope and chain to work with. Once in the spot, slowly retrieve your chain; with all the scope, you give your anchor plenty of chance to grab. As for your second question, hats off to you for doing the maneuver single-handed. In our case, we actually had the wind on our starboard quarters, and as you can see from the footage, our stern was not aligned to the wall at the town quay. The stronger the crosswind, the more speed you need to maintain steerage. I found the bow thrusters provide minimal help with your ground tackle down. What is working for you, however, is the weight of the ground tackle, which makes the bow somewhat stable, and your close proximity to the windward cleat when you step off the boat. (vs, in your case, to swim to a rock or other suitable object). Once you secure the windward dock line, you drop the boat into forward gear, throttle up until the bow straightens, and collect the slack of your chain until it is rock solid. I would welcome if there are other opinions on this subject.
Is it possible to use a boat hook to loop the mooring line around the dock cleat to avoid jumping off the boat? We have pretty good success using this technique on floating finger docks in marinas but could this work on a town quay when med mooring? My wife is not agile so no jumping allowed on our boat! We hope to reach the Med this year so your videos are a great resource, many thanks!
If you had better communication while dropping that would be one of the best videos about Med mooring. Well done also for all the tips about good seamanship!
This is very interesting. I've often wondered if there's any money in buying a boat then sailing it to US or elsewhere for resale?? Would you make any money after import duty, taxes etc?? Of course too late for trade winds so maybe spend winter sailing the Med....ok if you have the time lol.....
I would also tie the snubber line to chain. If the dock lines are tight, it creates a lot pull of the chain and load to windlass. Good explanations. Thank you.
Thank you for the immense depth of your video. We are just at the stage of considering what boat we buy for an extended circumnavigation. I've set up a similar spreadsheet, but you have given me several ideas to add details. I appreciate the clarity of your insights; many of the things you identify are very much in tune with my thinking, especially about keel configuration, rudder, etc. We're enjoying every moment of the process.
