I do not have a Patreon, but if you are inclined to donate to the channel my paypal is @Mbunch319. I am also in the process of setting up RU-vid Memberships on the channel.
keeldragger make a play list with all your videos just like sailing sole, i went to the hospital and left my computer on, while he is getting automatic views , glad to see you back in action
@@keeldragger your last video was really good, you mention something about negative speed, i will watch it again tomorrow. to understand a bit more. thank you
Do you know anyone in KSA or Philippines who has tested the iPhone satellite text feature? I'm curious if it is available outside of US and Canada yet.
Already ! You just mentioned it .. but than again you have been rigging lately ..I guess it would be a good time to start and head up that way , I am still a bit surprised .. Good luck Mark..
This is essentially the adventure I was planning a couple of years ago before I had to repower the engine. Maybe a little more ambitious this time around....
Great video and super interesting content on the new sails. Wondering if you have any thoughts on Dutchman cradle system vs Stackpack/Lazycradle? Thanks, James
Hi James. I had dutchman flaking system prior to installing the lazy cradle. The main benefit of dutchman was it is easier to hoist the sails because you do not have have your battens getting caught on lazy jacks. That being said, I did not find the flaking to work all the well with the dutchman system. I still had to go forward to tame the main and wrap it with sail ties before covering it with canvas. It was a lot more work when single-handed and it always required me to leave the cockpit when dousing the main. I should not that I do have the option to lower the lazy jacks and roll the lazy cradle out of the way. I generally do not find it worth the effort for short passages but I would definitely do this for longer offshore passages.
Keeldragger was already fast with the old sails. Now she’s really cookin! Sails look great bro! Looking forward to getting onboard and seeing for myself. 🤙🏼
I like the cut of this main better and it definitely has better shape. The new 120% genoa is much easier to manage since it is a bit smaller and also has a higher clew. Better visibility forward. That old 135% genoa I had is still better in light wind and will allow me to point a hair better but it gets really hard to manage when the winds pipe up. I still need to experiment with the staysail and find the sweet spot for trimming it with the new genoa.
We hit a mola mola! Good eye looking out for these mystical creatures! I realized after encounters a handful of times, 'It could be really easy to hit one of these' (although not out loud, I swear). They seem to pop up at the top of a swell and appear mostly shockingly close, and shockingly weird. I have actually always been quite endeared to them. In late July we were mid-channel on our way to Catalina having a wonderful sail cruising at 8kt, Xanadu steering herself. We heard and felt a short loud thump with big bump, that took our breath away. We only saw the mola mola as it come out from underneath the back. We soon realized our steering was slightly compromised only across the midline, so decided to continue on in the building 18kt winds. I had put a gopro in the water to take a look at the rudder under sail. And thankfully we knew quickly we had zero water intrusion. Our favorable angle (and screaching speed) gave us only couple turns across the midline to anchor in familiar crystal clear waters to inspect...rather than turning to fighting afternoon LB swell and zig zagging into our slip. We got towed back, hauled out. They shaved the back of the rudder rather than straighten the very slight bend in rudder shaft. We tacked on a bottom job. Back in the water the day before Labor Day and another trip! Yay! For fun, I'm working on designing a Tshirt also to raise awareness and funds. To contribute to our repair cost. 😓I'll keep you posted!
I almost hit a very large mola mola when I was sailing to Ensenada in my Dana 24. I did not see it until it was right next to my beam. That one would have done some serious damage to a small boat! My neighbor from a couple of slips down hit a mola mola during a race a couple of years back. It bent their keel! What type of boat is Xanadu?
Small Craft Warnings tend to be a bit benign in the San Pedro channel. Helpful that there is some protection from the Channel Islands. Still potential for some sporty conditions, though.
Shame on you for saying shame on you to those that know what 420 is. Will always be better than alcohol for society. So shame on u. Lol. Pretty sure u smoke to tho with that comment anyways lol
Thanks for sharing the video Mark looked like a blast I thought I would be out of place with a PV Showing up to a SV party .. Sounds like your planning something really Big soon Might I guess SW. to the Marquis islands ? 😮
@@keeldragger 😁 yes of course Mexico 🇲🇽 👍 SV Key Lime Pie went all up in there just looks like the place to be it looked amazing. You have a nice blue water cruiser Mark so go chase that dream, catch you on the next one..
Man, I am really bummed I missed it....... Looks like fun was had by everyone. I like your plan for heading south, I am going to try to be ready for Baja Haha in 2026 for retirement. Hope to catch up with you one of these days... Stay safe out there...
The teak looks great, Mark! A couple of questions, if I may. What is your preferred varnish? Do you remove the winches and deck hardware or just tape off and varnish around them? You can probably tell that I have similar in my near future …
Thanks - I can't take credit for this job.... I have someone helping me with it. Winches, etc. were not removed and just taped around. The teak was just taped off and lightly sanded and then coated with a few coats of varnish. The last couple of coats are going on today. The original finish is Epifanes and was done to a very high standard. I believe this time around is Pettit Captain's varnish. If I were super picky this time around I would have had the teak completely stripped and recoated with Epifanes including clear coat. I personally find Epifanes a little harder to work with than Captain's varnish but I believe the finish is superior. All of this being said, I did completely strip and restore old grey teak on my old Tartan 27 with Captain's varnish. That teak was so old and weathered I leveled it with an undercoating of West System Epoxy and Special Clear Hardener before building up about 20 coats of varnish. Results were fantastic but it was way too much work. Cetol Natural Teak is not a terrible compromise if you want to save yourself some work down the line. It's not as beautiful as varnish but it looks good enough from a distance and saves you a lot of time.
No checkout required when leaving the U.S. for U.S. flagged boats. Mexico requires BOTH check in and check out. U.S. does not care about check in/check out papers from Mexico. You do have to check in when entering the U.S. and mostly they are interested in your passports, vessel documentation, and CBP decal.
I anchor at those depths all the time and I have yet to drag anchor but I generally do not recommend it. It helps having a large, modern anchor and all chain rode. I'm generally comfortable with 3:1 at Catalina in MILD conditions and with my specific ground tackle.
Andy was telling me about that in Florida. I only have 100ft of chain to begin with. I have never dragged really myself either but I’m always in about 20 feet of water
In reality, the chances of being struck by a container ship in clear weather are extremely low. The chances being struck AND sunk, almost impossible. I feel more comfortable in the channel with these gentle giants than in a busy lake like Havasu! They are intimidating though! Take care. PS, I’d bring back the rear stay tensioner, you want your fore stay nice and tight.
