Several years ago we were NOT SAILORS.. Knew absolutely NOTHING about sailing. But the day we went out sailing, on a "start yachting" course, we knew it was the lifestyle we wanted. So we were determined to learn how to sail. Soon enough we gained our YMO qualifications and the day after passing the exam we were on a sea trial about to buy an old boat with all of our savings.
It has been a year since we started a refit of that boat, a 1981 Oyster 39", with a plan in mind that one day she will be our only home. We are now working towards becoming FULL-TIME CRUISERS, refitting Squalo, preparing her for LIFE OFF-GRID and voyages to all corners of the Earth.
We are documenting and sharing our experiences with others, hoping to inspire more of you to join this alternative lifestyle.
She may be seaworthy but I’d never attempt to cross an ocean with only a tiller arm ….. no wheel means no auto steer ….. not a good combination…… great for a weekender or day sailing. And yes I have experience
The boat was bought for a different purpose, we didn’t plan to cross an ocean even though she is capable, but anyway that’s not the point. If you look closely though, she has both the self steering windvane as well as the tiller autopilot. As an experienced sailor you probably know that a much bigger problem on a boat this size is the amount of water and food you can take on board rather than whether or not you have the “auto steer”. I can assure you there are lots of sailors out there that sail and cross oceans on a boat with a tiller. Thanks for your comment, Ziggy
Just food for thought, you may want to reconsider using white due to the glare, you may want to think of an off white or tan to eliminate the possibility of glare from sunlight :)
We are an underwater light manufacture from Japan, we really love the content you made around boat refitting and sailing. We would gladly send you a pair of our high quality lights for your boats!
Hi there! Thanks for reaching out! Fantastic to hear you enjoy our content 🥰 abd yes! we are very much interested in taking up your offer and see what you guys do. Will check out your website. Please email us at: Sailingsqualo@gmail.com 😉
just keep in mind that all work you are doing to the boat, specially when it comes to, not only tackling the issue at hand, as to improving the boat (which is what you are doing when you make decisions like going full solid glass) is a huge factor on how you sleep at night plus, if the day comes when you want to sell the boat, you can do so confidently and ask a price you feel fair because of said improvements. people that are educated about boats will appreciate and pay, the uneducated have 2 options: get educated (not your job) understand this is not their boat. im fully refitting a 1962 classic Pioneer 9 from VdS, i have to finish it first (laughs) and i want to sail it properly. If i ever decide to part ways with it, the price will be crazy, but its my boat , my value (obviously there will be a degree of bargaining involved) but im not backing down from a value, that i have yet to set, and i wont give 2 farts if people turn and say: i could get a lot more boat for that money. "fine, go ahead this isnt a boat for you anyway".
That’s it 🙌 couldn’t have put it better myself. We were told many times already „you could have gotten a way better and younger boat for that money” but then I think, how do you know it’s better? It probably has as many issues as our 40year old gal. And usually requires a lot of upgrades anyway. No one in their right mind will sell a perfect boat that requires no work and no upgrades and has no issues for the sort of money we had when we bought Squalo. Yes, we pay for her upgrades a lot now, the total bill when we finish will be massive but we don’t pay that full amount upfront, we do it but by bit. And also, let’s be honest, not everyone is cut out to do a refit like this, some people prefer to buy something that’s ready to move in and sail off into the sunset right away. And that’s okay. But we do get some pleasure out of this DIY refit, and the satisfaction and confidence of knowing your vessel inside out..it’s priceless. And the skill we gain in the process plus the memories.. no one can take that away from us.
I for one am really enjoying these episodes! You both seem happy with your work on the project. The way you both work together makes me feel you never have an Argument???LOL😂😂😂
Looking great! She is going to be ice and dry. Ziggy is getting really good with his glass work. I remember when he first noticed the problem with the Keel, he was looking a little discouraged. Now when he notices something he just says no problem. Excellent work you two.
That’s right, he definitely has gained confidence over time and improved his glass work. And yes, our approach to the issues we come across now is different to when we first started. More often (not always) we feel like „yeah, we’ve got this” 👍
Thank you! 🤩 Some call it peel ply, others release fabric. It is a finely woven fabric that’s treated with some kind of release agent so that epoxy doesn’t adhere to it while it cures. Because it also has a fine textured surface, once the epoxy cures you remove the fabric and it will leave a slightly textured surface that doesn’t require sanding. Another good thing about it is that amine blush comes to the surface of it so with removal of the fabric you also remove amine blush and there is no need to wash it off. Great stuff.
Peel ply absorbs ‘amine blush’ from the epoxy so no surface wash is needed, and once removed leaves a smooth surface ready for the next step without sanding. :)
Jak sie macie , Jestescie niemozliwi, podziwiamy Was I czekamy niecierpliwie na Nowy odcinek. Ps robilismy podobne project 2018 , wiemy przez co przechodzicie, uszy do gory bedzie warto
Hej! Jeszcze dajemy radę 😅 dzięki że oglądacie i śledzicie nasze postępy. Tylko pozazdrościć że macie to już za sobą i możecie cieszyć się żeglugą. Gratulujemy wytrwałości 🙌 Pozdrawiamy!☺️
We have looked at few samples from several companies that make them, some of them don’t look as good as others. I think it also depends on the colour you go for, we’ve seen some fitted on the boat that from miles you can see are fake and look pretty cheap (even though they aren’t cheap at all!). But besides the look, and the aesthetic is pretty important to us, what’s also quite crucial in choosing one is what their underside looks like, they all have slightly different design of the grip surface to which glue is applied. And that, although not visible once it’s glued, is even more important in terms of how well it is bonded to the deck and there are no air pockets forming, no water can find its way under and so on. So all these things we need to consider before we decide to go for it. Let’s hope we choose right! 🤞
Kolejny krok i kolejny do przodu pomimo, że jest nowy problem ale...Wam już nic nie jest straszne! Tak trzymajcie a będziecie coraz bliżej chwili kiedy Squalo rozwinie żagle tak jak w drodze z Gibraltaru do domu!
Great progress. The attitude is great; really professional. I wonder if the two of you are not so stressed as you used to be, the video so much nicer to watch. I think she will be a strong and safe craft!
You might be right, we are trying to be more relaxed, I have to admit it’s so hard to be yourself when talking to the camera. It doesn’t come naturally to us. It has been a process, still is :) Thank you for noticing the growth also on personal level ☺️
I can’t deny we’ve had some ups and downs 😉, but the toughest moments are when need to head back home and leave Squalo for a bit longer than we would’ve liked. So we are extremely grateful for the time we have in the boatyard now. 😊
Looking good. I do hope the artifical teak is something you can go for. I can't remember when you last spoke about it, but I am assuming that the surface has enough grip on it to work as a non-slip surface while walking around the deck? Also despite that rot, you've done a fantastic job on dealing with it.
Hi, just to give you an Impression. I bought a daysailer in the Netherlands . 27 ft. Victoire 822 from 1977 . Price 150 €. Yes , it should have gone to the scrapyard . As a retired oil-rig mechanic I had the skills to do most of the work myself as overhauling the engine and a lot of epoxy/ polyester work. Yes, i had things made new like the sails, all the rigging, furler and sprayhood and ofcourse the navigation instruments etc. Took the gas cooking away and went to solar cells and battery pack. Now almost ready i spent after 2,5 years around 24000 euro. Yes, still money and with a boat market at a bottom , price wise, i could have bought ?? Something else but again if you buy a boat older as 15 years you still need new rigging, mattresses , curtains, woodwork etc etc .etc . On you tube project 822 by j.booy. Take care and keep up the good work, regards, jaap
It sounds like you’ve had an interesting project on your hands. A lot of work by the sounds of it. The good thing is you got the boat pretty much for free. And the money you spent doesn’t sound too bad at all. Well done you for sticking with it, I am sure you had moments where you thought “what in the world I got myself into..”
@@sailingsqualo hi, yes , especially when bills come in for the 3 th party insurance and fees for berth. Invest in good tools . It saves on the long term money and time. I went over to battery tools and a battery power pack to reload them as well . The powerpack is a small one of the brand ecoflow . It has also 4 - 220 connections and takes a starting power of 1600 w. So enough for a circle saw . Go your own way and stay with your plans , do not react on remarks like, when are you ready, etc. In holland we have a saying that says, the best captains stand on land. Keep up the good work . Grtz. Jaap
You guys are doing such a great job! Fantastic to see you back in the boatyard, it is a shame you had to be away from the channel. I watch quite few channels with similar content, yours is equally as good as some that have much bigger audience and many more views. Perhaps it's the clickbait technique they use more often.. don't know, but it's worth looking into, maybe it will help you reach bigger audience and grow your channel. 🥰 Meg
Don't worry about getting a mix wrong it happens to everyone. I like to think that once you've made a mistake and corrected it, you're more likely to be more aware the next time and won't do it again. So it's really a good thing 😊 Keep up the hard work she's looking fantastic. 👍
good thing you cleaned it up, I had someone help me with fiberglass work like 12 years ago... He e didn't use enough hardener or old stuff, but the patch he worked on is still not hard enough to paint without messing up the paint and going soft itself
@@sailingsqualoI tried working on it a few times, tried soaking in hardener even but it seems that ship has sailed, I need to grind it out and do it correctly. Longest stalled project ever
You guys are doing a great job there, it will be so worth it in the end, good on you both for all your hard work, don't fret to much about the resin mix up your not on your own there, I once new a guy mixed concrete blend for 20mins then troweled it out but it did not go off, he forgot to add the cement, All the best, Al
What color are you painting the deck and the hull above the water line??? My favorite is the Hinkley blue with a silver or gold cove stripe and eggshell or off white..
I will be honest, I love watching all DIY stuff, even the ‘boring’ bits I can sit and watch in real time. I find it relaxing. During pandemic we watched for hours this guy up in Canadian wilderness who builds his own cabin etc he doesn’t even talk much in those videos, you just sit and watch what he builds and how he survives there.
8:00 Ahhh Nat, these things happen to the best of us. Ziggy is so much more laid back now. Good to see! Love his attention to detail. Squalo is going to be one strong lady!
Awesome video as always! :) I like that you include some clips from the surroundings to get a feeling of the area and how its outside of your little confined space where the boat is situated! Keep it up you guys! =)
Krok po kroku i jesteście coraz bliżej spełnienia marzeń! Potrzeba Wam jedynie czasu i cierpliwości bo jak to mówią "bez pracy nie ma kołaczy" a z tego co widać jak do tej pory cierpliwości Wam nie brakuje. Cierpliwość, precyzja i cała ta sumienna robota już wkrótce zaowocuje. Więc trzymam kciuki bardzo mocno bo wierzę w Was!!! 🥰😍❤
👍 Personally I think that all balsa, plywood, foam or whatever material is used as core is great as long as they are kept dry. They all have different properties and their uses on a boat. According to the builders drawings plywood was used where there are higher compression loads. The perimeter of the whole deck area is solid fibreglass where most hardware and standing rigging is fitted. Which makes sense. I wonder if the closed cell foam is resistant to higher compressions? I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with using plywood as long as it’s properly done, with through-deck penetrations sealed off with epoxy.
I would be thankful if that is the only place that you have found that the core needs replaced. I'm sure its disappointing but you did get the boat for a pretty decent price which makes it worth the hard work.. just think how wonderful your boat will be when done. It will serve you well for many years
A classic sailboat looks so amazing with teak decking!!! I didn't know that artificial could look as amazing as what you have shown. After seeing your neighbors I would definitely go with a high quality product that looks like teak without the problems.. especially since you don't have real teak trim all over that will show the difference between the imitation and the real thing.. although I must admit that if I was going to do something else besides painting the deck I would have to install a new real teak deck and make sure that i maintained it getting the 40 years out of it.. by then it would be the next owners issue
I mean the real teak, the real deal is what we would ideally like to replace it with. Teak is hard to come by these days, since supply decreases the price also goes up. Many people also sell a cheaper version what’s called an African Teak (Iroko) which looks very similar to the teak we know from Southeast Asia. Apparently Beneteau uses that one on their new production boats. Still the cost of the real deal is at least 3 times the cost of synthetic one. Someone suggested cork, which is more sustainable and makes it an eco-friendly choice these days. It isn’t cheap though. But then again, what is cheap on a boat? 😂
@@sailingsqualo everything is expensive nowadays. It also depends upon how long you and your better half plan on keeping your boat. Is it a case of keeping it as long as possible or sail it a few years and then get a bigger boat or one that you will enjoy more. If you're keeping it long term then you might as well do it all exactly as you want. Perhaps the channel will grow with steady flow of content and you can get a supplier on board to help out in some way?? Or get a supplier of other products needed for the refit and you can spend that savings on the wooden deck of your dreams
Wouldn't a gelcoat stripper tool have been much faster than sanding?? I've seen others who have used the handheld machine to strip their decks or the hull so they can repair and start fresh
We have many tools, but not the one that would have been most useful in that instance. Gelcoat stripper is pretty dear here.. wouldn’t pay off to buy it just for this. But you are absolutely right it would have made life so much easier.
