BOAT WORK: It’s Time for a Change | Step 374 

just noticing how long kika's hair has gotten. looks epic :)

The fact that motor started and ran on year old gas is impressive.

Nobody noticed that Kika"s hair looks amazing? Never stop fixing and sailing Uma and sailing her! love you guys!

Having seen a few boat channels, I think the Arctic sailing couple were very wise to restore an aluminium sailing boat vs fibreglass. They did it because it needs to be Arctic proof, but think it also saved them 30000 hours of sanding and headaches. But guess there will downsides as well (like price).

Older fiberglass boats (1960 to approximately 1990) generally were over built and were primarily monocoque construction. Modern yachts now use internal stiffening that follows metal construction techniques (frames, longitudinal girders and stiffeners to form panels) this method significantly reduces weight and material and resists the stress induced by rigging tension, mast compression and keel bending loads. Relying on the hull thickness and typically a transverse bulkhead under the mast alone is insufficient as illustrated by many RU-vid channels. However, all the fixing of the related problems that occur in these older boats does not address fatigue; fiberglass will ultimately fatigue under cyclical loading of the sailing rig, keel movement and seaway motions.

Your Yamaha outboard is the hero of this episode…

Lots of terrible comments in here, so I’m popping in to say I’ve been following you since the beginning - and I enjoy your adventures and cool videos of them. Please ignore the dickheads and do your thing 💜

Love this era of Uma. It's great to build her up again and make her better than new. I also like that it will certainly cost less than a new boat of similar quality. I get that we can make more of what we have. All that said, a.lot of the time I find myself wishing that Uma was retired and they picked up an amazing used yacht, about 40-45 feet long, and purpose built for ocean crossings. It's absolutely true that a new-used boat would take almost as much work to renovate and make her right. It would take time, and probably just as much money. Plus there's the emotional factor. I just personally wish for Dan and Kika a bigger boat that is more suited to world exploration. This would be for the next decade or two. They could have kids and still fit on a larger boat. This is all just my opinion. Few will agree. I've been a fan of Sailing Uma since day one. My wish is that they'd take this opportunity to get a boat that is purpose-built for their life. Either way it's great to watch!

Hi you all, Kika, I really like You're new hairdo, You look prettier and younger. Lucky you Dan. Thanks you too and get you next time.❤❤❤

Please take good care of UMA. We all need you guys to maintain this wonderful channel and our beautiful boat.

Without doubt you are two of the most dedicated, resourceful and determined young people I have ever come across. Very few people can possibly understand the scale of the job you have taken on while at the same time still fulfilling all the other commitments you have while staying positive requires tremendous strength of character and frankly nothing short of a super human effort. I take my hat off to you both and continue to be inspired by the pair of you. Thank you both so much for sharing it all with us. Love your work! Dave M. Sydney, Australia. 33' Alan Gurney designed Sloop made locally & launched in 1973

We knew this would be a process, and painstaking. You both are showing great resolve. We cant wait for you to return to sailing and enjoy the fruits of all your labor.

we are extremely happy. We have already removed the old anti-fouling from our yacht and it is waiting for painting, it is also waiting for the deck to be renovated. we will be able to do it together with you and compare methods. excellent.

I'm glad to see that you are getting the keel and glass work professionally done. Even though you both are very diligent about your safety gear while doing glass work, I worry that it may affect your health years later by breathing all of those pollutants. This should also save you time and allow you to get back on the water sooner. And please ignore the Mystery Man's comments, he is just having a bad night.

Happy New Year Dan & Kika! Was there any concern about the hull deforming in the lift or on the stands without any real interior structure left? Also, and completely irrelevant to the content - Kika, your hair looks amazing! Dan, I suppose yours does too. Enjoy your time away in the warmth, it's been quite awhile since you've been in a sunny AND warm place.

Wow. I am SOOOO looking forward to you guys building her up again

Love that you are reinvesting in Uma. Old friends should not be abandoned.

What the hull? I'm happy to see Uma "on the hard". I think that all that can happen is good stuff! : - ) Keep up the good work!

Thank you for another great Uma video.

Keep going with an upgraded Uma. No one will forget your epic journey crossing the Atlantic Ocean with giant waves that make both of you super famous.

I feel for you guys, as my wife and I heavily refit a Catalina 30. We made it exceedingly livable (my wife is an architect, and I’m fairly handy as well), and then moved aboard. As someone who has done this (and will never do it again) you may have taken it too far. Sometimes a boat is just past it’s life, and that’s okay. The other thing we found out is that refitting a boat is actually not a very environmentally friendly process given how much needs to be torn out and trashed… Basically the only thing you’re saving is the hull, and that’s actually not all that much material in the end compared to the interior the hull contained. Best of luck if you decide to finish the project, but I can promise you that if you get a newer boat you’ll get a better sailing boat with a lot of life left in it, especially if you take care of a newer boat, rather than a boat that’s still old, sails no better than before, but just looks cleaner. Either way, good luck!!!

Have fun. Be safe!

Well done UMA Keep the fun show going!

Happy travels back home in Haiti.

Have fun on y’all trip and so glad y’all can visit family. Safe travels!

Great episode, glade to see it out and getting some work done while your gone.

Love it! Many thanks ❤❤️

Very relieved to hear both about the keel drop and the lamination being done on land. Though the keel bolts were likely high grade stainless, even that suffers crevice corrosion. You need to get eyes on the bolts where they pass through the glass to see what is left. Much newer Pearsons are showing problems not always visible inside. Hull lamination in the water would have introduced potential for temperature differential inside to out and resulting condensation compromising even a well prepped surface secondary bond. If you want the forever fix on the bottom barrier, get rid of all the epoxy and gelcoat and add a vinylester laminate layer with epoxy fairing and paint over it.

So great to see the project continuing to progress! New year, new Uma!

Hoping you're having a great holidays. Have fun, guys!

Safe travels you two. I hope they do a really good job on your boat while you are away and when you return you will be energized and ready to finish it up.

Here for the boatwork!!

Thank you for giving me something to watch during the holidays! I hope yours is fun and restorative. See you soon.

A tip regarding two strokes; Never use old fuel, if it’s been sitting for 6 months, don’t use it. Another thing is outboards where you mix the oil in the gas, the oil doesn’t lubricate anymore if you’ve let that gas/oil mix sit over 6+ months. You actually have to add the same amount of oil again to be sure. So the best thing is to use as much as possible before the end of the season, and start with a clean engine and fresh fuel.

Crazy amount of work...good luck!

absolutly love your content!!!

I am so happy to see u both again. Love u guys❤️

Hope you will have a lot of fun and hope all of your family are well and hope Haiti is good now and not into too much crisis … happy new year to both of you and your family

You two keep me inspired in so many ways. Stay positive and encouraged

Glad to see you again. Waiting for the re-build of Uma. Happy new year to you guys!❤

Glad to see some forward progress happening, I spent the last 4 years doing this to my boat, in the end though it is very worth it.

Missed your vids for a while glad you're still at it

Remember you have a chopper gun l cheaply built coastal cruiser that you are hopefully going to add an interior structure to support it all. Your honesty is what makes this channel interesting. This boat will still be small and slow and you will be apprehensive about going certain places. Some of these boats are being sold for the value of the lead in the keel. Good luck

Great plans and a lot of very good judgements as usual for you great sailors! Well done UMA! Looking forward for your adventures! CIAO

How you mane to get the work done AND create videos of this quality just amazes me. And you guys are just natural.

Smart approach on the large project. It will save you guys to focus on the stuff you like to work on for a refit.

Thank goodness for that Land Rover!

Binged all the way from step 1 and I finally caught up!

I remember a gap between the keel to hull joint in my Pearson 26 and fretted about it. Discovered that is typical with those boats for and the fretting stopped. Never had a functional problem with it.

Hi guys, happy New Year. Congratulations on your hull out. I think things are going to change on Uma. It’ll be wonderful to see her sailing again. Keep up the good work love and appreciate you both Cliff from Logan City Queensland, Australia 🇦🇺👨🏻‍🦽

We're all looking forward to 2024 adventures with you and Uma

Hi,I am very much looking forward to your next project having been following your journeys for quite some time.best wishes for the year to come,cheers,Roly🇬🇧.

Looking forward to your BVI session, been a long time since I sailed around there. 👍

Really hope your sailing adventures will be up and running soon. All the best for 2024

I almost gave up on you guys. Glad to see you working on Uma. Love you guys.

Being able to watch this journey is so much fun. And your explanations are also fantastic. Please keep up the good work.

awww..poor Uma has been checked into rehab. While kind of sad, she will come out of it better than new. Happy trails you two.

Thank you for another year of great adventure! Merry Christmas and happy new year!

Buon Anno e Buon Lavoro!

Your sailing adventures amaze me. But this boat structure stuff fascinates me. I've never owned a seafaring boat and I don't plan to yet, but the information about fiberglass especially, and everything else is really useful. You explain it all well. So, thank you so much for the info.

Lol love the hand cup earmuffs for flushing the outboard

I left Nanaimo in 2016, currently in Thailand getting work done for my passage to South Africa. Loving the sailing lifestyle ❤

Love your channel, your content, your personalities, your hard work, your success, your excample and Kika’s beautifull hair!! You go guys!!💪🏼💪🏼👌🏻

Happy New Year! Hope you guys are back under sail, soon!

Looking forward to seeing work being done and completed ASAP so we can be with you two back out traveling the oceans of the world, again.

Thanks for saying you can get seasick at the dock! That happened to me here in Victoria BC and I was so upset. It was the most sick I ever felt on my little Georgian 23.

Wow haven't seen you guys in a long time glad to know you still here😊

Looking good moving forward. Love the dingy on the truck.😎👍🚢🇺🇸

Uma looks good, she will benefit from this dry docking. So looking forward to seeing her a afloat again and seeing you two on the tiller once more. Laissez les bons temps rouler my friends!

Your hard work will pay off, and can't wait to see the end results, and your smooth sailing again. Just enjoying watching your progress. Kika blew her hair out. It's beautiful curly or less curly.

Looking good Kika! Miss your curls, but you still look fabulous!

Great work guys, its the first step to restore Uma. Looking forward to seeing the updates. Hurry back.

Happy New Year with Uma on the hard now you can really get her in shape again.

I didn't realize the boat was registered in Nanaimo, very cool. We're from the interior of BC, happy new year to Dan and Kika. Hope to see you on the west coast when the boat is complete and another year of sailing.

Glad you are getting some assistance with the fiberglassing and keel inspection. Kika looks so cool with her hair straightened. Great look.

Your hair looks fabulous Kika

I wish you a happy, healthy 2024, Kika & Dan! Safe travels ❤

I understand that in the end you are going to modify Uma from a 50 year old costal cruiser to re glassed fortified ocean cruiser....good choice, I can't wait to see how you plan and execute the interior. with the extra help seems like you will be bak sailing sometime in late 2024.....love you two keep up the good work

I’m really looking forward to the repairs and rebuild ramping up, I’ve been missing the sailing stuff :) (I’m not complaining, I love the channel, team pro-Uma)

Happy New Year and new adventures. Best regards from canada

Hey Dan and Kika! It's great to see you tackling the boat work and making changes in Step 374. Your dedication to fixing and sailing Uma is inspiring! Thank you for another year of incredible adventures. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year! Keep up the fantastic work, you guys rock! 💪💙

Happy New Year 2024 I hope we have many more great adventures this year thnx Dan and Kika.

Look up Cuan Law while you're in the BVIs. She's a 107 ft x 44 ft aluminum trimaran based out of Roadtown. She does liveaboard diving charters and I had the pleasure to be her senior diving instructor and first mate in another life.

Sooo, glad you decided to do it this way, for your own safety and health, above all. Its a very laborious project. Best of everything to you both and be dafe always from the Philippines 💞💞

Definitely dont leave it on the roof! I have had a landyacht on my roof rack for 5 odd years!

I think it won't be long before you buy a couch !!

Kika your hair looks beautiful down❤

You 2 are just a great couple. I love your vids and although you are not sailing now I for one understands. Your boat needs repair and it will take time. You do you the best you can. Kika your hair looks beautiful. Thanks for your vids and update on Uma.

And the work goes on, and on, and on. . . But I am an optimist, the end of the work will come and you will sail again. Thank you for sharing. Have a great 2024 and stay safe in your travels.🙂🙂

Great stuff! Your mishaps and misadventures are so humorously ironic. Your humor and steadfastness in the face of unending obstacles. Cheers and a peaceful 2024.

Just weld a Nice bracket on the site for the outboard en ready to go!

Haiti! All I’ve heard and read concerning that country is it is a scary place. Fair weather sailing in Haiti when you’re visiting. Wish you a good 2024 year for your projects.

I'm about to embark on building a small wood sailboat. From all I have reviewed I will gladly fore go many comforts on newer vessels and be glad of it.

Good Will guys, you’ve been doing this so long. I know it’s been hard maintaining definition in your life/social and with this radical interruption providing different perspectives and opportunities decisions must come up. I hope they are easy and positive. Look at what you’ve done, learned and taught, together.

I love the fact you guys are ripping everything apart and building it from the bottom up with your knowledge and new skills. It's difficult to own a boat and takes a lot of work. Keep it up, you're killing it!

A great decision for a great start to a new year! May all needed discoveries be known and repaired for Uma 2.0. Yay for boat dimples have resolved themselves and being able to hire out to remove eco-systems! Kika, I've always loved your hair! It looks beautiful with this new lightly relaxed look, too - how long it is!!! Bellissima.

Wow, UMA looks awesome after receiving that shave, I hope you have arranged for a good care for her while you are away. Work would be ways better on the hard as all aspects can be done easily at a quicker pace, UMA ready to get good care from here on

I'm going to be the dissenting, unpopular voice... the channel is great, with Uma, or with another boat. If she needs to retire, it's OK to let her go guys. Just don't get something so bright, shiny and new that you never have to work on anything, because watching you two work together is one of the great joys of the channel.

Yall got this. A lot of progress, it’s coming along. Kika your new hair style looks amazing!!!!! 👍

Best childhood memories on a tender Plaining!