Crossing the Atlantic on a 34' Pacific Seacraft 

The rest of the story. By Lisken Captain Jim. - Boom broke. We were crossing the Atlantic from St John’s Newfoundland to Dingle Ireland. We were riding the south side of a low pressure. Winds were from behind. We had a double reefed main and staysail set wing and wing. We ran like this for days. The boom had a presenter tied to the port rail. The Monitor Wind Vane was used continually. Wind up to 35 knots were predicted. I was getting satellite weather via Predict Wind twice a day. About the 9th of 13 days waves increased to about 16 feet and the wind increased. How much is unknown because Minn 2 wind indicator was out of power. It’s a solar powered system that had not got much sun since St John’s. Everything seemed fine until be jibed in the middle of the night. With the presenter on we were back winded. We could not return to correct course until I went up on deck to release the preventer. Full rudder would not turn the boat against the backwinded main. I release the preventer and returned to the cockpit. Before I could get the boat settled, on course and the wind vane reset, the boat jibed again, the boom swung and the boom broke. The main sheet comes off pulleys in the middle of the boom. The boom broke just aft of the third pulley. - So, We lowered the main and got it stowed away. The boom was derigged and tied to the rail. No damage to the main sail. We continued under stay sail and wind vane. Later as wind decreased we sailed with the Genoa. The crossing took 13 days which was pretty good for 34 ft boat. - Lesson Learned: The boat was wonderful! The captain (me) was inexperienced in running downwind in heavy wind 35 knots, at night with 16 foot waves! - I should have dropped the main and sailed with only the stay sail. - It was unfortunate the the wind monitor was out of power. - Having to go on deck to change preventer was bad. - Later I changed the preventer to a system where port and starboard lines run from the outer end of the boom to the bow (thru pulley) and then to back the cockpit. This system worked great as the boom is always under control! I highly recommend it. - The boom repair. I tried to get the boom temporarily repaired at Dingle Ireland. It turned out to be a bad weld repair. I was disappointed. I had even given the welder a piece of old mast to use as a sleeve. Oh well...I broke again on next use. Luckily it was mostly downwind to Dintelmond, Netherlands where the boat was stored for the 2017/2018 winter. A new boom was installed over the winter. April to October 2018. Netherlands to Baltic, Sweden, Norway to north of Arctic circle. Back through Shetlands and south between Ireland and England. The back to Netherlands along French Coast. April to November 2019. Down the French Canals to the Med. 400 locks. Corsica, Sardinia, Italy, Sicily, Menorca, Mallorca, Gibraltar, Canaries, Cape Verde and crossing 17 days to St Lucia. February to March 2020: St Lucia to Florida. Boat for sale Indiantown Florida. Did the dream. See Yachtworld. “Lisken” 9

That’s what I like. Straight into it with no flim flam filler. Well done!👏

Great voyage. Love the socks! New wind speed indicator. Dry socks good weather wet socks wet weather No socks very bad weather New boom and new engine all good!

Gotta love people who sail from one big rock over to another big rock!

Congrats, Guys! Your sailboat is very well equipped, but your humor and optimist behavior amidst sea sickness is commandable!

an honest video of sailing - amazing.

wow, glad mom saw this after you were safe! proud of you guys! what an amazing adventure

Great video,many thanks guys. It’s beautiful sailboat . Fair winds and following seas

Loved the natter of fact story with no extra varnish or high drama. Also my experience of passage making. A combo of excitement, exhaustion, and mundane dampness.

This is great you guys! Happy Sailing!

Love your stuff... Would love some more, please...

Gripping story, the waves, the waves - with the fun additional crew of dolphin's was beautiful in amongst the broken boom moments. Heaving motion was appreciated by me, heroic even in the watching, which says a great deal about both of your story making abilities, of the real experience. I thought, yes often in life you have to just hold on. Bill and Billie, from Quebec City Jazz bar, cheering you on and thanks for keeping on sharing the TRIP.

You guys are fantastic and funny.

Thanks for the video

Thankyou that was really entertaining. You seem like really nice down to earth people

THE BEST CROSSING VIDEO I HAVE SEEN SO FAR.

Very good video thanks

Stunning..

Nice. Thanks. I didn't think that boom repair looked too good.

Loved it!

Looking forward to seeing you back, you’ve been missed. Poor White Shadow looks to be in a bit of a state, hope you are in a better condition

Hi chaps! Just caught up with you! Looking forward to seeing you soon! All love, and best wishes, Claire, Berlin 😘 ✌

Great music toward end.

Love joy peace wealth & abundance for all .

Damn good boat with an interior to match. If only I had the money :(

Fantastic :)

That’s awesome

Hey new sub. 😎 best wishes from 🇨🇦

Pacific Seacraft 34 is a great boat, comfortable sea keeping design. I planned to move up to a PS 34 from my Pearson 31 but life dealt me a funny hand.

Ok so you guys will never get a netflix comedy special but I laughed my ass off and plenty of good memes "this is how we wash socks" Thanks for the good times

Looks like a great life exp

My first visit to you guys and I am hoping you have more on here...very refreshing proper sailng stuff! How the heck did that boom break? Will be watchng you geezers.....

Great video! I've done work of pacific Sea Craft boats and they're very well built.

I see... Ouch! What a pretty boat. One day. *sigh*

I would have tried to put a sleeve over the weld so there 's not just one weld for a stress point.

Welding aluminum is difficult even under the best of conditions . Once aluminum is fatigued and gone through its amount of cyclic stresses , trying to weld on top of that is asking for trouble . When underway the boom can be repaired but , one might think of running the main sail loose footed and use inserts and anything on the outside then lash that whole lot in place so the can still work like working stay-sail rig . The big culprit may also have initially broke from that square slot cut into the boom for pad eye access for the main sheet . Any square corner left in thin extruded aluminum can be a cause for a stress riser which , eventually will lead to a crack and that crack will break . To weld aluminum successfully , the aluminum must be cleansed by both clean sandpaper , sandpaper that has never touched other materials , then inspected for both crevice corrosion and signs of electrolysis . The final step is to chemical clean the aluminum inside the boom and out to remove any other grease or dirt or anything that can cause the dirt to be sucked up into the weld puddle . Used boats that have seen salt water will always have electrolysis around stainless hardware that has been attached over it . Painted or unpainted it doesn't take long for the bubbles to appear . These signs will also appear on the mast . If desperate , i would of ground the excess aluminum off that weld and then welded , slightly thicker flat plate over the area longitudinally so the weld is into fresh material . Both sides , then removed the pad-eye and also filled the slot . Use boom bales in two new locations , and reconfigured the angles of the blocs to accept new angles for the main-sheet to the traveler . Take all pressure off the damaged area and that will get you a long way , until you can afford too replace it with something that is a bit stronger as a boom . Remember its a cruising boat and not a race boat , thin booms do not have a place on a world cruiser .

I just saw the boom broken it’s not reinforced how silly a three way purchase and no inner sleeve , sleeve it with an alloy section and you all good to go Your pulling it from the middle it will breake good luck

On my East about solo cirnav, I left Newport and sailed to Reykjavik in April. Lots of foggy conditions (used radar) and the threat of ice south of Greenland (didn't see any). I also stopped in the Faroe Is. and Shetlands before arriving at Stornaway in the Outer Hebrides. I finally crossed over to make landfall in Scotland. Fair winds and far places to you!

Oh dear, forgot to ease the topping lift when sheeting on the main??? BANG!!

I didn’t catch what actually caused the break. A jibe? Mid boom sheeting issues? Also I know The P S boats are wonderful Crealock designs and well built (nothing is perfect). I saw many diesel jugs on deck. What is your fuel tankage. Thanks for the great video and congrats on a great passage.

You did a great job with the Lisken series. Very enjoyable! But it looks you and Annika are not hanging out anymore?

Great passage video! I would not trust the weld joint. Perhaps some long laminated lumber secured to the boom over a distance would help "fail safe" the repair. Or best a new or good used boom.

Transocean voyage on 34'-er = bad-ass

nice guys :)

When I saw that welding, I knew it won't hold too much. The weld was only in surface the material and you should have put reenforce inner the tube. Have a good sail trip!

One of the problems with half-way mainsail traveler fixing points. On many boats, the fixing point is on the end of the boom.

Ireland has plenty of trees and LOTS of grass.

Most enjoyable video. ....and music was fantastic. I rarely am pleased with music choices. Sorry about boom....caused by traveler not moving under enormous strain?

Fill the boom with structural foam. Two part system. Same stuff they use in aircraft industry. Relatively cheap, lightweight and super strong.

Was it determined why/how the boom broke? The break looks aft of the mainsheet. Dont know why this would have happened where it did.

Hi Jackson Travel First, great video, very nive and strong boat. And you all are very enjoyable. I am sailing in 2 month from the Med to the Caribbean and on to Nova Scotia. I would be very much interested, if you used a BOOMBRAKE and when, what brand? I have one which I still have to install, but I heard from several sailors, that their boom broke too. It was exactly at the spot, where yours broke too. I wondering, if you had such a boombrake too. 2 lines go on each side towards an attaching point and has a drum in the middle where the reefing line can be worked. In regard of welding something like that, I cannot comment as I am not a welder. I would put a new one on it, but that means, that one has to have the big $$$$$ allways at hand. Which I don't have. Fixing things is allways a good thing until one is able to buy new. Those who allways know everything better and bring it over in a disrespectful way, please disregard them. You guys rock and that is all that is to is. Cheers Rover

great video..would have been nice to know exactly why your boom broke.

👍👍👍😊

Yeah, I was pretty skeptical when I saw the welded boom. The loads on that boom when you're out there can be tremendous. I agree with the criminal assessment. Plus, the welding job was crappy.

What a wonderful trip! Usual procedure to fix a boom/mast tube is to put a tube inside or outside (made from a cut down version of the original pc or similar) and then you can just rivet it in place. I have seen light weight booms with a vertical stainless steel plate in the bottom groove to spread the load. Hope you get a good fix! I would move that center attachment point for the mainsheet block aft as it is too short and take all the load. Cheers warren.

Welding a boom like that is not the best idea. It will always be a stress concentration. You really need a stouter boom.

I thought that you really showed the viewer how it is to sail in the open ocean. Especially West to East. That was interesting to know that it only took about 14 days from Newfoundland to Ireland. For me this is what I want to see the real deal of how sailing is. The picture is worth a thousand words. I like to see how the sea state is and how I would feel in that situation or how I may react with a broken boom in the middle of the night. Seeing and feeling like you are there watching third person and then really being in that situation speaks volumes in real life. What would I do is the question how would I react in a situation that required being calm and focused. I think your video gave that experience. Plus I may only have money one day for this size and quality of Blue water sailboat so seeing the living condition and how storage is aboard was something I looked at closely. Anyway have fun a time and that was probably one of the better sailing vids. Peace!!!! I probably would have had a 1 foot splint welded on over the break maybe that would have been more robust of a repair. Who knows man?

Is there room on this boat to stow a couple sup surfboards inside? They would be 8’ to 9’ long and about 29” wide.

How accurate is the wind reading when the boat is moving

"Silly" Isles Ha :-)

Ignore my last comment. Looks like internal reefing lines.

30knts of wind in the middle of the Atlantic … what a feat ! …

Note to yourselves?? Fit a Boom Preventer next time perhaps? Sorry the boom broke a second time but I thought the weld wouldn't last. Perhaps it should have had a plate rivited to the break area? Just saying, .

stock up on dill pickles...when you feel queasy grab one and suck on it. Olives work too for some people.

Where did all the trees go in Ireland?

Was the preventer fastened mid-boom?

So this is the way to cross Atlantic the shortest route to Europe ? On maps I see if you turn SE after St. John's you can hit the outer Azores in less time, ( meaning if the goal is to touch land more frequently )... what was your average speed ?

Well the boom not the greatest idea but if somebody was going to do that the welder should plate each side of the bone for extra strength in the bottle I love your vid

You should put some duct tape on that boom !

so much for Pacific Seacraft quality - boom welding?

2 Norway flags = 1 Irish flag

Sure hope there"s a sleeve inside that boom, horrible weld

Would love to do something like this but i get sea sick.

Its been a few years now are you guys still cruising .?

What time of year was this crossing?

What's the make of that boat and length please?

Did you get the boom fixed

It just took 13 days on a 34 foot boat ?? wow .. I just completed watching sailing zatara, took them 22 days to cross on thier 50 + catamaran.

Ireland doesn't have trees? what are you on

I would have expected better of a boom on a PS.

Where the other guy came from, quick pickup on the ocean , or helicopter drop off ?😅😅😅😅

So sorry I should have read the comments first .the point was already made.And right: a sturdier boom it is.

How do you know you won’t fall overboard? Can a blind guy sail?

Hello I understand it was years ago but i am sorry for your trouble, it shows poor engineering from the manufacturer also the welder should have told you :a weld (as it was ) fatigue the metal , the aluminum of your boom was not just "poured" it went through multiple treatments that where destroyed by weld heat . It could not have been stronger after the weld, the best solution was an inside (if possible) sleeve,and long enough as no to create a single "flex-stress" point. Hope this may help somebody in the future.

You're going to need a new boom, duct tape will not hold.

Ever hear of Reefing the Main..? (before destroying the Boom)

How the hell does an expensive boat like this break a boom?

I feel sorry for the captain.

Nice!!?? *respect* to anyone who challenges themselves to sail across the Atlantic ocean. That is no joke, and anyone thinking of it, better have it together. Modern comm's are awesome, as is gps tech. Yet, shit does indeed happen, and i was always admonished strongly by my friend and sailing buddy '...would you bet your life on that?' Was always a good question to ask yourself about all the minutiae that goes into sailboat blue water life. Highly recommend: spending 2-4 weeks, just sailing close offshore, as the practice will come in handy, and if you don't acclimate to the motion somewhat first? (This can be done i suppose inland, idk, maybe a carnival ride, trampoline? Idk.) You can get viciously seasick, and that can take days, or a week to pass. *get in shape first, including cardio* it will really help, and could save your life. No matter what: stay calm, remain positive, and have an awesome time!!

Engine replacement?

Criminal that anyone told you that you could weld that Boom , no chance . Only too eager to please and take your money I guess.

That was an awful weld. It had air pockets in it.

Silly and Kinn-Sale not Skilly and Kinz-Ale

It scares me when I see people doing an ocean crossing (or any ocean sailing) and aren't using jack-lines or anything. Hanging around on deck with no attached lifeline is taking a dumb risk. We had jack lines running both sides of our boat bow to stern and another one across the top of the companionway stairs, so before you even stepped out of the cabin you hooked up.

Why were you all wearing socks? I had the impression the weather was warm and everybody would be in sandals or barefoot for the sake of not having to deal with washing and drying socks.

You didn’t break your boom as sutch only the traveler fitting from the block an easy fix , they should not break unless the traveler is the wrong size for the boat or the traveler is curved , curved seams to break keep going

Why do some people need to trivialize the life experience ?

I hope that broken boom has an 18" long aluminum sleeve inside of it to strengthen the repair. Otherwise it will break again. A new, beefier boom should be on the todo list. The attachment of the blocks to the boom with just a small eyelet & 2 small screws is ok for a Sunfish but a bad design for a 34' boat designed to cross an ocean. The attachment of the blocks to the boom should probably be made using a 4"-6" long stainless steel strap riveted to the boom with a SS eye welded to the bottom of the strap to spread out the load.

G

Ireland doesn't have trees? Really? Welcome to the EMERALD isle, called that maybe for a reason......