Sail Life - Catamaran issues after 5 years 😱 

We'll be at the Annapolis Boat Show in October. If you haven't purchased your ticket yet, we have a discount code ($5 off). Use the code: 23SAILABS If you're coming to the Boat Show, please swing by the RU-vid booth and say hi to Ava and me :)

Annnnd, the advantage of working on the hull of a catamaran......... shade while you work! Love your new format

Impressed with the office chair, seams like an boat yard essential tool. 👍

Excited about this video series with their boat. Really love the DYI stuff. To me personally it's way more interesting than watching sailing. Great stuff.

If you just happen have a boat needing repairs and see Mads riding over the horizon you can count yourself as one very lucky boat owners . Very interesting watching him examine and locate problems and establish a process for repairing it .

Whoever came up with the idea of helping other boat owners…WOW! What a fabulous thing to do! I missed Ava, but what a great video. Glad to have you in the U.S. ❤️❤️❤️😎

A bigger boat to refit! You are either gluttons for punishment or you really like working on boats. Selfishly, I like your DIY videos best so another somewhat extensive refit is fine by me.

I was expecting Ava to pop out of the hatch behind you saying, "Please remember to leave a LIKE".

For future reference, the best tool to remove that sealant is a blunt hook. I made mine from an awl which i dulled to a ball end (about 1.5mm tip) before bending it. It's excellent to stab in, hook and grab that type of sealant.

Absolutely made the right decision there Mads. It's going to be interesting seeing how "easy" it is to free that keel 🤔. I predict some 😤, some 🤯 and plenty of 🤬. I just remembered those episodes when Athena was in the workshop and you used to disappear into the little office for a rant in Danish 😅

Mads needs a extra shady hat like Julian to keep his Viking complexion safe and his cheerful Danish demeanor cool 😎 Great video! Enjoy Charleston!

Well done Mads. I love what you have completed with Athena, but am equally excited that you are using your skills to help your brother in law and sister in law. Well done.

pulling the tape is the best part of a paint job! :)

115F in SC.....that is like being a mile from the sun!

For the keel, recommend you use a long putty knife and a propane torch. Heat the putty knife to red hot and push it up into the adhesive. It should push through fairly easily and quickly. The method also works with 5200.

Wow - just imaging having Mads as a brother-in-law, brilliant! I trust Ava's brother is suitably grateful to her!!

Here is a keel sanding trick for you. Take a line from the sander up to the lifeline and most of the way back down again. Put a counterweight on it. That will pull the sander up, taking some weight off your arms.

Great videos as usual. Just a comment on the barrier coat - assume it is epoxy, the two components are base and hardener. That means both components take part in being part of the final polymer. A catalyst simply triggers the reaction and is not part of the polymer. Hence too much can interfere and be one of the reasons for Osmosis in polyester. Sorry I’m a nerd in these things. Congrats on your wedding. 🎉

Best use of a cast-off office chair ever!

8:34 without proper clean up and without putting the sealant before doing the last few mm of travel (of the keel to the locked position up in the boat) no. They'll never seal properly. You need to drop them, clean everything spotless, degrease and key the surface. Put a small bed of sealant on the perimeter of where the keel sits up in the boat (it needs to poke out so you can see it) then you place the keel in, and you stop just before it's locked. Measure beforehand about 3 mm of travel, no more. You then pack the gap with sealant, making sure to touch the visible sealant already in the gap, wait just half the cure (to touch) time on the package and then pull the keel in fully and form the excess using a razer to make it flush with the boat. Final step, you need to fillet the sealant so there's a transition. For this, there's bathroom caulk tips which work perfect to lay a consistent bead all the way around and tools for a fillet curve (can also use a polished coin for this). The reason you want to lock the keel after its begun curing, is because this compresses some of the sealant, making sure that even if it shrink from cold water, it will always be more than the gap can open up. Don't forget that these keels also move naturally in the socket. This is also going to open up, if it's done right (the keel) and it has a slight taper, bringing the keel up, also compresses some of the sealant laterally. If it's not, then the keyed surface is very important. In the automotive world, they use special paint on primers just for sealant over body seams. This is basically the same stuff you want to use for this.

As much as I like your sailing and touring vids, I thoroughly enjoy your DIY boat work vids. I like the new project. Keep it up.

You should be able to drill out the old threads and put an insert in for the size you need

The sailing channel "Barefoot Travels" have a number of episodes about working on the keels on their catamaran. Glad to hear that sometime in the future you may be in the market to upgrade to a different boat, maybe a catamaran?

Sometimes I wish I could "smush" the like button 20 times.

Great stuff with the full episodes of DIY repair. Thats why I found you in the first place.

I must say that my favourite part of your videos is the DIY stuff. Really looking forward to seeing these keels coming off.

Congrats on your wedding celebration! Charleston is a great town. be sure to enjoy the food, there's lots of great restaurants there.

Mads you are ecstatic in your element.😉👍⛵️

I watched the "Barefoot Travels" people repair water intrusion into their keels during their stay in the Dominican Republic. You and the cat owner might want to check it out.

We're in the Pacific Northwest, and also use Seahawk Cucote. Works great in our waters; we go about 2 years before hauling out and adding a maintenance coat.

Sorry, I’ve been away from my checking you out man it’s good to see you on the American side of things and looking good over there man keep up the good work

So there is another sailing show, with clarity! They were looking at a boat to purchase and came across owners old blog and in there he documented being hit by another boat, having damaged runaground, engine troubles and leaks and many other things that happened to the boat over his ownership. What hurt him is that he was not one hundred percent honest with his description of these events and they found out about it and walked away from the sale, as they should have. Do the repair do it right the first time Plus there won't be video evidence of your family doing it the wrong way, which could hurt them when they want to resell. Love the show!!

Barefoot Travels dropped and rebuilt one or both keels on a FP 37ish. It starts around season 2 episode 63.

1. Congratulations on your wedding celebration. 2. You said that you and Ava are looking at getting another boat. I'm familiar with your experience with mono-huls, but is it true that once you've done a Cat, there's no going back? Imagine having significant more living space, and more opportunities for 'oh glorious sanding'. 😊 Cheers.

Mads needs to start a show called "DIY boatfit rescue" where he comes in and helps people fix their botched/curse refits.

It's probably too late, but you can use that hole in the back of the keel to help remove it. Put a steel pin through the hole and a hydraulic jack with some blocking against the hull. Go really slow and watch that the hull is not trying to collapse as you jack the keel down.

Yessss best content is the diy!

Very exciting about more boat work!!

Regarding the Keel Leak: Consider using a bit of compressed air inside the repaired (but not yet reinstalled?) keel to help insure things are tight. This is often done in salvaging vessels. Good luck and I DO sympathize about the ridiculous heat!

Would be very cool if you refit a catamaran next. So much more space to work and ass gadgets!

Hello all from Siesta Key Florida

We’re in Asia and our coppercoat does attract growth but with 6 week intervals of cleaning it’s still pretty good after 11 years.. count out the difference $$

I think logic supports dropping the keels. Somewhere the surface of the keel is compromised, and water is getting to the foam space. It could be useful to determine a cause. Maybe movement of the keel against the hull pocket. And if that can be prevented from reoccurring. The seal between the hull and a keel should not be involved with the water tightness of the keel. Find the leaks, repair them and barrier coat the keels. it would be interesting to test them for water tightness before installing them with new flexible glue. I wonder what is being used on the current production boats.

If you're drilling drain holes, like in the keels, cut off the bottom of a bottle and drill through the center of that to make a liquid deflector. Helps keep the saltwater out of your drill, which they don't like.

Tap the shaft. Take it to a machine shop if you don’t have the drill and tap. Should only cost a few dollars at most and take less than 10 minutes.

I live up in Spartanburg, SC. It would have been great to come down and have dinner with you guys. Maybe next go round or maybe we run into each other next year in the Caribbean.

I’m hoping that Mads breaks out the Vacuum Infusion Equipment to build a new keel. PS: A Japanese style pull saw would make a quick job of the adhesive holding the keel

I am completely ecstatic you’re back to doing Boat work. I love all of your videos and watched all of them and gave all of them a thumbs up but I’ve never commented. It’s going to be so fun to watch you remove those keels

I really enjoy your DYI videos so this is a real treat. Looking forward to the Keel removal next week. I think is is wonderful Mads that your using the skills you learned and helping others along their journey. Well done!

Great to see Mads back doing DIY! also Congratulations again you two on your second wedding :)

Helia is my dream cat!If i ever get one, it will be only Helia! Perfect job, as always Mads!

Got a C&C_34 in June and all this DIY has a whole new level of interest. Thanks for the years of learning.

We dropped the keel on our Fountain Pajot Helia 44. The boat yard drilled a whole right through, put a large metal bar through and then used a bottle jack to push it out. The keel is held in with Sikaflex. Ours came loose because they didn't put enough from the factory. Fountain Pajot sent all the instructions for the job. Cheers from Australia.

Welcome to SC! We are near Myrtle Beach SC for Hurricane season. It has for sure been a brutally hot summer this year.

With several re-blockings ahead of you it might be worthwhile to invest in a few hydraulic jacks to be able to do it yourselves when ever you need it done. They are inexpensive and powerful and with the inherent stability of a cat the process should be easy and safe.

I lived in Charleston SC for 2 years. The worst weather day of my life was when the news man said it was going to be sunny 96F with 103% humidity. I was like no it has rain at 100% I was wrong it didn't have to rain you walked outside and everything was damp

Two keels, twice the fun!! Lol. We did buy the recommended grinder a few years ago - thanks for that! Awesome tool. Good luck guys!!

WELCOME TO CHARLESTON !!!!!

Hi Mads. I can hear that you are dropping the keel, i can remember the barefoot travels was trying to drop it on there’s Fountaine Pajot. I will see if i can find the link for you. But they faild at opened the keel sitting on the boat. Looking forward to fallow you on this project. Greetings fram Denmark 😊

A catamaran might be what you need in the future, ample surface to install loads of gadgets on those things :-)

You might try pumping low pressure air into some holes at the top of that keel to move more water?

Could Mads be getting sanding withdrawal symptoms? A new boat? Willing to work with antifouling? Dropping a keel just because you can? Seems like Fountaine-Pajot could have constructed a more durable keel system. I know they are designed to be sacrificial, but they could be far better than that? I recollect one of Ava's relatives was a bit of a matchmaker for Ava and Mads, can't recollect who it was, perhaps her brother? Always helps to have an export boat renovator in the family!

You and Ava bring a lot of experience to the table.

I enjoy your how-to videos with a mix of scenery and history

With all the pending WARM weather this should speed up the dry-out of the keel------M

Mads… glad to see more “…’ol’ glorious DIY…”. Please make more DIY videos of the current boat project, please.

Great Sunday spiffiness

Hi Mads , congrats to you both for getting married a second time 🤣 Nice to see you doing more DIY great twist to the channel and what you do best ! Love to you bothDarrell and Jan x

Hi , another fine video , you sure your name was not NOAH , of arch fame , in a former life ? Congrats on your 2nd celebration and great fun watching the anti fouling , from my chair . 😉👍👍

Finding a bigger boat in the US to refit! My favorite RU-vid channel.

One thing you will find out is how good your relationship is with the wife. In over 35 years my wife and I fought more in the year we decided to remodel our home then we had in the whole time we have been togeather. I would never do another remodel unless we had a place to live and could go to the remodel when we felt like it. Also it would be great to have a place for one of us to cool off rather then be in the same house we were arguing about. You might want to rent a place to live while you refit another boat. Good luck.

Take a trip to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens while you're there, beautiful place.

I really enjoy the DIY videos but miss Ava and the beautiful Caribbean waters.

Congratulations Ava and Mads👏🥳👫❤ and thanks for this weeks DIY p#rn Mads😊

Monday Miniatures!!! 💯

The highlight of the video was the wedding photos at the end😂. Thanks Mads.

If you are seriously considering a cat, save and get a PDQ Antares 44, preferably before 2008(they were still made in Canada until 20008) tough well made boats

Yay, more refitting! Kids need space. 😂

great to see the DIY back.

Looks like Fountaine Pajot was not doing a good job there but guess that happens in production boat building.

Always like the mix of DIY and a bit of culture and history and travel mixed into it. Cruising DIY Channel of fixing stuff all over the world. :) Could the keel get glassed to the hull with a really thin layer that is also sacrificial. But having a second layer to protect it from water?

Well, a large cat comes with a handy shed to work under.

Welcome to CHS if you need a hand reach out. Been following for years.

Looking forward to the keel removal

You can see a keel pocket on a Helio 44? on Parlay Revivial Episode 89 that was dragged into mangroves and lost both keels, and the keels in Ep 102

Besides the hook method, and the jack method, perhaps a multitool with a knife will be of some use to get in the crack. Good luck!

Well as comments apparently assist the algorithms, I'll say Catamarans Hate me, much as Ive tried liking them, they really do my head in. but my affection for Monohulls is thankfully Mutual. Should help those Algorithms a bit. A bit breen with envy at the Heat, Morning and evening here in the UK, its been that cold here in the UK, I've had to have the Heating on for over 5 weeks now. Firstbtime .I've had to do that in July and August, but dad had to in July and August 2012 for 7 weeks. Ugh. Keep Warm everyone. ❤Bob in Wales. 👍⛵️✨️✨️✨️

Great video.. enjoyed watching you be creative and hands on the tasks in front of you.. great days ahead for the two of you.. enjoy

Exciting stuff!

Take a look at Parley Revival Episode 102 Keel repair and reinstallation.

Hi have missed your major diy projects! Looking forward to next week.

Congratulations on the wedding guys!!!

Great story twist! Glorious Sanding ahead. love it.

I've really enjoyed the sailing content but I was excited to hear you and Ava are looking for another boat to refit. Hopefully a catamaran!

I remember sanding my boat …my clothes was never as clean as yours 😅

nice wedding photos , looked like a great day

Dont use steel brushes on bronze propeller. The bronze will get polluted with steel fragments.

If you are looking to buy a boat in the USA I would suggest that you look in the New England area. They have hars winters and most of the boats are put up on the shore fore the winter. So when a boat is 10 years old date wise they have only been used a fraction of the date age. So they are much fresher than a boat from the southern USA.

Don’t replace the saildrive shaft, just get a local machine shop to fit a stainless Helicoil. It should be as good as new

I do really enjoy the videos of you guys working on boats.