Hey man! I'm really excited for you and glad that you're sharing this. I have some experience sailing, and so a few tips for you that may have been in those books. Still, I hope it gives you some ideas. I grew up sailing and racing with my dad, and solo racing in my teens. He's done solo trans-lake superior races! We've even capsized and recovered many times. A few times in races and went on to win. Enjoy it man! You'll always be learning. A few big pieces of advice I have for you for solo sailing are; 1) Have everything that is needed for a task where you do the task. A 28-foot sailboat is not usually set up for single handling, but it's not unreasonable. Often this means that you should be able to do everything while being in reach of both sheets and the tiller. 2) Add a reef point on the oldest mainsail you have; to have the option for an extra storm sail. Use this main anytime you're out in higher winds. With the lazy jacks then you can make a downhaul for the reef that is accessible from the cockpit. That way you can cleanly and quickly drop sail area if the conditions change. 3) Don't always cruise, practice the hard stuff! A really good practice is to find some set of static buoys, either two in a line or three in a triangle. Something that takes a good time for each leg and do a race against time on it every time you go out. This will force you into doing a number of tacks and jibes across every possible wind direction and really helps build that 'muscle memory' of actions so that it feels natural. In addition, you get a lot better feedback and understanding of how to sail efficiently where you want to go, and the effects of different wind, waves, and currents on your travel. 4) As you get comfortable, make controlled mistakes. Similar to the ones you made along the way. The idea here is to build your trust in the boat. Mess up that jibe. Backwind the main. Close the entryway and put the rail in the water. Yes, even get knocked down. **** But! Do that only in heavy swells! **** Monohulls are designed in a way that once completely capsized, the profile of the hull and the weight of the keel only need to reach a certain angle to self-right. And, pushed broadside by a good swell can reach this point. Get a professional safety inspection from a marine surveyor, of course. Be safe and have fun! If you find yourself at a wall, I also recommend volunteering to be crew if there are any racing clubs in the area. It's pretty much free classes. You can really just focus on one sort of task as a walkon; "Hey, I'm wanting to learn how to read the tell-tales and trim better, can you help me out me by putting me on the jib?" That way you get to put all of your focus into learning the fine details, and some things are taken out of your control. In trade though, you have other people to rely on. Sorry for the book. ;)
Awesome! Thank you man I really appreciate that you took the time to write this! I’ve screenshotted your comment and will do my best do practice/do these things Except maybe the last part of point 4 haha flipping the boat feels a bit too much for me. But, maybe that’s just me
Seeing this title pop up in my subs feed - I honestly thought you were one of the small sailings accounts I have recently subbed to. It's great to see you take on such a new and exciting experience! Keep going where the wind takes you 👏
I did exactly what you did...no experience, read books, went to one class then bought a 28 ft sailboat and grounded it the first day. Once I got some experience things got better and I sailed solo....but my stress level never decreased...but that was part of the fun. I had some amazing adventures and hope you do too.
that was pretty impressive you made it into the dock without an engine without hitting anything. I personally don't think it's an air problem but I could be wrong. seems more like low fuel pressure or bad fuel. check the fuel pump and the filters and maybe add some diesel additive. that's my guess good luck.
You make quality content so it is fun to see things outside of coding as well. It was great to see you working on problems and your thought process. To bad you had no wind you could have have a very different experience.
Nice Maxi Fenix! I just bought a Fenix and had my first season w her last year. Also a relatively new sailor. My guess is bad fuel. Started up after you bled the line because the fuel had time to settle out. She’ll take more wind. Reef above 15knots and enjoy! And keep a hand on the main sheet to release and spill wind quick in a gust
My Brother, the minute you set out and begin to have issues such as navigation failure, battery issues, stop! Do not attempt to cruise on a sail boat with engine issues, navigation issues, battery issues, etc. You're lining yourself up for disaster. Plus you're so fearful because you're taking all this risk alone on a boat that isn't ready to operate safely. This was painful to watch as a viewer because of your anxiety level. I'm being honest my brother. Before you continue, get your little boat fixed. Invest in lifesaving and functional navigation equipment. Take some sailing lessons from a sailor who can fill you in on what to do in various situations. You need to be careful. You're a wonderful individual and your viewers love you very much. Don't ever risk your precious life by not having a seaworthy vessel and trustworthy equipment. Man I was so scared when you pulled into the harbor full bore and kept thinking, "Man, it's a good thing no one else is maneuvering around the marina because you came in like a bat out of hell. It could have been disastrous had you crash into another vessel. Man, thanks for posting this but please don't do that again my brother. Be safe, use your head, and keep being amazing!
Hey! What I do to solve the mud is to have different shoes aboard. I have my boat shoes and my shore shoes. Also no shoes in the cabin! A tip: Dont leave your winch handles on there (6:34), stow them instead.
Hey, Kalle. You should try reaching out to Johan from 'RAN Sailing'. He is a fellow Swede and seems to be really technically inclined on everything boat-related. Perhaps, he can help you out with the engine issues and other questions you might have related to sailing. Hope it helps. 🤷♂
Check and clean your fuel filters. It's interesting that the engine rpm problem occurs when the boat reats to waves. Could be causing sediment to stir up in the diesel tank which may be restricting fuel to the pump.
Man, that thing you done, it is so exiting! I will watch the video just because I cannot afford to go sailing. I just switch my time around between a couple part time jobs and college and independent studies.
this is literally my dream! i'm also in a similar situation and have no sailing experience with no friends or family familiar with it! but i wanna buy my own boat and solo sail around the planet within my 20s.
Hey, thanks for uploading this. I'm thinking about going down a similar path to you next year and it's inspiring to see other people starting their solo journey! I'm also a software developer. What camera(s) did you use for this btw? I see your DSLR at 5:18 but can't make out the brand (fellow enthusiast here lol). Thanks! 🙂
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (Jn.1:1-14)
To be honest i'd have just sat and cried and waited for someone at home to realize that I had hadn't come back. This was really inspiring and i'm so impressed by what you achieved, at least you know next time something like this happens, you've been through similar and it worked out
that was pretty impressive you made it into the dock without an engine without hitting anything. I personally don't think it's an air problem but I could be wrong. seems more like low fuel pressure or bad fuel. check the fuel pump and the filters and maybe add some diesel additive. that's my guess good luck.
The air problem with the diesel engines often caused when you try to start the engine with little-or-no fuel in the tank, it appears on diesel car engines as well. Perhaps that was the case or is there any kind of plastic ring under the screw of the fuel filter maybe it might cause air to get in?
Why not get a tablet with Navionics and some paper charts of your local waters just in case? I'm really enjoying the sailing stuff actually. The coding has been fun, but I'm totally down to watch you grow as a sailor!
Have a helmet on board in case of strong winds where the boom may hit your head. And have flares. I used to enjoy windsurfing and dinghy sailing. Got towed in by the coast guard one time when my boat was upside down and I couldn't get it upright. But I was a bit reckless where I actually enjoyed strong wind.
09:55 you should have built an mobile app(Android) for GPS, it's quite easy actually. You don't need network coverage or anything and it works the best in ocean with full accuracy. I had built a prototype for GPS tracking for vessels and it was quite fun.
Hey man, how about making a new channel for the long half hour behind the scene videos like this, and keep the main channel concept about coding and your startup (if it's still in progress or fully made opensource). Viewers interested in tech would stay on the main channel and those interested in random events like sailing across the Atlantic would definitely sub to the new channel. P.S.: I'm interested in both BTW.