Thanks Jay... Its how i look everytime i know i have to open that tool box. I honestly dont understand how a normal person could engineer something like that. Ryan
Hi guys, great video. We bought a double inflatable kayak, Advanced Elements, for use on our live aboard catamaran and it has been amazing. We use it more than the dinghy. It works for us as we have spaces to store it when underway; inflated, semi inflated or fully deflated. So inflatable kayak is a big hit for us. And in case you're wondering, we don't get any kickbacks from Advanced Elements, we're just very happy with it. Cam and Jan, SV Fallado.
17:44 - I had the same problem with my socket set. I just got a thin piece of foam, cut it to fit inside, and closed it up. It's been working for over 25 years. No need to sell a perfectly good set of sockets. Although, I do agree with all the engineering that goes on in making the sockets and case, they could have done a better job getting them to fit more snugly! ;-)
Lover,loved loved this 20 minutes of pure entertainment. Thanks for that, So enjoying you guys, and good to see that Ryan has lightened up in front of the camera.
Thanks for a very useful video. I would say my experience of Sunbeam panels was very different. I put two panels on my boat and fixed then to the deck with the supplied 3M patches and then connect them to the moonbeam MPPT controller and they worked brilliantly the two panels output 100 watts on Christmas Day in the Solent. Hardly a sunny location. They also kept the batteries fully charged and ran a small fridge all summer. So I was very pleased with them. Brexit has made them much harder to get and more expensive in the U.K. So I was glad I got mine 2 days before Brexit.
Another great video with technical boat stuff . I like that . Funny potato bag story and hilarious seasick glasses . I saw your post about the negativity against Ryan , there will always be haters and jealous people . Very easy to break down or judge someone from behind your anonymous pc . Introvert extrovert , fat thin , gay or transgender , etc . Thatmakes this world so beautiful. We are all flesh and blood people with genius and limitations . Stay yourself and just do your thing !!! I love it and can just feel that you are a great sailing couple !!! Greetings and love from Belgium
Solar panels: On land, I have 100 watt framed 35.6 X 25.9 inch solar panels. ( smaller and stubbier ). While yours are premium, it seems that smaller are less likely to break and less of a catastrophe if you break one or two. A circumstance where you would break one is a rope with a hard end tossing around. On land, the very cheapest panels I could buy were stubby 100 watts. Most of the savings came in shipping. The gods shined on me. I didn't crimp MC4 connectors. I soldered them.
Just a quick note on the tethers - I loop mine through whatever I want to be tethered to and hook it back on my harness. Most of the time, it provides more than enough length to move around. It's particularly good on jack lines, as it cuts in half the distance it allows to the side (i.e., it's less likely to leave you dangling over the edge of the boat.)
For electrical connections look up dielectric grease. I'm surprised how many videos I see of cruisers doing DIY electrical on boats (salt water environment???) without using this. It's a non-conductive grease that you put on electrical connections (usually) before you make the connection. Then when you twist, crimp, screw down to make the connection the grease gets pushed out of the way so you get the normal electrical connection, but surrounding it is a grease that keeps out moisture and air - so no corrosion. I have a tube of it that's at least 40 years old that I bought for outdoor connections, it's never caused a short. There are sprays that you can put on afterwards. (What I think I'd do is go around with contact cleaner spray, give a good spritz and then after it dries spray on the after dielectric coating. Some say petroleum jelly. What you need is something that's not going to drip out of the connection when temperatures rise. So nothing else, sure. Here's a tip for sea sickness cures: Bonine, Dramamine and ginger. Fresh air, take the helm, look at the horizon - or total darkness, warm blanket fetal position, bucket. Don't look at anything close up on the boat. Everything else is total BS. For Ginger I got the capsules. Okay. Fresh ginger - yes it works but difficult to eat raw. Ginger candies (easy to make) very tart but works the best. I was on a powerboat in Ireland in 8 foot seas with 15 other tourists. One candy each, no one got seasick. Hope the electrical tip is useful. A bit off topic but I looked it up today and realized I should've been seeing this grease on every boat electrical fix it, so I thought I'd pass it along.
Many yachting and RV channels have had the same problem with your original panels. I mean the misrepresentation of power rating. The arch solves the solar problem really well. One question about the 4G booster. How much are you guys spending on 4G data when away from your home Port? Seems like it would be a heck of an expense. Thanks for sharing.
We have our home (sweden) phone plans still. These work throughout Europe so the expense is not too bad. When we go across the pond it will be more of an issue. we will keep you post on how it works out. Ryan
@@RyanSophieSailing if you're still using the digital yacht 4g extender, should be easy enough to pick up a local sim in the Caribbean, depends a bit on where you go but I think all major destinations have 4G that's fast enough to upload YT videos in a reasonable amount of time (reasonable being hilariously subjective, for me it'd be 8 hours :D)
I have the Navi Safe LED lights for my dinghy as well, but I got the combo that includes the bow light. The base of the bow light glues on to my Hypalon dinghy and is rock solid, the light detaches easily so you can stow it. I have no complaints about the lights themselves, they are very bright and run forever on the standard alkaline batteries (always carry some fresh spares anyway). My only gripe is the plastic vertical pole that supports the stern light, it is just crazy flexible and just bounces all over the place even in mild chop. I run a 6HP outboard on a 10.5 ft Achilles, so maybe I have a little more power and speed than Ryan & Sophie have. Anyway, the mount for the pole that you can notice in the video is supposed to be mounted toward the top edge of the transom and the pole consists of 4 sections that you screw together and they quick attach & lock to the transom mount. While it looks pretty it waves around wildly and I was seriously afraid it would just snap off at some point. So I took the transom mount and lowered it way down, essentially just shy of same length as the bottom section of the pole. Where the mount was previously located near the top edge of the transom I used a PVC tube clamp and a plastic backer to keep the spacing and it secures the entire length of the bottom pole section. Now the entire pole is supported better at two points, the only concession is that I actually have to leave that bottom section of pole in place and screw on the remaining three sections plus the light. I actually ditched one section of the pole making it shorter, but it is still taller than outboard but not taller than the helmsman running the motor tiller. So a concession or two was made but it sways and rocks about 1000% less with this set up. If I was cruising full time and never deflated and stowed my dinghy I would take the time to fab up a fiberglass or stainless steel pole that was tall and much more rigid but not necessarily detachable. As long as the LED light comes off to prevent theft I'd be happy.
Hi Kraken, we have the combo as well. I just have not gotten around to putting the rest of it on the Dighy. I dont think we go fast enough to have the issues you do with the pole but i can imagine the problems. Ryan
Sophie, I am confident you are the best cook of all the cruisers! Yeah! FYI Sophie & Ryan, the U.S dollar sign $ goes in front of the number, as in $2,000. However, the U.S. Cent sign ¢ goes behind the number, as in .25¢. :¬) Webhead USA
Similar issues report from Free Range Sailing with flexible solar panels. They compared them with hard panels of the same rated capacity mounted side by side. The flexible panels only provided around 50% of the older fixed older panels.
Fantastic information video guys. We would agree with everything you said. Other than Ryan looks good in them glasses. Perhaps a water squirting flower, a bit of smiley makeup and some big floppy shoes. Mabey a new career path? Second thoughts dump the glasses!!!! Sail safe guy's. Ant Cid and the pooches xx
Great video , very concise and informative , and amusing,I didnt realise how expensive safety equipment is , but good to purchase the best and they should last, Fair winds and sailing
Hi Howard, Yes. Safety equipment is ridiculously expensive, and you dont even get a lot of joy out of the gear. But i can say, based on my years climbing mountains that some day youll be happy you spent the money. - Ryan
Excellent video as always guys. I love your channel. I’m in the process of buying a 1994 Moody 38, could Ryan tell me ore about his Lithium battery company? I have a lot to upgrade on the boat and lithium is a priority as I will be doing the ARC. Stay safe
I m smiling the hole time except when I am laughing at Ryan dead stare you guys are a blast. About tools one thing when buying battery operated tools get brushless no brushes for the salt water to corrode they will last linger. Allan
After watching how you spent more on crap than I did for my whole boat, it was hard to believe you were from Iowa, then, at "19:38" I believed! :) ...I grew up in Sioux City.
Yeah... we have spent a lot, i dont like to think about it sometimes. I actually believe its one reason you dont see a lot of 'cost' videos... its a lot of money and when people look back they are like "oh" . - ryan
They will, to be fair to the company, they’ve been good about working with us and understanding the underperformance of the panels. After a year, we still haven’t reached any conclusion though :/ /Sophie
@@RyanSophieSailing just demand a refund while you can under item not fit for purpose,you can use the $$ to get a pressure caner and a heap of jars so you can store heaps of food onboard on the cheap,you can jar your own bacon! www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pressure-Cooker-Canner-Presto-23-Quart-Dial-Gauge-Air-Vent-Deluxe-Aluminium-New/222606109321?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Something I was told at a show by a solar representative, location of the pannels is important. Each pannel needs to be in total sunlight. If there is a shadow (from a boom, sail, rigging ect.) crossing the pannel it will significantly reduce the pannel's output. That was some time ago maybe it has gotten better, but check. Nice to have stainless steel tools (but even stainless steel will rust in salt water, more often the harder alloys needed for tools) making up your own tool box (actually several for differnet jobs, like engine room, electrical, plumbing and special jobs, like a feathering prop service kit) Plastic boxes (fishing tackle ?) that keep the water out are good and you can oil tools in the box. Just make sure water, condensation ect, does not get, or stay, in the box and it has a sturdy latch so a dropped box does not have you spending the rest of the day fishing, tools out of the bilge. Good steel tools with a modern hard coating that protects them may be a good choice and they are ferrous metal so they can be picked up with a magnet (a big one and a smaller colapsable one (auto parts store) are useful) during one of those "fishing expeditions". Just don't store either near the compass. A local home building supply store will have plastic socket holders to keep you sockets organized and so they don't "wander off". You can get different colors to separate SAE and metric sizes. (maybe not as big a deal in Europe) For grabing small items in hard to reach places look for "alligator forceps" they, and regular forceps, are handy in your tool box and medical kit. For range finding you can get hunting/shooting lazer range finders too. They can have a longer range than the golf ones, but can be hard to use if there is a lot of motion on the boat.
You are so confused with the units at 2:27 and 4:10 with those "amps per hour"! If any of the engineers at that battery company of yours were watching they're feeling embarrassed. Please allow me to help because that's like telling *both* your distance *and* speed with "knots per hour" that is never correct (except, technically, for expressing acceleration, but in practice it's nonsense). Amphours for battery capacity (charge), "Ah" for short. Amps for current draw or production (current, "A" for short - when you multiply by time you get how many amphours a load has drawn. A *rate* of units of charge being moved about.) Watts for power. "W" for short; an instantaneous measurement. The *rate* of how much *work* (joules per second) is being done at some INSTANT of time. Watthours for energy, "Wh" for short, and "kWh" just means thousands of watthours (kilo is 1000x.) Refer to product manuals or datasheets, read your power/current/energy meters, and don't change the units you saw when you talk about what you read.
Hello... thanks for your comment but your missing the point of these videos. They are here to help normal people understand complex topics. Breaking down like this has helped many people... and yes i well aware of the technocal terminology. Ryan .
@@RyanSophieSailing Teaching basic terminology incorrectly is a major disservice though, because nobody can make heads or tails of it when applying it. Imagine sailing after having learned port and starboard backwards. I appreciate your effort put into these videos and I just wanted to help improve them that much more.
I really applaud you guys for wearing the life vests when you’re not on the hook. The modern vests you have are so comfortable these days that you hardly notice them so there should be no excuse. I sail a 70’ offshore racer which although gets up to quite a lick... I’d still wear the vest if we were bimberling at next to no speed. People need to wake up! Nobody intends to go overboard but s.h.1.t happens, and your chances of rescue in one piece go up massively. WRT the Spinlock tethers - they’re really intended for use with jackstays or the rated hard-points. Their load rating is one of the highest, maybe more relevant when offshore at 20+kts boat speed; but if you were to use some of your deck rail furniture you can clip it back on itself to form a loop arnd the item as a temporary fix, but you probably knew this already. You are both setting a really positive/modern example...bravo. Your attitudes to safety is spot-on, not just with the vest; but in general. Keep raising the bar!!! 👍🏻
Great points Ian. I almost bought the spinlock jackets, but got another very good make. After 3 days wearing them they start to get real old in the comfort stakes. Next time ...
Hi Ian, The life jacket thing is so hard. I get why people dont wear them... there are so many days you just want to sit in the deck, in the sun and the waves are flat. But things happen, most the time when the weather is good so we make this choice, though we have to remind eachother from time to time. The spinlock tethers... the biggest issue we had with them is the mouth and the ability to open them one handed. The Kong just work a lot better with that respect. With all tethers you have load issues if the tether gets a side load, there are some big accidents where this has happen but i dont think this is a kong or spinlock issue but a general limitation of the design. My personal goal is to create a better boating/ sailing culture with regards to safey and decision making. We all wear safety belts in cars (but this took years of work) we can do better with boats. Ryan
Ryan, Dude... Those goggley Glasses are TOO COOL! I can't remember that actors name but,,,, He flew the gyrocopter in Mad Max... With that bling, you are a serious twin. Happy Landings.... LMAO
Nice as always , about the tools , just put a foom (expandebal) in between so the can`t move until you open the box, esy fix =) , about the potatobag, have vegetables in it like a net , cheers from Sweden , hej o hå !!!
Excellent Videos. Very Informative! Regarding your harness 'tethers', try placing Dyneema Soft Shackle(s) on certain strong-holds (such at tubing on your steering binnacle) to make it easy for any size tether 'carabiner' to quickly clip into. We installed Dyneema Soft Shackles on the hand-rails running across the top of our canopy (Gemini 105Mc) so we may clip into and then onto the next, while always staying tethered. Thanks! Franklin Viola
A hearty shout and a big thanks to both of you for this episode. Following through your thoughts helps to get a pick out of your choices for one selfs. Fair winds and all the best from Germany!
Great to hear your views. Good video. Some interesting reviews around on tethers, I think you made a good move going to Kong and ditching the old ones.
Great video as always ! You guys are doing such a great job on this channel!! I have loved watching you progress with it and thank you so much for sharing your lives with us!! I look forward to many more episodes. :)
Hooked me from the beginning of this video. Great time tested trustworthy info and what other kind is worth hearing. Thanks for that. And with Sophie's ever entertaining antics, faces and good nature, your videos make me always want to see more of your adventures.
„They don’t work for me but they are funny so I keep them!” Sounds like something my wife would say about me. 😂😂😂 The tools are always that way, get a lightweight toolbox and it saves room compared to the big plastic cases they came in.
I got a tool set (very little more $ than Ryan spent), the box has snap in holders for the tools. I haven't had the experience of opening them to an exodus of sockets and wrenches yet; down side, sometimes it is difficult to remove a tool from the holder. When it fails I'm getting heavy duty roll up tool holders. Fatty Goodlander says that you can just clean 'em, throw 'em all in a tool box, spray with wd40 and shut the lid. As a marine mechanic (USN), what I found was you only really use a few of tools you get in a set, and complete sets ended up in somebody's car trunk. On the engineering plants I operated and maintained, we needed mostly 1/2", 3/4", 13/16", 7/8", 15/16" plus a few odd larger sizes. REALLY large. When I became responsible for purchasing such things, I only bought the ones that we needed, in bulk. If you know what you need, that's all you need. How many of us use a 3/8" socket?
Great video segment. Our hit so far is a Dometic electric toilet. I left the Le Vac hand pump in the line for when there are electrical problems and that works very well (you have to add the flush water for that separately). We haven’t got to the personal gear yet but we will start with your jacket suggestions and the personal AIS.
Another critical issue for tethers is whether or not the hook meets the mountaineering standard for side loads. One of the findings from one of the clipper race deaths was that the tether hook released under side load when the crew got washed over.
Exactly Peter, Being a former mountain climber i'm well aware of those ratings but even with the best mountain gear the side load rating is always way less that the vertical and horizontal load ratings. the key is to en sure your climp in system is good. Ryan
Same problem with my tool set, the way i resolve problem, in half, was to cut piece of foam mat that resemble shape of a box, this is for tools not mix when i carry box vertically and i open it only when it in horizontal position. So if your set mixes when you carry it, you can try to do same way, the only annoying thing, will be to open it in certain position.
One thing about the Torqeedo is the steep price of a larger or backup battery and the fact you can't plug in an even bigger external battery like a smallish LiPo With your expertise in lithium could you build us a cable with the appropriate plug and electronics to do the job? ;) You would sell quite a few. It is fine for use as a tender but the occasional longer excursion would give you some range anxiety
That was a great video with excellent and funny präsentation. How about Sails? Do you have a Gennakersystem or a winganker or such and how happy are you with them?
What country is Sophie from? Ryan is surely from here in the U.S. How did you meet? The glasses for seasickness I have never heard of. Great idea. I've never sailed but I want to. Very nice of you to make a video like this because it can save people a lot of money.
Wonderful video! A possible solution to avoid seasickness is to put an earplug in the opposite ear of your dominant hand. ie, Right-handed, left ear. Give it a try! Let me know. 🙂
I know I’m way late, but the solar panels won’t work well in shade if you string them all to the same controller. You need to use microinverters on each panel or use multiple mppt controllers if you expect some to be in shade when others are in sun.
