This episode covers the mammoth job of installing our new carbon fibre martingale. The martingale is the strap of carbon which spans the front beam on a catamaran and helps distribute the load from the forestay. For each new project on Paikea, Shayne draws a 3D model on Solid Edge which helps with getting an […]
Fitting our carbon fibre martingale to our catamaran Read More »
The Seagull Striker and Martingale are a critical structural part of the forward beam on the vast majority of catamarans. They strengthen the front beam between the two bows and take the load from the forestay which is usually either attached to the beam or the longeron. In our case, we will make the forestay
How we made our carbon fibre seagull striker and martingale Read More »
While Paikea is out of the water it is a perfect time to have a good look at our Volvo Penta sail drives. Shayne has already made up some nice new fibreglass covers to fit over the holes in the hulls where the sail drive enters the water. Now it’s time to clean up the
Servicing a Volvo Penta saildrive Read More »
Our Volvo Penta sail drives are in desperate need of some attention. We have spent a lot of time making fairs to cover the exposed hole around the sail drives on the exterior of the hull and now that project is nearing completion it’s time to get the actual sail drives.out of the boat and
Removing a Volvo Penta sail drive from our Catana 42s Read More »
When we bought Paikea in 2018 she had only one working rudder. The starboard side had an emergency rudder made of some sort of plastic plate attached to the rudder stock. The emergency rudder was only supposed to be a temporary solution however the previous owner claimed he had bought the boat like that and
Making our own catamaran rudders Read More »
The title says it all! We’ve been busy with a million different projects on Paikea as deadlines loom and the summer sailing season approaches. Our goal was to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean this Christmas but a global pandemic and a long list of upgrades has meant we will spend another season in Europe. We
Transom extension project and removing old rudders Read More »
This fun video shows what the youngbarnacles kids get up to while land locked in the marina. OK, so it helps that your Mum is a sail maker and that there is a sail loft right next door. I guess it also helps that these kids spent the entire Spanish lockdown hiding in the sail
Boat kids making their own sails Read More »
This was a really cool project. It’s always awesome when we get to make improvements on our boat and especially if it involves putting some carbon fibre on it. Actually, this video covers two projects simultaneously: while Shayne is busy chopping up sections of ex-America’s cup challenger mast pieces to fit the front of Paikea,
Making a carbon front beam and longeron for our catamaran Read More »
After over 2 years sailing around the Mediterranean, our hastily applied antifoul has all but worn off. We were well overdue for a haul out and if we were ever to get Paikea ready for an Atlantic crossing we needed to work on the hull of the boat. We knew that one of our rudders
Using a crane to haul out our Catana 42s Read More »
We confirm our suspicions of what happened to Paikea when we start investigating the cracks above the rudders. Poorly executed repairs have meant that we must now grind it all back and properly repair the damage done at some time in the past. The skin is broken and the core is rotten. What a mess.
Repairing damage to the hull on our cruising cat Read More »