Adding a 24-Volt System to a 30-Year-Old Catamaran We bought a boat with no working electrics at all. Three years later, we’re about to more than triple our usable power — and change the entire voltage of the boat to do it. When we got Paikea, “electrical system” was generous. The batteries held a charge […]
Why We Chose a 24-Volt System for Our Catamaran Read More »
Mark Your Winches It only takes one runaway halyard to teach you why this matters. Olly learned it the hard way, early on — still working out how winches turn, cranked one the wrong direction, and had a kite halyard zip straight out of his hands before anyone could stop it. No harm done, but
Recycled Foredeck Pieces from an America’s Cup Yacht The first modification we made to Paikea wasn’t structural. It was a roof. The cockpit is the space we live in more than any other on the boat, and for the first stretch of ownership, it had no hard cover at all — just a soft top
Recycled Foredeck Pieces from an America’s Cup Yacht Read More »
Helping Out on a Vela Latina Some jobs start with “can you come help me for an hour” and turn into a full lamination masterclass. Our friend Miguel’s Vela Latina — a traditional lateen-rigged wooden boat — had sunk three times. Not from any one dramatic failure, but from fiberglassing that was never quite good
Repairing and Sailing a Traditional Vela Latina Read More »
From America’s Cup to Our Catamaran: Rescuing a Carbon Legend We’d been stuck in Valencia during the COVID lockdown when we came across a piece of sailing history that was about to be destroyed. Rig #12 from Team New Zealand’s 2000 America’s Cup campaign — later used by the French challenger in the 2007 Cup
From America’s Cup to Our Catamaran: Rescuing a Carbon Legend Read More »
Designing a Stowable Anchor System for a Carbon Front Beam The challenge with a carbon longeron as an anchor platform is obvious the moment you think about it: anchor chain, stainless steel rollers, and a steel anchor bash around constantly, and carbon doesn’t like that. Every point where metal meets carbon needs protection, and that
Designing a Stowable Anchor System for a Carbon Front Beam Read More »
