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Our latest was semi custom. Unfortunately the company owner we signed with had to sell the business early on in our build, for health reasons. No ones fault, just how life is. That left us with a way less experienced build team. Some mistakes were made but mostly corrected prior to launch, and a...

When you hand steer you are far more engaged with the voyage. With AP on the ocean you look around every now and then for safety, then read for a while or whatever. But back to the PNW I think AP is more or less essential because of the fog. Once course is set you can spend more time watching...

I remember seeing a survey of yachts crossing the Atlantic. Those where the vessel was hand steered from the cockpit saw x number of other vessels on the crossing. Those on autopilot with the watch keeper in the cockpit saw about 1/3rd less. Those on autopilot with the watch keeper in the pilot...

It depends on how remote or exposed you are when you run out. When the risk is greater keep more reserve. How little fuel do you use at dead slow? It can be surprisingly little. If you have twins can you transfer to one side to maximize usable fuel? Our fuel pick ups are at the rear of long...

Big Bud is for sale. Looks beautifully maintained from the dock.Trade Me

Starlink has worked very well for us. Never lost signal all the way around New Zealand last summer. We cruise at 16kn and have never had our RV plan stop service. We didn't bother disabling the motors and it is mostly fine like that. Occasionally we have to cycle off/on to get it to align to the...

I had a quick chat to these guys in Whangaroa this year. The bridgedecker has been in the same family for 106 years.

I'm happy with a high quality RIB. Down here you have to get a sponson covers fitted from day one given our extreme UV levels. Then they last pretty well. But this summer the carbon OC Tenders were everywhere. They are made down here so some local product following no doubt, but at US13k for...

I wouldn't share a boat as I use ours more or less every week, but it crtainly makes sense for an owner who wants only a few weeks a year. Down here in NZ there is a professionally managed boat share operatoon called Ownaship. They manage 30 boats at present. During the Covid boating boom I...

Currently in the Bay of Islands for the traditional 3 week summer holiday break. No where near as adventurous as last year but very relaxing. Enjoying the new boat honeymoon period. The teething issues are behind us and at present,.......everything works.

Bladders can certainly leak, even from reputable manufacturers. For my first offshore trip as skipper (NZ to Tonga, about a 1000nm) our 36'sailboat had a 60l diesel tank. That seemed a bit light so I ordered a 100l bladder, custom built in NZ to fit under a quarter berth. I was nervous about any...

We also found the Aegean pretty benign. A couple of points on wind vs sea state. Building seas are way more comfortable than easing seas. The swell pattern is far less stable as the seas ease with echo waves from many directions. Stay away from shallow water, even when well out to sea. The sea...

TTs comments about the bladders are correct. Ours had bands on heavy ratchets to take up the slack of a partially drained bladder. Even then I couldn't decide to empty as much as I could while the conditions were perfect, or wait until we had burnt enough to empty the whole lot. I was much...

Engine access in a powercat can be eased by good design. The pic is swapping an alternator belt, underway on the other engine, in Dusky Sound. Not sure if we could have managed it without the front of engine doors into the shower stalls. Can a smaller powercat be a trawler? A year ago today we...

Just an ultra short French fishing boat, no doubt built that way to meet some silly rule. But what an interesting way to moor while loading/unloading. No anchor, no warps, just idling in reverse. The squared off transom hard up against the wharf.

About 11am but light winds for sure. You can see the main was helping a bit occasionally. They needed a fair bit of trust in the bridge operators to open in time as she would have taken a bit of stopping. Plenty of locals were taking pics and videoing so not an everyday thing.

Seen today in Haarlem a gaff rigged, leeboard of I guess 100t or thereabouts. They were poling it through a series of lifting and swinging bridges. For some they doused the main, then set it again using large cast iron winches. If they had an engine, they weren't using it. Impressive.

Oneroa, Waiheke Getting underway early to head to work

How about a 40' displacement cat? Cruise 18kn Burn 2.5l/nm Two king beds, two showers, two heads Fits in a monohull berth, 4.5m wide.

We tried, in person, to get a check out document leaving Ketchikan for Prince Rupert. New Zealand crew on a US flagged vessel. The officers said sorry we know you probably should be able to help, but we can't. Have a nice trip.

You are probably aware of the hybrid Herley 3400 which I see is back on the market again. https://yachthub.com/list/boats-for-sale/used/power-boats/herley-powercat-3400-electric/300294

KW stay with the cat. If you do decide to bolt some distance in the future it will be a lot more palatable. Not quite a boat but how long before these are the tender of choice for the super yacht crowd? Plenty of aviators on TF to talk me through the downsides

It didn't say but my guess 600v or thereabouts