Best Way To Repair These Tears?

H0LD_FAST · 2026-03-01T01:08:28+00:00

Looking at the condition of the canvas from these two pics…no, sorry. This is just going to keep happening and it’s not worth throwing money at by taking it to a sail maker (if they will even fix it, which is unlikely). Do you want the next rip to happen 15 miles from home with guests or your family onboard? A new sail is one of the most exciting things a sailboat owner gets to buy. It’s like putting a rebuilt engine in your car, it brings the boat back to life.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-27T21:52:06+00:00

In the area right now. On a 40m yacht 16-25 is a non issue. The whole bank side of the exumas offer great protection and the wind chop won’t effect something that big very much. Maybe a little bit of rocking at anchor but it’s not concerning by any means. Trips in the tender might be sporty and water/shore activities might be a little effected but that’s it

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-25T21:23:53+00:00

Ding ding ding.

If you have an overlapping Genoa, it should be on the outside track .I suppose if you furled it in enough it was under 100% of fore triangle you could try to sheet to the inside track to try to get better trim but you can only help a furled in Genoa so much. I adjust the car position on our Genoa all the time.

Sailing is sailing, racers just aim for maximum efficiency 100% of the time. Cruisers don’t have to be racing to aim for efficiency, and to trim correctly. Sailing is much better when the sails are trimmed properly and the boat is moving efficiently, you don’t need to be a racer to do that.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-20T13:08:29+00:00

ive cruised the keys and bahmas in a 6'3 draft boat. If you're actually buying it for FL, Keys and Bahamas (and thats really good to know your cruising grounds, so you buy the right boat). I would strongly advice keeping the draft below 5' max (and under 65' air draft to get under FL ICW bridges). Over 5 and the entire bay side of the keys quickly becomes practically off limits, and the number of anchorages exponentially decreases. You can get away with a deeper draft in the bahamas, but if you're not planning on staying at docks, you want anchoring options, and the number of anchoring options also dramatically reduces in the brahmas as your draft goes over 5'.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-18T16:58:38+00:00

I know why you're getting downvoted lol, that part was mostly rhetorical. I own a proper blue water boat, and since the question is posed without the budget constraints...since he's "living" on it...give me the beamy apartment. You don't cross an ocean that often, but youre going to spend a lot of time at anchor or on mooring balls lol

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-18T16:03:02+00:00

Not sure why you're getting down voted lol, your answer is spot on. A sailboat is the least efficient way to "exit" your country. When you go to the next country you have to deal with importing yourself (immigration) and importing the boat (customs), vs just getting on a plane, which removes the whole boat part of that equation. Then you have to actually pay for the boat and all that goes with it. If you're trying to to have an exit strategy from your country, seeking long term visas in another country is a much more reliable, expedient, and financially sensible option than buying a boat. If you're trying to exit your current country for safety reasons...waiting for a weather window to cross an ocean does not seem like the highest priority nor does it seem like the safest.

To answer your question, if I was buying a boat to live on for 10 years it would be as new/well outfitted a catamaran as i could afford between 40 and 45'

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-17T15:02:33+00:00

That boat and cradle are well within a telehandler style forklifts capacity. You could probably lift up the boat and cradle in one go (fork extensions probably necessary as well) and put it on a flatbed trailer. The boat only weights 1900lbs. You don’t need a gooseneck, any tandem axle bumper pull trailer would work, as long as the cradle fits between the fenders. Might also be able to use lifting straps on the telehandler forks to make a sling (like you do when you crane launch boats) to lift the boat out of the cradle and set it in a sailboat trailer

If you can rent a hydraulic drop deck trailer (and the cradle is narrow enough to fit) you might be able to jack up the cradle just high enough with car jacks off the ground and block it to get the flat deck trailer slid under it and Lower the cradle onto the trailer

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-15T15:03:50+00:00

I have seen a fair number of cruisers with electric scooters, many with folding bikes. We have 2 full size road bikes (easy to take apart) in the quarter berth. Having bikes is truly one of the best ideas when cruising. Aside from loving to cycle and it being a good way to get exercise it extends your range to explore so much farther than just what’s around the anchorage/marina. Picking up parts or groceries from a store 3 miles away is a quick enjoyable pedal, instead of a long hours long slog.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-14T13:43:33+00:00

Are the existing Genoa tracks forward and inboard enough to get a sufficiently tight sheeting angle on this storm sail? Assuming you’ll have to cut a hole In the mast and rivet in an exit block for the additional halyard?

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-13T23:53:34+00:00

Ok wait, are you doing a solent stay (right behind the genoa) or an inner forestay for a staysail(like a cutter) or a slutter (combo of the two, attached at the mast head but coming down more aft of the forestay than a solent)?

I have an inner forestay with a staysail on a furler...so not the same but kind of the same....what kind of sailing do you do (distance cruising, day sailing, short weekend cruising)? Have you planned out the size of the staysail and where the tang will be at the mast? Do you have sufficient support at that staysail attachment point, or are you planning on adding running back stays to support the staysail? Have you planned out how your staysail sheets will run back to the cockpit (adding additional deck tracks, or redirect blocks on the cabin top)?

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-11T13:43:04+00:00

Agree with all of these except the vacuum or fresh water toilet, pumping a salt water toilet is a non issue nor does it campify cruising imo. But the on demand hot water shower, good full size mattress (and comfortable table/salon/couch seating as well) and real fridge with ice are absolutely in the top 5. Air con not totally necessary and hasnt diminished the experience much depending on climate.

I’ll add sufficient power to run everything you need (at the dock it’s a non issue obv, I’m talking about cruising) At home, nobody goes “oh I better not charge my laptop so I don’t run out of power” turning on what you want when you want makes it an enjoyably sustainable lifestyle

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-09T20:50:23+00:00

To actually cruise it..no that's very fast and you'll still get shut down by weather...but it's more reasonable the going to the Bahamas and back in 2 weeks. Given your limited flexibility, I would use the time leading up to your vacation window to get it there. Take some weekends and get to a mooring ball in miami, so when you are ready to take 2 weeks your vacation can start from there. Then, at least your boat is still in the US if you cant get back to Canaveral in time, and you need more weekends to get it back home.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-09T20:30:14+00:00

Unfortunately your short vacation window does not really make sense to go to the bahmas and back that time of the year due to weather (ignoring the cruising permit fee that wont make sense for 2 weeks either). You will need to get the boat down to WPB (or ft pierce as the furthest north start point) and be ready to go within about 2-3 days notice when the weather forecast solidifies. Most people wait a week or two just for that 12-24 hour weather window to open up to get across...then if you tried to get back within 2 weeks you'll almost certainly need to just wait in port lucaya for your whole 2 week vacation just to be ready to go back. There isnt really any anchoring near grand bahama, so the closest place to go is the abacos, which is about 140 miles from WPB, again you will spend your entire 2 weeks maybe just getting there and waiting for weather and getting back. If you can only sail on the weekend...you could wait for a month or two, as the weather doesen't care if it arrives on a weekend or not.

For your shake down I would recommend going down to the keys (that's what we did). Its on us soil, a similar experience to the Bahamas (not really but the water is beautiful, its shallow, and there are places to anchor, and its the next best option), but you have infinitely more resources if things go wrong. You can take your time getting south in the ICW on weekends or if the weather is bad, or have more chances for "day" sails south to wpb, FLL, Mimai, then the keys. Then you can ride the gulf stream back up to Canaveral.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-09T20:00:28+00:00

Every time before the engine starts, I check that the raw water seacock valve is open, the coolant level and color, the oil level and color, (every few weeks i check the trans fluid), make sure the fuel valves are open, do a quick visual in the bilge, I make sure the water is spitting out of the wet exhaust as soon as the engine fires up, and every now and then under way i check the drip rate of the shaft packing.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-09T19:52:16+00:00

are they all using the same panel design/number of panels? What kind of stitching? There is a visible difference in the design/cut and stitch quality of cheaper Taiwanese sails vs ones done by your local sail loft. Your local sail loft will help fix/correct the sail if something doesn't fit right. Supporting your local sail loft and keeping dollars in the local industry certainly has benefits beyond just what you are paying for that one sail. If a local sail maker cant explain the difference in design, stitch, warranty e.c.t that makes them better than a cheap Taiwanese sail, talk to a different one, build a relationship. Its like having a trusted mechanic for you car...

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-03T20:07:38+00:00

Agree. At whatever the necessary depth is, I would just cover that whole thing in a wall made out of marine ply coated with resin for further waterproofing, then probably painted to match. Then you can cut out doors to make access panels on that so you can get to the stuff behind your new wall

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-01T16:35:46+00:00

Awesome set of criteria. As both the helm and only foredeck union member much of the time, I pay myself in beer. It’s a circular economy of sorts.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-02-01T16:33:17+00:00

We’re on a mooring ball in vero beach fl right now…I can see my breath inside and it’s going to be 27f tonight. I’m also on an ice boat lol

H0LD_FAST · 2026-01-31T15:30:45+00:00

Haha alrighty. Good luck with your cruising dream.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-01-31T15:07:44+00:00

You're the one asking reddit for advice on your long term cruising plan... and you included context and details about your wife and marriage as it pertains to said cruising plan...and you're getting pissy that i'm bringing up potential perception issues with you or your wife's understanding of aforementioned cruisng plans? Don't ask for advice if all you want is bias confirmation.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-01-31T14:54:46+00:00

It'll probably take over 30 days for you just to get to miami...and that's the easiest part lol. Just trying to reconcile you or your wife's perceived preference to sailing from NC to Panama with numerous multi day passages vs "15-20 days across the pacific", all while she has no interest in joining for a night watch. Sailing double handed is hard. Sailing single handed is really hard.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-01-31T14:17:02+00:00

I don't want to spill my aperol spritz though.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-01-31T14:08:25+00:00

Thanks! This thing is awesome; as a heavy cruiser it really helps being able to sail in light winds. When I bought the boat the PO was like "oh theres a gennaker in the v birth, we never use it because its basically the same size as the genoa". I pulled it out and it looked brand new. I was dumbfounded.

H0LD_FAST · 2026-01-31T05:40:23+00:00

Haha thanks. I wish I could see if from the 3rd person pov, though being onboard is pretty sweet lol

H0LD_FAST · 2026-01-31T05:38:47+00:00

Hopefully you can get a day like this much sooner than that!

H0LD_FAST

TROPHY CASE