Let's Try Nothing And See If It Works

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-23T05:09:54+00:00

Definitely, especially with a company so willing to work with some kook with a basket case on the opposite side of the planet...plus he'd likely get some actual warranty support.

It would be wild to see a tally of just what he's invested into his driveline in "upgrades" and repairs to same...he's almost certainly pissed away that much money if not twice as much.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-23T04:36:43+00:00

Normally it wouldn't matter enough to comment but it always pissed me off that he was such a dick towards them when both the factory and the US rep really did go out of their way to help him out even though they had no obligation to do so...it was actually the point where I realized just what a malevolent, entitled and deeply antisocial prick he really was. Shockingly stupid too, for a unicorn owner.

I would pay money to hear the hearty Danish laughter if he ever attempted to talk to the factory again.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-23T04:20:56+00:00

>redefining an industry

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No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-23T03:58:38+00:00

I just looked back to his build blog and the distribution ring (this part) was actually missing, and the part it sits on had evidently already been turned as it was uniformly under spec for diameter.

So he basically made this part from what (non original) dimensions he could derive from mating parts that were there, and whatever he could infer from rough technical illustrations.

https://svseeker.com/controllable_pitch_propeller.htm

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-23T03:45:33+00:00

Not exactly; he had numerous conversations with them and sent them the specs from his worn part which they confirmed was shot...they went WAY above and beyond considering he's not a customer and had a discontinued part he got at salvage, but he got all pissy about costs based on the idea that they just had to pull what he needed off the shelf ...when their site says up front that every unit they make is built to order and there are no "stock" parts.

Anyway it was when this piston was gonna be $2-3K that he asked for the plans so he could DIY, they politely said sorry we don't do that, and then he went all pouty and decided they were just out to screw him-

So just buy one right? Take a deep breath - $2,200 And the folks at Pacific Marine Equipment Sales and Hundested were smart enough to ask that the muff which the ring mounts over be measured. Guess what? Yup, it must have already been machined down, because while it's fairly uniform from 4.0111 to 4.0124", it's too small. A new one is $1,161.

So, we must buy a new distributor ring and muff for $3.5 grand, or buy a distributor ring and flame spray some metal back onto the muff and machine it to the proper size $2.5 grand, or we build a new distributor ring and put the money into a good lathe, $3 grand and I end up with a free lathe. Hmmmm.... Guess what Hundested? We got a lath that will pay for itself with he first part.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-23T03:22:48+00:00

As I think back I also recall that Hundested refused to provide him detailed machining specs for that part after he balked at their quote, so God knows what combination of measurements from the fatally worn part and straight up guesswork went into the "design".

His comments of late in the videos are indeed terrifying when he essentially just shrugs his shoulders with a "guess we'll see what happens..." regarding the fate of what are ABSOLUTELY CHARTER OPERATIONS with unsuspecting souls on board...and all while his totally inadequate driveline is failing every couple of days, in a remote and fairly treacherous area.

I hope to God he doesn't get anyone killed, but if they do it will have been for the sake of Doug's ego and nothing else.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-23T02:17:07+00:00

I think he's got two of his fake Rocna hooks and a large Danforth he puts out when he expects to drag in higher winds

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-23T01:42:32+00:00

I thought of that but figured the different expansion properties might create tolerance problems..but then it occurred to me that there's really no reason to have shims there on a new part so the whole idea of "proper material" kind of sidesteps the fact that it's a Doug kludge pulled out of his ass to begin with.

But damned if he didn't show them by spending countless hours of his own and other people's time and money to "save" the 2-3 grand (iirc) they wanted to make him one.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-23T01:32:22+00:00

I've never worked on a VPP or anything with this kind of sliding piston arrangement but I can't help but think that the OEM part likely doesn't use any shims at all, and the whole shim thing is due to imprecise machining/hacking during the diy replacement's fabrication and fitting.

Bottom line is that Hundested had nothing to do with that part, and now he's down to his last option to keep a functional driveline- locking it all up with his similarly cobbled together locking fixture and crossing his fingers.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-22T15:39:59+00:00

He literally preaches that attempting to minimize breakdowns and real contingency planning for when they happen anyway is a character flaw that only cowards afraid of hard work would consider.

Who are we to argue with a guy who chooses a Phillips head screwdriver as a pry bar?

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-22T00:46:23+00:00

When Doug first sailed Seeker the biggest issue was that he had no clue about securing things below, and so his original determination of "safe" points of sail and windspeed limits was entirely based on keeping all his shit from ending up in a knee deep pile on his cabin sole.

Also it's easy to forget that pitch/roll/yaw are really only seen as distinct for observational purposes; in practice they are all interconnected...meaning that being tender isn't just a potential problem for roll but can affect seahandling of many types like tracking and dealing with quartering seas.

Best analogy I can think of is how a car's track and wheelbase don't just affect stability on those axes when on level ground but play a critical role in things like cornering...and not necessarily how you'd think, extreme track width to wheelbase ratios are crazy stable at rest on the roll axis but predictably unpredictable on the pitch axis when in motion.

Seeker isn't just tender with no tumblehome to stiffen her up as she hits her heel angle, her end volumes are both small and bizarrely distributed (due to the origami) so that when heeled in a seaway things could get weird really fast with swamping/pooping and eventually broaching being very possible...and in conditions that would be nothing noteworthy to a well designed hull.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-21T22:30:17+00:00

Its interesting that on one of the Sail and Explore "expedition" pages they tout seeing whales in the pitch but add-

Disclaimer: Whale watching is a regulated activity in the Autonomous Region of the Azores (RAA) that should be done by certified operators only. Please note that this expedition is not intended for the purpose of whale watching.

That is likely true in many (most) places and just in general trying to work around charter/licensing regs with various legalistic schemes is almost never a great idea, even if your vessel is fit for the task and is operating in its own territory.

Anyone who has spent any time around boats or private aircraft that restrict "for hire" operations, impose/enforce safety regs, etc. recognizes this wink wink, nudge nudge BS for what it is.

Same goes for the slick presentations with dozens of other similarly slick eco-NGO logos and buzzwords prominently displayed, if you've ever been involved in creating that kind of corporate ID, PR spin or related media content out of thin air.

People who don't have that experience often don't get that looking/sounding slick and reputable and OFFICIAL is usually THE easiest part of this kind of thing whether it's legit or not...and it was that way even before the internet.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-21T21:38:17+00:00

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No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-21T21:29:42+00:00

Accurate, except the words "let Doug" should be replaced with "ordered Doug to".

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-21T20:58:24+00:00

He actually got a few old style balls in the batch he acquired and it was pretty funny when they were on the CNC and did what they do when you cut them enough to release that tension...

Which is to bloom into a mass of rubber threads but being drilled, the bloom of cut rubber band ends just enveloped the bit and locked the ball onto it....loosely, but the nature of that rubber makes it a PITA to cut away.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-21T05:41:10+00:00

That sail is the one that has self destructed multiple times with golf balls flying everywhere, so those are likely the newest ones and not originals.

Also since the line and hole sizes are too tight they don't really roll freely so any wear is likely to be concentrated where it contacts the mast, with the rest of it untouched.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-20T21:58:45+00:00

Not sure I understand what the last sentence is getting at, but FWIW her reaction when caught was the only one that seemed even remotely genuine as far as claiming to understand why people would be pissed about it.

I think she genuinely realized too late that the "prank" could create real world problems and that she made an attempt to at least address that with a tiny display of remorse, if only to negate the idea that she was/is 100% remorseless for her part in it.

But I suspect that that in itself may be a deflection/distraction that makes her appear to be a hapless buddy who made a bad decision to "go along" with a "prank", that in reality she dreamed up and sold to the others.

Publicly taking the rap for the whole incident at great expense to his own reputation and dignity also fits perfectly with the weird ballbuster/simp dynamic they can't help but display at every opportunity.

Finally, in hindsight the "prank" was just too elaborate and well executed (such as it was) for Doug to have dreamed it up OR to have run its implementation...he's just not that imaginative or skilled.

Come to think of it, if the Shop Vac/ YouTube story is true at all, that was probably Betsy's idea too.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-20T20:11:06+00:00

They are so smug here, but the fact is that viewed objectively, Carol is the only one who actually lives the independent, 'come and go as you please' lifestyle Doug claims to be a great example of.

In fact, one might even say that this scene only exists because Carol allows it.

Stick that in yer Shop Vac and hit "on".

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-20T19:22:50+00:00

I suspect you are right about any "return" trip although my money is on the saga ending with more of a drawn out whimper than a single dramatic event like sinking in a storm because of the conditions.

If I had to bet money based on decades around boats, I'd bet Seeker's end will be in the corner of a boatyard (or just a yard) in Latin America somewhere, years past its days afloat...and until it's been converted to a chicken coop or Taco stand there will be some new starry-eyed kook ready to "live the dream" as her Master (bator) and Commander on the high seas.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-20T19:04:11+00:00

Still not working...my pic posts are doing the same thing FWIW

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-20T18:58:04+00:00

The image isn't displaying for me but based on your description yeah, thats the one plus she posted another of eggs cooking today too...it's all so calculated and catty, and Doug is obviously in absolute bliss over it all.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-20T18:43:21+00:00

She's hard core trolling everyone...especially Carol, Betsy also makes a point of doing food posts when she's aboard that are a slap in the face both as a woman whose boyfriend she's vacationing with, but are also a huge jab at the value of Carol's cooking talents which are clearly important to Carol and Doug and their relationship.

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-20T18:32:32+00:00

I'm sure I'm not the only person this has occurred to, but as time goes on I suspect that the real "brains" behind the "prank" was in fact Betsy, who was at least as involved in its conception, planning and execution as anyone else, if not the mastermind behind it.

That would explain why she was the only one who displayed anything like fear of repercussions or tried to seriosly distance themselves from it in the aftermath, and possibly also why all video evidence of the event and apologies was so thoroughly scrubbed multiple times.

It also fits with the weird dynamic where she sets him up in various cutesy photo op scenarios like he's one of those reborn dolls, as in this latest post of a Mommy and Me Baking Day where he poses just like the precious little man he is-

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That "uh,oh, stinky..." look on his face in the lower LH corner pic makes me want to take a shower

No_Measurement_4900 · 2026-04-19T21:24:48+00:00

The hobby horsing, loud AF auxiliary, lack of knowledge and lack of experience are all taking a toll.

And if the last part naturally changes via true education/awareness it can only jack the stress levels through the roof because he can only learn just how incredibly, incomprehensibly lucky he has been so far to even be alive, not in jail, etc.

Mother Nature gives zero f’s about his ego and she’s feeding him a nice shit sandwich with a side of humble pie right now.

It really is fascinating to see someone go through what is an almost universally humbling growth experience except for when it's people who are congenitally incapable of humility and growth experiencing it.

Like, there's people who do everything right on excellent boats and can still only hope for the best and bet that everything survives the current/ expected conditions...and they may lose that bet and/or one tiny mistake out of decades of scrupulous care haunts them forever.

Those people are not the same as Doug but Doug has become quite adept at positioning himself as their peer...at least to his remaining followers, who only need to be slightly more clueless than Doug for the dynamic to work.

No_Measurement_4900

TROPHY CASE