Finally, the time has come for us to haul out. But man oh man, was it a hot day!
The hard-standing at Krabi Boat Lagoon is immaculate, comfortable and spacious. And ever mindful of his partner’s needs, Jamie was clever enough to find us a place not too far from the wash rooms…
HAULING OUT OUR SAILBOAT IN A THAI HEATWAVE! Read Post »
While waiting two months for a place in the boatyard, we began to question whether we were making the right decision to replace the wooden deck. No-one we met regretted getting rid of their teak, and the marinas were full of gleaming teak-less yachts. We watched owners make short work of scrubbing their decks without worrying about damaging the grain.
Sailboat Refit Part 2: Deck Read Post »
We have a whole lot of work to do before we head to Japan and the PNW. This week we answered some of your comments about the changes we’re making to SY Esper. We’ve received tons of suggestions, questions and advice! If you have a comment please don’t hesitate to write it here on Patreon, Facebook or YouTube.
PREPARING TO SAIL TO ALASKA VIA JAPAN – Q&A Read Post »
During the 12 years we’ve been liveaboards we’ve dodged pirates, survived gales and sustained injuries to boat and body. Neither of us had owned any kind of boat before we bought SY Esper, and it was a steep learning curve. The biggest lesson to date was when we tried crossing the equator in the Maldives. The gale that hit us wasn’t predicted, and we hadn’t prepared properly.
IT HASN’T ALL BEEN PLAIN SAILING Read Post »
This is the story of our eleventh hour escape from Thailand to KL, Malaysia… While the painters continued to make fast work of the hard dodger roof, Liz woke up remembering that it was about time to renew our visas in Thailand. For just 1900 THB we would extend our stay a further 30 days. Sweet.
EMERGENCY TRIP TO KL! Read Post »
This is the second in our series of articles about SY Esper’s complete refit in Thailand for Sailing Today magazine. The interior of SY Esper, our Oyster 435, took a beating when the saloon hatch broke open during a storm in the Indian Ocean, but the veneer had been steadily deteriorating for some time before that.
Sailboat Refit Part 1: Interior Read Post »
What do you do when the painters are spraying the top coat in the cockpit? Get off the boat, of course! For the duration of our time hauled out, we are staying on SY Esper. Uncomfortable at the best of times, it can become downright impossible sometimes.
CAN YOU WORK OUT WHERE WE’VE BEEN SHOPPING? Read Post »
What will you do with the bird shit? Who cares what you call it, why not a “Boaty Brolly?” We answer your questions…
What does a job like this cost in Thailand? And how long did it take? Where do you put your removable dodger? Will we have windows, and if so where should they go? Why is the helmsman still not under cover?
“What about the bird poo?” Dodger Q&A Part 2 Read Post »
RABIES! A word guaranteed to strike terror into the hearts of everyone. So when Millie got bitten and fell ill, and in turn bit Jamie, we let the full horror of the situation sink in, then shot off to the hospital…
RABIES – PIRATES – DODGER Pt 3 Read Post »
So, if you fancy yourself in an FTB t-shirt, or like the idea of drinking a cuppa tea from an FTB mug, head over to the store and use this code…We love coming up with new ideas for products, so if you have any suggestions of what you’d like to see in our shop, drop them in the commentsa below.
DISCOUNT CODE FOR FOLLOWTHEBOAT SHOP! Read Post »
Should we raise the boom to get more space in the cockpit? Will we add hand rails? How about lighting? How removable is our removable dodger? And where is Liz going to put the glitter ball…
Building a hard dodger for a sailboat – Q&A Part 1 Read Post »
BUILDING A HARD DODGER FROM SCRATCH Pt 2: All was going well until ‘Big Boss’ decided the design looked skewiff. So off with the forward struts and back to the drawing board. It’s going to be a long process!
Building a hard dodger Part 2 Read Post »
FOLLOWTHEBOAT IN YACHTING MONTHLY! If you weren’t able to pick up a copy of Yachting Monthly earlier this year, you probably missed our article all about the astonishing Anamabas…
FOLLOWTHEBOAT IN YACHTING MONTHLY Read Post »
Building a hard dodger from scratch is no easy task, but finally crunch day arrived and we had to get started on our mini boat refit. So, after a few false starts, we began working on a template with our carpenters.
Building a hard dodger Part 1 Read Post »
The image was taken from the KLCC park, next to the Petronas Towers. If you’ve been there, you’ll know how beautiful the gardens are and how well they are maintained. We loved walking through them. But the biggest surprise for us was just how gleaming and spectacular the tower are, much more beautiful than most of the over-saturated pics we’d seen on postcards and the web.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE WERE… AND WHY WE WERE THERE! Read Post »
