Maruzza's Horizons · video

What this video covers

Giuseppe sails Maruzza, an Alpa 670 — a 6.7-meter Italian fiberglass sloop designed by Ericus van der Stadt and built in the early 1970s — toward West Africa, using the boat as a case study for capable, low-cost, minimal-electronics offshore sailing.0:42 The hull's narrow 2.10-meter beam improves upwind performance; the encapsulated cast-iron fin keel adds structural safety if the boat strikes something; and the sharp V-shaped bow reduces wave-slamming compared to flat-bottomed modern designs.1:18 The hanging rudder is highly balanced and light, which lets a homemade wind vane Giuseppe built 20 years ago connect directly to the tiller without a servo or pendulum — but the rudder shaft bent once in the port of Latakia, Syria, a known vulnerability of the type.3:10 The engine is a 1998 Johnson 8-hp two-stroke outboard fitted with a high-thrust prop; Giuseppe swapped the original for wider, shorter-pitch blades to push the heavy hull effectively.6:07 Navigation relies on paper charts, a hand compass, and a single small GPS.9:36 Lighting runs on kerosene and oil lamps, with the battery used only occasionally.9:13 A 20-liter solar shower bag lasts two weeks.7:09 Giuseppe argues that stripping electronics reduces both cost and failure points, and that chart navigation builds seamanship that electronics cannot replace.10:20

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