Sam Holmes Sailingvideo

Sailing around Thailand, boat projects, and touring @DawnHunters' cool aluminium catamaran.

25 October 2025 · 35 min · 51K views · Koh Phangan

What this video covers

Sam Holmes sails his catamaran from Koh Phangan to Yacht Haven, Thailand, a 25-nautical-mile transit.Watch During the passage, he utilises the autopilot’s "no drift" feature to maintain heading in variable winds and current.1:59 He performs maintenance tasks, including installing solar-powered navigation lights on the daggerboards to improve visibility for local fishing vessels and organising the boat’s chemical storage.11:48 Holmes also tours a 53-foot custom aluminium catamaran owned by William and Yana of Dawn Hunters.16:32 This vessel features narrow hulls, sacrificial mini keels for beaching, and a redundant steering system using Dyneema cables and chain sprockets.17:50 The aluminium boat includes specialised design elements for long-range fishing, such as dual fish-cleaning stations, 420-litre fuel and water tanks per side, and a cockpit-centred control layout.20:09 The owners discuss the trade-offs between production boats and custom builds, noting that their current production catamaran lacks the ruggedness they prefer for long-term, storm-prone cruising compared to their previous steel monohull.29:30

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More from Sam Holmes Sailing

Hundreds of miles of rough sailing only to be turned away from our dream destinationOct 2026Making big miles offshore sailing through IndonesiaSept 2026Orca sighting! we repair one daggerboard only to break another oneSept 2026Sailing to Maratua, a rarely visited Indonesian island Sept 2026

From Sam Holmes Sailing — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analysed video.

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