Our Sailboat Started to Become Taxing… Then We Went to a Boat Show Ep 53
31 May 2026 · 22 min · 535 views · La Rochelle
Sunset glows over La Rochelle from sailboat cockpit
What this video covers
Erin and Marie's Baltic Yachts 42 DP developed a cascading failure at La Rochelle: a suspected shower drain leak turned out to be an 18-year-old Italian Elpa hot water pressure tank that had failed, flooding back through the mixing valve onto the engine wiring.11:42 They spent hours sourcing a replacement — 597 euros, shipping from the Netherlands to a boatyard roughly 180 miles south — complicated by Canadian credit cards not working on the vendor's website, forcing a wire transfer.12:23 Meanwhile, the engine wiring had to be stripped, dried, and reassembled twice before departure.13:30 The timing pressure was real: a haul-out on neap tides at the destination boatyard left no flexibility to wait in La Rochelle.12:47 Between troubleshooting sessions, they toured the La Rochelle Boat Show, comparing aluminum expedition boats — the Ovni 450, Ovni 51, Boreal, Garcia 54, and Garcia Exploration 45 — evaluating cockpit protection, interior access, single-handed sailing layout, and aluminum construction extent (hull-only vs. deck-and-hull vs. full aluminum).14:22 They preferred the Garcia Exploration 45 and Ovni 450 over the Boreal, which felt claustrophobic.16:33 Years of maintenance on an aging boat had shifted their priorities toward simpler, more accessible systems designed for long-term cold-weather cruising.7:06
Boats in this video
More from Sailing Northern Brees
From Sailing Northern Brees — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analysed video.
The Sailing Directory Newsletter
One email with the fleet's best finds — the moments, boats, and stories worth your watch time. Enter your own address to get your own copy.