Sampson Boat Covideo
An update from the ocean - Cuba to the Bahamas
20 June 2026 · 8 min · 193K views · Exuma, Bahamas
Sailboat gliding across deep blue ocean, sailor at helm.
What this video covers
A hybrid system display failure on the Cuba-to-Bahamas passage left Leo Goolden without 48-volt charging for the duration of the crossing.▶ 0:57 The root cause: a missing fuse in the VE.CAN-to-NMEA 2000 adapter allowed 48 volts from the Victron Lynx BMS to feed a network segment rated for 12 volts, destroying the hybrid display over time.▶ 2:13 Essential 12-volt systems remained functional, charged by the engine alternator, but the 48-volt bank — which powers the induction stove, freezer, inverters, and nav PC — could not be replenished.▶ 3:22 Leo managed consumption carefully over three nights and reached a marina in Exuma with charge remaining, plugged into shore power, and continued to Nassau.▶ 4:50 The current leg runs from Exuma to Nassau via the outside of Luthra island, bypassing a shallow, coral-head-strewn inside passage that would have required daylight navigation and constant vigilance.▶ 0:47 Before the next passage — described as a long one — Leo plans to replace the hybrid display and add a portable solar array capable of charging the 48-volt bank as a backup.▶ 5:46 The failure traced entirely to an installation wiring error, not a fault in the hybrid system itself.▶ 1:19
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