The Sailing Doodles Podcast · video

What this video covers

After a year-and-a-half delay, the host's new Island Spirit electric catamaran is ready to launch in Thailand, and this podcast covers the full timeline and technical details of that process.1:14 Hull number one was damaged in December 2024 by a delivery crew and took over a year to settle through insurance under an NDA.1:35 The replacement boat carries a 210 kilowatt-hour lithium battery drive bank and a 25 kilowatt-hour house bank running at 600 volts, with a wiring harness delay pushing the Thailand build into April 2025.3:31 Three sea trials addressed electric motor vibration, resolved through redesigned motor mounts, a Python drive, and CV joint tuning.7:33 Under sail at 9.4–11.5 knots of wind, the boat exceeded half wind speed — roughly 5–6.5 knots — which hull number one had failed to achieve.16:46 The boat is registered in San Marino to avoid U.S. import duty and tax complications.21:37 The plan: sail the Koh Chang area through July, haul out at Ocean Marina August through October, relaunch November 2nd, and run a Sailing Doodles Flotilla in Koh Samui November 8–15.24:39 A Phuket-to-Maldives passage via the Andaman Islands is under consideration, with boat transport from Phuket as a logistics option.27:28

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