Sam Holmes Sailing · video

What this video covers

A custom catamaran relaunches after a boatyard haul-out, with Sam Holmes working through a sequence of pre-departure jobs in what appears to be Thailand before heading toward the Andaman Islands. A sunflower-yellow lazy bag for the mainsail initially jams on a non-standard track; soap, water, and a pressure washer fail to free it, so the bag goes back to the sail loft to be remade 1mm smaller — a perfect fit on the second attempt.▶ 0:25 The launch itself takes roughly 30 minutes at high tide, which required waiting several days.▶ 4:25 Post-launch work includes replacing a failing freezer seal, troubleshooting a dinghy outboard traced to a cracked fuel priming bulb with a failed check valve, and filling water tanks at a neighboring marina because the local water is too dirty for the onboard watermaker.▶ 4:45 Underway, Holmes lubricates Harken mainsail track cars with OneDrop McLube — confirming it lasts about two months versus two weeks for a generic PTFE dry lube — and tunes leeward shroud tension on a rotating mast while sailing in 6 knots.▶ 8:43 A squall prompts a full mainsail drop.▶ 12:44 Window sealing with Dow Corning 795 silicone is deferred to cooler weather to avoid polycarbonate thermal expansion problems.▶ 10:39

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