Sailing Uma · video

What this video covers

Dan and Kika, the crew of Uma, spend their first week living out of a Land Rover Defender with a rooftop tent while their boat is under refit at a marina in Italy. Friends Sarah and Kim join them for a mountain camp-out to celebrate Dan's birthday before departing with their own camper van.1:22 Once Sarah and Kim leave, Dan and Kika configure the Defender's truck bed as their primary living and storage space.6:57 The core build is a simple shelf system using standardized plastic crates — the same interlocking crates used aboard Uma — screwed to a plywood shelf with lips front and back to prevent sliding.10:25 Zinc-plated screws replace the stainless hardware required on the boat, cutting fastener cost from roughly nine dollars to 99 cents per pack.8:48 The truck bed is organized into labeled crates for clothes, kitchen gear, tools, shower supplies, and cleaning equipment.13:42 A portable pressurized water jug serves as the only faucet; the rooftop tent deploys in about 30 seconds and doubles as a sleeping loft above a ground-level living area.18:46 The truck, named Nanook, has a cargo area roughly the same size as Uma's nook cabin.21:05

More from Sailing Uma

Making Our Small Cockpit Twice as Useful | Step 497Oct 2026We Ditched Our Steering Wheel (And Built Something Better) | Step 496Sept 2026We're Finally Setting Sail Again!Sept 20264 Hours to Rig Solar for an 8-Month Solo CircumnavigationSept 2026

From Sailing Uma — 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.