Atom Voyagervideo
10,000 Mile Gear Review After Solo Sailing an Atlantic Circuit
June 21, 2026 · 26 min · 9K views
Cracked windvane latch on sailboat against turquoise sea
What this video covers
A Cape Dory 36 fitted with a 6-kilowatt E-Propulsion electric outboard completed a solo Atlantic circuit of roughly 10,000–11,000 miles, and this is a detailed gear review of what failed, what held, and what the skipper would change.▶ 0:06 The Lofrans Royal manual windlass seized due to swelling plastic shaft bushings and corroded fasteners — solved by disassembly, re-tapping frozen screws, sanding the bushings, and reassembling with anti-seize.▶ 2:27 A Harken Mark IV Unit 1 furler drum lost its lower plastic flanges and had four set screws back out of the foil connection, apparently from missing Loctite at the factory; the skipper jury-rigged a metal plate repair and finished the crossing.▶ 15:25 The Monitor windvane's rudder latch cracked in Cape Verde and was welded ashore before it could be lost at sea.▶ 17:23 The electric outboard's cooling fan corroded in Agadir, Morocco, and a power plug was stoved in at a dock in Dominica.▶ 12:14 Genoa UV strip failure traced to the sailmaker sewing the Sunbrella strip and leech tabbing as one piece rather than separately.▶ 6:58 Chafe on the jib halyard at the Harken halyard restrainer required periodic shortening.▶ 8:41 The 400-watt solar array powered all house loads throughout.▶ 21:24 Carrying the right spares and tools, and catching failures in port rather than offshore, proved more decisive than any single piece of gear.
Boats in this video
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