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My New Catamaran’s First Sail Shocked Me
May 25, 2026 · 13 min · 274K views · Pattaya City
Catamaran slicing turquoise water under bright blue sky
What this video covers
Bobby takes his new Island Spirit 525E catamaran, hull number five, out for its first sea trial in Thailand, anchoring in the lee of Monkey Island to test systems before sailing back to the marina.▶ 0:02 At 9.5 knots of true wind, the boat logged 5 knots over ground; at 11.8 knots true, it reached 6.7 knots — consistently better than half wind speed.▶ 8:14 Bobby attributes the performance gain over hull number one to a lighter build and folding propellers, which also eliminate shaft noise under sail.▶ 8:36 The jib had been damaged by the delivery crew, who over-stressed the electric furler and tore webbing from the clew; Precision Sails repaired it before the sea trial.▶ 0:55 The mainsail uses Selden synchronized in-mast furling, which Bobby notes requires sail replacement every seven years rather than ten because a stretched sail balloons and binds in the furler.▶ 2:46 A Highfield dinghy with a 40-horsepower Yamaha runs at 20–23 knots and tops out at 26–27.▶ 5:54 The Code Zero and gennaker were not tested; hardware was not yet aboard.▶ 9:31 Bobby names the boat Maverick and plans to cruise Thailand.▶ 12:53
Boats in this video
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