Sailing Yabávideo
Without this our boat launch will be a DISASTER — Sailing Yabá
April 12, 2026 · 36 min · 68K views
Man sands blue hull of Yabá in boatyard
What this video covers
Ben and MP are preparing Yabá for launch at a shipyard in Brazil, working through a dense list of refit tasks under time pressure. The most urgent problem: the Garmin transducer had failed — displaying "transducer too hot" and disabling depth readings — and needed replacement before launch.2:02 Garmin sent a new unit, but removing the old one consumed nearly a full day; the nut was jammed in a confined bilge space with no room for a pipe wrench, requiring WD-40, improvised extensions, and eventually two wrenches working simultaneously from above and below.5:09 MP flew across the country to retrieve the new transducer and other parts, including an autopilot, and lost her luggage on a connecting flight to southern Brazil — a tracking card in her bag let her prove its location to the airline and recover it on the next flight.26:39 The new transducer was installed with Sikaflex on the threads and anti-fouling paint planned over the bronze housing.33:03 Separately, Ben sanded the hull with 80–120 grit in preparation for three to four coats of anti-fouling, timed to allow six hours between coats before launch day.15:57 A skilled caulker, van der Leek, inspected and redid hull caulking seams.13:04 The bow locker and engine room were cleaned and rewired.12:18 Old spreaders, found cracked and rotten, were measured for replacement.11:13 A full-hull transducer replacement in a cramped bilge is faster with two pipe wrenches working opposing ends simultaneously.32:33
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