Sam Holmes Sailingvideo

Launching the boat

December 21, 2025 · 13 min · 49K views

Catamaran sailing with yellow headsail on gray water

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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