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Our Boat Got Stolen 😡… So We Built a New One (in just ONE Week)
May 8, 2026 · 28 min · 8K views · Mindelo, Sao Vicente
What this video covers
Flo and Nike's dinghy disappeared overnight at anchor in Palmeira, Sal, leaving them dependent on a paddleboard to ferry themselves and two dogs ashore in 25-knot afternoon winds at Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde.0:11 With no replacement available locally, Flo built a 9-foot Spindrift nesting dinghy from scratch in a borrowed garage in Mindelo, using the stitch-and-glue technique over roughly one week.0:42 The build deviated from the Spindrift plans at nearly every step: epoxy was unavailable, so Flo substituted polyester resin with accelerator and catalyst; only 4mm plywood sheets were on hand instead of the specified thickness, requiring multiple laminated layers for bulkheads, seats, and transom; and zip ties were tried before wire stitching proved necessary.24:40 A panel snapped at a high-load point near the bow during folding and was repaired with fast-curing epoxy and fiberglass before the build continued.17:25 Sawdust and wood chips from cutting were mixed into the polyester as filler.21:24 The finished dinghy is heavier and slower than a standard Spindrift but was built for strength.22:38 The completed hull was cut into two nesting halves and loaded onto a pickup truck for a harbor splash test, covered in part two.27:41
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