We have officially posted two years of monthly behind-the-scenes reports! What originally started as an attempt to show what living on a boat is really like has turned into a way to track our maintenance and expenses as we continue our journey around the world. We are constantly learning and trying to improve our vessel. We hope you’ve learned something along the way, too!
We’ve rounded up some fun statistics to reminisce on the past two years. We will continue publishing these reports for the rest of our circumnavigation, but they will only be for our Crew and VIP members (join here!). Thank you for your support; it means the world to us!
First Behind the Scenes Report: January 2023
Most viewed Behind the Scenes Report: March 2024
Frequently mentioned:

- We wrote about repairing our factory NV helm enclosure 6 times before finally replacing it. The NV enclosure was incredibly thin and did not use UV-resistant thread, so over time, the stitches disintegrated, and the eisenglass yellowed, clouded up and crumbled.
- We mentioned polishing our stainless steel 19 times! We try to polish once a month to keep Sabado rust-free. This is our favorite polish.
- We had issues with our indoor fans 5 times, although I suspect it was more than that. They often start whining and must be removed, cleaned, and lubricated. We switched the fan in our cabin out for the Caframo “elite” model, which sits farther away from the wall and moves noticeably more air. We’d love to switch them all out if it ever fits into our budget.

- We’ve had a number of generator problems, including a failed water pump, a clogged exhaust elbow, and a blown capacitor.
Projects/upgrades we wish we’d done earlier:
- Using soft shackles to attach anchor bridle to chain
- After a headsail mishap that had our chunky metal Mantus chain hook soaring through the air toward Ray’s head, we switched to soft shackles. They work just as well and, most importantly, feel safer.

- LiFePO4 house batteries
- Going from AGM to Lithium was a game changer for us! Watch our video series on the process here.
- New dinghy outboard engine
- We ditched our unreliable Yamaha 20hp 4-stroke outboard and replaced it with the Yamaha Enduro (2-stroke 25hp) and have never looked back!

- New anchor chain
- We have 320 feet of galvanized chain, which allows us to safely anchor in the deep anchorages we’ve found in French Polynesia.
- Cooler for snorkel gear
- We bought a cooler with a cushion the same height as our cockpit seating to store our snorkel gear and double as a bench seat. It’s easy to access and clean, and overall, it has been a much better storage setup than we had before.
Haul-outs:

You don’t see many folks sharing their haul-out expenses, but we do! We’ve hauled out three times since we started posting these reports:
- Saint Martin haul out 1
- This haul out included routine maintenance, as well as the removal and replacement of all our thru-hulls.
- Saint Martin haul out 2
- This haul out included crossbeam corrosion repairs, spinnaker halyard backing plates, and a backup autopilot to prepare for our Pacific crossing.
- Tahiti haul out
- This haul out included sail drive shaft and seal replacement.
Honorable mention:
- Panama Canal Transit
- This post includes all the fees we paid to transit the Panama Canal.

- Pacific Crossing Roundup
- This is not a traditional monthly report, but it includes many behind-the-scenes details like applying for our long stay visa, provisioning, and links to all of the content we made about our 27-day crossing from Panama to French Polynesia.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading these reports as much as we’ve enjoyed making them! If you’d like to read future behind-the-scenes reports, gain access to our Document Library and other exclusive content, join the Crew or become a VIP today!
One response
such a wealth of information!