It’s Monday, the weekend is over and many of you are back hard at work. We’re a few days ahead of the blog at the moment in mid-Pacific but it seemed a good time to talk through other aspect of ocean cruising…. stuff keeps breaking! This blog is strangely cathartic to write as the process of fixing stuff is completely relentless! You might not get to the end of this one!
Offbeat was launched new 3 years ago this month. For the first 2 years we had a continual set of “new boat” problems to resolve: Items that weren’t quite right in the build or, mostly, errors in the installation of components by Catana’s contractors. Well the good news/bad news is that on this trip we have moved seamlessly from “new boat problems” to “3 year old boat problems” without missing a beat.
Offbeat was in very good shape when we left Saint Lucia in January this year, my boat to-do list only had one ongoing tricky issue to diagnose. We’d, rather expensively, replace all our solar panels which were damaged due the failure of the originally contractor to install ÂŁ10 diodes on each panel, but the other 67 (yes, 67) items since November 2025 had been resolved and ticked off the list.
Of course when we’re at sea problems arise, some are minor and some more important. We try to anticipate potential issues even before the build starts and design systems with redundancy; carry masses of tools and spares parts for critical components; and finally we think about contingency plans if something goes wrong. As a result we can often sort problems out on passage. Others will need parts shipped to us (not always easy) and/or external assistance to diagnose.
On arrival in Santa Cruz we had two critical jobs to complete: Repairing our Code 65 sail, this would be vital for the long leg where we would be reaching (wind from the side of the boat) for a couple of thousand miles and replacing the motor and gearbox on one of our electric winches (the loads are massive on the boat and whilst we could do this by hand it would be really challenging). Neither of these were going to be small jobs but we had a few of these to do as well! Phil was bringing spare parts in with him so we’d had a few jobs that had been awaiting his arrival. The four days before departure were going to be busy!
To give you a feel for the challenges I thought I’d also list a few of the major things we’ve dealt with just since the start of the World ARC in January 10 weeks ago. This is just a subset of the longer list and we are only in March…there will be more to come!
We’ve still got two important items to diagnose or fix when we get to French Polynesia:
- the regulator on the port engine has failed so that alternator isn’t charging the batteries when motoring. Fortunately as its a catamaran we’ve got two engines (plus generator and solar power) so we have contingencies)
- we’ve torn the sail cover on the mainsail
Well it wouldn’t be normal to have an empty “to fix” list!!
Fixed in Santa Cruz
| Code 65 Downwind sail falling apart Severely impacts our sailing speed downwind |
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| Importance: 4 / 5 – Will be very slow with the expected wind direction across the Pacific without this sail Backup / Contingency: Yes we have 2 other sail options but won’t help in some conditions |
| Where: Realised it was torn when we tried to use it on the leg from Panama to Las Perlas Time to diagnose: 20 mins when we unfurled it the problem was obvious, the scope less so as we’d need a large flat area to inspect it. Resolution: Consulted with sailmaker friends at North Sails (thanks Alex Lester) and Kemp Sails (thanks Angus Kemp). Ordered 40 metres of Insignia sail repair tape. Shipped to Phil to carry out in his baggage to meet us. Identified company in Santa Cruz who had an industrial sewing machine. Time to fix: 6 hours of calling and organising on passage from Panama to the Galapagos. 4 hours in Puerto Ayora. 2 hours to take sail ashore and taken to a volleyball court where we could layout the sail. Trim the leech (back edge of the sail). Reinforce with the sail repair tape. Taken to company (who make awnings) to resew the leech tape back on to the sail. |
| Shaft of electric winch motor snapped Extremely difficult to control daggerboards and operate downwind sails |
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| Importance: 4 / 5 – Will be hard to operate the winch by hand Backup / Contingency: Yes we could winch by hand but very slow and almost impossible with some loads |
| Where: The winch stopped operating, with a loud bang, when between Las Perlas and the Galapagos Time to diagnose: About 3 hours when we arrived as it’s extremely difficult to access and remove the motor and gearbox. Adrian and I spent hours on this in San Cristobal. Resolution: Consulted with Adam Munday, at Oceanrope (our rigger back home and Harken dealer) identified that the shaft between the motor and gearbox had snapped. Obvious corrosion over both so safest bet was to order a new set from Germany and ship to Phil to bring out to Santa Cruz (6kg so not light) Time to fix: Probably 6 hours over 3 days in Puerto Ayora. Assembling the parts was easy, installing it a complete nightmare. We had multiple attempts in exhausting heat trying to bold this back in place. Lots of assistance from around the fleet with ideas and tools to help. Ægle had some clever inflatable bags which provided the necessary support in the end. Anne-Laure created an awning to protect us from the sun as we worked. |
| Anchor Chain counter for windlass failed (again!) Harder to judge how much chain we have down when anchoring |
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| Importance: 3 / 5 – Will be hard to anchor accurately without the chain counter Backup / Contingency: Yes we have markings on the chain but these are difficult to see |
| Where: The chain counter failed when we arrived in the Galapagos Time to diagnose: 5 minutes. We’ve had the problem before. The magnet is embedded into the pulley on the windlass but it eventually corrodes and fails. We carry spares for both the magnet and the sensor. Resolution: It took two attempts one in Floreana and again in Santa Cruz as our epoxy glue was old and wouldn’t set. We had to wait until Santa Cruz to go to a hardware store. In this case we also realised the sensor was damaged so we replaced this as well. Time to fix: Probably 2.5 hours over 2 days. We have to drill out the old magnet and epoxy in the new one and reassemble the windlass casing |
Fixed in Panama
| AIS Transponder failure No shipping near by can see us on their plotters |
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| Importance: 4 / 5 – Safety issue but we have backup for some vessels. We can see them, they can’t see us. Backup / Contingency: Yes, Predictwind DataHub provides data for some vessels. We can warn them on VHF if we think they haven’t seen us. Otherwise rely on good lookout, easy by day less easy at night. |
| Where: At sea Saint Lucia to Panama 2 days out of St Lucia one of the other boats nearby mentioned they couldn’t see us on their chart plotter. Most cruisers and all commercial vessels now carry transponders like airplanes which show our position, speed, direction and information about the type of vessel (sailing, cargo, passenger etc). These transmit over the VHF radio to other boats who are within 10-30 miles. Fortunately we have a backup system (a PredictWind DataHub) which transmits the same information over the internet. Most commercial boats have this AIS/OTA (over the air) to complement the normal AIS/VHF. Diagnosis and Resolution: Usually caused by antenna issues, after lots of testing we eventually diagnosed this as a failure of the AIS transmitter unit (unusual) although the receiver unit still works. We can see other ships positions but they can’t see us other than visually and on radar. The manufacturer B&G sent a replacement unit to Panama. Getting this to us was non-trivial due to the customs and courier issues but it was replaced under warranty and the local technician installed the replacement. Time: About 3 hours on diagnostics (thanks Ægle for the loan of the antenna tester 1 hour by B&G technician in La Playita All shipping can now see us. |
| Batten Car failure on Mast Our mainsail is falling off the mast we can’t sail |
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| Importance: 5 / 5 – No mainsail = no sailing! Backup / Contingency: No – critical item for rally. OK for short distances (engines and other sails) |
| Where: Just after crossing the finishing line at the San Blas islands Time to diagnose: 5 minutes at sea – was obvious when showered with ball bearings when dropping the mainsail. Never a good thing! When we dropped the mainsail we saw that the top batten car which connects the mainsail to the track up the mast had disintegrated. Probably due to snatching from the boom as the boat when over waves sending shocks up the sail. Resolution: The fix was straightforward. The logistics less so. Adam Munday at Oceanrope in the UK (our rigger for our J/70) helped identify and source the correct parts. He shipped to Phil Taylor, crew for the next leg, who couriered the parts to Shelter Bay Marina in Panama. We replaced the car in Shelter Bay. Time to fix: About 5 hours over 10 days to manage logistics of getting the parts to us. Easy to fix once we knew how to remove as section of the mast track to replace the mainsail car after call to Catana. 1 hour Adrian climbing mast to inspect track for damage About 1 hour to plan and another 1 hour to execute the batten car change (at deck level) |
| Watt and Sea Hydrogenerator not functioning Limits our options for green power generation at sea |
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| Importance: 3 / 5 – More use of generator and consumption of diesel for electricity generation Backup / Contingency: Yes multiple other sources of power gen (solar, generator and two engine alternators) |
| Where: We realised that our Hydrogenerator wasn’t working at St Lucia. This has a propellor which we lower into the water when sailing. The movement of the boat under sail, turns the propeller which generates electricity to charge the batteries. Time to diagnose: Probably 10 hours over 3 different sessions Resolution: New parts couriered to Shelter Bay, Panama but arrived too late to fix. Installed in Panama City Time to fix: 10 hours over 4 days! Diagnostics from coloured flashing lights on the controller (!) suggest that that it was the failure of a relay, installed by the same French contractor that messed up our solar! The relay clearly had inadequate wiring, contacts weren’t made correctly and he’d messed up the screw heads so we couldn’t remove it cleanly and held them in place with a cable tie!!! We ended up ordering new parts and replaced relay. Fixed first error but still no functioning. Found another bit of damaged cable which we cut out and joined with connector. Phew! Difficult one to sort and access difficult under a bed! Adrian studied Electrical Engineering at Uni so he led this job! |
| FLIR Camera on mast not functioning Limits our options to spot coral heads and obstructions when anchoring |
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| Importance: 3 / 5 – While a “nice to have” item it might save us from a catastrophic problem in the Pacific Backup / Contingency: Lookout standing on the bow |
| Where: This camera has never worked properly in the last 2 years after failing when 3 months old. Time to diagnose: Probably 10 hours over multiple sessions. It was shipped back to the US Repair centre both in March 2024 and May 2025. In both cases it failed again within days. Resolution: Eventually with the help of Jacob in their support team the situation was escalated and Raymarine/FLIR agreed to ship a replacement unit to Panama. Unfortunately we had left before it arrived but one of the later boats collected it for us. Installed in Las Perlas. Time to fix: 2 hours up the mast over 2 sessions! 1 for diagnostics and 1 to replace. |
| Air conditioning failure in port bow cabin Lucy will moan because the rest of us are cool |
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| Importance: 2 / 5 – Keeping cool when we are in marinas is a big plus Backup / Contingency: Fans in cabin. Drink more water! |
| Where: In La Playita Marin, the aircon in Lucy’s cabin stopped working. Time to diagnose: 30 minutes. The sensor suggested the cooling water was getting hotter not colder as the system was switched on. The other cabins were fine on the same cooling circuit. Sensor failure diagnosed. Resolution: Replacement part sourced and fitted by contractor in the marina Time to fix: 30 minutes by engineer in the marina. |
| Chafing on the mainsail Could mean failure of the most important sail |
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| Importance: 4 / 5 – The mainsail is a key sail both upwind and downwind. It’s loss would be a disasterous Backup / Contingency: Non |
| Where: When checking the sail after the first leg from Lucia Time to diagnose: 5 minutes. We noticed chafe damage to the sail where the batten pockets touch the shrouds and the lazyjacks for the sail cover Resolution: We carry a sheet of Cuben fibre sail repair tape. Protecting worn patches is regular maintenance. Time to fix: This is never a small job. About 2 hours for Adrian and Lucy in Shelter Bay Marina |
| Bearings failing in genoa sheet blocks Could mean we couldn’t use a core sail |
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| Importance: 4 / 5 – The genoa is a key sail both upwind and downwind. It’s loss would be a problem Backup / Contingency: Upwind use the staysail instead, downwind use the Code 65 sail |
| Where: When checking the boat before leaving St Lucia we noticed damage to the bearings on the turning blocks. These take a huge load so not entirely a surprise after 9000 miles. Time to diagnose: 5 minutes. Resolution: Replacement part sourced in the UK and shipped to Panama Time to fix: I replaced on bearing cassette and used parts from the one removed to fix the other side. 30 minutes in La Playita Marina |
David, i am with you. Had to replace the brake light on Vanessa’s car the other day. Keep if coming and fingers crossed that list gets shorter. If anything we can help with just let me know.
Thanks Nick, if you could just drop off the puncture repair kit that would help. We have a hole in an inflatable kayak. You know where we are…
Good Post David.
One tends to forget all the fixing required as the sailing history is well history 🙂
Keep going guys. Thoughts and hopes with you.
David
Cheers David. PS Happy Birthday!
I can just about fix a puncture on my bike. I’m in awe!
Hi John, I was never known for being a handyman either but needs must. It’s also helpful to take engineers with you on these trips. Please say hi to the fleet back home for me!
Wow, that’s a long list of stuff and I guess it’ll continue as you journey further. Well done for having the knowhow to find solutions but I guess you don’t have the choice – you have to be very resourceful! Enjoy! Best, Andrew