We Finally Left the Boatyard… Here's What 2 Years Taught Us. Ep. 73
After two years on the hard, countless projects, and more than a few unexpected setbacks, ROAM finally leaves the boatyard.
This is the moment we've been working toward since the day we hauled out what we thought would be a simple six-month refit. Two years later, we're motoring—and sailing—away with a boat that's been transformed from the keel up.
As we shake the rust off and settle back into life under way, we're reflecting on the biggest lessons this refit taught us. Some we expected. Others we learned the hard way.
In this episode, we share what we'd do differently if we ever tackled another major sailboat refit, including:
⛵ Why trying to do everything at once can slow you down more than it help
💰Importing from China can help you save significant money, but can cost you time.
🔧 Why you should test every system as you build it instead of waiting until the end
💰 Why almost every refit takes far longer and costs far more than planned—and how to prepare for that reality
🌡️ How temperature affects paints, adhesives, epoxies, plumbing, and other materials more than you might think
🚗 The hidden costs of a long haul-out, including lodging, transportation, storage, and day-to-day living expenses
🛠️ Why buying the right tool for the job is almost always worth it—even if you sell it once the project is finished
☝Be careful and cautious is you’re hiring out work. Between boatyards and third-party contractors the pitfalls are numerous.
These aren't rules—just lessons learned from nearly two years of rebuilding our 54-foot catamaran while living the refit life every day.
Whether you're planning your own sailboat refit, restoring a cruising boat, or simply dreaming about the cruising lifestyle, we hope these experiences help you avoid a few of the mistakes we made.
Leaving the boatyard isn't the end of the journey—it's the beginning of the next chapter. There are still systems to test, bugs to work out, and plenty of adventures ahead, but for the first time in a long time, we're doing it from the water instead of the hard.
Thank you to everyone who followed along through the refit. Your encouragement, ideas, and support helped us get to this day.
⛵ One step closer to sailing.
00:00 We’re ready to go
00:11 Channel intro
00:23 Leaving the boatyard
01:05 First cruise
03:40 Lesson - Reduce your scope
04:42 Lesson - Buying from China
06:11 Wicomico Yacht Club
06:42 Lesson - Test as you go
08:06 Lesson - The right tool for the job
09:20 Heading north
10:10 Lesson - More time and more money
11:51 Annapolis
12:45 Lesson - Know your material requirements
14:21 Harness Creek
14:58 Crumbl cookies
15:45 Lesson - Hiring our work
18:57 Wrap up
☝More about us, our adventures, and how we do all this on our website.More about Roam here
⛵️https://sailingroam.com/our-sailboat/
📲 Keep up with us on social media
FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/sgsailingroam
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/sailing_roam
-----------------------------------------------------------
WE'RE GERI AND SHAWN. A couple travelers out chasing the horizon, meeting the people, and capturing it to share with you.
We’ve chosen to Roam the world by boat because, let’s face it, the most interesting path is rarely a straight line.
As we learn to let go of our American drive to finish, and embrace the meandering routes across islands, oceans, continents, and people, we hope to gain a better sense of our world and our place in it.
The path won’t always be comfortable or easy to find but, it will always #roam
#Sailing #SailboatRefit #BoatRestoration #BoatyardLife #LiveaboardLife #Catamaran #CruisingLife #DIYBoat #BoatProjects #OffGridLiving #SailingLife
Sailing Roam
👋 Hi, we’re Geri 👩🏻⚕️(a retired nurse) and Shawn 🤓 (a not retired technologist). We’ve gone on the greatest adventure of our lives instead of living the comfortable and predictable suburban world we left behind. Living aboard Roam, our cruising catamaran, we explore and immerse ourselves in new cultures, do boat repairs in exotic places, and get up to all kinds of shenanigans. Roam isn’t just the name of our boat, it’s kind of a philosophy. We’re not taking the shortest routes or using a formula to sail around the world. We’re not in a hurry either. We’re meeting the people, seeing the places and getting distracted by things we find interesting along the way. We’re unconventional and we’re living the best life we can imagine! Join us as we turn our 11-year old catamaran into our perfect adventure platform and see what’s over the next horizon. We can’t wait to meet you wherever you are! Clamptite Tools link: https://clamptitetools.com/?sld=syroam 10% discount: gerischaffer10
Channel Information:
Social Media Links:
Support Sailing Roam
At WeBoating.com, we profoundly acknowledge the unwavering dedication that Sailing Roam invests in crafting each and every video or voyage. Their passion for delivering exceptional ocean content shines through every frame, and it's a labor of love that deserves your attention.
We invite you to watch their captivating videos here and actively engage with their content, including their social media links above. Liking, commenting, and sharing their work goes a long way in fueling their creative fire.
We're also inviting you to explore the gear, sponsorships, and boat partnerships highlighted in the "We Finally Left the Boatyard… Here's What 2 Years Taught Us. Ep. 73" video description, or directly on YouTube. By engaging with these offerings or purchasing services and items, you directly support Sailing Roam, their collaborators, and the brands they're associated with.
To ensure you never miss an offshore update, consider visiting their official YouTube Channel to subscribe, like, and join their community directly.
If you have any feedback, corrections, or additional information about Sailing Roam or their videos, please use the comment form below to share your thoughts with us.
Thank you for being a part of our community and supporting the creators we cherish. Your time and support truly matter!
Latest Episodes from Sailing Roam
Explore the most recent voyages. Subscribe to the channel to never miss an update!
Everything Started Breaking… Welcome to Our Shakedown Cruise
We knew the first few months after leaving the boatyard would be a shakedown cruise. After rebuilding nearly every major system aboard ROAM over the last two years, we fully expected to find bugs, experience a little "infant mortality" with new components, and spend time fine-tuning every...
We Finally Left the Boatyard… Here’s What 2 Years Taught Us. Ep. 73
After two years on the hard, countless projects, and more than a few unexpected setbacks, ROAM finally leaves the boatyard. This is the moment we've been working toward since the day we hauled out what we thought would be a simple six-month refit. Two years later, we're motoring—and saili...
2 Years Later… ROAM Is Finally Back in the Water Ep. 72 #sailboatrefit
Two years ago, we hauled ROAM out of the water expecting a six-month refit. This week, we finally put her back where she belongs. Getting to splash day wasn't nearly as straightforward as we'd hoped. In fact, we were supposed to relaunch two weeks earlier—until we discovered a critical mi...
We Built Our Own Lithium Battery Bank (And It Was Way Harder Than Expected) Ep.71 #sailboatrefit
After years of planning, researching, sourcing parts, and redesigning, we're finally building one of the most important systems on ROAM: our DIY lithium house battery bank. Instead of purchasing pre-packaged marine batteries, we imported individual 2.3-volt lithium cells directly from China an...
3450W of Solar Power on Our Off-Grid Catamaran Episode 70 #sailboatrefit
After two years of planning, fabricating, redesigning, and chasing down welders, our sailboat finally has a massive new solar arch—and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. In this episode of our catamaran refit, we install a custom stainless steel solar arch capable of supporting 4 x 575W...