After more than 15 months, our family was finally able to get back out to Madang for a break. Of course, Shan Skailyn was out of storage and put to good use immediately. The seas were mostly flat and winds mild. But there were enough days with decent and even slightly stronger wind to get out there and have some fun. I compiled some video footage here.

This time out, I feel I was able to get my confidence up handling the boat by myself in some stronger, gustier winds. I'm feeling ready to start venturing out further next time, outside the relative safety of our little bay and the shelter of all the little islands. I'd love to start taking Shan Skailyn to some different nearby areas. There's even a little resort nearby (Jais Aben) I could sail to, enjoy a lunch, and sail back. How great would that be?!


Sailin' Shan Skailyn from geoff husa on Vimeo.

A note on a few things: If you remember, I chose to use bamboo for the spars, a decision I wasn't super confident on originally but tried just to see what would happen and how they would hold up. These spars have now been in use for about 2 years and have been through a lot, especially on the maiden voyage up the coast. Now, even after sitting in hot storage for over 15 months, they've held up very well. No bugs have gotten to them, I see no sign of deterioration, and that split that I repaired in initial construction has held up wonderfully. For any of you builders out there, I would highly recommend the use of bamboo if you have access to it.

I'm really pleased with how the rest of the hull and other elements have held up over time. I haven't had to do any fiberglass repairs yet on the bottom, though I do touch up the paint every time I'm packing Shan Skailyn up to put away again. Most of the need for touch up of paint though is my trailer. Seems that pulling Shan Skailyn up over carpet wears that paint right off.

To fix this I've ordered some flat rollers and steel rod to install on Shan Skailyn's trailer. Each flat roller is 2.5" diameter and rubber. The plan is to cut the rollers into 3" or 4" lengths and span them across as evenly as possible in four places in the lower half of the trailer where most of the boat weight sits, especially when hauling out of the water. I'm hoping the rubber and the quantity of the rollers will be an even enough distribution of weight to not risk damage to the boat. Hopefully it will reduce the need to retouch paint all the time too. And finally, I'm really hoping it will make it easier to get the thing up on the trailer by myself. Right now, I can do it, but it's quite difficult.

Oh, and I glued some heavy duty protective rubber pieces, right where the crossbeams lash to the hull. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures! I find that the crossbeams continually wear away at least at the paint there, and even a bit into the plywood. I am hoping the rubber will keep that from happening. I'm not sure what the stuff is called, but it's the stuff that is glued to the leading edge of cessna wings to protect from flying debris on grass airstrips. I got some old stuff from some airplane mechanics I know.

I am continually concerned about termites. Right now the boat is stored up on top of a 20' shipping container, directly under a roof. Termites are a real problem in Papua New Guinea and they've been known to build their little tunnels up the side of any material to reach some wood they're after. I dread coming out next time and finding such a mud tunnel leading up the side of the container to Shan Skailyn. I'm not sure what else I can do to prevent it either. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears! So far, I've ordered some diatomaceous earth to dust around the boat and on top of the container. I've read that's quite effective for most bugs including termites, as long as the dust stays dry. However, I'm not entirely convinced that DE would stop a mud tunnel.

Anyway, enjoy the video.