I am solo- sailing the world with my cat, Mako! I've had a lifelong dream of sailing around the world since I was in middle school; after college I bought a 1993' Beneteau Oceanis 510. My first few years were spent gaining confidence in single-handling and fixing up my 30-year-old boat.. as of now I have crossed the Pacific ocean single-handed and continuing west! I appreciate you being here and please subscribe to join in on the adventures to come!
Lauren's aft head had seals replaced a couple of times and still was not working properly. Rather than continuing to chase individual seal failures, she decided to replace the entire assembly. The result: two out of three heads on the boat
On the master head, Lauren replaced the pump assembly but the toilet still was not working correctly. Her suspicion is that the hose itself has too much calcium buildup inside it, meaning the new pump is fighting against a restricted line.
Lauren tried to operate a sea cock ball valve, and while the handle itself moved fine, water kept gushing out of the impeller opening at a rate that made continuing unsafe. Rather than risk more water flooding into the boat, she made the ca
Lauren Landers Sailing acknowledged she was not feeling naturally motivated but was making herself push through boat projects anyway. Her reasoning: once the fun and social side of sailing life picks back up, it becomes much harder to focus
Lauren Landers Sailing reflected that the day was one of the first in a long time where every project went successfully. She swapped the old accumulator tank for the new one, which came off more easily than expected given how long the fitti
Once the new accumulator tank was connected, Lauren linked it to the water tank, water pump, and manifold, then turned on the water pressure to listen for leaks. She also turned off the water maker so she could hear more clearly. The result
Lauren Landers Sailing removed a heavily rusted Groco brand pressurized water accumulator tank from the bilge. The exterior showed serious oxidation after years of service. She replaced it with a new white Groco pressure storage tank, fitti
During a water maker reassembly, Lauren Landers Sailing found that one of the SeaFrost fittings stayed seated well but the other kept working its way loose. The connection between the two parts of the fitting struggled to stay together, whi
Just before Lauren Landers Sailing left the boat, two significant problems emerged. The boat took on water through the shaft seal, and separately, the freezer stopped working. Both issues needed to be resolved before heading back out on the
Lauren Landers Sailing noticed that the hydro vane has been causing wear and tear on the dinghy even when it is tied down and ratcheted. To address this, she is testing different positions on the boat to find where the dinghy rubs less and
MembersLauren Landers Sailing describes one of the scariest anchoring experiences of her sailing life, arriving at Moorea just as a squall built from 20-25 knots to 35-40 knots. She was already trying to drop the hook before the squall hit, but wh
Hand-stitching heavy sail cloth and luff tape with a needle and thread is possible for very minor work, but some repairs simply require a sewing machine to hold properly. Lauren Landers Sailing attempted a hand-sew fix at anchor and found t
When there is not enough wind and the boat is sailing downwind, the sail flops around with no steady pressure to keep it set. That flopping motion can work the luff tape loose from the furling foil extrusion, allowing the edge of the sail c
Every piece here is something Lauren Landers Sailing can talk you through, in their own words.