Seacock won't close: why Lauren avoided repeated engine restarts
Alongside the engine failure, Lauren Landers Sailing was dealing with a seacock that would not shut. This created a secondary risk: starting the engine repeatedly with an open seacock could allow water into the exhaust system and cause hydrolock. Lauren specifically mentioned her history with hydrolock as the reason she was cautious about how many restart attempts she made. The combination of an unexplained shutdown, a no-start condition, and a stuck seacock all happening at once made an already stressful night passage significantly more complicated.
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A gushing impeller makes it risky to work on a ball valve underway
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
MembersQuick compressor test: connect power and watch the fuse before reassembling anything
Rather than fully reassembling the refrigeration unit before knowing whether it works, Lauren Landers Sailing used a simple staged test. She plugged the control board into the compressor, connected just the negative and positive leads, then
Why drone experience matters before searching for sharks from the air
Lauren Landers Sailing explicitly cautions that she does not recommend flying a drone to search for sharks unless you are experienced. Flying over open water introduces challenges beyond basic piloting. Signal can drop when the drone moves