helpful Tips, technical stuff and useful resources

Here you can find some useful resources, detail on boat jobs and handy additions, lessons learned while living aboard and managing ITIKI's systems. No doubt this will continue to expand as our adventure unfolds.

Leaving your boat for winter

A detailed description of the "winterising" process including a handy checklist

water management system

ITIKI's water management system, Including water safety & risk management plan

Picking up in La Rochelle

A practical guide to that crucial time

What's so good about a
​catamaran?

A short blog on why we chose
a catamaran for cruising

Hoisting & Reefing the main

A neat and cost effective substitute for the Karver hook. Plus some other tips for smooth hoists and drops & reefing set up

Enjoying a BBQ

We bought a Webber Baby Q in La Rochelle. Its perfect for us and stows away neatly when not in use.

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Taking lines ashore is a technique used mainly where swing anchoring is not possible. 
What do you do when both engines start at 3000RPM with the throttles in the neutral position??!!
An excellent article by the team at Out Chasing Stars on how to pick up a mooring ball.

electrical set up

Full description of our original and revised electrical set-up.

windscreen covers

Our windscreen covers are quite different to the standard FP ones.

Teak on ITIKI

Take a look at how we keep our teak trims looking spick and span!

Rainman Watermaker

We chose the Rainman 230V watermaker. Its very easy to use and maintain.

Mast top modifications

During our stay in the boatyard, we made a few modifications at the mast-top, including adding a tri-light.

Anchor Bridle

We recently snapped our original anchor bridle. Here is how we replaced it.

Rust Never Sleeps

After 20 months on the hard stand in Greece, we keep getting rust around the stainless. Here's how we fixed it. 

Throttle Troubles

As we approached the Chagris River in Panama after a challenging, overnight, windward sail from Bocos del Toro both engines started at 3000RPM despite throttles being in neutral!

Coffee Table COnversion

We converted the top of our coffee table to make it easier to access the goodies inside.

Autopilot Failure

After a few random but increasingly frequent glitches, on the last day of our Atlantic crossing, our autopilot gave up completely and we had to hand steer the final 20 hours to Barbados. Gruesome! Here is the full story including how we fixed it.

Starlink Installation

We installed StarLink as we crossed the Pacific. This shows our physical set up.

Water Management

We take a close look at our water management on ITIKI, and develop a risk management plan to ensure its safety.

Dyneema Lifelines

After 7 years hard labour, our plastic coated lifelines were looking a little tired. Here's how we replaced them with Dyneema.

IsTec Parasailor

The Parasailor is a weapon! Once you get the hang of it, and in the right conditions, it is a great sail and can be lots of fun! 

ITIKI's Gennaker

ITIKI loves getting along under gennaker. Find out how we rig and use this sail.

"Winterising" Checklist

When leaving the boat for extended periods such as over winter or hurricane season, we have a handy checklist of our "shut down" process.