Consulting

When something goes wrong on your boat, who do you call?

Most cruisers find out the hard way that there's nobody to call. The yard is booked three months out. The advice on the forums contradicts itself. And the manual assumes you've already diagnosed the problem.

We've spent years solving these problems on our own boat and, increasingly, on other people's. Whether you're troubleshooting a generator, planning a lithium conversion, deciding if that boat in the yard is the right boat to buy, or just trying to get your partner as excited about this as you are, you can put two experienced people in your corner.

What People Hire Us For

Before You Buy

• Pre-Purchase Review: We'll review the listing, survey, and onboard systems to give you an honest assessment before you buy.
• Which Boat: We'll compare your candidates based on how you actually plan to cruise.
• What That "Turnkey" Boat Will Really Cost: We'll uncover potential hidden costs that often come with "ready-to-go" boats.

Power & Electrical

• Lithium Conversion Planning: Components, sizing, sequencing, and the expensive mistakes to avoid
• Solar Array Design: Panel sizing, layout, and MPPT selection.
• Victron Systems: Configuration, integration, and getting everything working together
• Generator selection, installation planning, and troubleshooting
• Diagnosing why your batteries aren't behaving the way the spec sheet promised

Systems & Monitoring

• Boat Network Design: NMEA 2000, SignalK, and getting your instruments to actually cooperate
• Onboard Monitoring: Knowing your watermaker, fridge, or engine is failing before it fails
• Nav desk setup, OpenCPN, and touchscreen integration
• Starlink Offshore: Power, mounting, failover, and what it really costs
• Home Assistant and automation aboard, for the people who want to go deep

Refit & Projects

• Refit Planning: Sequencing, budgeting, and knowing what's genuinely worth doing
• Project triage when you're mid-refit and over budget
• Working With a Yard: what to hand off, and what to DIY

Getting Ready To Go

• Setting your boat up for long-term cruising
• Offshore Passage Prep: Systems, spares, tools, and contingencies
• Spares and Tool Inventory: What to actually carry, and what's dead weight
• Provisioning for extended cruising and remote anchorages

Living Aboard

• Water Systems: Watermakers, tank sanitation, and why your water tastes/smells like that
• Tropical Maintenance: Keeping mold, biofilm, and the elements from winning
• Food Safety: Preservation tips and advice from a microbiologist
• Canvas and Sail Repair: What you can fix yourself with a Sailrite
• Interior systems, storage, and making a boat livable long-term

Crew & Confidence

• Coaching for the partner who isn't sure they want to do this yet
• Building watch routines, boat handling confidence, and shared systems knowledge
• What to do when one of you is far more into this than the other

Don't see your problem? That's usually the interesting one. Send us a note.

Ways to Work With Us

One Hour — $150
Phone, WhatsApp, FaceTime, Zoom, or Skype. Bring us your problem and we'll work through it together. Best when you've got a specific issue and you need it solved now.

Three Hours — $450
Use them however you like, one deep dive, or several sessions as a project unfolds. Best for anything with follow-up: a refit, a conversion, a boat purchase.
Includes 6 months of complimentary Crew membership — the Document Library, live tracking, and ad-free videos.

Custom — from $500
Something bigger, longer, or stranger? Tell us what you need and we'll build it around you.

Who You'll Be Working With

Ray has spent most of his life on the water, commercial fishing in Alaska, delivering yachts, and since 2018, living aboard Sabado full time. With an engineering background, he specializes in preventative maintenance, systems integration, and marine technology: monitoring refrigeration, watermakers, generators, engines, and electrical systems so abnormalities get caught early, before they become costly failures.

Holly started sailing in 2020 and earned her USCG Captain's License in 2021. Before going to sea she worked as a microbiologist in infectious disease research, a background that shows up in how methodically she approaches vessel management, provisioning for extended cruising, and the operational systems that keep life comfortable in remote anchorages.

Between us, we cover most of what a cruising boat can throw at you.

What People Say

"Indispensable if you're planning to go cruising. My wife and I spent years planning to go cruising with our 12-year-old daughter. The hardest part wasn't the planning — it was the learning curve once we actually started. Ray and Holly don't just know this stuff — they live it every day. There might be others out there with similar knowledge, but what sets them apart is how patiently they can translate it into terms a beginner actually understands. It felt more like working through a problem with friends than being chastised by a schoolteacher at the end of their patience. Oftentimes, it was just a calming voice saying, 'You got this.' We could not have accomplished what we did without them."
— S/V Solace

"Holly and Ray have been an absolute lifeline for me. When I've run into difficult boat issues, they've helped where others couldn't. From troubleshooting my generator to digging through the manual and suggesting upgrades for better reliability, they consistently go above and beyond. My sailing life is so much better knowing I have them in my corner."
— S/V Catnip

"Holly and Ray have been an incredible resource as I recently purchased a 2019 Lagoon 42 to start cruising. As they're a few years ahead of me, I've been able to lean on their experience to shape the builds and customizations to my vessel. The detailed answers they've provided helped me with my 48V lithium conversion, adding a touchscreen display to my nav desk, and integrating all my onboard systems in one place. I reach out to them regularly and look forward to seeing them out on the water."
— S/V Exit Plan

"You were there for me as a trusted advisor as I made my first journey to the Caribbean. It was invaluable to know I had someone a text away to bounce issues or ideas off of, and your repository of documents helped me plan my trip from tools to spare parts."
— S/V Rumaway

"When on the water, reliability and having the right parts and tools is huge. Being able to work through solid electrical system upgrades and best practices for maintaining systems — to suggesting tools that make life a little easier — it's sure nice to be able to bounce ideas and problems off someone with the mindset of 'we will figure this out,' but we're going to do it with safety as the primary objective."
— M/Y Tiki

"The knowledge Ray + Holly have about electronics, mechanics and boat maintenance is truly inspiring! We know we can ask the hard questions and always walk away with several ideas!"
— S/V Karma