Building and Repairing Boats in a Remote Paradise: Sailing Parlay Revi

In this episode of Sailing Parlay Revival, Colin is finishing up his time on an unforgettable journey to the Hermit Islands in Papua New Guinea, where he teams up with a local man named Robert to tackle two ambitious boat projects. With the remote atoll offering limited resources, the challenge of building and repairing boats takes on a whole new level of ingenuity. The week was spent both constructing Robert’s first wooden sailing canoe and reinforcing the transom of his skiff, which serves as his primary transportation between the islands. With the help of some modern tools and TotalBoat products, the team managed to make serious progress on both projects while embracing the traditional boatbuilding techniques of the region.

The transom repair quickly became more involved than expected. What initially looked like a few cracks turned out to be a major case of rot, requiring a full rebuild. In the previous episode, Colin and the crew got to work grinding away the deteriorated fiberglass and filling in the gaps with High Performance mixed with microballoons. Once the epoxy cured, Colin sanded everything smooth and reinforced the structure with multiple layers of biaxial fiberglass using more High Performance Epoxy, creating a rock-solid repair that could withstand the harsh marine environment.

While the transom repair dried, the focus shifted to Robert’s homemade wooden sailing canoe, a project built entirely by hand using traditional island techniques. With only simple tools at his disposal, Robert had been painstakingly drilling, shaping, and assembling each piece with wooden dowels. Colin and the team were able to speed up the process using power drills and grinders, a rare luxury in this remote setting. As they worked side by side, Colin marveled at Robert’s skill, noting how quickly he could shape hardwood dowels to perfection without modern tools. The canoe’s construction showcased the impressive craftsmanship passed down through generations in the Hermit Islands.

One of the biggest challenges in the canoe build was ensuring the hull pieces aligned properly. With some careful adjustments and a bit of creative problem-solving, the team managed to bring everything together using wooden nails and clamps. The canoe took shape before their eyes, its structure reinforced with natural materials and clever joinery. To seal and strengthen key joints, TotalBoat Thixo proved invaluable, filling gaps and securing structural components with ease. The beauty of this epoxy was its ability to cure quickly in the tropical heat, allowing them to work efficiently despite the harsh conditions. In addition, the Thixo’s self-mixing nozzle allowed for a quick and efficient application, ensuring long-term durability.

*Important Note: to Colin and readers - leave the mixing tip on your Thixo tube between uses, allowing it to fully cure in the nozzle, and then break it off and replace it with a new tip when you next use Thixo. The epoxy will cure inside the nozzle and it’s easier than messing with the Thixo cap between uses.

With the transom repair nearly complete, Colin returned to apply the final fiberglass layers. Using High Performance Epoxy with biaxial fiberglass cloth, he built up multiple layers to ensure long-term durability. The remote setting meant there was no room for error—this repair had to last. As the epoxy cured rock hard, the transom’s strength was put to the test when they reinstalled the outboard motor. With a little extra fuel from Colin’s reserves, Robert’s skiff roared back to life, sending him flying across the water in a victorious test run. Seeing the joy and relief on Robert’s face was a reminder of how much of a difference these repairs made in his daily life.

Although time constraints meant they couldn’t see Robert’s canoe hit the water, the progress they made together was nothing short of incredible. Before leaving, Colin gifted Robert a drill—a tool he had never owned but had grown to love during the project. It was a small gesture that meant the world to someone who had been working entirely by hand for years. The experience was a powerful reminder of the impact that knowledge-sharing and teamwork can have, especially in remote communities that rely on boats for survival.

As the sun set on their final day in the Hermit Islands, Colin reflected on the friendships, the laughter, and the hard work that defined the week. From using advanced epoxy solutions to embracing centuries-old boatbuilding techniques, this adventure was a perfect blend of tradition and modernity. It wasn’t just about fixing boats—it was about learning, giving back, and experiencing the raw beauty of a place where life moves at the pace of the wind and the tides. For Colin and the Sailing Parlay Revival crew, this was a journey they would never forget.