Saltwateranddiesel

Saltwateranddiesel ⚓ Restoring Sophie-X, a 1979 Cox 22, and preparing for a voyage from the UK to the Philippines. Join the crew.

Honest boat restoration, diesel engines, seamanship, and life at sea—one step at a time.

🌍⚓ TWO PROBLEMS LEFT ON OUR ROUTE — SO WE’RE GOING AROUND THEM.Bangladesh and Myanmar have remained two of the more comp...
15/09/2026

🌍⚓ TWO PROBLEMS LEFT ON OUR ROUTE — SO WE’RE GOING AROUND THEM.

Bangladesh and Myanmar have remained two of the more complicated parts of planning Sophie-X’s route towards Southeast Asia.

So instead of trying to force the route through countries that could create unnecessary immigration and clearance problems, we’re looking at a much simpler solution:

Don’t stop there.

Our provisional last mainland stop in India would be Paradip Fishing Harbour. From there, Sophie-X would head directly across the Bay of Bengal to Port Blair (Sri Vijaya Puram) in the Andaman Islands — remaining within India for our next clearance and fuel stop.

That crossing is roughly 680 nautical miles.

At Sophie-X’s cruising speed of around 5 knots, we’re looking at approximately 5 days and 16 hours continuously at sea. 🌊

And that’s where fuel becomes the real challenge.

At 2.5 litres per hour we’d need roughly 340 litres.
At 3 litres per hour, around 408 litres.

Our current maximum fuel load is around 390 litres, so before committing to this route we need one very important piece of information:

Sophie-X’s real-world fuel consumption.

That’s one of the things our upcoming UK passage and endurance testing will establish.

If necessary, we’ll increase departure fuel capacity from Paradip to around 450–480 litres, giving us a proper working reserve rather than arriving on fumes.

Once we reach the Andaman Islands, we can refuel and prepare for the considerably shorter onward passage towards Thailand.

This is what expedition planning looks like for us.

Find the problem. Work the numbers. Find another route.

Bangladesh and Myanmar may simply disappear from Sophie-X’s stopping itinerary altogether. ⚓🌏

🎰🔢 SOMETIMES THE RIGHT NUMBERS REALLY DO COME UP…This little plate might not look particularly exciting.18P / 885B / D 1...
09/09/2026

🎰🔢 SOMETIMES THE RIGHT NUMBERS REALLY DO COME UP…

This little plate might not look particularly exciting.

18P / 885B / D 1348

But for Sophie-X, these numbers just turned into a very lucky draw. ⚓😂

We bought the boat believing we had a BMC 1.5 diesel sitting underneath the deck.

Then we started properly identifying the engine.

We cleaned up the numbers, followed the clues and cross-referenced what was actually fitted.

Jackpot. 🎰

Sophie-X isn’t running the 1.5.

We’ve actually got the bigger BMC 1.8 / Thornycroft 108-family engine. 💪

That’s a very welcome upgrade for a little 22-foot boat we’re preparing to take thousands of miles towards Southeast Asia.

But there was one slightly worrying moment…

We’ve already spent money building up our expedition spares based on believing it was a 1.5. 😬

So back to the numbers we went.

And apparently our luck wasn’t finished.

The parts we’ve already ordered and bought will fit the 1.8 setup as well. ✅

No wasted pile of spares.
No expensive restart.
Just 400cc more diesel engine than we thought we owned. 😂

For once, nearly 50 years of unknown boat history has delivered us a pleasant surprise.

We’ll take those numbers. 🎰⚓

🔧 MARINE PART… OR CAR PART WITH A MARINE PRICE TAG? ⚓One of the ways we’re keeping the Sophie-X expedition affordable is...
08/09/2026

🔧 MARINE PART… OR CAR PART WITH A MARINE PRICE TAG? ⚓

One of the ways we’re keeping the Sophie-X expedition affordable is by looking at what the engine actually is, rather than automatically buying everything through a yacht chandlery.

Our BMC 1.5 diesel has its roots in the automotive world, which means a surprising number of components can be sourced through car, commercial vehicle and agricultural suppliers.

Same job. Same specification. Sometimes even the same manufacturer — but potentially a very different price.

So before we buy a replacement part, we cross-reference the numbers, dimensions, threads and specifications and see whether there’s an automotive equivalent available.

Of course, not everything can be treated this way. Anything genuinely marinised or exposed to seawater needs the correct marine-grade component.

But when an ordinary engine component doesn’t magically become different because there’s a boat wrapped around it, we’re not interested in paying the “yacht tax.” 😂

Sophie-X is a working man’s expedition.

Research it. Cross-reference it. Buy the right part. Save the money for the journey. ⚓🔧

🌊 WEATHER AT SEA — THIS WILL HELP DECIDE WHEN SOPHIE-X MOVES. ⚓This might just look like a screen full of numbers, arrow...
03/09/2026

🌊 WEATHER AT SEA — THIS WILL HELP DECIDE WHEN SOPHIE-X MOVES. ⚓

This might just look like a screen full of numbers, arrows and colours, but for Sophie-X it will become one of the most important tools aboard.

This is a marine weather forecast, showing us far more than whether it’s going to rain.

We’re looking at wind speed and direction, gusts, wave height, wave period, tides, pressure and how all of those conditions are expected to change hour by hour.

For a large ship, a couple of feet of sea and 20 mph of wind might mean very little.

For a 22-foot boat travelling at around 5 knots, it matters considerably more.

During the expedition we won’t simply decide that we’re leaving a harbour on Tuesday because Tuesday was written on the plan. We’ll look for suitable weather windows.

Before Sophie-X leaves an anchorage or harbour, we’ll be looking ahead along the route: What is the wind doing? What direction will the sea be coming from? Are conditions improving or deteriorating? What happens six, twelve or twenty-four hours later? And importantly, what conditions are forecast around the time we expect to arrive?

Sometimes that could mean leaving earlier than planned.

Sometimes it could mean sitting at anchor for another day and making another coffee. ☕️

The screenshot here is a good example of why we look ahead. Conditions shown for this area change considerably over just a couple of days.

And this particular screen is only one forecast model. We’ll compare forecasts and actual local conditions rather than blindly trusting one prediction.

Once we’re underway, weather forecasting becomes part of the daily routine aboard Sophie-X — alongside navigation, fuel calculations, engine checks and deciding where we’re going to stop next.

The route tells us where we’re going.
The weather helps decide when we go. 🌊⚓

01/09/2026

⚓ LIVE FROM THE SWAMP — THE PAPERWORK NOBODY PUTS IN THE ADVENTURE VIDEOS.

Tonight we talked about the less glamorous—but absolutely essential—side of taking Sophie-X from the UK towards the Philippines.

Boat paperwork. Skipper paperwork. Visas. Radio licences. Registration. Qualifications. International clearance.

You can rebuild the engine, fill the tanks and plot a route across half the world… but if the boat and skipper don’t have the right documents, you’re not going very far.

We went through what Sophie-X needs, what I need as skipper, what we’ve already completed and what still needs sorting before departure.

It’s not the exciting part of an expedition.

But getting it wrong could stop the expedition completely.

Thanks to everyone who joined the Live, asked questions and contributed to the discussion. ⚓

If you missed it, catch the replay and let us know in the comments what paperwork topic you want us to dig into next.

⚓ TONIGHT — LIVE FROM THE SWAMP — 21:00🌍 17 COUNTRIES. ONE SMALL BOAT. AND FAR FEWER VISA PROBLEMS THAN WE EXPECTED.When...
01/09/2026

⚓ TONIGHT — LIVE FROM THE SWAMP — 21:00

🌍 17 COUNTRIES. ONE SMALL BOAT. AND FAR FEWER VISA PROBLEMS THAN WE EXPECTED.

When we first started planning Sophie-X’s route towards the Philippines, visas looked like they could become one of the biggest obstacles.

So we started researching them properly.

Country by country. Border by border.

And the picture we’re finding is very different from what we expected. Most countries on our route either have an electronic visa system, don’t require a visa for us, or have a specific exemption we may be able to use.

Algeria has been particularly interesting, with its 2–7 day provision for ship crews potentially fitting exactly what we need for a short coastal stop.

There are still countries requiring more work, and an eVisa doesn’t automatically mean arriving aboard a private boat will be straightforward. Immigration rules and actual seaport entry procedures are two different things, and we’re researching both.

But another problem that once looked enormous is becoming manageable.

Tonight at 21:00, we’ll get the route up on the whiteboard and explain the visa situation in detail — including Algeria, the difficult countries and how we’re planning to deal with them.

Bring your questions. ⚓

One boat. One skipper. One hell of a journey. 🌊

⚓ THE SEA STILL RUNS ON LAWS WRITTEN LONG BEFORE ANY OF US WERE BORN.Maritime tradition may be centuries old — but some ...
30/08/2026

⚓ THE SEA STILL RUNS ON LAWS WRITTEN LONG BEFORE ANY OF US WERE BORN.

Maritime tradition may be centuries old — but some of the consequences are very modern and very serious.

As we prepare Sophie-X for an international journey, we’re discovering that something as simple as which flag you fly — or why you choose not to fly one — can have major legal consequences.

For a UK-registered vessel, deliberately concealing its nationality isn’t a harmless technicality. Under UK maritime law, the consequences can potentially include heavy fines, imprisonment and even forfeiture of the vessel.

That certainly gets your attention when the vessel in question is also going to be your home.

There’s a huge amount more to preparing for this expedition than rebuilding an old diesel boat, stocking spares and plotting a course.

Every border. Every harbour. Every flag. Every document.

The further Sophie-X travels, the more the old laws of the sea matter. 🌊⚓

And we’re learning them before we leave — rather than learning them the expensive way.

SOPHIE-X IS OFFICIALLY REGISTERED. ⚓️Another important box ticked.Sophie-X is now officially on the UK Small Ships Regis...
29/08/2026

SOPHIE-X IS OFFICIALLY REGISTERED. ⚓️

Another important box ticked.

Sophie-X is now officially on the UK Small Ships Register as SSR314346.

She’s a 1979, 22-foot motor cruiser that we’re preparing for a very long journey — from the UK, through the Mediterranean and beyond, eventually heading for the Philippines.

There’s still a mountain of work between this piece of paper and casting off, but every job completed and every bit of paperwork sorted gets us one step closer.

No massive budget.
No new boat.
Just an old diesel boat, a lot of work and a ridiculous idea that we intend to make happen.

SALTWATER & DIESEL
Adventure • Engineering • Freedom

⚓ GOOD NEWS FOR SOPHIE-X.Another potential obstacle on our route may have just become a lot easier. 🇩🇿We’ve been researc...
29/08/2026

⚓ GOOD NEWS FOR SOPHIE-X.

Another potential obstacle on our route may have just become a lot easier. 🇩🇿

We’ve been researching Algeria’s visa exemption for seafarers arriving by sea — and what it could mean for Sophie-X and our journey east.

One more problem to solve. One step closer. 🌊

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