$100K vs $500K Boat – What’s the Difference? | Sailing Zola Tour & Comparison We upgraded from our 2006 Beneteau Oceanis 393 ($100K monohull) to a 2020 Bali 4.1 Catamaran worth close to $500k dollars — and in this video, we’re taking you on a full side-by-side tour of both boats to show exactly what you get for the price difference! From cramped cabins and manual sail handling to walk-in showers, air conditioning, full-size fridges, and massive solar setups — this is the upgrade of a lifetime. We’ll walk through: 🚤 Cockpit & storage 🛏️ Bedrooms and bathrooms 🧭 Navigation & helm setups 🛠️ Systems and accessibility ☀️ Solar & electrical features …and why we still think starting with a monohull was the best decision ever. We’re beyond excited to begin our new adventures aboard our dream catamaran. Whether you're dreaming of boat life, already living it, or just love tours of epic spaces — you’ll love this episode. GIVEAWAY - 👉 Drop your guess in the comments: What do YOU think our solar arch cost? 🔔 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell to follow our sailing journey to the Bahamas and beyond! 🐾 Featuring our boat dogs: Hercules & Koda 🌊 Welcome aboard Sailing Zola #boatlife #catamaran #sailinglife #liveaboard #boattour #tinyhome #sailingcouple #sailingfamily #Bali41 #monohullvsCatamaran #boatdogs #comparison #sailingcatamaran FOLLOW US ON SOCIALS❤️⛵️ Insta - https://www.instagram.com/sailingzola/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064845617659 #Sailing #Catamaran #bahamas timestamps 00:00 Intro 0:57 Welcome Aboard 3:02 Cockpits 4:20 Kitchens & living areas 9:45 Staterooms and heads 16:19 The Decks 20:03 Outro

What started as a crazy idea 3 months ago has finally come to life — we decided to cover our boat in as much solar power as possible! ⚡☀️ In this video, we take you behind the scenes as we design, fabricate, and install a massive custom stainless-steel solar arch that holds 2,360 watts of bi-facial solar panels. From the first measurements to the final bolt, this was one of the biggest projects we’ve ever tackled. Huge thanks to Alex from Marine Structures for making our wild idea a reality. The result? More power, more shade, and a boat that’s almost ready for off-grid living. 🌊⚓ Marine Structures (754) 273-0895 Mike's Yacht Service's (772) 214-7153 Timestamps 0:00 Intro 0:16 The origin story 1:14 Pre drilling the panels 4:59 INSTALL DAY 7:19 Raising the arch 11:36 Welding 12:56 Putting the panels on FOLLOW US ON SOCIALS❤️⛵️ Insta - https://www.instagram.com/sailingzola/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064845617659 #Sailing #Catamaran #Bahamas #BoatLife #SolarPower #DIYBoatBuild #OffGridLiving #TinyLiving #MarineSolar #VanLifeOnWater

Airlock Discount Code: SAILINGZOLA ⛵️ BONUS EPISODE | Docking Practice, Boat Maintenance, & Something Crazy on the Island! In this bonus video, we take you behind the scenes as we: ⚓ Do some docking practice (with our new headsets 👀) 🛠 Change the oil and impellers on both engines 💨 Install some seriously cool Airlock units to get rid of that classic “boat smell” 🏝 And… stumble across something absolutely wild on the island (you’ll want to see this 🤢) Our biggest boat project starts tomorrow, so stay tuned for what’s next — it’s going to be huge! 💬 Drop a comment if you’ve ever done your own oil change on board — or if you’ve found something crazier on a beach! 📅 New videos every Wednesday (and sometimes bonus ones like this 😉) 👍 Like, comment, and subscribe to join the adventure with Sailing Zola #SailingZola #BoatLife #SailingCouple #Liveaboard #SailingAdventure #DIYBoatMaintenance #CruisingLife FOLLOW US ON SOCIALS❤️⛵️ Insta - https://www.instagram.com/sailingzola/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064845617659 #Sailing #Catamaran #bahamas Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:35 Docking 1:23 Projects 5:42 THE FIND 7:00 Airlock

🌞 Running AIR CONDITIONING Off The SUN?! (Part 2 of Our Off-Grid Solar Boat Build) In today’s episode, we’re diving deeper into our mission to run air conditioning completely off solar and lithium batteries — even through the night, on a sailboat! Last time, we planned out the system, mounted our inverter, and ran more wire than I ever thought possible. This time, it’s chaos (again): we’re ripping off old solar panels, installing our new 120W array, wiring up fresh Epoch batteries, and — of course — surviving a few minor disasters along the way (including one involving stitches 😬). From power tools to panic attacks, this project has it all — and by the end, we’re one step closer to finally running our AC off nothing but sunshine ☀️⚡️ 🎥 In this video: Removing the old, cracked solar panels (and all the glass 💥) Installing new high-efficiency 120W panels Wiring, programming, and syncing our Epoch lithium batteries Overcoming a few... bloody setbacks Prepping for off-grid, full-time sailing life If you love DIY builds, boat life, renewable energy, or just watching someone learn the hard way — you’re gonna want to hit Subscribe and turn on the bell 🔔 because this is only Part 2 of the journey. The next episode gets even wilder. 👇 Drop a comment below: Would you ever try to live fully off solar power — or is this just too crazy? FOLLOW US ON SOCIALS❤️⛵️ Insta - https://www.instagram.com/sailingzola/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064845617659 #Sailing #Catamaran #Bahamas #SolarPower #BoatLife #DIYBuild #OffGridLiving #RenewableEnergy #SailingLife #LithiumBatteries #SolarBoat #SustainableLiving #tinylivingcoach Timestamps 00:00 Intro 0:20 Recap 0:40 The origin story 1:09 Using AI to calculate electrical needs 1:44 Ripping the old solar panels off 3:07 The stitches story 6:14 Finishing the panel clean up 7:09 Priming 7:19 Wire running 9:59 Paint & prime 11:32 Removing the stitches 13:00 NEW PANELS 14:38 Battery configuration

🔋 MASSIVE Lithium Battery Upgrade on Our Sailboat | Off-Grid A/C Powered by the SUN! ☀️⛵ In this episode, we take on our biggest boat project yet — a complete lithium battery upgrade that will transform how we live aboard! 💪⚡ As a young sailing couple chasing the dream of full-time off-grid life at sea, our goal has always been to rely less on fossil fuels and more on renewable energy. And now, we’re finally making it happen! We’re ripping out the old AGM bank and replacing it with a powerful new lithium setup that (fingers crossed 🤞) will let us run our AIR CONDITIONING entirely on solar power! 🌞🧊 Join us for part 1 as we: Pull out our old power system 🔧 Install our brand-new lithium battery bank 🔋 Upgrade our wiring, BMS, and charging system ⚙️ This is a HUGE step toward energy independence, comfort, and truly sustainable cruising. Come along as we sweat (literally) through this upgrade and get one step closer to living the dream! Subscribe for more sailing adventures, boat projects, and life off the grid! 🌊❤️ #SailingCouple #LithiumUpgrade #BoatLife #OffGridLiving #SolarPower #SailingLife #DIYBoatProjects #VanlifeAtSea Mike's Yacht Service's - (201) 264-4201 Timestamps Intro 00:00 Our plan 0:24 Calculations 2:08 Why we chose Epoch 5:43 Doing the work 8:23 How to crimp large wire 13:37

Resort: Coral View Beach Resort on Utila, Honduras Thank you Phnx Hotels for having us! Disclaimer: This was purely our experience at Coral View Resort on Utila with Phnx Hotels. We (Banner and Nellie) can not promise you anything from attending these pop-ups we can only show you our experience.. and during this particular experience, we had an incredible time! We said yes for the adventure and the stories! We had an amazing trip, everything that was promised to us was given, the memories we have from this trip will live on forever!

Our first boat problems.... The South Florida heat is no joke, in this video you'll see us troubleshoot a clog in the AC lines and use Barnacle Buster for the first time. Along with some other problems and some sneak peaks at the big projects we have around the corner!

We finally take ownership of our beautiful 2020 Bali sailing catamaran. In this video you'll see us enjoying our first few days on the boat, taking it out for the first time and doing some projects! Thanks for coming along for the ride. Banner and Nellie Sailboat, Sailing Zola, Sailing Catamaran, Bahamas, Bali, Bali 4.1

We are so excited to be back! We really have missed making videos and interacting with this amazing community. We will be posting videos weekly as we prep to head off on a new sailing adventure. Thanks to our broker Brandon Buckmaster for helping us make this happen!! If you guys are looking for a boat in Florida he’s your guy! +1 (417) 893-9271 Sailing Zola, Catamaran, Bali, Leopard, Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot

In this video we knock out our first oil change on flying Zola! I had a mechanic friend come out and walk us through the process to make sure we wouldn't screw anything up! Stay tuned for the end for some awesome shark diving action!!

My first ever aerobatic lesson! Man, this was a fun one! We had some time to kill while staying in Nashville so I decided to go take an aerobatic lesson and it was awesome! Steve is located at KJWN anyone interested can reach him at (615) 557-2364📞 As always, please like, subscribe, and share with your friends. It really helps us out a ton, thanks guys!✈️

In this video you'll see us do our first ever takeoff and landing in our new experimental RV-6a, man it was intense!! Banner gets to see his dad for the first time in over 5 years and gets to take some family members flying! This video will be the part one of our Nashville adventure, in part two you'll see Banner get his first aerobatic lesson!!

Welcome back everyone!! Sorry for our long absence, we've been slowly getting our lives figured out! We still have SV Zola, but Nellie was ready for some land time. So... we found something to keep us occupied until Nellie is ready to get back out there! Excited to hear what y'all think about this new lifestyle! P.S. I think Nellie is starting to miss that Bahamian water!!

In this Episode Zola gets left behind as I join friends on their 50ft lagoon in the Exumas to do some commercial fishing. This is by far the craziest spear fishing I’ve done yet!! Also, stay tuned for end for some epic shark diving. Huge shout out to @pigbeachbahamastours for getting me on the fish, look him up on Instagram if you want to go fishing near Eleuthera. Also @purelybluecharters on Instagram for letting me stay aboard their beautiful boat.

Nellie makes it’s back to Zola but then has to leave again after only two days for the unforeseeable future:( . Meanwhile we go on some action packed dives in the nearest cut and spear some BIG fish, our biggest yet actually!! Hope you tune in for this fun, action packed episode!

In this video you’ll see us exploring a few islands in the Abacos. We found our favorite island in the Abacos so far, it has by far the most beautiful reef we have ever seen!! Banner speared two of the biggest fish of his life yet and we did a fun catch and cook on the beach!

Thank you all so much for watching, hope you enjoy the video. Like and subscribe if you do, it really helps keep our channel alive!! We ran into a lot of complications in this video.. torn mainsail, large water leak, almost ran aground on an unmarked shoal, both toilets clogged, and both shower drains stopped working. BUT we made it and are making the best of it!

WELCOME BACK ZOLA FAM! Dont forget to like and subscribe! We obviously have a large gap of footage missing that we will be uploading as bonus episodes throughout the season, but as for now we’re catching y'all up to what were doing currently! In this episode we install our new Sea Water Pro watermaker, do some provisioning, and make our way back to the Bahamas! Enjoy!❤️

LONG TIME NO SEA! We are behind on videos but we’ve just made it BACK to the Bahamas and we’ve got our very own videographer now! Videos will be dropping weekly on Thursdays so stay tuned!