....And Then Reality Hits

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

It's about priorities.

Some broken stuff is not vital and can be fixed later.
Like a A/C pump or a leaking hatch.

Some stuff requires immediate attention.

I've always found the leaking hatch above the wife/girlfriend's pillow to be project #1!

[singlespeed]

Took me ten years to go from a 3' x 5' white board in the aft cabin, to a 1' x 9" white board for my "fix it" list. This was on a boat that a "certified surveyor" found to be in excellent condition. Think of it this way, you will gradually become proficient in diagnosing and fixing various systems on the boat. The more you know about you boat's systems, the more confident you'll be in sailing and anchoring in remote anchorage. Cupboard door issues wouldn't even rate a line on my whiteboard. If you do what many cruisers do as they get older and transition to a motor home or travel trailer, you'll be a step ahead on maintenance issues (even while you are appalled at the poor quality of the systems and installations).

[Cheechako]

Welcome to the maintenance list. "yer gonna need a bigger pad"

[Hardhead]

That's terrible, but look at it in reality - you will learn the systems backwards and forwards - and also know that it was fixed right. It will pay off down the road - and make things easier. If it didn't happen now, it would have happened anyway. Better now, than at sea, or some remote port, where things just aren't available with any sort of selection - and jacked up 400% on top of that. There is actually a bright side - even though it doesn't feel that way at the moment. Good luck & drink a beer while you're doing it. Makes it seem like you're having fun.

[smj]

[(even while you are appalled at the poor quality of the systems and installations).[/QUOTE]


This is why I like to buy a boat with minimum systems or I tend to remove the systems that came with the boat. Then I do my own poor quality installation of some new poor quality systems that I’m sure the next owner will complain about! The good thing is I know how the systems were installed Incase I need to work on them.

[Hardhead]

Originally Posted by smj

This is why I like to buy a boat with minimum systems or I tend to remove the systems that came with the boat. Then I do my own poor quality installation of some new poor quality systems that I’m sure the next owner will complain about! The good thing is I know how the systems were installed Incase I need to work on them.

Genius. Actually makes a lot of sense.

[trimarannaga]

Its all worth it. You have made your dream come true. You own an awesome boat.
Now start your lists.. things that are essential to sailing and must be fixed...thinks that are redundant but should be fixed...things that you personally can fix...things that will require a professional to fix...things that you can afford to fix.. things that if ignored you ard going to have to fix...its the fix-it list with all its categories and subcategories. We all have them. I am one of those very strange people who actually like fixing stuff. My boyfriend (crew) hates goo and epoxy and powertools and boatyards. He always chartered boats when he wanted to go sailing. That way somwone else was responsible for the fixing. His own boat was in a charter fleet and therefore cared for by others. But between us we keep tbe important systems operating on my boat and we enjoy our time at sea and our time at anchor. I do most of the fixing. He pays professionals to do what i can not. I love my old boat and all her problems.
My lists are seemingly endless but crossing off a job gives great pleasure. And if i want to keep sailing her then i have to keep fixing stuff and crossing stuff off the list.
I met a really nice couple with a beautiful expensive catamaran, they were overwhelmed by the systems failures of their boat. I was sad to hear them say they were going to sell her. But not everyone wants to put the time and energy and money into fixing thier boat. It is an unending process. We all have to make the choice. Give it a chance, personally i think its worth it.
Learn to love your toolbox.

[picklesandjesse]

This subject reminds me of a boat I bought 40 years ago. It was a 34ft cold molded One Tonner, 10 years old at the time but very well built. It was not an IOR boat was designed under the RORC rule. The second day I had it we took out the wheel steering and fitted back the tiller. The previous owner was very upset as he had just installed it a few months before. I gave it away. Next all the electronics, B and G instruments etc. We used cassette tape tied to the shrouds for wind indicators, the log was watching the bubbles from the wash we created and judging them. The head was next to go and we used a cedar bucket. That area became a nice hanging locker. The engine was a single cylinder 8HP hand start Yanmar, very heavy. A couple of years later when it would not start I took it out and we had a very nice clean area to stow things. We used kero running lights at night and kero lights below. The stove was a pressure kero one. Not much to go wrong on the boat and life was pretty good aboard. If you wanted a cool drink and were anchored then you tied it to some rope and sent it to the bottom for awhile.
We became very aware sailors and the boat was quite fast. Did very well in various club races up and down the coast, often first over the line. When we ran out of wind we would drop the sails and go below and read or do maintenance. The longest time becalmed was 4 days. Our boat was one of the best maintained around and I had plenty of time to do work on other boats to top our cruising funds. All this would still be possible..... maybe the cedar bucket would be reserved for out at sea though.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Sojourner

Also in my limited 2 year ownership experience, if you aren't doing it yourself, 50% of the time when someone else touches your boat, there will be 2 more repairs to do after.

Ain't that the truth.

[CapnBazza]

That’s about where we are at the moment. Experience tells us that it will get better.

[scarlet]

Originally Posted by malbert73

OP- is the generator by chance a Fischer panda? I think they are prone to unreliability

If I remember correctly, it's a Onan..

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I've always found the leaking hatch above the wife/girlfriend's pillow to be project #1!

Ah, but 36" of saran wrap and some blue tape and you can channel that drip to some other place and fix it later.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by smj

A surveyors job is to assess a boats condition on a given day and in my experience they are unable to determine what and when something will break.

Exactly. As previously stated, a boat that has been setting unused for a length of time is a prime candidate for systems breakdown. Most things do work better with regular use.

[scarlet]

Such great advice. Just to clarify... we closed on our boat on 25Jul... stayed on it for 5 days whilst we moved it north a bit. Then we came back to Kansas... Then, I flew out the 24aug to start sifting through everything... (the great news is, they left us all their stuff. The BAD news...…. is they left us all their stuff) So, it's fully loaded, that's a lot of systems to learn. We started reading the manuals as soon as we had an accepted offer. But that's a lot of systems, so it will take time.

We are definitely do it ourselv-ers. We remodeled our whole house ourselves, including electrical, fireplace... floors, drywall, plumbing, etc.. etc.. etc. So, we definitely plan on doing most everything ourselfves… but again, we've only owned it a month...

Just prepping a maintenance schedule took us a long time, again, looking at all the system manuals. But we haven't had enough time to actually work with each system. It's hard being so far away from the boat. But, we will be spending 3 weeks there in October.

As far as the electroscan, I am not overly upset that it failed... we plan on removing it. If it's reparable, we will sell it. On our list is changing the plumbing over to fresh water, as opposed to salt, and yucky water from the river and bay... It is also apparent that a few hoses in the head will need to be replace. I will do that myself as I've done plumbing before.

We did the electrical in our house ourselves, but with inverters, solar, and a couple of different battery systems , and chargers, and the generator... it is a lot more than we can learn in 10 days.

The diesel will be fine. I already know how to do the basic maintenance from working on cars, I understand filters, belts, lubricants, etc... And I know where all of those are. So, I've got a good start. I'm planning on taking the diesel engine class in Annapolis in the spring. I can handle than. I totally understand the rigging, and have already have changed a few lines, and I know how to take apart and service the winches...

But still... there is so much right now that it is just overwhelming. We eventually will get my list down..

Even though we won't be there every weekend, I think we made the best decision to buy 18 months ahead of time so that we can learn the systems, make repairs, and really get to know the boat before we head to the Caribbean.

I also wanted to address the "surveyor". He did a wonderful job. He was there for almost 8 hours, and we were right next to him the whole time. He was very thorough. He provided us with a 30+ page report. very complete. But, it's a complicated machine, and as someone above mentioned.. it was the quality of the boat the day of the survey, there is no way to predict future failures.


The main point of my post was to share my experience, which, apparently, is the norm. And to state, that there really isn't a honeymoon.

I do appreciate all the advice, and hope there will be more posters...

[er9]

Originally Posted by scarlet

Anyway... that's my sob story and I'm sticking to it!!! btw... I still absolutely love my "most beautiful boat in the entire world.... " And I would rather spend one day on the boat, with all the system failures.. than spending a day without her...

ah yes but this is all that matters, you said it perfectly.

at the end of a long day of working on her when you finally sit back, relax and take it all in...the worry and anxiety fades and a giant silly grin spreads across your face....at that moment you truly realize what its worth...