Favourite way of tracking boat refurb project

[GILow]

Originally Posted by B23iL23

It's good isn't it. I have 8 boards for everything from maintenance, to cruising plan, boat documentation and even a "whats stored where" list.


Add in reminders, links and photos and it's turned into a great tool for me.

I really like the checklists, and the way you can drag boards to different categories. I look forward to a HUGE list of completed items. (I cheated and put one completed project in that list already.)

Edit: Hadn't considered that it might be useful AFTER I am done. Does it have an off-line mode I wonder? Some kind of export....?

[B23iL23]

Offline works fine. I have it on my S9 phone (the app) and it works disconnected. It will sync once you go online again.


There is a "power up" aka an extension/3rd party plugin that lets you export to excel.

Originally Posted by GILow

I really like the checklists, and the way you can drag boards to different categories. I look forward to a HUGE list of completed items. (I cheated and put one completed project in that list already.)

Edit: Hadn't considered that it might be useful AFTER I am done. Does it have an off-line mode I wonder? Some kind of export....?

[evm1024]

Don Casey outlines a way to assign tasks into a 3 by 3 grid. Across the top is priority (Immediate, Less Urgent, Someday) and across the edge is Type of Alteration (Structure, feature, finish).

Each task goes into one of the 9 squares. Urgent, structural tasks get done at the highest priority.... But of course you do not need to be a slave to the "grid".

The book is called This Old Boat and is well worth reading. It helped me take a daunting list of thousand of tasks and organize them into something manageable in my restoration.

Now it is instinctive to classify the remaining (Hah!) tasks. I keep spiral notebooks with task lists and check them off as I go. I do task planning in the notebooks too. Those notebooks also document what I did which has been quite useful.

[gallatin1988]

I've had good luck using todoist in conjuction with the Getting Things Done system. Bullet Journaling could also helplful

I do want however to put in a brief plug for manually writing things with pencil and paper. There are to mind two main advantages:

1) Pencil and paper are in my experience more flexible than any online/computer/phone app. It allows you to change on the fly how you want to organize and/or catalog a particular task. It is also effortless to change from task to task. Pencil and paper adapt to the way your mind works not forcing you to alter how think and plan to how some programmer/developer thinks you should think and organize.

2) Actually writing things out on paper I believe forces you to think things out more systematically, engages different parts of your brain, and helps you clarify your thinking and priorities in a way

[sailingharry]

I use todolist by abstract spoon. Amazing product. Give everything a priority, and then filter by priority. And print color by priority. Things can have tasks and subtasks. You can hide subtask levels so the fridge is one item, or 20. Completed tasks are hidden, not deleted. You can click and drag items around. It is NOT available web-based, which I think is a huge drawback. Nothing web-based comes even close. It is free, and actively developed. Printing is a problem, but I have developed a Word macro that formats it for me.

[DeValency]

Open an excel sheet or whatever you can manage in a phone - that’s how I do it and PRIORITIZE basically 5 separate lists - but in this order. Each must start with the must do and end with the nice to have:
1. Safety and seaworthy - you first mission.
2. Propulsion: main engine, bow thruster etc.
3. Electrical and Plumbing, including all seacocks and skin fittings
4. Sailing performance: deck, mast, rigging, sails, anchoring etc.
5. Comfort and finishing matters: fency navy electronics, bimini, painting reorg etc

[piara108]

The Trello app is really great for tracking projects. I use Trello for tracking my job application process and for my software engineering projects. I highly recommend it!

[wingssail]

This is a project management function and a computerized tool can do it but be careful that you don't turn the boat project into a "manage the computer software" project.

I use MSProject, but I'm a project manager and I have this software. Using it is not easy. I don't recommend it.

But however you do it there are some key components. If you use a automated tool it must accommodate all these things, and if the tool is good IT will derive a schedule. You then adjust the inputs until you have a schedule you can live with and still have reasonable individual estimates and plenty of contingency.

Planning and requirements

Think hard about the exact requirements, document them, and make a plan to achieve them

Task Breakdown

Take each major tasks and break it down into manageable steps

Estimates and dependencies

Make estimates for the sub tasks, (be conservative)
Identify the dependencies

Contingency time

Put time in at various stages for contingency (what could go wrong)

Resource leveling and availability

Be reasonable about how many hours you will put in, and when another resource can do some of it.

Replan when necessary

You have to do your best to follow the plan. When you can't, make an adjustment to the plan.

Here is my current plan (there are some sections not shown, like requirements and planning):

[Jimmyhenry]

We have an A5 size hard cover note book for maintenance. Use it for lists, drawings etc. also serial numbers. Tradesmen cards. A schedule for filters anodes oil changes. A great long term reference point.

[Islander2]

I use a spreadsheet and label each job with a priority, what trades are required eg Elec for electrical, Description, Set Cost and finally status which is "not started" "underway" or "finished". I then apply filters in excel which allows me to filter all jobs for the Electrician etc. Once jobs are finished they are transferred to the maintenance log along with details like hours, cost and a reference for any invoices which is stored. All of this is on a cloud drive so that it is accessible from all my devices, including phone.

[coopec43]

I don't use extensive spreadsheets or use computer applications to plan my yacht building project because I work on one job at a time.

I don't want to think about solving future aspects of the construction right now and once I finish installing components I don't think about them anymore: I move on.

If I thought about all the things I have to do and how I was going to go about them I'd toss it in!! (One of my biggest assets is having knowledgeable people on forums who are always ready to help).

[Splashman237]

What u need is a project planning tool that creates a thing called a Gantt chart, basically down left side are the names of the task , time is along the bottom , and each task has a horizontal bar that links to the other tasks that need to be done in a logical sequence.

Look up project planning gantt and you’ll get to choose one that suits you .

These tools are used for all the “big” professional type projects but apply equally to small ones

[BradC]

I'm getting ready to start several projects of my own on a recently purchased Trawler and also want to keep a good record of what's being accomplished.

One option might be Trello , which I have used in the past and may also be an option for your project as it specifically has a Smartphone app that integrates with the desktop version so you can work with both and it stays synched to both platforms effortlessly.

The other great think about it is the FREE version is plenty powerful for most of the things I do. I've used it in business but never personal projects like this but I might try it.

My problem if something isn't quick and easy as a technical benefit, I quickly revert to old school pen and paper...

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Splashman237

What u need is a project planning tool that creates a thing called a Gantt chart, basically down left side are the names of the task , time is along the bottom , and each task has a horizontal bar that links to the other tasks that need to be done in a logical sequence.



Look up project planning gantt and you’ll get to choose one that suits you .



These tools are used for all the “big” professional type projects but apply equally to small ones

Technically you are right, but I used the rotten things to manage projects all through my professional life, now I’d rather forget they ever existed.

Also, Gantt charts work best, in my experience, when you can clearly map out the stages and dependencies in advance. This project is not so easily planned or defined.

[coopec43]

After reading many posts here on how they go about planning when refurbishing a boat I am convinced they would use a sledge-hammer to crack nuts!!