I'm Walking Away from my Boat

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by virginia boy

I don't know when I might come back.


Anyone else ever walked away?

Looks to have walked away from more than the boat, also from CF.

Must be a pretty serious case of boater remorse.

[Captain Randy]

This is what happens when you dont do your due diligence, homework and have an understanding before jumping in!

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

But there are more important things to barter for right now. The guy who works on my boat is half monkey, gets up efficiently and keeps the costs down that way. He's going to have to go up again. The idjit who had the boat before me replaced ALL the halyards with line that was too big. The spinaker halyard (which he used to raise the headsail, making some SERIOUS forestay problems) is both way too big and all torn up. I don't expect to be flying a spinnaker any time soon, but it's useful for all sorts of other things and that's high on my list of next things to do.

G'Day RAku,

If I'm understanding your problem correctly... you needn't send someone aloft to replace your oversized halyards if they are still in situ. Simply sew the whipped ends of the old and new bits of line together and use the old to pull the new into position. Really easy to do, and a practice that you should become familiar with.

Cheers,

Jim

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

G'Day RAku,

If I'm understanding your problem correctly... you needn't send someone aloft to replace your oversized halyards if they are still in situ. Simply sew the whipped ends of the old and new bits of line together and use the old to pull the new into position. Really easy to do, and a practice that you should become familiar with.

Cheers,

Jim

Actually I understand that, but the answer is ... it depends. It can't always be done that way. Because of the difficulties I have had with these halyards, we have to see them going through the sheaves properly. Last time, we did it that way, and guess what -- one of the sheaves had to be replaced, in all likelihood because of damage done by the too-big halyards.l

It's wonderful when things go that smoothly, but odds are GREAT that it won't be that way with the spinnaker halyard.

Once I have them all replaced, the "stitch and pull" way should work extremely well.

Then there was the time the hardware holding the halyard broke. Halyard goes up; sail comes down -- into lazy jacks, not all over the place, but still ...

Up the mast again. Sometimes someone has to go up the mast.

That's just "time over water" -- and boat. I bought the hardware; didn't pick the best type for the job.

[captain58sailin]

Hey Viginia Boy, I feel your pain! I have had to walk away from 2 different project boats in my time and it wasn't easy. I would suggest like the others here, take a deep breath, walk down to the local refreshment stand and take a load on, maybe a couple of loads. Walk around kick some rocks and reset. I would ask you to step back and give yourself a different perspective. I wish I were there to perhaps help you see the forrest for the trees, and give you some different insight. If you can take your lists and size the projects down into bite size chunks. If you can, ease away from time to time, so you aren't as likey to feel overwhelmed. Perhaps there is someone working on the same kind of projects as you, and you can collaborate & commiserate back and forth, share the pain, also you can help each other at times when it takes more than one set of hands. If it is truly a walk away, then take from it what you can learn and file it away for future reference and don't look back. I wish you all the best, it is not an easy place to be in.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by Captain Randy

This is what happens when you dont do your due diligence, homework and have an understanding before jumping in!

Randy, this is what is exactly wrong with the boating industry. I have met countless people that have bought both power and sail boats with no previous experience and little mechanical skills. They were attracted to the beauty of the sea but were unprepared for what they would eventually encounter: unscrupulous brokers,surveyors, mechanics, riggers, glassmen and marinas. And, after a very short period of time the frustration and expense killed the dream and they sold their boats. How many people have taken a cruise or chartered a boat and when they returned home with "sand in their eyes" decided to buy a boat? How many of those people asssumed buying a boat would be similar to buying a house or a car with some expected expense but not a barrage of repairs? This is really not a problem with the buyer, it is a problem with the boating industry that needs to be addressed. Not all people have mechanical skills. Not all people have time. But, there should be an industry standard of performance and ethics that allows these boaters to participate in the sport irrespective of skills and time. I am fortunate that I am able to fix anything on my boat and perhaps better than a "professional" in most cases. But that should not be a prerequisite for boat ownership if we want the industry to flourish and survive. VirginiaBoy has expressed real feelings in a honest way that represent thousands of people who have had the dream destroyed where "due diligence" and "homework" should have not been a critical factor in their decision to buy or maintain a boat. Honesty and ethics need to prevail if the industry is to survive and flourish. Good luck and good sailing.

[bill352]

Originally Posted by Captain Randy

This is what happens when you dont do your due diligence, homework and have an understanding before jumping in!

Since the OP doesn't seem to be here to defend himself, let me just point out that he did plenty of homework and due diligence, including (FWIW) checking in here a few years ago for advice. I don't know the whole story, or what other problems may exist, but I do know that he made a serious and sustained effort at preparation and understanding, and put in a lot of hard work besides.

[boatsail]

The boating industry needs to make sales and will never educate to the level of discouraging a potential sale I am in sales and don't know of an industry that informs to the point of discouragement as that would go against every marketing dollar spent.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by boatsail

The boating industry needs to make sales and will never educate to the level of discouraging a potential sale I am in sales and don't know of an industry that informs to the point of discouragement as that would go against every marketing dollar spent.

There is a difference between discouraging a sale and providing an honest disclosure as to potential problems and the cost to repair. There is also the aspect of representing a vessel that has serious defects as such. The industry will, perhaps, never institute standards, but indvidual businesses who seek repeat and referral business will endeavour to be honest to prospective buyers and will reap the rewards in the future. Caveat emptor is the prevailing mentality, but people do not forget a bad deal. They usually tell their friends.

[boatsail]

Originally Posted by rognvald

There is a difference between discouraging a sale and providing an honest disclosure as to potential problems and the cost to repair. There is also the aspect of representing a vessel that has serious defects as such. The industry will, perhaps, never institute standards, but indvidual businesses who seek repeat and referral business will endeavour to be honest to prospective buyers and will reap the rewards in the future. Caveat emptor is the prevailing mentality, but people do not forget a bad deal. They usually tell their friends.

I agree in regards to defects in the individual product being sold. I was speaking Moralong the lines of general measuring potential cost on ownership

[sww914]

Racing cars was the same. I would have been so happy if I ever reached the point of driving the car at least one hour for every hundred hours of work.
I had to pour $5000.00 more and 300 hours into the car before I could drive it.
This boat was worse.
We put $20,000.00 and 3500 hours into her after the purchase before we sailed her. That was 6 months of 1-2 weekends a month at first and then we moved our RV and parked it right next to the boat and worked 6 ten hour days a week for the next 7 months before we could leave. We're on our 12th list of repairs. We've already started the 13th list for when we arrive in Vallarta.

[lateral]

Contrary to what you would think wind driven actually makes a lot more work. As much as I dislike all burners.
Good reality chk SWW914.

[mischief]

From my own experience. Any surprises I've encountered that have added expense I always justify as I'm paying for my education.
Fortunately I can do any work myself on the boat but many times its something I've not done before and I have to learn. Usually by the end of the task it goes fast and smooth but often slow to start.
Another important thing I've noticed is if there are big tasks etc thier can sometimes be a rut you can fall into by thinking and spending time and effort trying to avoid the inevitable. For me I find it could be a time killer and an unmotivator. Sometimes you just have to put your head down and get stuck into it. Eventually the task is complete and then on to the next.
Of course this assumes one wishes to carry on.
Heck I would way rather be sailing than working on the boat but I would way rather be working on the boat than working at my employment.
We originally had planned to be done what we wanted by this December. Now it's going to be the one after. We will still use the boat though but I've redone so many lists I can't count.
It's a constant evolving process. Not for everyone I suppose but it's all about what you really want.
To me everything better prepares us for when the ropes are cast off for indefinitely.
Cheers

[charliehows]

just trying to add a different balance here - when i bought my boat i did the survey myself, she was really rough, really cheap, and i had a very short time to get her seaworthy enough to sail down the coast. Had many misadventures, got very depressed at one point, thought about selling her, but eventually got her onto a mooring so i could start working on her properly. Put in a lot of work, all with one proviso - she has to be kept sailable - or at least as close thereto as possible. No hardstands etc.
Now shes clean, sails good, everything that needs to work does, and all for a song really, moneywise. So it can be a great experience, but its always a sh#tload of work.
As far as 'professionals' go - well you meet some great people who give you more than you pay for and some who arent really very good at their job - ive had more of the former and the latter didnt take much off me.

[Tony B]

Originally Posted by bill352

........, let me just point out that he did plenty of homework and due diligence, including... checking in here a few years ago for advice. I don't know the whole story.....but I do know that he made a serious and sustained effort at preparation and understanding, and put in a lot of hard work besides.

Thanks for the input Bill. I was not around when the OP was making his decision as whether to buy or not. But I have noticed that when a thread is started about refurbishing/rebuilding/salvaging/restoring or anything along those lines, on this forum and many others, the "go for it" crowd usually way out numbers the 'nay sayers'. After having gone through 2 project boats in my lifetime, I am definitely a 'nay sayer'.
According to you, this guy did do his homework and I'm sure his replys were filled with encouragement.
I'm also convinced that most of the encouraging replys were not from people coming from the been there-done that culture. Rebuilding an 18 footer is now where as expensive as a 32 footer. As the boat size increases, the costs increase at a disproportionate rate.
I know what it is like to pour tons of money and time into a boat over a period of only a few years and still feel like you are nowhere near completion and have not been boating in a very long time. Especially considering that boating is why you bought the boat in the first place.