Boat Project Blues

 

 

To be a boat skipper, obviously you need to know how to operate it and navigate it to your destination, all the while keeping crew and vessel safe.  Well - there's a lot more hats you also need to wear.  For instance you must be:  carpenter; electrician; plumber; rigger; painter; fiberglass repairman; weather forecaster; mechanic; cook.  And the list goes on.

Since buying this fine boat, I have pretty much been working on it full-time.  I've had to learn how to do all those things from books, articles, You-Tube videos, vendors, and the friends I've made here in the marina.  Sometimes it's kinda fun, especially when you can stand back and see the fruits of your labor, as your boat become more seaworthy, comfortable, and good-looking.

But sometimes, it can be downright frustrating and maddening.  The photo above, dull as it is, is the connection between the shore water supply and the boat's plumbing.  From day one, it has leaked profusely.  Well, I just spent an entire WEEK working on the @#$%&! thing, trying to get it to hold its water.  I replaced every blasted piece of plumbing with brand-new, state-of-the-art bronze fittings with properly sized rubber washers, O-rings, lots of vinyl tape, and a heaping helping of torque.  Even then, it took countless re-works and endless trips to the hardware.  Worse of all, it was way down under the galley cabinet where I couldn't get both of my hands on it, all the while with water spraying everywhere.  The good news is that I finally got it to stop leaking.  But like the Boy Named Sue, I STILL hate working on plumbing.

So, in addition to the above plumbing nightmare, here is a brief list of the worst boat project to-date:   

• Cleaning out all the rotten wood in the aft cabin.  Dark, dank, cramped, hot, filthy, and stuffy.
• Changing the overhead window in the salon.  It leaked profusely every time it rained.  Involved cleaning off all the old sealant, on the cabin roof and on the window.  Took nearly a week.  (But no water came in when it rained the other night!)
• Changing out the two non-working seacocks.  Had to be done in the shipyard while the boat was hauled out.  I hate working in a shipyard - it's noisy and smelly and I had to climb up a 15 foot ladder to get into the boat.  Also, the job involved working with epoxy and sealants and other nasty, messy chemicals.  But now my on-board toilet is Coast Guard Compliant, and all of the sinks drain properly.
• Removing the old boat name.  The vinyl letters peeled off Ok, but the adhesive behind them had to be meticulously scrubbed off.  Took several days.

I will end this depressing article on a positive note.  Here is Joan, relaxing aboard comfortably on the settee, after a hard day at work: