Joe Coons
I recently have been helping a California friend who owns a boat here get it back into shape, and I've been reminded by his experiences how important continuing maintenance is!
My pal is a very experienced yachtsman, in the true sense of the word! His boat is a beautiful 48-footer, which he operates pretty well, and he has done a lot of powerboat cruising. But he's not a mechanic or technician, that's for sure: he's a musician! He relies on others to take care of his boat for him, chartering it out for a half-dozen weeks a year.
Well, probably because of the difficulties of regular, informed communication between him and those caring for his boat, the boat started to get pretty run down. It's large lazarette filled up with junk, raw-water pumps had unnoticed drips, the generator wouldn't start, some rudder running gear got chipped and rusty, doors wouldn't slide, and inside there were spots on the carpet and fading drapes, with peeling wallpaper, oily bilges, etc. Ugh! It was heartbreaking for a guy like me who expects other peoples' boats (but not mine!) To be near-perfect.
Funny thing was, none of these problems were a big deal when they began, but inattention had let them become big.
(I often compare boat problems to parking tickets: Fix them today, $2; Wait a week, $10; Wait a year, "Felony Arrest").
Well, the first thing we did was make a list of all the problems so I could check them off as they got assigned and done. Then I lined up some of our great marine trades people here to take care of them for my buddy. Although the work isn't done yet (it should be by March 1) what is done is going beautifully, a tribute to having the time to get it done over the winter.
At the same time, I had a chance to see how innocent decisions made years ago can backfire! For example, the boat has polished brass reading lights near some opening ports and doors. Now, after 11 years, these are clearly showing every spot where salt spray hit them, and polishing them will be a project, since they are coated with protective lacquer.
And how about those stainless steel holding tanks: Sounds great, except that for this application (the boat had salt-water supplies to its heads) the welded seams of the tanks are really corroding subjected to salt and sewage ---- but they're too big and under a teak-and-holly floor so we can't replace them easily. We'll put a treatment system in with a smaller tank in the engine room and clean out the others as well as we can and seal them.
But back to the basic premise of this column: If each problem had been "cut off at the pass" when it was first noted, it would have been a lot cheaper than fixing the more- advanced difficulties we face now.
A boat without continuing care begins to look like a house with an un-mowed lawn, especially after several months!
Speaking of lawns, spring is coming. Hope you're getting ready for a great season of boating fun! Think safety! Talk to you next month.
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Last updated 1/27/98 by SCR