WHO HAS THE MAGIC BOAT?

[Jmolan]

I drive a 125' Steel trawler for a living in the Bearing Sea. I have a full time engineer who's job it is to keep everything running. we have a bank of tech's in town (Dutch Harbor) for when it gets too much. It is a pretty complex machine and there is no frills. At last count I stare at 17 screens and I can't count how many radios/ Sat coms etc......Any way all that said. We NEVER go to town without something needing attention. After 25 years I have boiled it down to this.

#1 Repairs...... They have to come first. Just try to make it as good as it was. My old Capt. taught me " If you fix it right, no one will ever know it broke."
As I outfit my 34' Searunner Trimran, I have removed quite a bit of stuff. Rather than repair it, I removed it. I took off the Furuno Radar. Traded it for the biggest Fortress anchor they make...:-) I have one GPS and paper charts. Will probably get a hand held GPS battery powered back up. Simplify, simplify is my goal....Keep it light on stuff and it will sail better. Ghosting along on a zephyr on flat water is reward for me. I can relax, I don't have anything to fix.....:-)

#2 Maintenance ...gotta maintain things. All the things, the more things ya got the more you gotta maintain it. If I can't stay ahead on maintaining this stuff, maybe I got too much stuff ....

#Improvements ...this is the stage where everything is repaired, all the stuff is maintained. Then I can think about adding on a goodie. But I ging to be REALLY carefull what I bring onboard. Because soon as I got it nailed down I gotta add it to the STUFF list that I have to take care of.

[Bash]

...I sold it.

[skipperaris]

I was about to proclaim smuggly that I have the Magic Boat but schoonerdog's posting sobered me up.

My 15 year old genoa had to be replaced last year.

My bimini canvas (it was a cheap off the shelf item) was ripped to shreds about a year ago in force 10. I should have stowed it, I know...

My battery switch had to be changed a few months ago after 17 years of service.

But yes, my boat is pretty magic especially compared to when I was chartering her bare boat. That was when I was waiting for her return with a "screwdriver in my pocket".

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by bashful

...I sold it.

Ha, ha. Touche!

[S/V Antares]

Left Nov2 07 for the bahamas. Returned May 15 2008. 6.5 Months 680 eng Hrs. (6 oil changes, 2 trans oil changes Scheduled) and no issues. None.

Got home and the House Well pump was broken, the house water heater and the accumulator were rusted out and leaking. The car needed a battery. Should have stayed gone!