A boat in the backyard

[markpj23]

If I could afford to bring my boat to my backyard, it'd already have completed the refit!!

No question - bring it home! Give the neighbors & local newspapers something to talk about!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Charlie,
While I'm typing this I look to the left of my screen and there out the window is my big boat project. I can see from the aft half of the cabin top to the stern on the port side. I see the prop shaft, cutless bearing and where the prop ought to be. Guess I better get out there.
JohnL

[charley]

Charlie

I would have to agree with everyone here that say bring it to your house. My boat is sitting at my in laws house probably 25 miles from my house, I hardly work on it at all. I will get the things that I know I need then head over there work for about a hour and a half or so then, cr@p I need this too. That is when the project goes south I don't have all that I need and going to get it and get back will take longer than taking the rest of the day off. Or with the best intentions, get ready to go work on the boat and realize that I have so much I need to do around the house too.

The drawback is you will get sucked into some of your projects and end up out there till 3 am working on it cause you have no drive home to make. Just turn off the lights and hit the sack.
There are highs and lows to having at your own place, of course the free storage is always the best.

Good luck to ya
Charley

[Charlie]

Thanks Mark, SKpr J and Charley:

I'm really leaning toward getting it home. Trying to figure out where to put it and whether or not the truck will be able to get in and put it where I want it.

[jdoe71]

I just went through this, bought boat last fall, needed a few things fixed, sounded like a couple of days work, so had it taken to the marina we were going to sail out of, a 2 hour drive from home. After about 30 trips, I fully regret having done that, would have been so much better to have it here in the yard. I got the work done, but it took at least twice as long as it should have.

[cooper]

BRING IT HOME !! l have mine at work,...beside the workshop,....l work for my brother,......its just down the road from where l live,.....no trafic lights between,.......second boat done like this. You have ten minutes spare ? go do ten minutes. No need to pack up tools, lock everything up. It dosent take a lot of ten minutes to equal an hour...seven l think ! But look out: slowly your boat will start to morph its guts into your house !!

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by charley

I will get the things that I know I need then head over there work for about a hour and a half or so then, cr@p I need this too

my boat is sitting in a creek behind my house ... and i usually make at least 2 or 3 trips from the house to the boat just getting the right tools. it never fails no matter what i do. the best part is when my wife brings out a couple of cold drinks for happy hour. this is the best of both worlds since i don't pay for dockage ... and dockage in Florida has become highway robbery now days ... that's if you can even find it!!

[Terra Nova]

Yo Charley,

working on boats is such a challenge. Even after doing that professionally for over thirty years, I still find it challenging and satisfying.

Every boat (30'-90') I work on is somewhere other than my shop--usually slipped in a marina. And I have found it handy to have the marine chandler close by while finishing a project. But being organized is essential. Planning, sketches, photos and accurate patterns allow me to prefabricate complex assemblies at my shop, then scribe and install. Each time you are on the boat, you try to complete as much as possible on your "LIST".

Everything you change will affect at least two other things, so make changes gradually, and as a series of steps where possible.

Jobs which are better off left for the next scheduled haulout (through-hull fitting installation, hull painting) should be left until then. Electrical repairs and most other repairs can be done in situ. Even easier and safer actually than climbing up and down with the deck 12 feet off the ground!

You will want to provide your new boat with its' own tool kit anyway. Something beyond the basics. No matter where you go with your boat, you will need tools on board. Often one can scrounge up the beginnings of a second set of tools from extras.

You needn't spend thousands of dollars moving your boat twice. Enjoy.

best, andy

Charlie, two points.
One, every time I go over to work on the trimaran, I forget something. It is only a mile from my other boat, but it is a real PITA to have to stop, put tools away, and go back to get what I forgot. If I was 4 hours away, the extra expense of just buying a second one of what I forgot would negate the cost of transport.
Two, Remind the better half that when she really gets irritated at all the boat stuff in the living room, she won't have to put up with you sleeping on the couch, instead she can send you to the boat for the night

[96 P-23]

On my vacation, I brought Dulcinea home to the backyard ( she is on a trailer) and got an astronomical amount of work done in 2 weeks. I Have to limit her time in the backyard due to the HOA.

[Sailormann]

I wish my boat was in my backyard. All I am doing is minor upgrades, and the boat is only 1/2 hour away - but I still find it frustrating that I don't have my saws and drill press on the jetty when I need to do something. Takes me four times as long as it should to get something finished...

[Charlie]

Kai:

I didn't think of the point. 6" of foam in the V-berth is alot more comfortable then the couch. I'll have to keep that area clean.

Sailorman and 96:
Those thoughts are why I want to bring the boat home. I am trying to get the boat ready for a trip to Mexico and beyond in late 2008. I really don't think I can get the work done if I have to drive 4 hours round trip to change the muffler bearing.

[DtM]

Bring it home.

You can rig a tarpaulin or something else that will let you work even when it is raining. Those times are lost if it is in the water even if you are working down below, believe me.

daniel

[DtM]

Bring it home.

You can rig a tarpaulin or similar and therefore keep working when it is raining.

Believe me you will not get much done in the rain if the boat is in the water (even if you are working down below)

daniel

Sorry, the previous response did not seem to get through !!!

[LtBrett]

Put her in the water! Sail her around, use her as much as possible. It is an interesting fact that the boats that are used the most are berthed either less than 30 minutes from the master, or over 2 hours. The logic is that if the boat is a really quick trip, you'll use her. If the boat is a hike away, you'll dedicate time (a weekend) to her. I think the same logic applies to refit. If she's in the water 4 hours away, you'll be spending solid weekends with nothing to do but fix the boat. Complete immersion, no distractions. Plus, you get a motivatinal bonus of being able to immediatlely enjoy your handiwork. My marina has a chandelry on site. When I sleep aboard, I inevitably knock out some project that was somehow deferred. When I sleep at home, I inevitably get sucked into mowing the lawn or some other non-boating task. My vote is to enjoy the boat, refine your to-do list as you use her (this advantage is hard to overstate), and work on her in dedicated spurts.

Brett