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Old 22-05-2016, 14:58   #16
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

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Originally Posted by Gadagirl View Post
I'm admittedly a newbie, but wouldn't thorough PM extend life of some systems and help in planning replacement schedules so there's little or no catastrophic surprises? catastrophic is often way more expensive than planned replacement and/or care. of course anything can happen but it makes sense that if your confident in repair and function, maintenance becomes a habit. Maintenance is a predicted cost.
Cruising full time in a salt water environment, (even part time for that matter...) in any kind of well found , properly set up sailboat , typical cruising size -mono or multi -
requires a dedicated owner(s) who will continually perform repairs, preventative maintenance, system updating, inspections etc etc and never be shy about pulling their wallets out!
If you want to keep said boat looking "nice" and fully functioning its a full time job with unlimited overtime.
If you try to hire so called "experts", "experienced marine contractors" of whatever discipline to do all of the above you better have unlimited funds and
time to pay for or redo some or much of those "expert"repairs/maintenance...
I have never found maintenance costs on my boat or any others I have owned to to be predictable. I love working on my boat and do with very few exceptions all of the above myself.
I knew this was going to be the case before I bought the boat and it is still staggering how much work is involved and I bought a lightly used, medium equipped boat that was in very good condition.
There is no such thing as a "low maintenance" quality cruising sailboat that always looks great and I challenge anybody who claims otherwise.

Bob
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Old 22-05-2016, 15:26   #17
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

True enough. But from my perspective as a home owner, the same can be said. I see it as trading one devil for another. Yes, yes, yes, boats depreciate. Let's not go there.
Cost is cost. Houses cost money to maintain, cars cost money to maintain, as do boats.
I'm not really interested so much in the cost of maintenance as i am in doing it properly and on schedule. I know there are costs. But I believe by being diligent on maintenance I'd be helping my pocket book. No? In the beginning I will need to pay others for certain things that I've not learned yet. I am prepared for that.
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Old 22-05-2016, 15:39   #18
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

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Excited about boat maintenance!!!!! You should be excited about cruising. Bot maintenance is a drag that you have to do if you are not rich enough:

I am doing it since 4 of may: I have repaired a dented lead keel, made the antifouling, re-zinked the anchor, put a new chain and the marks on it, clean the inox, changed some lockers, put new silka on a hatch, repaired the cockpit and seat teka with new silka and I have to make the maintenance on the engine, on the propeller, re-rig the boat, wait a new mast rig to be mounted and mount a new solar set-up.

I work from 8AM to 7PM and I am dreaming with sailing away!!! everyday. How can you be excited about maintenance?
Yeah, this is exactly what it is if your boat is older, too. It sounds like my days since the beginning of February now and I'm still not out sailing Welcome to Boat "Maintenance," Gadagirl
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Old 22-05-2016, 15:49   #19
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

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Originally Posted by REsCat View Post
Cruising full time in a salt water environment, (even part time for that matter...) in any kind of well found , properly set up sailboat , typical cruising size -mono or multi -
requires a dedicated owner(s) who will continually perform repairs, preventative maintenance, system updating, inspections etc etc and never be shy about pulling their wallets out!
If you want to keep said boat looking "nice" and fully functioning its a full time job with unlimited overtime.
If you try to hire so called "experts", "experienced marine contractors" of whatever discipline to do all of the above you better have unlimited funds and
time to pay for or redo some or much of those "expert"repairs/maintenance...
I have never found maintenance costs on my boat or any others I have owned to to be predictable. I love working on my boat and do with very few exceptions all of the above myself.
I knew this was going to be the case before I bought the boat and it is still staggering how much work is involved and I bought a lightly used, medium equipped boat that was in very good condition.
There is no such thing as a "low maintenance" quality cruising sailboat that always looks great and I challenge anybody who claims otherwise.

Bob
And continuing along with your experience I have another question. Because that's exactly how I've felt and experienced as a home owner. A money pit of a house. AC, fridge, roof, deck, flooring, yard work (never ending), trees, plumbing, painting, power washing, dish washer, washer, dryer, window replacement, shoveling snow, replacing insulation, broken latch, broken switch etc. etc. etc. Add taxes.

So my question is, Do you experience more expense, less expense, or same expense, boat ownership vs. house ownership? I'm thinking it will be less than I spend now.
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Old 22-05-2016, 15:56   #20
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

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Yeah, this is exactly what it is if your boat is older, too. It sounds like my days since the beginning of February now and I'm still not out sailing Welcome to Boat "Maintenance," Gadagirl
LOL I know I'm sounding so naive now. But seriously, is it more expensive than a house?

With a mouse? Here or there, or anywhere? (sorry can't focus on serious )
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Old 22-05-2016, 17:16   #21
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

There are pretty much two types of maintenance, preventative and unscheduled.
I'm not sure how much maintenance on a boat can be scheduled on a calendar basis. I think a lot of it is unscheduled, that is when you fix it when it breaks or upon inspection you find it needs work
I find a lot of my unscheduled maintenance occurs on inspection, your doing one thing and notice hoses and or clamps etc look deteriorated and need replacing, then you start looking around and finding other hoses etc.
Of course one way is to get a good survey and then start working off that list of discrepancies, that can be a pretty long list, even on a good boat if it is a detailed survey


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Old 22-05-2016, 23:17   #22
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

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LOL I know I'm sounding so naive now. But seriously, is it more expensive than a house?

With a mouse? Here or there, or anywhere? (sorry can't focus on serious )
You can stay on top of maintenance issues on a boat, but there will still be surprises. Like the time Mrs. Mac decided to defrost the fridge freezer with a hammer.

Boats also develop some issues that houses don't, like a stinky bilge. Houses don't need their bottom cleaned and scrapped every month. Also, much of the stuff that goes wrong on a boat is difficult to get at.... and when I does go wrong, nobody else wants to fix it unless you plan on paying them mucho dinero. So you have to be willing to do the heavy lifting yourself. Being a woman, won't get you out of doing stuff. My wife willingly assists me with every repair so that she can learn in case something happens to me.

The owner is the one who usually gets stuck doing the more difficult and unpleasant tasks.

When you're out in a quite, pleasant anchorage, there isn't anyone else around to help when things happen. It's not like you can just call up a rigger, plumber, mechanic or diver, YOU are the rigger, plumber, mechanic and diver. The prop becomes fouled.... YOU are the one expected to go under and sort it out.

This stuff comes up all the time, a new puzzle to solve nearly every day. Not so much with a house.
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Old 22-05-2016, 23:29   #23
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

There is a lot much to learn in maintenance just go through from some tips and tricks of keeping your boats working efficient.
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Old 23-05-2016, 04:11   #24
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

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Originally Posted by Gadagirl View Post
I'm admittedly a newbie, but wouldn't thorough PM extend life of some systems and help in planning replacement schedules so there's little or no catastrophic surprises? catastrophic is often way more expensive than planned replacement and/or care. of course anything can happen but it makes sense that if your confident in repair and function, maintenance becomes a habit. Maintenance is a predicted cost.

PM is good, and some systems submit to PM. Engines, for example, and I'd guess sails and rigging. I know things like the raw water supply system for a marine AC enjoy periodic PM.

But then there are other systems... where unexpected failure isn't necessarily catastrophic, just unplanned. Imagine you're moored in an area where-supply is easy... and the macerator on your toilet craps out (so to speak). No big deal, source another one and replace the original. No big deal (probably). Replacing that macerator earlier than that might be considered Premature Maintenance.

So.... being on top of things is all good... but when to actusally do things... it depends.

-Chris
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Old 23-05-2016, 06:02   #25
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

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So my question is, Do you experience more expense, less expense, or same expense, boat ownership vs. house ownership? I'm thinking it will be less than I spend now.
You are trading all the aspects described and performed above on a small (boat), very complex environment from a larger(house), more spread out one.
The costs are probably very comparable with the obvious difference that boats are always a depreciating asset (very! few exceptions). Living day to day however on a cruising boat is a far cheaper experience when on the hook in our experience as the core lifestyle is (or can be) much simpler.

I have found that any repair, maintenance that I undertake always takes longer than you would initially expect because I always uncover another issue(s) that should also be addressed.
If you have dived into a certain area of a boat (usually small, confined and you have moved "stuff" to get to it) you should fix all issues found in that area. This happens with me with very, very few exceptions.

Everybody here would agree that if you are not prepared to fix/maintain your small, complex "house" in a hostile environment on a continual basis you will not enjoy the many rewarding aspects of the cruising dream for long.

We have met many! cruising couples over the years that have given up because their wallets, patience and skills to maintain a cruising boat are completely exhausted.
They all share one or more very negative experiences trying to have their boats fixed by so called "experts" who claim to be competent and proceed to give them a very expensive , pile of **** result.

Bob
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Old 23-05-2016, 06:10   #26
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

I keep track of the money I spend on my boat. While I'm only a weekend sailor currently I definitely spend more money and time doing boat maintenance than I do doing home maintenance.
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Old 23-05-2016, 06:33   #27
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pirate Re: Excited about maintenance!

Gadagirl, I kinda sorta doubt you're genuinely "excited" about maintenance. My guess is you're eager to get started on this new adventure. We can all relate to that. But the maintenance part is what saps the money and the spirit, and in many cases, confines you to port for much longer while the money drains into the bilge to mix with your tears and the spilled beer you've been crying in.

But, sweetie, have a nice day. And you are always welcome to drive down to see me in Bofort and help with all the maintenance you can stand.
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Old 23-05-2016, 06:36   #28
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

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(...)

So my question is, Do you experience more expense, less expense, or same expense, boat ownership vs. house ownership? I'm thinking it will be less than I spend now.
This will likely depend on what house and what boat you compare.

I do not think your question has any general answer other than 'it all depends'. This is not the answer you want.

A person moving from a small inner city apartment to a bigger yacht docked in a quality marina may be surprised by how much this new lifestyle costs.

Another person, moving from a huge suburbia property to a small boat anchored in a creek may start asking oneself questions like 'why of why did not I think about this twenty years ago?'.

You only get an answer by using real life objects and making a plain pen and paper analysis of all period costs.

b.
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Old 23-05-2016, 06:44   #29
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Re: Excited about maintenance!

Gadagirl,

FYI: On this particular day pictured, all I was doing is changing a lightbulb 73ft up on top of the mast. A little more complicated than changing one at the house.

There's another thread running currently, where a fellow is trying to figure out how to climb his mast on a 30ft sailboat to fix a broken halyard.... It's not so easy.

Last season, we ran our boat into the mooring line attached to a fish farm at 4am and became hopelessly stuck. Yes, it was again yours truly who was under the boat at 6am in scuba gear getting us unstuck without cutting the line..... The French fisherman standing by wouldn't have appreciated that.

Unscheduled stuff happens.

Ken
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Old 23-05-2016, 07:28   #30
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Active Captain doesn't have all the fish farms in the Med marked?
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