DIY or Boatyard ?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Bash

Some leading questions in this poll. At the top of the four selections is the boast, "I am a self-sufficient person." At the bottom, there is little more than a confession of insufficiency for the miscreant who tends to "muck up" projects.

Goodness, isn't there a way to be a do-it-yourself boater without engaging in self-righteousnes? What about the highly competent professional who works hard five days a week and then wants to spend the weekend sailing rather than sanding? Is there a place for these people in the forum?

Allow me to suggest a whole 'nother way to answer this poll: "I work hard and make a good living, and I enjoy being able to hire competent, hard-working professionals from among the waterfront community to work on my boat, especially if it frees me up to spend more of my precious leisure time on the water. "

Well, Bash, yes there is a place for us all here on CF. But, back when I was a hard working, well paid professional I still did all my own work. The money that I saved helped a lot in being able to retire at 48 and go cruising for the 25 years since then. Yeah, I missed some weekend sails, but it was worth it in the long run.

I think that this attitude is what the the OP was getting at in the poll questions... but I could be wrong about that. Self righteous? Yeah, maybe, I'll leave that judgement up to you... but I really don't care!

The other thing is that lots of folks actually enjoy the projects and the struggle to overcome our deficient skill sets... and if you actually do go off cruising the skills that you have managed to develop stand you in good stead once you are away from all the support teams.

Cheers,

Jim

[neilsailingrn]

My pockets aren't very deep so I do all my own work. I haven't found anything on the boat that I can't fix. I'm not good on a sewing machine but each time it gets a little better. No use paying someone else to do it when they will do a lousy job anyway. I'd rather be out there knowing I know my boat well.

[boden36]

I couldn't vote because I do everything except sails. (Including building from scratch in the first place)
Regards,
Richard.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

With my first boat i did as above including the gasfitting.....it was my gas barbie fixed to the aft deck.....ROFLMAO!!

That's probably a bit to self-righteousnes though, so i shall shut up.....

ahh the good old days before regs

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by downunder

ahh the good old days before regs

At least they'll still let us do our own gas here (USA).

I do everything except canvass and sails, in the future I may hire out the sanding of the bottom (unless I'm not working again)

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by Bash

Some leading questions in this poll. At the top of the four selections is the boast, "I am a self-sufficient person." At the bottom, there is little more than a confession of insufficiency for the miscreant who tends to "muck up" projects.

Goodness, isn't there a way to be a do-it-yourself boater without engaging in self-righteousnes?

Isn't there a way to use comedy in your threads without being misinterpreted and getting called self-righteous?

Just to clarify, I have no problem with people paying for work to get done on their boats.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

Isn't there a way to use comedy in your threads without being misinterpreted and getting called self-righteous?

Just to clarify, I have no problem with people paying for work to get done on their boats.

I wouldn't call it "self-righteous", but rather self-sufficient!
If one does their own work, then they're paying themselves w/o paying taxes.

[Kettlewell]

Like most things in life, it depends. For example, I haven't yet made a sail from scratch, but I will certainly handle minor repairs, and if the repair gets a bit bigger than minor I'll take it to a professional. If something requires specialized equipment that I don't have I am more likely to hire someone--for example, I have never tackled an injector pump rebuild, and I doubt I will. But, I would certainly remove the injector pump and replace it with the rebuilt one. Some things like hauling the boat and launching it requires big equipment and landspace which I do not have; however, if I owned waterfront property in a suitable location I would seriously consider setting up a marine railway for hauling my own boat. I've worked in boatyards so I understand what is involved in most repairs and I can judge whether or not it is worth my time and effort or if it is better done by a professional, who can possibly do it in half the time and better than I can--an example would be welding, which I have never done. Some things are done cheaper by a pro if they have the right equipment handy. For example, several times I have struggled trying to remove something and in the process risked damaging the object, but it came out in seconds when I took it to someone with a big hydraulic press and he charged nothing for the job. It wouldn't be worth it for me to purchase the hydraulic press that I might need every 10 years.

[Ex-Calif]

I am redoing the interior in teak. It's gonna take about 100 years as I am growing my own lumber...

[Kettlewell]

I am redoing the interior in teak. It's gonna take about 100 years as I am growing my own lumber...

Best response! Nobody does it all, that's for sure. How about making your own paint? Or setting up your own rope making facility? You have to make your own cost/benefit calculation about how far you want to take it. Very, very, few of us actually enjoy scraping and painting our bottom, but a lot of us do it because we don't want to pay the boatyard to do it or we're afraid they will do it wrong. In fact, I think that is one huge reason why more of us don't pay people to do stuff on our boats--we know they won't do it right, no matter how much it costs.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

At least they'll still let us do our own gas here (USA).

On my last boat I did my own gas and had it signed off by a gas fitter.
It's hardly rocket science , yellow teflon tape and check joints for leaks.

[Nicholson58]

A project is a great excuse for mor tools. I hered the Awl Grip for the hull. Hire and artist when you want artwork. Heavy liftine is hired such as launching and stepping masts. Beyond that, I have found little I cant fix and often find the hired work is badly done.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

I am redoing the interior in teak. It's gonna take about 100 years as I am growing my own lumber...

Funny you should say that, i bought 20 Acres of forrest for that very reason but have since decided to stick with building in steel again.......it could save you a 100 years????? at the right price off course....

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

Funny you should say that, i bought 20 Acres of forrest for that very reason but have since decided to stick with building in steel again.......it could save you a 100 years????? at the right price off course....

I am saving my money for an aluminum spar extruder...

[minaret]

I'm finding the numbers in this poll implausible. Perhaps it's due to the way it's worded. While I certainly do everything on my boat including maintenance and sail repair (which aint much in the grand scheme of a refit), I certainly don't do EVERYTHING on my boat. I don't think people should be selecting the first choice unless they do absolutely everything. The only people out there who really do much of that are Wharram builders and the Pardeys ilk, ie very low tech and simple, for obvious reasons. I seriously doubt 50% of the populace here does absolutely everything on their boat without EVER hiring out any work whatsoever. How many people own a marine railway or travelift? Or a crane for pulling the mast? That only leaves those who only careen ever. That's low budget Wharram type cruisers and just about no one else. I would think everyone in this group would tend to have smaller boats as well.