How to acquire maintenance skills and knowledge.

[gamayun]

These are all very good suggestions. I can tell ya, if you haven't been super hands-on in other aspects of DIY repair over the years (plumbing, carpentry, electrical), it's going to be intimidating when you work on your own boat. I pretty much do all my own DIY and it's a huge mental hurdle to come up to speed. Right now, I'm sanding, filling, and fairing the decks for a paint job. I really don't want to mess this up so there is much hesitation, research, talking with others, talking with reps, and doing and seeing if things work. It always looks easier on the videos and it always takes longer, but the key is to trust yourself and swallow the fear. I would guess you're at least near some lakes. Perhaps you can find an old fiberglass boat with a small engine and start fixing it up. Learning fiberglass repair and painting are very expensive to do in the yard, and having a reliably working outboard is a true blessing. Better still if it has a 12-v battery and you can run some electronics and nav lights. But make sure whatever you learn is done for the marine environment even if people tell you it's overkill for fresh water.

Oh, a post above just reminded me about some sailing friends who converted a van into a camper. It is (almost) just like a boat. Great suggestion!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Snore

Suggestions are READ books by accomplished experts. With all respect to Boatie- unless you find a channel by a pro, avoid YouTube. Most of the videos are useless. Having delivered two boat that were sold by YouTube, their advice can be dangerous.

Finally, work on your deductive reasoning skills. Many repairs require you to logically chase possible failure points. Knowing what to look at (from reading) and then being able to calmly and methodically eliminate failure points is the essence of repairs.


While NOTHING substitutes for experience, this is a start

Just trying to give him an idea of things to cover..
I learnt hands on with a workshop manual in front of me as I dismantled a Volvo MD2B's cooling system including the manifold laying out the bits in order of removal then reversing for reassembly after cleaning/unblocking everything. Other things like emergency fuel set up were just common sense.
GRP work I picked up by reading the Gudgeon Brothers on West Systems and experimenting..
Plumbing and gas work... I earnt a living in the 70's doing that..
12v Electrics I picked up on m'cycles..
Its all simple enough really if you don't let self doubt get in your way.

[Zippee]

It's definitely true that the more DIY experience you may have had can be put to use on a boat. I feel for you, been there, haven't done that, lol. And sometimes the problem is getting too much or conflicting advise.


So how to cut through the fog? In my case I bought the one book that most erstwhile sailors recommend: "This Old Boat", 2nd edition by Don Casey". Casey wrote his book specifically for you and me, and others like us. Not yet knowledgeable, confused, concerned, and doubting our allegedly limited skills.


Casey covers everything beginning with how to inspect and pick a boat, and teaches you what are really fairly simple skills. IMHO, no one does it better. He covers simply everything and will answer your questions far better than I or even this forum.



Good luck!

[SeaStory]

Check out America's Boating Club online seminars. They can be hot or miss on quality, but they give you a great idea of the basics of the various systems you will need to cover.

As we were building confidence, we hired contractors who were willing to talk us through and even lend a helping hand. It is a running joke among contractors that they charge extra for the owner to help and we had no issue with them charging a bit more labor because they took time to talk to us, but not small talk, which we both suck at.

But mostly, youtube. Both Casey and Calders have a tendency to be super detailed on introductory things, like removing a cover plate, then vague about more advanced tasks. It almost reads like "get in there, have a look, but if you can't figure it out from there, call a pro."

The Compass Marine website has a lot of good tutorials.

There is just so much to take in, I don't know how far you can get without hands on practice. As mentioned previously, just being generally handy will help. Take up carpentry or car maintenance to build your confidence in your own abilities to figure it all out. You will still grit your teeth the first time you have to drill a hole in your boat.

[sail sfbay]

Some options:

1. If you follow sailboatowner.com you will see most of the forum members are self starters when it comes to maintenance and like to do that themselves and as a result they provide really good advise. I have even been known to weigh in.

2. Take a Saturday class at a local boat yard.

3. Watch Youtube videos on sailboat maintenance.

4. Buy your first sailboat and start performing maintenance yourself.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by thomm225

It can take many years to acquire maintenance skills.



For example, on a boat most need diesel maintenance skills since many cruisers tend to rely on their engines.



Then you need electrical maintenance skills.



Then if you have problems with your electronics, you'll need skills there as well which might even include computer skills. Some of us are using these small Raspberry Pi computers which use a Linux OS so you will need skills there as swell.



Btw, youtube and the internet has explanations for all this as well as replacing your computers motherboard then reloading the OS.

This is a good post. One thing I would add is skills repairing an outboard motor. You are likely to have one on a dinghy. We have them as primary propulsion on the cat as well. Oil and lube change, water pump service, carb cleaning, etc. We cruise relatively remote, and carry a lot of spares. To daten have not needed to rely on someone else for repair and service.

[cat-keys]

I strongly suggest taking these classes. I am in a similar situation my wife and I want to sail off in a year on our 2009 40ft leopard. I enrolled at broward college marine engineering degree classes which are excellent. The professor does offer these classes online for non-degree. I highly recommend his classes.

https://mrlopezclasses.com/

[MV Caroline]

I have been sailing all my life. I learned boat maintenance by rote, just doing it. My earliest jobs as a child were polishing brass and chamoising the bright work every morning. Then came paint and varnish prep work, this before learning to paint and varnish. I learned mechanical and electrical by doing the work and finally got a degree in naval architecture, went on to build, rebuild and modify boats. IMHO there are no teachers like experience and necessity.

[SV__Grace]

Originally Posted by Peter195678

Dear readers,
I have a desire to begin my retirement (in 2029) on a boat.
How can I acquire the knowledge and skills to do most of my own maintenance before I retire?
I live and work in the middle east and have no access to regular or what you might consider normal marinas or sailing clubs.
I work random shift so even if there were night classes in boat building I would not be able to attend.
I think perhaps I could try a hobby supported by online learning that might help me acquire the knowledge and skills I will need but what hobby to consider?
All suggestions appreciated.
Thanks
Pete

Learning by doing is more effective than classes and books, but how?

Two options come to mind-

1. If you have a place to put it, get an old boat in terrible shape (for free) and have fun working on it. By the time you retire you'll have experience with basic plumbing, electrical, fiberglass work, etc. and will have accumulated the tools you'll need.

For every project, system, and repair, this forum is great for advice, both informed and uninformed!

2. Don't worry about it until you retire and get your boat and spend the first couple of years updating, upgrading, and refitting it for your long term purposes. By the time you have the boat the way you want it, you'll be an expert!

[sailjumanji]

Oh, and I learned a lot from helping others with their projects. Especially when our boat was stored in marina. Wander the docks. Say hi. Someone is always working on something, and a few are happy to have another hand.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by Peter195678

Dear readers,
I have a desire to begin my retirement (in 2029) on a boat.
How can I acquire the knowledge and skills to do most of my own maintenance before I retire?
I live and work in the middle east and have no access to regular or what you might consider normal marinas or sailing clubs.
I work random shift so even if there were night classes in boat building I would not be able to attend.
I think perhaps I could try a hobby supported by online learning that might help me acquire the knowledge and skills I will need but what hobby to consider?
All suggestions appreciated.
Thanks Pete

I would start by building your library with the basic books you will need no matter where you go. Get a subscription to Practical Sailor magazine and consider their selection of offerings. Begin an attitude of doing all maintenance yourself around the house and vehicles...it will take you longer to fix everything yourself but you will learn along the way which is your true goal.

There are so many disciplines associated with boat operations and maintenance you will be learning the ropes of boat care the rest of your life. Just remember that the professional got that way by doing many of the same jobs numerous times.

Good Luck.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[cat-keys]

I agree there is no better teacher than experience. But if you don’t have decades to learn and want a well structured proper learning experience bookended by ABYC and NMEA training and certifications then you really should take an online course. Especially when it come to electrical. What I have learned formally in the last three months taking these courses and reading the text books has proven to be extremely valuable as a foundation. Then you follow up on projects on your own boat and know that you have the textbook knowledge

There are a lot of great DYI videos on YouTube that’s true. Also great advice on this forum. But you really need to tie that together with true coursework. These classes are online so there is no problem being remote - it’s one of the great benefits of this pandemic in fact.

The courses I am taking here in south florida at broward college are great. Even though I’m the oldest guy in the class the labs are excellent and the students very engaged. If you don’t want to enroll in the entire program just take the courses you are interested in at

Mrlopezclasses.com

[salfarina]

All of these suggestions are superb. I’d like to add that you should read anything (or ideally everything) written by Don Casey and Nigel Caldor.

[keyway]

Hello. Though countless hours of trials and toils I have achieved the illustrious title of “Jack of all trades,Master of none”. But really I can fix just about anything. A few things I have learned along the way is always Do it yourself. If you look at the problem or project carefully. Take the time to really look at it and consider all the necessary steps to affect your repair. Most things are not as complicated as the may seem at first. There’s certainly nothing wrong with researching but watching someone with skills do a job is not the same as you acquiring those same skills. The YouTube pros make it look easy. So be patient and except that you result may not be altogether professional but safe and secure and adequate. Don’t be afraid to pick up the wrench, epoxy or any other tool. Which brings up my last point, avoid cheap tools. Good luck with it all.

[DanielI]

Another vote for “become generally handy.” Some excellent books are suggested in this thread, but in my experience, reading them without doing hands on work makes it hard to absorb. As I work on my boat, each time I go back to re-read something, in preparation for the next project, it all makes so much more sense.

You don’t say where in the mid-east you are: there is Mediterranean sailing from Haifa and Tel Aviv. I don’t know how easy it is for you to get there.