More Medical Problems. Should I Sell? What’s your opinion?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by C420sailor

Do you use a respirator when you work? Recommend a half face with VOC filters and N95 or better prefilters.

You’ll get back. Walking does wonders.

I use a full face supplied air respirator which pulls air from outside and upwind when working with anything hazardous.

When working with just dust, to err on the side of caution, I use a 3m p100 charcoal filter mask to keep particulates and any unplanned weird stuff out.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Tillikum

Perhaps you would find it worthwhile to read the books written by Drs. Davis and Gundry, the one former cardiologist and the other a very prominent cardiac surgeon.

The good news is that there is a great deal you can do to improve your own health, easily, cheaply and with little risk. However, self-education is necessary and at a certain point one must confront the reality met by the Drs. mentioned above, and thousands of others, that our medical system often prefers complex and expensive solutions to symptoms, rather than simple, cheap solutions to the actual root causes. Not only that, but as with the to and fro over matters such as cholesterol and saturated fats (thank you American Soy Bean Association), the verdict is emphatically not in on many important questions. Best of luck to you.

I eat most a vegan and plant based diet with the majority of proteins coming from beans, chickpeas, lentils. A little lean meat thrown in here and there, plus plenty of salmon. I don’t have sodium. I don’t have much butter at all. I drown things in olive oil. I eat oatmeal nearly every day with fruit.

I weigh 150 lbs. I’m physically active on a daily basis.

I haven’t drank or smoked in years. I’m a disciplined person. My stress is a factor, but that’s about it.

I was injured by a chemical exposure, not clogged arteries. Same as someone running or lifting weights that has a heart attack. The shock of the chemical exposure burning my lungs caused the very minor plaque in my coronary artery to pop off and my body sent in the army to fix it. Blood clotting.

So my artery plugged up with a clot sent in to repair the damage.

Not exactly your typical case.

[Clivevon]

First of all, Chotu, CONGRATULATIONS! You SURVIVED! You know that lots of people don't. But YOU are still here. And with options, yet! Lucky you.

Now is most definitely NOT the time to be making any big decisions. You could be dead next week, which makes any lifestyle decisions a bit redundant. Now is the time to recuperate & listen to your doctors. So you may not be able to fulfil your life's ambitions. Tough. Get over it & find something else if you have to - there are many ways to enjoy life.

I have no idea how old you are. I had a heart attack at 47, which was something of a surprise. 28 years later I'm still here. So far, so good. Having a critical illness tends to change most peoples outlook on life. Focus on what is important. What is most important, you ask? Staying alive. While still having a life worth living.

Stop thinking about what you cannot do. Start thinking about what you can do. Actually, dont think about anything at all right now. Give yourself TIME.

For me, I took 6 months off & bought a boat. Then I thought about my career & my ambitions. I decided to to work less but work smarter, because now I had to - I didn't want to die. 35 hours a week not 60. 12 weeks holiday a year not 2. I got people to come to me instead of me going to them. I focussed on the most rewarding stuff (financially, intellectually & psychologically) & delegated the rest. I kept working a few years past normal retirement age but by now it was 12 weeks "work" a year & they were fun. Things worked out just fine. Lucky me. Thank you God.

As for sailing - well, I don't cross oceans. But I do get a lot of fun, stimulation, satisfaction, whatever, out of my sailing. And I'm still here to do it. Things worked out just fine. Listen to your body. LISTEN. Maybe push the envelope - but do it sensibly. Good luck to you. Whatever you do, I wish you well. I'm sure things will turn out fine.

[John Hornung]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Well, my misfortunes seem to be always multiplying no matter how hard I fight them.

I was exposed to yet ANOTHER chemical. The SDS/MSDS said it was not harmful. Well, I beg to differ.

It burned my already sensitive lungs (sensitive due to epoxy exposures). The stress of the situation on my system tore a little bit of my extremely mild plaque buildup off my coronary artery, my body sent clotting in to “fix” it and that gave me a “widow maker” style heart attack. I could have easily died last week if they didn’t immediately do the angioplasty and stent.

So now I’m faced with a big decision.

Should I sell this perfect boat I’ve been building all this time and stop sailing?

Are many of you sailing post heart attack?

I don’t know how I could ever give this boat up. But what should I do?

Keep sailing, would you rather die in some foreign ICU or on your boat? Immediately begin mitigating the health issues that got you to this quandary!

[jack630]

Very sorry to hear about your heart problem. My Dad lived another 40 plus years after his two hear attacks. Take care of yourself.

Over the past couple of years, I see you discuss a variety of problems with this boat. All boats have problems and are a lot of work, but this boat seems to give you more than your fair share.

I wouldn't have a problem with buying a travel trailer and traveling the country. There's a lot of great places to see and things to do. I think it would be much easier and camping in different places like the desert or woods would be great. I had a friend at work that one day up and quit. He bought a RV and traveled the country and loved it.

Best of luck.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Clivevon

First of all, Chotu, CONGRATULATIONS! You SURVIVED! You know that lots of people don't. But YOU are still here. And with options, yet! Lucky you.

Now is most definitely NOT the time to be making any big decisions. You could be dead next week, which makes any lifestyle decisions a bit redundant. Now is the time to recuperate & listen to your doctors. So you may not be able to fulfil your life's ambitions. Tough. Get over it & find something else if you have to - there are many ways to enjoy life.

I have no idea how old you are. I had a heart attack at 47, which was something of a surprise. 28 years later I'm still here. So far, so good. Having a critical illness tends to change most peoples outlook on life. Focus on what is important. What is most important, you ask? Staying alive. While still having a life worth living.

Stop thinking about what you cannot do. Start thinking about what you can do. Actually, dont think about anything at all right now. Give yourself TIME.

For me, I took 6 months off & bought a boat. Then I thought about my career & my ambitions. I decided to to work less but work smarter, because now I had to - I didn't want to die. 35 hours a week not 60. 12 weeks holiday a year not 2. I got people to come to me instead of me going to them. I focussed on the most rewarding stuff (financially, intellectually & psychologically) & delegated the rest. I kept working a few years past normal retirement age but by now it was 12 weeks "work" a year & they were fun. Things worked out just fine. Lucky me. Thank you God.

As for sailing - well, I don't cross oceans. But I do get a lot of fun, stimulation, satisfaction, whatever, out of my sailing. And I'm still here to do it. Things worked out just fine. Listen to your body. LISTEN. Maybe push the envelope - but do it sensibly. Good luck to you. Whatever you do, I wish you well. I'm sure things will turn out fine.

This is good stuff. Thank you.

I’m a similar age to you when you had yours. I’m definitely going through some things. Maybe I need more time to sort them out like you say.

I definitely need to work on reducing the workload too.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by John Hornung

Keep sailing, would you rather die in some foreign ICU or on your boat? Immediately begin mitigating the health issues that got you to this quandary!

So the chemical exposure from the boat building that got me into this quandary should be mitigated?

I’m with you there. But I’m not sailing. I’m building. Nearly done.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by jack630

Very sorry to hear about your heart problem. My Dad lived another 40 plus years after his two hear attacks. Take care of yourself.

Over the past couple of years, I see you discuss a variety of problems with this boat. All boats have problems and are a lot of work, but this boat seems to give you more than your fair share.

I wouldn't have a problem with buying a travel trailer and traveling the country. There's a lot of great places to see and things to do. I think it would be much easier and camping in different places like the desert or woods would be great. I had a friend at work that one day up and quit. He bought a RV and traveled the country and loved it.

Best of luck.

It’s high on the list for sure. If you can’t boat, you RV.

[JPA Cate]

Well, another day has arrived, and I think there's been some improvement--it's never as fast as we want. So, congrats.

I was just thinking, you managed on your mono, in spite of its unavoidable mold problems, for months last year. Is it possible, with medication, to use the mono, and go sailing after the cardiologist clears you? Just trying to feel out what you can do, as there will be moldy pockets in any RV, too, any canal boat, but are there sprays that would reduce it enough for your body? It's a very complicated problem.....with your pre-existing conditions, more than this, from which you are in an excellent position to heal.

Good luck with it, Chotu.

Ann

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by Chotu

The one sticking reason I can’t find a used boat to do this with is all the production boats have a wooden liner type construction. They put thin finish wood panels between the hull and the cabin.

This leaves an area of the boat you can’t touch that develops mold and thanks to a lifetime on boats, I’m allergic to everything on boats. Such as the mold that grows in these dead spaces.

My boat was built without these dead spaces for just this reason.

Originally Posted by Chotu

I’m looking at 2 years full time for one person currently to get it to a point one could move in.

I think that these points are the limiting factor to all the well meaning but perhaps not realistic thoughts and suggestions of 'carpe diem' and 'just go now'.

Let's say you need a year of recovery, plus at least 2 years to finish the boat - probably more if it's yourself doing it piecemeal - so that's 2-3 years minimum until you can cast off and go cruising.

Plus add some more time again for additonal unforseen issues (since you don't seem to be especially lucky with this project) so let's say a ball park of 4-5 years until you can be ready to go.

I have followed quite a few of your threads, so I'm just being realistic

Now I seem to remember replying to one of those threads when you were having health issues again and you were considering hiring out the remaining work on the boat and returning to focus on your normal job/business?

At the time I replied that I thought that this was a very good idea. It's a pity that didn't work out (I don't recall why you decided against that option).

So could reassessing your financial and job/business situation be the best course of action?

Could focusing on that be a better approach overall?

- Increase income?
- Stay in a more flexible and healthy environment for recovery (office, not boat building)?
- Hire 2 workers instead of 1 if possible?
- Shorten the time to finish the build to 1 year?

Would that then put you in a position to cast off in 1 / 1.5 years, fully recovered, not stressed out, with no further medical incidents, and with the boat finished?

My comments might be viewed as a bit of tough love, but is this a more realistic approach?

If not, and if you are certain that selling this boat and buying a ready to cruise model isn't an option for the above health reasons...

...then I suggest biting the bullet and taking the hard decision to get rid of this damn boat and all the stress and problems and health issues it has caused you.

Because banging your head against the wall with 'the project, the project' isn't living - and in your case it might just kill you.

Instead you could then think about something much simpler and more manageable.

As you said, RVing interests you too and could be a substitute for the cruising life.

My 2 cents.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Well, another day has arrived, and I think there's been some improvement--it's never as fast as we want. So, congrats.

I was just thinking, you managed on your mono, in spite of its unavoidable mold problems, for months last year. Is it possible, with medication, to use the mono, and go sailing after the cardiologist clears you? Just trying to feel out what you can do, as there will be moldy pockets in any RV, too, any canal boat, but are there sprays that would reduce it enough for your body? It's a very complicated problem.....with your pre-existing conditions, more than this, from which you are in an excellent position to heal.

Good luck with it, Chotu.

Ann

I think he sold the mono, but I agree with the concept. If the mold allergy can be managed in some form, then with a bit of work to minimize mold growth potential, it's likely possible to find a boat that would allow you to do more boating without the long wait to finish the cat.

[dfelsent]

Oh Chotu my sympathies.
I do not yet share the experience of severe health problems. Yet. I will as we all will.
I do share your love of the sea and adventures. I have been following your adventures with great interest.
I have no useful advice but to say you go around once in this life, and I am realizing at 63 that I want to make the best of it. I am lucky it’s taken ‘til a few years ago to understand that.

‘Best’ means picking my trade offs and chasing what I choose.

[Chotu]

Really good stuff!

I had a team of 2. They didn’t do too bad, but Covid hit soon after they started and everything ground to a halt.

Thank you for the reminder that this is another possibility. I had completely forgotten this option.

Now that I have all the process kinks worked out and Covid is less of a threat, I’m sure things could resume in that way. Assuming anyone wants to work for what I can afford which may not be competitive with what Biden can afford. LOL

Originally Posted by jmh2002

I think that these points are the limiting factor to all the well meaning but perhaps not realistic thoughts and suggestions of 'carpe diem' and 'just go now'.

Let's say you need a year of recovery, plus at least 2 years to finish the boat - probably more if it's yourself doing it piecemeal - so that's 2-3 years minimum until you can cast off and go cruising.

Plus add some more time again for additonal unforseen issues (since you don't seem to be especially lucky with this project) so let's say a ball park of 4-5 years until you can be ready to go.

I have followed quite a few of your threads, so I'm just being realistic

Now I seem to remember replying to one of those threads when you were having health issues again and you were considering hiring out the remaining work on the boat and returning to focus on your normal job/business?

At the time I replied that I thought that this was a very good idea. It's a pity that didn't work out (I don't recall why you decided against that option).

So could reassessing your financial and job/business situation be the best course of action?

Could focusing on that be a better approach overall?

- Increase income?
- Stay in a more flexible and healthy environment for recovery (office, not boat building)?
- Hire 2 workers instead of 1 if possible?
- Shorten the time to finish the build to 1 year?

Would that then put you in a position to cast off in 1 / 1.5 years, fully recovered, not stressed out, with no further medical incidents, and with the boat finished?

My comments might be viewed as a bit of tough love, but is this a more realistic approach?

If not, and if you are certain that selling this boat and buying a ready to cruise model isn't an option for the above health reasons...

...then I suggest biting the bullet and taking the hard decision to get rid of this damn boat and all the stress and problems and health issues it has caused you.

Because banging your head against the wall with 'the project, the project' isn't living - and in your case it might just kill you.

Instead you could then think about something much simpler and more manageable.

As you said, RVing interests you too and could be a substitute for the cruising life.

My 2 cents.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Really good stuff!

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Well, another day has arrived, and I think there's been some improvement--it's never as fast as we want. So, congrats.

I was just thinking, you managed on your mono, in spite of its unavoidable mold problems, for months last year. Is it possible, with medication, to use the mono, and go sailing after the cardiologist clears you? Just trying to feel out what you can do, as there will be moldy pockets in any RV, too, any canal boat, but are there sprays that would reduce it enough for your body? It's a very complicated problem.....with your pre-existing conditions, more than this, from which you are in an excellent position to heal.

Good luck with it, Chotu.

Ann

Thanks, Ann.

I sold that boat to pay for more construction on this one.

During the summer, I just kept everything open or struggled with my breathing, slept on deck, etc. Not fun. It’s the real reason we chose to sell her. I was all for using that boat to cruise now. My other half was not. She likes the catamaran better, but also had airtight logic. What do we do when we are in major pollution (which are particulates in the “moderate” level for me) and have to go inside and close up with the mold?

It happens. And it’s brutal.

I’m going to look into the idea of a new crew to work on the boat.

If anyone is interested but is asking prices a simple man can afford, please reach out. This forum seem to be the wrong place to find help because it’s full of people who are well off enough to own their own boats. There have been mismatches with the expectations of people here. They were looking for free housing, cars, high hourly wages, etc.

I built the boat because I CANT afford a ready made one.