At what point do you stop upgrading??

[bruceinOz]

Hi All. Sitting on my Cavalier32 in my pen, a nice sunny afternoon, thinking just what the heck is left to replace. I don't thnk there is anything much left original, except the hull.
How many of you have had a boat that sailed well, but is 30+ years old, so you start redoing a few of the systems inboard? Since then I have rerigged, new main and boom, new prop, shaft, seals, new autopilot, rebuilt engine and gearbox, new plumbing, new solar panel, rewired, new through hulls, and am now considering a wind vane.
I'm so glad I consciously chose not to speadsheet this
This boat was to be my introduction to keel sailing, one to upgrade from. It's obviously morphed into a keeper
Oh well, maybe I'll have a quick look at my chain plates again
Cheers everyone

[Capt.Alex]

Sounds like its time to quit working on it and go SAILING!!

[gamayun]

She sounds like a keeper now :-) I've started down this same path with a 25-year boat and keep thinking it's close to being done, but the throttle cable broke last weekend, so now I'm replacing the chain, wire, throttle and clutch cables on the steering. There is also a new main on order. She now sports new: jib, running rigging, plumbing, float switch, bilge pump, radar, chart plotter, and VHF radios with DSC. The prop shaft is coming up. Very tempted today by the used Monitor wind vane in the consignment shop...

[sandy stone]

I stop when I run out of money.

[Target9000]

Our boat is a 1974 with 3 circumnavigations under her belt. We're replacing everything, but then again, everything has already been replaced a few times. Boats always need fixing. They're like old house, never quite done but lived in anyway.

[Jcolman]

My boat is 41 years old. The PO replaced the motor, electrical systems, cushions, new veneers, etc etc etc....I'm now in the process of continuing that tradition. I doubt that it will ever end.

[senormechanico]

I can't go sailing until I install that interface between the GPS and the watermaker...

[bruceinOz]

I am the embodiment of the perfect PO.

[letsgetsailing3]

When you sell it.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

When you sell it.

Isn't it called maintenance?

[JPA Cate]

Jim built a windvane for our 36 footer (the Insatiable before Insatiable II). It steered us successfully and silently for over 35,000 miles. We used it coastally most of the time, and on all our offshore passages. It was a wonderful piece of gear. We did have an electronic autopilot, and we tended to use it only in air too light for the w/v or where an extremely accurate compass course was desirable. It could well be 60,000 mi. Neither of us remembers exactly. It was easy to use and we used it almost all the time for 86,000 miles.

Even so, I think you ought to get out and enjoy some sailing, and then address the w/v solution. All work and no play is just not the best way to spend your days.

Ann

[ullar]

Originally Posted by sandy stone

I stop when I run out of money.

Isn't that great!

I've made a rule to myself that I can spend money on equipment and improvements as long as I do the work myself. It keeps me back a bit. However it isn't a perfect rule as I tend to work on electronics instead of rigging and hull

[valhalla360]

There's a difference between maintenance and upgrading.

Maintenance never ends. Systems wear out, corrosion sets in, etc...

Upgrading is a personal choice. Do you really need a water maker, wind vane, etc... if you don't have them now?

[dcstrng]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Maintenance never ends...
Upgrading is a personal choice...

Yep --

[ullar]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

There's a difference between maintenance and upgrading.

Maintenance never ends. Systems wear out, corrosion sets in, etc...

Upgrading is a personal choice. Do you really need a water maker, wind vane, etc... if you don't have them now?

Maintenance is pain...
...upgrading is fun