Maintenance On Your Boat

[sailorchic34]

I should note that my yanmar that I rebuilt completely now has 245 hours on it, in a year and a half of running around. Still runs well even with the crazy cat lady rebuilding it. Plus it may be the only one with pink injection lines.

Same goes for the lighting, new panel boards, SOLAR, plumbing, rigging, I've done. I've not yet had a failure due the the crazy blonde working on the boat.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Boatyarddog

If you've seen some of the DIYers jobs I've seen you'll be glad you did.

I've seen some first class DIY work on boats. On the other hand the DIY skills of the PO on my boat consisted mainly of duck tape and tie wraps.

Here's one hint for DIY electrical work. Putting a whole bunch of tie wraps on cheap lamp cord and a crappy wiring job does not magically make it into a good wiring job.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I should note that my yanmar that I rebuilt completely now has 245 hours on it, in a year and a half of running around. Still runs well even with the crazy cat lady rebuilding it. Plus it may be the only one with pink injection lines.

Same goes for the lighting, new panel boards, SOLAR, plumbing, rigging, I've done. I've not yet had a failure due the the crazy blonde working on the boat.

Come on. Don't try to trick the newbies. Everyone by now has figured out that you are NOT the average, run of the mill, DIYourselfer.

If you get tired of hanging out on the boat living a life of ease you should start a marine maintenance and installation business. I would hire you to install new joker valves any time.

[sweetsailing]

We have only had our "big" boat for 3 years and many systems were new to us, however we were eager to learn. I like to think that both my husband and I have reasonable skills, work well together and know our limitations. We have done the vast majority of work on the boat ourselves which have included some larger projects like replacing the holding tank, replacing all head/holding tank hoses, refinishing all exterior teak, etc. My husband has great carpenter skills, wood working skills and general mechanical skills. I have sewing skills and also make a good sounding board for projects and thinking through what we are doing.

I think our biggest deficit is electrical skills, but we are learning. We had one reverse air conditioner/heating unit that would cool but not flip over to heat. Rather than calling in the experts right away, we took the time to LOOK at it, examine the schematics, etc. We initially assumed it was a sensor that needed to be replaced that was responsible for flipping from cooling to heating. We figured the least we could do was locate the sensor and order the part. After examining the unit, it became clear that there was a wire hanging that wasn't attached to anything. hmmmm...where does this go? After we looked at the schematics, we determined where it was to go and problem solved!

So many things sometime just require some careful examination and looking at your boat and it's systems and being able to determine when something is not as it should be.

[nautical62]

On my first boat, I did all the maintenance myself. My last boat was in charter management and I did none.

Doing all my own maintenance meant I knew the systems inside out, making it much easier to trouble shoot any follow up problems. My main incentive of course was to save money. The negative was that getting it done right took me much more time than it would and experience pro. Similarly it meant spending a lot of time working on the boat instead of cruising on the boat.

My charter boat was the opposite - Being professionally maintained meant things were done right and I didn't have to give up any potential cruising time to do maintenance. The negative, is not knowing the systems as well.


My overall feeling is that I much prefer cruising on my boat than doing maintenance on it.

[Tellie]

My opinion has always been that you should know all your boats systems and how to do most repairs if you plan to go offshore, it only makes sense, and I try to educate people as much as possible. But I have to also admit that I have a special spot in my heart for check book cruisers.

Halden Marine Services | Marine Watermakers, Solar Panels, Wind Generators

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Come on. Don't try to trick the newbies. Everyone by now has figured out that you are NOT the average, run of the mill, DIYourselfer.

If you get tired of hanging out on the boat living a life of ease you should start a marine maintenance and installation business. I would hire you to install new joker valves any time.

Cough, I think I might have to pass on that joker valve install. Mind you I've done mine a time or two. A key part is to put some vinegar down the head a few hours before the dirty deed. That tends to kill the bacteria that causes that delightful aroma. Diluted muriatic acid works too, though its a bit rough on the rubber o-rings. Don't ask me how I know.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Cough, I think I might have to pass on that joker valve install. Mind you I've done mine a time or two. A key part is to put some vinegar down the head a few hours before the dirty deed. That tends to kill the bacteria that causes that delightful aroma. Diluted muriatic acid works too, though its a bit rough on the rubber o-rings. Don't ask me how I know.

The vinegar trick works quite well IF the head isn't already clogged and you can flush it into the lines. Unfortunately that isn't usually the case for me.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by skipmac

The vinegar trick works quite well IF the head isn't already clogged and you can flush it into the lines. Unfortunately that isn't usually the case for me.

I should note that I have used a plumbers friend to unclog the head. It does work, or did for me. Place the pump plunger in the up position and have at it. Watch for splash back though.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I should note that I have used a plumbers friend to unclog the head. It does work, or did for me. Place the pump plunger in the up position and have at it. Watch for splash back though.

Yup, the plumbers' friend is a very useful deal on the boat. One time, even used one to cover a through hull while Jim was working on it. Three days ago, used one to capture a large grape which had jumped down the sink drain, clogging the galley sink. Good stuff.

Ann