Tackling long to do lists for boat fixes

[Exile]

From the outset I kept an "A," "B" and "C" list. Only trouble was that, for awhile there, I never got past the "A" list. Nowadays if I find myself varnishing or thinking about the stereo system, I know I'm making progress!

[Suijin]

I'm with pretty much everyone that safety related items get immediately pushed to the front of the list.

After those, I keep "boat protect" items at the top as well. That is, making sure all the deck hardware bedding is in good shape, that the gelcoat is protected (although now I have paint)...in other words, keeping water out of the boat and keeping the elements from deteriorating the boat. Because those things can not only become safety items, but they can cause expensive and difficult/expensive to repair damage.

Pretty much everything else falls into the "convenience or nice to have" category.

Right now I'm at the tail end of refitting the deck of my boat which has been a herculean task. Much of the interior had to come apart to provide access, the helm and quadrant were disassembled, propane locker pulled, on and on. The list of things included as part of the project grew to include all those "well now is the logical time to do it, since the boat is pulled apart" items. Deck wash down, new autopilot, cockpit shower, some rewiring, replumbing. It's been an ordeal, but I took a big chunk out of my list.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

First, I agree with Tesselate, who said above:

"It sounds like you're having trouble prioritizing *non-safety* projects. This is basically the classic problem of "I have 100 P2s, how do I prioritize within those?"

For the long list of non-safety P2s, I prioritize based on how much it will improve life on the boat. You use your toilet every day right? So that would come before pulling tinned wire for the auto tiller.

Some of this will be much easier to figure out with some time spent cruising. So this might sound counterintuitive, but going sailing for a day or two gets an automatic trump card over all non-safety projects. If you want to go sailing, go sailing. Some problems you'll find *alternative* workarounds for, so the project moves down in priority if you found a decent temporary alternative. And you'll realize some problems you thought were problems are probably just fine to ignore."

Wholeheartedly agree. Before I did long stretches on my boat, I had one list. After I put the first thousand miles on her, I had another list. A lot of "nice-to-do stuff drops so far down the list, that practically speaking, I won't do those until I retire. Safety first - for me, it's bilge pumps and other things that keep the water out, plus life raft (I go offshore), MOB gear, PFDs / harnesses, EPIRB, etc. Plus standing rigging which can ruin your whole day if it breaks. Currently I'm working on the have-to stuff - raw water pump rebuild, and autopilot base (some would say that's a want, not a need, but I say try hand steering mostly alone for 1000 miles). Fyi, if you spend just a bit of time in heavy weather, you begin to appreciate safety gear in a whole new light.

I use a spreadsheet, because I tend to lose pieces of paper, but I do print out the sheet now and then, and send copies to myself so they live in the ether even if my laptop dies. Spreadsheets are helpful in terms of categorizing and sorting. In one of Don Casey's books, maybe This Old Boat(?), he has a whole section on how to prioritize projects.

[redhead]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I
Right now I'm at the tail end of refitting the deck of my boat which has been a herculean task. Much of the interior had to come apart to provide access, the helm and quadrant were disassembled, propane locker pulled, on and on. The list of things included as part of the project grew to include all those "well now is the logical time to do it, since the boat is pulled apart" items. Deck wash down, new autopilot, cockpit shower, some rewiring, replumbing. It's been an ordeal, but I took a big chunk out of my list.

"Project creep" has been our biggest enemy time wise. But we won't have to disassemble again what we already had apart. It also shot our budget to pieces since while we had the engine room apart ($$$$) we decided to move the generator to another place (time) and in order to see we had to paint and relight the engine room itself (time + $$$$).

The good news is, that it's done and almost paid for. I no longer have to wonder if the boat is going to sink at the dock, I know pretty much every inch of this boat and I'm now on cosmetic projects and that's very satisfying.

[toddster8]

The boat is so simple, compared to my to-do list for the farm. So when I'm overwhelmed with stuff to do here, I go down to the boat and fix something.



Also depends somewhat on what parts and bits of gear I've been able to hunt and gather lately from Craigslist or Ebay... i.e. "Well, that wasn't at the top of the priority list, but it was on the list and a deal too good to pass up."

[mayberrybfd]

Originally Posted by Seeking Solace

So, I'm sitting down today and making this list of all of those things I have got to get done on the boat. Some simple and others will probably take me months to get to.

When you guys are doing boat projects, how do you decide what is most important?

I mean, don't think I'm trolling. I understand things like fixing my anchor light and a fuel leak come first.

I'm talking about the endless list of things that need to be done like scrubbing and bleaching the holding tanks, fixing the toilet, pulling wire that's tinned for the auto tiller, replacing the radio.

Do you usually go by systems or do you go by time it will take, or some other method?

Some of the items are going to take me time because of the sheer costs involved. (Like a new main for example). There's only so much time in a day or week I can really do meaningful work.

On the bright side I'm picking up a new to me tender this week and it only needs a little light work done to it to have it ready to go.

HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT,,,,,,,, ONE BITE AT A TIME

[Stu Jackson]

I started out 19 years ago with a typed neat list, two columns on WORD, not a spreadsheet.

That doozy of a list is still sitting around and sometimes I'll mark done on it.

PROVES the advice given by many that new boat owners shouldn't jump in and make changes unless they live with the boat for a year.

Meanwhile, index cards have replaced the BIG list. I sometimes keep the cards for a year or so, makes me feel I've done a lot!

I keep a serious maintenance log in my boat book, dates, times, engine hours, work done, remarks, tips & tricks.

Two very distinct items.

[CLady]

To attack the "To Do" list, I invite people to go sailing, sign up for an offshore race, or have the surveyor come aboard to do an updated insurance survey.
Aside from always prioritizing safety items/things to do, I invite people to go sailing.
To prompt myself to make sure everything is fully sailing functional, I invite youth groups, family, friends, etc., to go for a sail.
To prompt myself to make sure the boat is extra clean, (deck/sides washed, waxed, and stainless polished, port lights and hatch lenses polished and see-through clear, cabin vacuumed, dusted, wiped down, etc., I invite people aboard who own a nicer, bigger, or better-kept boat than mine.
Preparing the boat for offshore racing makes me tackle the full long list, or getting a survey for the insurance renewal makes me go bristol on top of the long list.
Otherwise, I mentally agonize over when I will actually tackle refinishing the cabin sole, revarnishing the bulkheads, etc., detail the interior, etc., and get my old boat "looking new" - ish again. This usually only lasts 30 minutes to an hour and I remember my priority to enjoy sailing her rather than staying at the dock doing extra cosmetics.
Some of the best times with my grandkids is doing boat stuff--recently, installing new running rigging deck hardware before going out sailing. Being pretzels together dealing with the acrobatics/gyrations to get tools/parts/bolts/nuts/washers held in VERY tight spaces, etc. is great for MUCH laughter and teasing for getting so stuck. The reward is admiring our work and going out sailing trying it out.

[atmartin]

For me, the most important thing is to keep a running "Worry List" for anything that comes up. Squeaky area underfoot? Too much belt dust? Runners too hard to throw off? Put it on the worry list! Otherwise, that stuff keeps me up at night.

Later, I process the list by priority and type of work. Grouping tasks by the tools required. Since it can take up to 30 minutes to unpack, say, painting supplies, or carpentry stuff, it's wise to group tasks by the tools required. Sawdust and oil don't mix, so no carpentry on engine-love day. Carpentry/Varnish, Mechanical/Rigging and, oddly, Plumbing/Electrical seem to go well together, but I'm sure that's just my own brand of insanity.

[B00B00]

I use the wunderlist app for all work lists and even shopping lists. Have been using it for about 4 years now and have found it to be an incredibly efficient way to keep on top of an ongoing job list.
You can tag as many people into it as you want and they get an update email whenever you tick something off or add an item or note. You can have sub folders for each item and add notes as well as prioritize the items. And it's with you on your phone all the time.
On my job list for the current project (Beneteau oceanis 50 13,000nm home to New Zealand with my family of 3 kids under 9 and only 2 months to prepare) I have a list which is broken down into several sub categories, shopping list for spare parts and everything I want/need to buy for the boat, food shopping list for anything we can think if that we don't want to forget, the loft job list (Lee cloths, mainsail service and many others), general boat jobs, wish list ect. My wife is also tagged in as well as my best mate back home who together we have set up many different boats and big projects using the app. Having him tagged in actually helps me a lot as our long term plan us to do the 2 handed round New Zealand race 2019 and he is already thinking and adding items to the list under another sub category. Sometimes it feels like we even communicate via the app and have some good laughs.
The last project we worked on together was a 1500nm 2 handed race earlier this year and we had a brand spanking new Jeanneau Sunfast 3600 to play with. It was a huge task to get a stock standard boat fully pimped and setup exactly as we wanted in the year before the race but we can honestly say we ticked EVERY item off that list and it was a very very long list with some big tasks (like a 1.8m carbon prod).. ticking the last job off on the night before the race followed by a whisky shot was actually a pretty damn cool feeling. I had never felt so prepared all my life.

It's also a great way to keep the crew involved with the boat prep and know what's going on. It almost becomes a challenge to see who can tick the most items off the list each day or night.

Highly recommended and in fact for me it has been somewhat life changing. I actually feel on top of the job list and organised where as before I was always in a state to chaos and really didn't feel on top of it. Its a good feeling.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Seeking Solace

So, I'm sitting down today and making this list of all of those things I have got to get done on the boat. Some simple and others will probably take me months to get to.

When you guys are doing boat projects, how do you decide what is most important?

I mean, don't think I'm trolling. I understand things like fixing my anchor light and a fuel leak come first.

I'm talking about the endless list of things that need to be done like scrubbing and bleaching the holding tanks, fixing the toilet, pulling wire that's tinned for the auto tiller, replacing the radio.

Do you usually go by systems or do you go by time it will take, or some other method?

Some of the items are going to take me time because of the sheer costs involved. (Like a new main for example). There's only so much time in a day or week I can really do meaningful work.

On the bright side I'm picking up a new to me tender this week and it only needs a little light work done to it to have it ready to go.

Do the whole sanitation system at one haul. You have odors--or the potential for them--and finishing those will improve life immeasurably while you are on the boat.

If you're lucky, pulling the tinned wire through may not be too bad. Solder the new wire to the older one, and also tape them together in as narrow a snake as you can, spray the outside of the new wire with silicone spray so it is slickery, then pull the new wire in by pulling the old one out. If you're lucky, luck always helps, it'll go smoothly, but if there are many bends, it will be tedious.

Anyway, remember to reward yourself for fixing things by taking yourself for a sail. You don't want to get to the space where you dread going to the boat for all the jobs. Mostly, cosmetic jobs can wait.

And as C Lady suggested, kids can get a real kick out of helping you. Supervised, kids can sand varnish, can be gofers for you. Pretend they're someone else's, if necessary, and see how useful small "slaves" can be. You might even make it fun for both of you.

And congrats on the new dinghy.

Ann

[msrcal36]

A great resource:https://www.amazon.com/This-Old-Boat.../dp/0071477942
Don Casey does a terriffic job explaining how to fix, repair, improve things on a boat BUT he also does an excellent job of outlining HOW TO PRIORITIZE jobs on the boat. Step by step of list making and job priority.

[hellosailor]

Solace-
I'm a fossil. I love INDEX CARDS. Quick, simple, cheap, a bit hard to find these days but they are still out there. I use 3x5 cards and put one project, on title, on one card. Sometimes I'll mark them "solo" "two hands" "needs parts" on the top line as well, if it isn't obvious.
And one day having just an hour or two to kill...I found the card that said "Drill holes in through-hull plugs & hand around". Easy job, pulled the card, threw it out when I was done. Don't need the computer, don't need power...low tech is enough sometimes.
You can re-sort them by urgency, or completion date, or take recurring jobs and just keep moving them to the next date, totally flexible and no learning curve needed.

[zstine]

I'm surprised that everyone is so quick to say "safety items first". That's not how we prioritized in the Defense industry when I was building submarines. We based priority on 'Risk' which is a function of both the amount safety is impacted and the likelihood of occurrence. I've definitely done what I felt like or the wife wants, over a safety item if there was low risk and/or a workaround. For example, my anchor light has not worked all season. I spent some time trying to figure it out, but I've also done many other items, like replacing batteries, building cabinets, etc. I still anchor out and I just run some other lights and/or hoist a battery operated light up a halyard, but not always depending on where I am. The risk is low.

As far as tracking the list, I as many, use excel and track category, priority, est $, manhours, materials/parts needed, tools needs, description, sched... etc. it is typical that many projects are on-going at one time b/c issues come up that prevent that job from progressing and I move on to the next job. These issues are identified in my spreadsheet so whatever is needed can be resolved.

[Seeking Solace]

These are all pretty good ideas. I really appreciate all of the input on how you go about doing things on your to do lists for the boat.

Yes, it sometimes seems overwhelming. I find that I keep going to the boat and instead of doing the things that need done I go sailing. It's almost like I have to wait for a bad weather day to get any work done there.

There are some urgent items on my list. This week I'm going to search down a fuel leak that has had me scratching my head and I've got help coming to hold some lines while I go up the mast and fix the anchor light. So at least there's that.

I have been wanting to get the bilge dry so that means pulling the cockpit floor access panel and putting a gasket on it. I've got a small leak issue around the ports too so at the very least I'm going to caulk around them. Ultimately I am sure I will end up pulling them and re-bedding them.

As for the toilet. No, I have only used it once when I first got the boat. Soon after my kiddo pumped the handle and the seal blew at the base of the pump. It also doubles as a flapper valve. I tried to source the parts, but no such luck. Pattie told me that I wouldn't find any parts, and she was spot on in what she said. So, I'll be replacing the whole thing as time and money allows.

After five months I did manage to get my wife to go on the boat. We had a pretty easy sail across the bay and back. It was late and she had plans for the next day so I didn't keep her out too long. I'll have to try to get her to go during the day so she's not so afraid of what she can't see.

I managed to pick up a new to me tender this week and it needs some work too. At least it's simple enough and will make getting back and forth a whole lot easier I hope.

I've taken time to organize my list into systems. Then there is a special section for FIX it NOW priority stuff. The fuel leak and the anchor light are at the top of that list. I noticed last week that the fan belt had gotten loose and had rubbed a water hose on the engine. I tightened the belt, but now it's on the list to replace the hose, get another spare belt, and put a belt guard on there to prevent future damage to the hoses if it decides to loosen up again.

It's been a whole lot of cleaning, but things are starting to feel comfortable again. That trip was difficult with so much stuff on the boat. I'll be glad when I figure out what everything on there is. I'd had a piece of gear that I was clueless about and it turned out to be for a spinnaker that went around the genoa and allowed you to run it without a pole. I think it's called "The Tacker" by ATN. I've got to try to figure out if I have all the pieces to use it.

There are a few panels I've taken out so many times I think I'm going to put a hinge on them and twist locks. I am pretty sure the screw holes will wear out at the rate I've been going. Still, on the bright side, I'm just about to the point of being a walking schematic of the electrical system. When I get to fix the head I'm sure I'll have that system memorised too.