The new to me boat has been mine for a bit now. A couple of months really. Other than the delivery from the Bahamas, I have not moved it from the dock. I have spent this time learning the systems, fixing minor things and getting junk either off the boat or organized on it. I still have a long way to go with that part, the organizing.
There will always be something to fix on the boat. Of that I am sure. Jennifer bought a small plaque from a beach shop. It says something like, “The Ocean fixes Everything”. Still looking for the things it fixes, but I have found a lot of what it breaks. Even if I had purchased a new boat, something would break and need to be fixed. I bought an old boat. Lots of things need fixing.
When working on a boat one must not squander opportunities, time or money. This is why so many people like lists. Lists provide a simple means to show you what needs to be done. It affords the chance to prioritize the work and order for most affect. Sadly, it also grows and grows and grows. Knowing no bounds the list will fill your entire boat. Forget about a shelf to store can goods or other provisions; you need a space for the list.
The key to boat maintenance, very much like the key to a productive life, is deceptively simple. It is so simple in fact that it is taught in Fortune 20 companies, to MBAs. At a company culture event, an event designed to indoctrinate one into what executives think is important, we play a game. The game had two tables set up with white craft paper covering its length. On each, a organizer had randomly scattered red, white and blue chips, much like poker chips. The goal was to run through and get the most chips in the time allotted. Some people almost made it all the way through, most got reasonably close to halfway. Everyone had a pat on the back and a great feeling of accomplishment; even though they did not complete the entire “track”.
Then the organizers explained the rest of the rules… Each white chip represented something that needed to be done and might at some point in the future be useful. The red chips represented things that did not need to be done. It might be convenient but definitely not necessary. Finally, the blue chips. These were the tasks/items with the highest value. Doing blue chips gets the largest bang for the buck, so to speak. The game was then tried again. With value assigned, and knowing the color scheme, people selected the items that gave themselves the greater score and avoided those items that took away from getting that score. That is, they went after blue chips first.
The same is true for boat maintenance. Blue chips give you the greatest value and impact. The red chips take away from you enjoying your boat. The red chips take up the same resources and time, but don’t deliver the same value; avoid them.
Now the trick is deciding what is a blue chip, a white chip and a red chip for your self. I find certain safety and material comforts important. They may be blue chips for me. For instance, when searching for my next boat, which is now my current boat, a blue chip for me was a stand alone shower. I have friends that think I have lost my mind. To them a separate shower stall is a white chip or maybe even red. That’s ok. I respect their decisions and its why there are SO MANY different boats in the world. Find the one that tickles your important spots. Back to maintenance.
So what are the blue chips I have discovered in 2 months? What are the items that must be addressed first? Not surprisingly many of these are on the survey.
- Fix the mast step and related leak
- Get all thru-hulls/seacocks working or replaced.
Others I have found myself or would have done anyway
- Add sea-cocks to above waterline through hulls
- Rewire mast
- new chain plates and rigging
- Re-bed all deck fittings to keep them from leaking
- new running rigging
- New hoses to everything
I chose these items, and there are many more, since they either keep the boat afloat, the rig up or the boat from catching on fire. These are all in support of my largest blue chip: NEVER deploy my life raft.
Now, time and money are also part of the blue chip equation. Since, if I don’t have any when I am done, someone else will have to cruise my refurbished boat for me. Not a pleasant prospect at all. So I may pick up some items that to me are not blue (maybe blueish white). For example, say I have to take all the teak hand rails, cleats, deck organizers and what else off the deck to re-bed them. Since the equipment was most likely caulked with Silicone I will have to sand them and the deck. Is this not the right time to roll and tip the deck? I think so. To someone else this is a red chip. They will stay away from it. My point is that, sometimes you can pick up something important and get several other things done more efficiently.
This brings us back to planning or lists. I have prioritized lists of everything that needs to be fixed or that I just want. Starting with the highest priority, I imagine what it will take to fix/install or what ever. As I look at what must be done for that item, I see what other items are associated with the work. I need to re-bed deck fittings. To do this I must
- Remove the headliner
- Remove all the fittings (hand rails, teak eyebrow, rope clutches, cleats, car track, tow rails, bimini, assorted pad-eyes, portlights and more).
- Sand the deck and fittings
This opens the opportunity to also pickup:
- deck painting
- new electrical under the headliner
- New headliner coverings (if desired)
- New non-skid (likely kiwi grip)
Now, it is far from necessary to paint the deck. The previous paint is still mostly good. Some peeling has occurred and some wear through can be seen. There are also the spots were hardware was previously mounted and moved. If I choose not to paint it will not sink the boat. But on the other hand, if I will also have to do much of the removal again. So simply being prepared allows me to make an intelligent decision that doesn’t make me do certain steps twice.
I have several blue chips that will go exactly like this. But where to stop? That’s a trick question. Its really more of where to draw the line that you are not willing to cross, for now. For me its the blue chips that need to be finished before I can sail the boat widely and the immediate fixes touching those blue chips. Take the list above originating from re-bedding everything. One item that I don’t mention is water stained teak. A leak, from apparently the eye-brow teak, has bubbled some teak veneer and stained a locker door. This symptom would require taking apart much more than would be necessary to simply fix the problem. The problem is the leak, not unattractive teak. The teak moves down the list or into the white chip category. It will be dealt with in time, possibly while in the tropics but at least I can sail while figuring out how to fix it.
It never stops, the constant fixing and working on the boat. The boat is alive and lives in a habitat that is volatile. Good luck finding the end. If you plan well you can efficiently get important items fixed in a place it is convenient and take care of everything else as you use you boat.