[Omatako]

I believe in having modern technology on my boat so we have a fridge, deep freeze, flat screen TV, computer built into the chart table and will have a genset, watermaker, etc etc. and while it works it's great and it keeps the rest of the family happy.

But when it stops working, we all accept it as a natural consequence of being at sea and we live without it until I can fix it. Clearly I can't fix a TV that cashes in or, to be sure, the computer. But they're nice-to-haves. when they gone, they're gone.

Like some other posts above, I am also a committed fixer of things that I do understand. A lot of stuff like a genset for example is beyond my budget when new so I buy used non-functional ones for a song and make them work. I am busy with this project as we speak and also building my own watermaker which will end up costing me 10% of a factory unit.

So, Still, the naked truth is that on my boat, the time that comes free between fixing stuff that has stopped working and just pure maintenance (servicing engines etc, brightwork and so on) is filled with new projects from carpentry/joinery to mechanical stuff and electrical stuff. I never have to look far for something to do. In fact my list of stuff grows daily.

And often, especially with the carpentry/joinery stuff which for me is not a born-to talent, I do the same job more than once to get it exactly right.