Tired of working on my boat.

[lapworth]

I am going into my second year of sailing and have worked on my sloop for two winters now. She sails great but I have had to do work inside and out. My big question is do you put your projects away till next winter, because I can't work in my slip when I can be sailing. Is this a normal problem?

[brak]

personally, I don't sail when I could be working on my boat.

[sailingdog]

It depends on what your priorities are... some projects take precedence over sailing for me... but sailing trumps other projects...

[knothead]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

It depends on what your priorities are... some projects take precedence over sailing for me... but sailing trumps other projects...

That's it in a nut shell.

I haven't had a working galley stove or refrigeration since moving off the boat and into a house. We don't use the boat in a way that requires those conveniences anymore.
To me it just doesn't make sense to repair and maintain something that is not required to actually sail, just to have it sit and deteriorate due to lack of use.
You know what they say, "Use it or lose it." And it's true too. As long as we were using the stuff all the time, it was working fine. A few months of living ashore and everything started falling apart and rusting away.

We bought a little camp stove for 15 dollars and we use ice chests for the times that we stay aboard for more than a day at a time.
Same thing applies to electronics. Shoot, by the time I'm able to move back aboard and do some real cruising again, everything I could buy today will be obsolete.

But, she's got a brand new teak bowsprit, new stem fittings, the rig is in pretty good shape, the sails are fine, the ground tackle is old but sound and the engine is running good.

I'll be sailing!

[lapworth]

I spent the winter getting rid of my galley! I wasn't using it so I lost it, now there is plenty of room for fishing tackle and beer. Sorry I don't know if I'll ever be a true sailer and drink RUM.

[pdqaltair]

Originally Posted by lapworth

I am going into my second year of sailing and have worked on my sloop for two winters now. She sails great but I have had to do work inside and out. My big question is do you put your projects away till next winter, because I can't work in my slip when I can be sailing. Is this a normal problem?

I blew off work but lacked time to go out, lunch hours, an hour after we get back in....

Bits and pieces.

Yes, the rest of life seems on hold sometimes. Sometimes my job puts every thing on hold. Sometimes the family puts... You get the idea.

Sometimes it helps to list the things you will do on the hard, so that you can forget about them for a while.

[floatsome]

Originally Posted by lapworth

My big question is do you put your projects away till next winter, because I can't work in my slip when I can be sailing. Is this a normal problem?

Yup, pretty universal, I suspect. My goal is to have a safe boat in the water and not expect to get non-critical work done during the summer, given limited time available for boating. Spring and fall seasons are stressful in the north, because jobs get compressed into a tight, weather-dependant schedule. After three boats, my experience is that the first 2-3 years with a new used boat are the worst if a person buckles down to get necessary maintenance/refit done, then it gets easier to think less about the boat and more about other stuff in life.

[tommays]

This years project was to refinish the mast and boom IT went into overtime and will be at least one more week


So the dirty white paint inside will wait another year BUT the wiring will NOT

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by lapworth

I am going into my second year of sailing and have worked on my sloop for two winters now. She sails great but I have had to do work inside and out. My big question is do you put your projects away till next winter, because I can't work in my slip when I can be sailing. Is this a normal problem?

Hey Lap,
It's a mindset/attitude/preference thing , I guess. I loved working on the boat and improving things. Then I would eagerly go out sailing and try out my new methods or improvements. When I finally sold the boat 3 years ago I had everything just the way I wanted.

But that's me. Maybe you're not that way. And that's life. Find the way that brings you the most enjoyment and do it that way.

[xort]

I'm getting tired of climbing the 12' ladder to get aboard. I was doing pretty good with winter projects till the REAL cold hit in January. I got back to it in February but I am getting tired of the work.
'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'

So I'm waiting for weather to get the must do's finished. 3 Seacocks and some blister repair. Then in the water she goes and I can mix other projects with sailing over the summer.

I think the trick is to have different projects for different times of the year. Some small some bigger. Get a few of the smaller projects done to be able to see some actual acomplishments.

I've kept my original To Do list and marvel at the number of things that have been crossed off. We're gettin there!