Good enough

[sawingknots]

i guess there are people who own boats and there are also boats that own people,i see many great looking boats around marinas but the best boats are out on the water

[jbondy]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

A boat is not a house.

I'm not sure I follow. I like to do things right to the house, too. And time spent redoing a job to the house is time spent not sailing, or time spent not working on the boat. If what you mean is that the down side to a job done poorly to the boat is possibly greater, safety-wise, that's a fair point. But I would think that the judgement call being discussed here would/should never be drawn on the side of the line where what's being considered is failure, just cosmetics.

But as an example for me, I sprayed the boom, brushed the mast. Both look to last equally as long, but the brush job took significantly less time. And from the cockpit, they look the same.

On the other hand, when wiring is concerned, neatness is more than just cosmetic. Loose wires move and movement results in stress failure. And a jumbled rat's nest of wires (which describes our POs style of wiring) makes diagnosis impossible.

And I thought you are a live-aboard! Your boat is your house, isn't it?

[BarryL]

Hey,

There's the way I would like my boat to look and there is the way my boat really does look.

I would prefer to have gleaming varnished handrails, toe rails, and teak trim. The reality is that this year I spent an hour cleaning, lightening, and oiling the teak. Does it look at nice as varnish - heck no. But, it is good enough for me to look at my boat without feeling like I am letting the old girl down.

Same thing with the topsides - I would love to have a 'Mainsail type' wax job. But, a BarryL Poliglow finish, that takes me 8 hours start to finish is good enough.

I am willing to compromise when it comes to cosmetic stuff. I am less willing (like a whole lot less) when it comes to safety. If I see gear that 'may' be good enough for another season, I usually replace it now.

When I work on the boat my biggest problem is 'scope creep.' You know like when you start one project and that leads to another and another and so on. Like over the winter I had to replace my raw water pump. Well, since the water pump was out I might as well l remove the heat exchanger and get that boiled out and since the HX was out I should change the coolant and since I spilled some I might as well scrub the engine compartment around there and since that looked nice and clean I might as well ......

Barry

[Barquito]

When I work on the boat my biggest problem is 'scope creep.' You know like when you start one project and that leads to another and another and so on.

"If you give a mouse a cookie, he is going to ask for a glass of milk"

I agree with the OP. I will pay for good products and take the time to install correctly, however, you have to draw the line somewhere in how perfect a job is. I would imagine this is like the difference between a good paint job on a car that will last for years and an over-the-top concours spray that you can peer into and see the future.

[Ulladh]

Good enough is a personal calculation; time availble, cash available, desired outcome.

I could spend more on the boat I bought for less than $10,000 but I have limited myself to not more than one major expense per year. This year is a new furler and headsail, other projects will be good enough until they each become that one major project.

Cosmetic enhancements for me have been and I suspect will continue to be secondary to safety and propulsion.

Safety does have a good enough calculation also; good enough for sheltered inshore day sails, but not for that circumnavigation that I and my boat may never be ready for.

[Ulladh]

An example of another good enogh project.
I had leaking portlights, the rubber gasket with lock bead was cracked and water weeping through.
I would like to replace with new portlights with a secure metal frame, but until this becomes a must do project, when the air temperature gets above 80 deg F I saturate with armourall vinyl protectant from the auto parts store and the weeping is stopped for another year.

[bljones]

Originally Posted by Ulladh

An example of another good enogh project.
I had leaking portlights, the rubber gasket with lock bead was cracked and water weeping through.
I would like to replace with new portlights with a secure metal frame, but until this becomes a must do project, when the air temperature gets above 80 deg F I saturate with armourall vinyl protectant from the auto parts store and the weeping is stopped for another year.

Another example of how it will turn around and bite you in the ass in the future:
Someday the armourall will no longer work, as the leak is too big to seal. so now you decide to do it right, and rebed the ports with butyl. The butyl will not stick because of the dousing of armourall the fiberglass has gotten over the years. Now what?

[mitiempo]

What I meant by "a boat is not a house" is the "good enough" and "make do" fixes seen often on houses shouldn't apply to boats. I have often found that the job done properly, though costing a bit more sometimes, takes about as long to do as the cheap fix. And once done properly it lasts a lot longer and doesn't lead to other problems. Certainly anything safety related should be done correctly, wiring should be correctly done and easily traceable, and mechanical items should be kept in top condition. Cosmetically my boat (which is my home ) is clean but not "Maine Sail" waxed. Wasn't when I purchased and never will be. I am blessed with minimal teak outside - 2 dropboards and the sill below them. I'll have to get to them one day. Maybe replace with low maintenance plexiglass. But I have never regretted doing any repair or upgrade the best I know how.

[tommays]

IMHP quality DIY work is why MY boat SOLD in DEC and the others in my area did NOT

And i got to have a problem free boat when i used it (which was a LOT)

[Ulladh]

Bljones
I will be replacing the ports rather than removing and rebedding 40 year old glazing, but other projects have priority. The headsail has not been good enough for a while so it has priority this year.
20 mins on a sunny day will make the ports good enough for another year.
I could keep the boat on the hard for a year or so and fix every item in a perfect manner, but the boat is for sailing not looking at..

You may be ticked off if you saw my cockpit; lots of patched holes where various pieces of equipment have been removed, waiting for a windless dry weekend for clean, sand, prime and paint.