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What do you do during repairs?

5K views 21 replies 18 participants last post by  vega1860 
#1 ·
We're just daysailors/weekenders, but who doesn't entertain the thought of living on a boat full time?

It got me to thinking, if you live on your boat, what do you do when it has to be hauled for larger maintenance items and repairs? Do you stay with friends, a hotel, climb up and down a ladder on the hard?
 
#3 ·
We usually do lots of projects while hauled out, so living aboard (with a ladder) is the most practical because it keeps us near the boat. When I first heard a boat-savvy friend use the phrase “on the hard” I had all these poetic romantic thoughts about how static and unyielding land is compared to the restless ever-changing ocean. Now that we live aboard, when we’re hauled for maintenance, the phrase “fish out of water” seems a lot more apt. I think “on the hard” just describes what life is like when you live on a boat that’s temporarily out of its native element. Life on the hard is, well … hard … as living aboard begins to resemble camping out. First there’s the climbing a ladder to come aboard. It’s interesting to be eye level with the trees, and it’s a new perspective to look down from the cockpit and see the tops of our cars parked just behind the boat. That’s about where the fun ends, though. It seems like just a few posts ago I was smugly pointing out how we conserve water by using seawater to flush. And how seawater also cools our refrigerator system, and air conditioning. Mmmm, right. No seawater up here. So bathroom, refrigerator, and A/C are replaced by older, simpler solutions -- bucket, ice blocks, and wishful thinking. When we had a dog, we even hauled her up and down using a bosun's chair.
 
#11 ·
Now that we live aboard, when we're hauled for maintenance, the phrase "fish out of water" seems a lot more apt.
Living on the hard really does suck. They put my boat down on standing water, i had to do a can-can kick to get my toe on the bottom rung of the swim ladder. I was doing the bottom and leaving mud tracks and blue fingerprints on everything. And pay close attention to what eryka says, about systems out of water. Anything that drains will go down the side of the boat. For an on the hard adventure I'd recommend you secure a proper ladder and a standard house-outlet to shorepower adapter. Anyway i'm going off on a tangent.

I've been able to get a lot of minor stuff done without leaving the boat, but there are inconveniences. Sanding dust is insidious, and it's super hard to work around varnishing interior pieces you're too lazy to remove. I wish i had done all my varnish in the summer when i could leave the companionway open and rig some fans. As it is now, it's put down a coat, go off to spend the weekend at aunt Sissie's. Put down a coat, go to work, come back home and lie awake contemplating toxicity.

But so far, I've been able to live around it. Living on it can be a great motivator to get work done quickly if say, the heat goes out.
 
#4 ·
During the 38 years that we have lived aboard, "on the hard" for repair or maintenance only accounts for a total of about three months at a common term of four or five days. We've done stays with friends, family, or motels, but more often we stay aboard and climb the ladder.
 
#5 ·
Once you liveaboard, : "SHE" is your home. Imagine dust boogers, acne, yard dirt and the yard dog coming at you. Multiply this by trying to get groceries aboard while your partner is saying the cost of the "motel/hotel" is cutting into the additional electronics budget.
 
#6 ·
We have lived aboard during haul-outs but we are going to be hauled out at a place where we won't be able to live this May so we are going to stay at a friend's apartment.

I found climbing up and down the ladder unnerving and I swear I can feel the slight flexing of the hull when it is windy, but obviously if the stilts can keep a 16,000lb boat stable in the wind, then my body weight isn't going to change things.

We also liveaboard during all of our major in-water repairs which are usually more disruptive. We usually haul out to do exterior/hull work and so our cockpit gets full as we empty lazarettes or access the engine but our living space is relatively normal.

However, when we decide to work on interior varnish, or plumbing, or electricity...then we are trying to eat/sleep/shower right in the middle of the project.
 
#7 ·
Another factor may be (at least in our area) some yards don't allow anyone in the yard outside their business hours, or overnight...
 
#8 ·
There are specific locations on the US East Coast that are yards where large numbers of liveaboard cruisers haul out and liveaboard during DIY and contracted repairs. Three of these are Deltaville Marine on Jackson Creek in Deltaville, Va; Green Cove Springs Marina on the St. Johns River, Florida; and Westland Marine in the Titusville Yacht Basin, Titusville, Florida. 'take care and joy, Aythya crew
 
#10 ·
It is one of the bigger issues so good forethought.

Turns out it is a real problem. The best solution we found was to rent a condo in the area. That was great we had a vacation condo on the Gulf of Mexico, fantastic beach, all the luxuries......and then every morning we would get up and drive to the yard where we spent all day working like dogs! It was also expensive for the two months we had the condo but the days off really were great, loved that part.

OF course that is not really a good option due to expense. We have found a yard in Bellingham that lets us stay aboard. Thats a great idea and good security, the best really if you are just painting the bottom or something like that.

Otherwise staying on board and working on the boat is not good for us. Our boat is small and doing anything results in everything being upset and taking 10x longer, maybe more than 10x longer.

I'm still installing a heater, it has now been months. It would normally take me a weekend, maybe two. If the boat was in my back yard near my garage or shed it would be simple but living on the boat means you can't just rip things apart, particularly when someone else is using the boat for their work or study. Living aboard is also time consuming, particlualry when the marina has no showers, laundry, food or other services that save time. We even have to haul water and that takes more time than it sounds. Buying bits and pieces and tools locally is crazy expensive, easily adding 10% extra to the overall cost but the other option is even more delay.

So best plan is to own the boat for a few years before moving aboard (we couldn't afford that but still recommend it). Get all the big jobs done, all the jobs that need tools or lots of supplies. Spend enough time on the boat to figure out what those jobs are, like maybe a heater for when it is below freezing and fancy electronics for when fog rolls into the shipping lane you are in.

Then when you get the boat pulled once a year or so there is little work to do and you can handle staying on the boat for the night, or afford a motel and the car rental.
 
#13 ·
winter and Summer 'on the hard'

Hi guys,

I have lived on board for the past 2 years, and i can tell you times have been both testing and enjoyable. My first boat was a kingfisher k20 (yes, 20 feet!), and i first moved onto her within the first week of purchacing her in october 2008. She was in a very poor state when i first moved on, with mold and mildew in places i couldn't believe it could live! It was fairly warm when i first moved on, so the smell was terrible, however a good 'spring clean' solved that problem! As the winter took hold, some damage started to reveal itself. I decided that the repairs could wait until spring, as i needed to dry out the entire boat. The weather was fantastic during the spring and summer of 2009, and I managed to repair quite bad osmosis, as well as putting right a lot of poorly 'bodged' jobs (the bow fell off as i started to remove the layers of water-based paint the previous owner had put on!). During this repair period, which included a complete overhaul of the boat - painting, replacement skin fittings, new heads, insulating the cabin etc. i held private bbq's for the guys helping me. Life on-board was interesting,and i always found myself painting, filling, sanding, or polishing the boat - even at night! The only frustrating part was the yard's hosepipe didn't quite reach my boat!

I have since then bought a new boat (a Macwester 26) that i had transported to milford haven, UK, which i have lived and worked on throughout the harshest winter i have known so far in the UK (-16C). I had a wood burner on board, which had its flue poking out a port hole, that kept the boat warm and dry. The only issue was the condensation in the morning, as i NEVER leave a fire burning whilst i sleep.

I have since sailed back to Cardiff, where i am now building up a cruising kitty and getting my certificates and training ready to commit to a full-time world cruising period - no plans yet for when i stop cruising.

I always maintain my boats, regardless of where i am (floating or on the hard), and this really keeps me going (and keeps me sane!) Life on-board is a commitment and a lifestyle choice. I have had people come and go who thought they could live on a cruising yacht, but couldn't cope with the small space.
 
#14 ·
We're just daysailors/weekenders, but who doesn't entertain the thought of living on a boat full time?

It got me to thinking, if you live on your boat, what do you do when it has to be hauled for larger maintenance items and repairs? Do you stay with friends, a hotel, climb up and down a ladder on the hard?
My wife and I always stay on board. We usually do most of the work ourselves or at least supervise closely.
There have been times when it has been a challenge. For example, after lightening damage and installing new electrics (ourselves). The wires need to be run under the roof or under the floor so many roof panels off and floorboards up. At one stage when trying to take a coffee break there was not one place left we could sit down on the whole boat
Overall however life on the hard is still much better than a day in the office.
 
#16 ·
I think it would depend on what you are doing. A week to repaint the bottom, change some zincs and maybe pop a few blisters is a lot different than a month or 2 drying out a hull and doing a peel.

The big question is whether you are up to climbing a ladder many times a day. Good exercise for some, heart attack for others.
 
#19 ·
I'd point out that it really depends on the boat as well. Many multihulls have a much shorter climb when on the hard, since they have a shallower draft to begin with. Also, many catamarans have accommodations in both hulls, so if work is being done on one, living can be shifted to the other temporarily.

Likewise, a monohull that has aft and forward cabins can allow living aboard to some degree better than a boat that only has a single cabin, especially if the work requires tearing up or working in that cabin. :D
 
#20 ·
Luckily, my buddy at the yard deals boats, so will let me stay on something he has in inventory...Kinda fun to check out something different, but it means i make a temp. conversion to stinkboater... :(
 
#22 ·
Catching up on old threads

I think it all depends on one's tolerance for uncomfortable conditions. As live aboards you already have a higher level of that than most but boatyard life can be trying. Some yards are fairly pleasant and try to accommodate cruiser/live aboards. Others, not so much.

In twenty years of living aboard, including one stay in the yard that lasted a full FIVE MONTHS:eek: , we have only resorted to a hotel once; when we painted the boat and had the hatches off.
 
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