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Short of anything requiring special tools, I pretty much do everything on the boat myself. I will pay to have something I'm unfamilar with done the first time as a learning experience though.
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John
Ontario 32 - Aria
Free, is the heart, that lives not, in fear.
Full, is the spirit, that thinks not, of falling.
True, is the soul, that hesitates not, to give.
Alive, is the one, that believes, in love. JCP
I normally choose to perform most repair, upgrade and maintenance tasks on my boats. There are two guidelines I follow when deciding to do the work myself or hire a pro instead:
The job requires a high degree of skills or tools which I don't possess, or have the initiative to learn or obtain.
The task is so nasty and grungy, it's better suited to get done by a boatyard grunt.
__________________ True Blue . . .
sold the Nauticat
That's a definite yes. It's largely by necessity, living here in the Land of MakeDoo...but it's my inclination anyway. And I will buy special tools, if I think there is a chance I will ever use them again. I will rent them if not. I would rather learn something, and end up with the tools than pay somebody else and just end up with the job done. Or maybe done.
Sadly, in most cases I find that the work I do myself is much higher quality than what I can hire. And for the same money, I end up with the tools and knowledge to be more self sufficient.
I think I am the same as most other folks here. Normal routine stuff I will do such as oil, fuel filter, water pump impeller changes, rebed stuff, painting, rewire, etc. But....
1) anything that requires skill/experience or if done wrong will add negative value to the boat, or
2) requires special tools or several hands to accomplish, or
3) Fuel tank cleaning, hull scraping, etc. (Mike Rowe type of jobs)
I won't do.
The goal is to optimize sailing time versus fix time. If paying someone will get me more sailing time and is not too costly, I will consider it.
We do pretty much everything ourselves, and over the years have rebuilt engines, repainted top to bottom (including a rig), modified interiors, and added/installed any new purchases with a few exceptions.
Things I'd tend to leave to the pros:
Rigging work unless it's a simple stay/shroud replacement (which I'd get professionally made up)
Canvas work other than simple covers
I probably wouldn't tackle a transmission rebuild.
Maintaining and doing as much work on your own boat is, to my mind, a large part of the enjoyment of it all, with the added bonus that when things inevitably to wrong somewhere, you're familiar enough with things to deal with it yourself.
__________________ Boating in BC waters since the '60s, sailing since 1981. Currently on our 5th boat, a 1984 Fast/Nicholson 345.
Belonging to a club, they have to handle all maintenance. But I've turned my own wrenches on my cars for many years now. I've also helped boat-owner friends with their maintenance.
There's a certain sense of pride you get when you do it yourself (along with a fatter wallet, except when you break more stuff than you fix [g])
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