A bad case of the harveys...

[Seagreen]

You know the feeling? Large job list, relaunch date passed by months ago and just heavy rain, no painting, and the boat still high, dry and full of sawdust.

Getting me depressed now. As for the title of this post, I named the phenomenon after an old mate who, on seeing a small crack in his bedroom ceiling, picks away, thinking "this needs fixing", and then makes the hole bigger, finally pulling the whole ceiling down... without putting anything away or even covering his stuff over.
After three months, he was till sleeping on his lounge floor in a sleeping bag, his room looking like a shell had exploded in it. The situation was finally solved by a coupl eof us pitching in one afternoon and sorting it all out.

So does anyone else recognise this effect and how do you get past it?

 

[Sixpence]

Recognise it well /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif but getting past it might take a while

 

[sarabande]

No need to be fed up, it happens to everyone at some stage. Any chance of tackiling a small cosmetic job which would show you that progress can be made without going into debt on spare time and domestic goodwill ?

Borrow a big suction cleaner and get rid of the sawdust maybe ?

 

[Lakesailor]

Yep. Refocus on another task. Complete that and the original seems less hassle all of a sudden.

 

[roly_voya]

I make a small list of jobs needed to get one thing done like fitting a new bulkhead then I can get a sense of progress and celebrate finnishing that before starting the next list

 

[Poignard]

I remember seeing one of those adverts showing a young couple walking out of B&Q on a Friday with some paint etc. and then proudly admiring their re-decorated room on Sunday evening.

Inspired by this, I decided to spend a weekend redecorating the kitchen and started scraping some loose paint where the wall joins the ceiling. The scraper went straight into the wooden wallplate up to the handle. I carried on and found the entire wallplate from one end of the house to the other, and the joists attached to it, were full of dry rot. The ceiling had to come down and the floor boards upstairs. The plaster had to be chipped off etc etc. New joist ends had to be spliced in and a new wallplate fitted.

By the time I had finished the repairs the paint I bought for the weekend's decorating job had skinned over and the tin had gone rusty.

 

[Keith 66]

When de sun shines the roof don't leak, when it rains i can't fix it nohow.
Try not to look at the job in its entireity, or you can always go to the pub or buy a small grp boat and actually go sailing

 

[Poignard]

The sun comes up 'n the sun goes down,
The hands on the clock keep goin' around;
I just get up 'n it's time to lay down,
Life gets tee-jus don't it?

My shoes untied, but I don't care,
I ain't figuring on goin' nowhere;
I'd have to wash and comb my hair,
And that's just wasted effort.

The water in the well's gettin' lower and lower,
Can't take a bath for six months or more;
But I've heard it said and it's true I'm sure,
That too much bathin' will weaken yer.

I open the door and the flies swarm in,
Shut the door and I'm sweating again;
And in the process I cracked my shin,
Just one darn thing after another.

You know that old brown mule, he must be sick,
I jabbed him in the rump with a pin on a stick;
He humped his back but he wouldn't kick,
There's something cockeyed somewhere.

A mouse a-chawing at the pantry door,
He's been at it for a month or more;
When he gets through there, he's going to be sore,
There ain't a darn thing in there.

Hound dog howling so forlorn,
Laziest dog that ever was born;
He's howlin' 'cause he's sitting on a thorn,
Just too tired to move over.

Tin roof leaks and the chimney leans,
There's a hole in the seat of my old blue jeans;
I've ate the last of the pork and beans,
Just can't depend on nothin'.

The cows gone dry and hens won't lay,
Fish quit biting last Saturday;
Troubles pile up day by day,
Now I'm getting dandruff.

Grief and misery, pains and woes,
Debts 'n taxes 'n so it goes;
And I think I'm getting a cold in the nose,
Life gets tedious don't it?

by Carson Robinson 1948

 

[Seagreen]

Well, hey, the sun's shining! I'll get a load of sanding and painting done! I'll save the internal carpentry for tomorrow! Feeling better after yesterday's progress- concrete went back into the bilges.

[ QUOTE ]
buy a small grp boat and actually go sailing

[/ QUOTE ]

Small problem - I loath grp. And I just Lurve varnish.

 

[cliff]

Listen here /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
--------------------

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
sailroom <span style="color:red">The place to auction your previously loved boatie bits</span>

 

[Poignard]

Marvellous - haven't heard that since I was a child! Thanks.

 

[cliff]

Thought it might appeal to you....... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
--------------------

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
sailroom <span style="color:red">The place to auction your previously loved boatie bits</span>

 

[grumpydog]

A cheery little number that one, Twisterowner. Until I got to the end I thought you'd written it - in a sort of down-home kind of way... Thought you'd gone mad actually. A bought a flat in Edinburgh 6 years ago - Regency period, 800sqft, Grade A-listed with bloody high ceilings, all the features (including window shutters - talk about Nitromorse and heat guns) plyed or painted over. There was no kitchen to speak of, a dangerous bathroom, a dangerous wiring system, no cetnral heating, half the floorboards missing etc. I wondered why it was going for a song. Being young and naive, and having never done a day's proper work in my life, I genuinely thought I could do the place up over a few weekends! It took about 5 remortgates, two years, a near nervous breakdown and two trips to casualty before I eventually sold the place. I know exactly how it feels and sympathise very much.

 

[Seagreen]

Thanks. Cheered me up no end, but then I somehow got into watching youtube for videos of ships sinking, especially the disgraceful incident with the Oceanos - Greek captain and crew leave the passengers behind, yet all saved by two British, the ship's magician and guitarist. (Huzza! Cue Rule Britannia and full chorus).

Also weird yet alluring japanese animated soft porn, but more of that anon...

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[alan006]

When I seem to be getting nowhere with my old classic and feeling a bit dishartened, I go and look at a new boat. I look at the tupperware hull with everything built for a price and and the floating caravan fitout. The fixtures interchangeable with numerous others and bits that are never repaired but if they break are simply replaced.
I feel lucky to have a proper boat that you give a little bit of yourself to when you repair her, that each time you shape a bit of timber on your skill increases by a small fraction.
If that doesn't work then ...... ( well it should we have to be a little odd to spend all our spare time and money on an old boat).

 

[Seagreen]

I've found that a bit of theraputic varnishing between rain squalls works, as does the small, easy yet only-slightly-ponitless job done. Begin and continue.