Are people becoming useless

[David2452]

at looking after stuff and I mean simple stuff? B&Q have given the reason for their lack of profitability and planned store closure as the decline in DIY skills in recent years but some of the things I am asked to do on boats around the marina astounds me. I would have expected boat owners to have at least basic knowledge of the systems aboard and be able to rectify minor issues without drama. Perhaps PBO is the wrong forum to ask such a question as most (all?) here by definition will not fall into the category.

 

[roblpm]

at looking after stuff and I mean simple stuff? B&Q have given the reason for their lack of profitability and planned store closure as the decline in DIY skills in recent years but some of the things I am asked to do on boats around the marina astounds me. I would have expected boat owners to have at least basic knowledge of the systems aboard and be able to rectify minor issues without drama. Perhaps PBO is the wrong forum to ask such a question as most (all?) here by definition will not fall into the category.

I think you are being slightly harsh. Things are moving on. My dad used to take the engines out of our cars, recondition them and put them back in. I think that was probably after about 50k miles. I expect the diesel in my bmw would last about 200k miles or more and I don't suppose even if i wanted to it would be very easy to recondition.

So the throwaway culture along with miniaturisation surely have made it more difficult for people to fix stuff. Then if you aren't doing it all the time you don't learn the skills.

 

[David2452]

Not ripping out an engine and rebuilding "looking after stuff and I mean simple stuff?" fuses, tap washers, unblocking a sink, fixing a drip by tightening a fitting or hose clip, not running out of fuel, that kind of simple stuff.

 

[elton]

Someone on the radio thought the decline in DIY skills was a result of kids leaving home later, expecting eventually to move into a brand new gaff; teenagers getting new cars, that don't require DIY, and when it does, it goes into the dealer's workshop; and so on.

I won't pay anyone to do what I can do myself, and that includes most things. The only jobs I've paid someone else to do, that I can recall. is the MOT on the car and the bike, and a sign off from a Part 2 certified electrician on some work I did.

My dad taught me well, but most of my DIY skills stem from necessity. Because I was sking, I always had old cars and bikes, until I was into my lat 30s, and fixed everything myself. Old habits die hard.

 

[macd]

Started a thread in similar vein a year or so ago. I blamed the decline of Meccano.
To be honest I mind the lack of practical skills in contemporaries less than I mind it in the the bodging half-wit from whom I bought the boat.

 

[GrahamM376]

Not ripping out an engine and rebuilding "looking after stuff and I mean simple stuff?" fuses, tap washers, unblocking a sink, fixing a drip by tightening a fitting or hose clip, not running out of fuel, that kind of simple stuff.

I think you're right.

Back in the 60s I served my time in the motor trade and have always serviced my own cars as did many of my amateur friends. Cars are far more reliable these days and so much test equipment is needed, very few people learn to work on them so those skills are disappearing.

Household DIY is I think declining in part because in relative terms many householders have more disposable income than they did say 20-30 years ago so they can afford to pay someone and, again, don't have to learn.

Boatwise, skills vary wildly and although I do all my own maintenance and mods, I'm amazed at the many skills some people have when undertaking projects I wouldn't even consider. At the other end of the scale there are those who don't even know where their dip-stick or seacocks are.

I'm still a major DIYer and could not have afforded the life style we've enjoyed if I had to pay people to do jobs.

 

[Iain C]

I saw that too and I despair. When I was younger I was out building camps and go-carts and taking my bike apart and building airfix Spitfires and Technic Lego cars. When I was in my teens me and a mate had the head of my mk1 Astra to fix a blown core plug and a head gasket. I had a Swiss Army knife from about 8 years old. I do pretty much everything myself if I can do because I learned at school what it's feels like to nearly chop your finger off with a tenon saw. I totally rebuilt my boat and such I know her inside out and could hopefully fix most things in an emergency (electronics excepted)

The world has changed. I now need £100 worth of specialist tools to take my bike apart and even them pressing in a new head race is a bike shop only job. If I carry a knife I'm likely to be arrested, and if I open the bonnet of my BMW I see a load of black plastic, some wires and several diagnostic sockets. I've only ever seen the engine of my Porsche from underneath when it's up on the ramps at a dealer. I can't touch domestic electricity without a fine, and "there's an app" to do everything these days.

I think people are much more time poor and cash rich than before, and perfectly achievable DIY stuff has fallen into the bracket of "really? I just pay someone to do that" now.

Mind you, Homebase's pisstake prices don't help either. I was at the closing down sale of our local store, and even at half price, a reel of crappy stretchy thin rope was more money than an equivalent reel of Marlow's finest!

 

[elton]

It surprises me that youngsters aren't getting more into DIY car maintenance, given the availability of very cheap CAN bus interfaces with Bluetooth, that can link to virtually any smart phone, and any car made in the past 10-12 years. I can only assume that's due to lack of widespread awareness of the technology.

 

[Davy_S]

I think that when it comes down to your hobby (boating) you either enjoy DIY or not. Personally I enjoy it, even the mundane jobs, and it gives me the satisfaction of knowing the job has been done correctly. Any boat owner who enjoys every part of ownership is at an advantage, its cheaper and should it go wrong the knowledge and experience is there to fix it. I have a friend who runs a small speedboat, he cannot or does not have any interest in maintenance, or preventative maintenance, he pays someone else, it costs him a lot! and he learns nothing.
My father was an electrician and could fix anything, I was brought up the same way, unfortunately for me, technology has moved on and I have got older, I cannot fix my cars electronic engine management system (who nicked the carb) plus you cannot fix a laptop with a hammer.

 

[bedouin]

These days I quite frequently choose to pay someone to do jobs I am capable of doing myself, be that gardening, decorating or servicing my car.

Doubly so on the boat - if you live 100 miles away as I do any task on the boat will take all day and cost upwards of £50 in travelling costs. And trying to squeeze them into a sailing weekend inevitably reduces the sailing time.

 

[DanTribe]

There was a piece on BBC news this morning about this.
Several people interviewed seemed to be proud that they couldn't do even basic maintenance of household things.
They even had an "interior designer" who proudly announced that he didn't own a screwdriver!
If you don't know how things work, how can you have respect as a designer?

 

[PCUK]

The most worrying thing is that the welfare state still ends at the sea wall, but large numbers of boat owners don't seem to understand this. Of course large numbers are of the let's buy a status symbol category so don't actually understand what boating is about.

 

[Robert Wilson]

I think that when it comes down to your hobby (boating) you either enjoy DIY or not. Personally I enjoy it, even the mundane jobs, and it gives me the satisfaction of knowing the job has been done correctly. Any boat owner who enjoys every part of ownership is at an advantage, its cheaper and should it go wrong the knowledge and experience is there to fix it. I have a friend who runs a small speedboat, he cannot or does not have any interest in maintenance, or preventative maintenance, he pays someone else, it costs him a lot! and he learns nothing.
My father was an electrician and could fix anything, I was brought up the same way, unfortunately for me, technology has moved on and I have got older, I cannot fix my cars electronic engine management system (who nicked the carb) plus you cannot fix a laptop with a hammer.

Perhaps not, but there are times when fixing it is less satisfying :mad-new: !!

As to the OP, I am a "useful" DIYer and enjoy fixing/making things*, particularly for/on the boat. A big plus of this is that when something goes wrong "at sea" I have a reasonable chance of fixing it.
Also, there are precious few "boat menders" up here, even on shore!

* electricktronics excepted, of course

 

[pvb]

I blamed the decline of Meccano.

Interesting theory! I used to play with Meccano, built plastic kits, built balsa planes, built RC boats, etc, as a kid. Then lots of DIY car work. I've always loved taking things apart and putting them back together. As a result, I can confidently tackle almost any job around the house or boat. A lot of younger people just grew up with the telly on, and never developed any practical skills.

 

[Niander]

I suspect the owners your on about are loaded therefore they get you to fix whatever [keeps you in employment]...im not so I woulnt dream of getting a marina to sort out such problems
of course im handy [as are quite a few here]and could change my engine if needed[not needed thankgoodness]

 

[macd]

Interesting theory! I used to play with Meccano...

It was, of course, something of a tongue-in-cheek theory but with enough of a grain of truth to attract a lot of responses. I think blowing things up with gunpowder and crashing go-karts (we called them bogeys) on the big hill near our house were at least as important in what passed as my early development.

The point about competent DIY-ers being better able to fix things is well made. I've always kind of assumed that one of the underpinnings of (cruising?) sailing is self-sufficiency and resourcefulness. Maybe this is less true than it once was, perhaps inevitably.

When I began motorcycling, the first thing that went on the bike was a tool kit and a select few spares (all painstakingly evolved by a quasi-Darwinian process), along with the likelihood of needing them. That would horrify the consumers of today. It's progress, but something fundamental has been lost along the way.

 

[vyv_cox]

It amazes me that my good friend who works as a technical man at our marina in Greece is frequently tasked with the job of putting sails on boats. Many owners are totally incapable of even that. What is especially galling for him is that when doing many simple jobs the owner stands by reading the manual, telling him he is doing it wrong.

 

[GrahamM376]

I think blowing things up with gunpowder and crashing go-karts (we called them bogeys) on the big hill near our house were at least as important in what passed as my early development.

Surprisingly big bangs from a bit of weed killer and a couple of other ingredients and some metal pipe or, bin liners full of oxy and acet. Try doing it these days and your collar will be felt big-time! Much of the fun has gone.

 

[Neil]

Surprisingly big bangs from a bit of weed killer and a couple of other ingredients and some metal pipe or, bin liners full of oxy and acet. Try doing it these days and your collar will be felt big-time! Much of the fun has gone.

Look at today's chemistry sets! H&S rules and they are so boring. I took home some nitrites, Ferric oxide, aluminium powder, magnesium ribbon and myself and eldest son had a whale of a time.

Spent a lot of time building Airfix models and then destroying them with home-made cannons loaded with ball bearings and the black powder from bangers. My first car was an Isetta bubble car and I at age 17 (with the help of my Dad) did a body swap after I pranged it. Have done all my own maintenance on everything. Though when it came to doing the second air spring on the Discovery, I let the garage man do it, 'cos getting the car up high enough required two jacks and concrete blocks and was a pain. I have a diagnostic computer for the car but modern car electronics usually means just replacing the whole thing.

Got the gas man in to repair the boiler. He couldn't find the fault, said I needed a whole new boiler. Got a second opinion and he was stumped too. He then asked his mate "who knew these boilers like the back of his hand". He was stumped too. However, download the manual, follow the trouble shooting guide at the back with your handy multimeter, the spare part from e-bay and hey presto, Neil 3, gas fitters 0.

The down side is that the children now come to me with some disaster of a broken toy and expect me to fix it. Of my elder children, one son is very handy, the other not, so aptitude trumps environment, perhaps

 

[Caer Urfa]

The original poster is not far off the truth.

I do Pre Buying Inspection Visits for new buyers of Colvic Watsons and some Fishers, out of 17 so far this year almost 50% including the Fishers had seacocks 'jammed opened' with one with 'all' the sea fittings jammed open.

As a favour I also looked at a friends Bavaria 30 last week which also had seacocks jammed, so I now wonder just how many other owners ever lift the engine hatch !