Boat Jobs You Don't want to do Again

[Supertramp]

Yesterday's one was refitting the windlass on my own.

It's a vertical shaft job, with the motor and gearbox below the deck, so I had to align the shaft and persuade it that it really does want to go in, then lift it further to get the nuts on the bolts, This involved reaching into the chain locker (cat, so it's shallow - no chance of climbing in) and lifting with one hand. while I fiddle with the other. Not going to happen - the motor assembly is around 15kg, and I'm not going to win World's Strongest Man any day soon. I eventually managed to do it with wood blocks and a lever, but what I nightmare. Hindsight's a wonderful thing - I should have cleaned up the threads on the studs with a die; it would have meant I could wind the nuts on by hand instead of having to use a spanner 1/6-1/3 of a turn at a time.

Too knackered to do the wiring afterwards, but that'll be simple by comparison.

What's your nightmare job?

Working half inside a locker to replace an anchor winch solenoid. After 20 minutes I had seized up half in and out the locker and seriously thought I could be stuck there. No idea how they were originally fitted! Probably child labour.

Second worse is lifting 25kg batteries horizontally into and out of their battery boxes. I am looking after them extremely carefully as I don't want to repeat for many years.

 

[Beelzebub]

Does that work for diarrhoea

Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure may do the trick

 

[westhinder]

Complete antifoul removal.

Last time was 6 years ago and I swore never ever to do it again.

Hence, to change to a different antifoul regime 2 years ago, I had it dry-ice blasted ?

I agree.
However, the only time I did it was long enough ago to have the memory fade, so I am planning to do it again, though not on my own this time, my son will be press ganged. A bigger boat with two people should still be less work than the smaller on my own. At least, that’s what I hope.

A close contender was fitting a new skin fitting and hose tail in a locker in which I could either poke my head or insert my arms to my elbows and then having to refit the hose to the tail.

 

[ChromeDome]

I agree.
However, the only time I did it was long enough ago to have the memory fade, so I am planning to do it again, though not on my own this time, my son will be press ganged. A bigger boat with two people should still be less work than the smaller on my own. At least, that’s what I hope.

A close contender was fitting a new skin fitting and hose tail in a locker in which I could either poke my head or insert my arms to my elbows and then having to refit the hose to the tail.

I wouldn't even begin to consider doing it again!

We were 3 persons. SWMBO, son (22 yrs at the time) and myself. Took 3 long days to remove several layers of different AF by scrapers and result was good-enough, not perfect. Acceptable but not really to my "if something is worth doing, it's worth doing it properly" rule.

I'd have loved to get the result later achieved by the dry-ice blaster (especially nooks and crannies around rudder, shafts and fittings) but at the evening of the third day just had to accept the fact.

The dry-blaster was engaged at the time of putting her on the hard, on the agreement that he could pick the day to do the job anytime before next season. So one day in February when the weather was perfect for it, he called me and did the job. Single handed, one day.

EDIT: The boat was moved to a designated area in the marina, placed on a tarp, collecting all the old AF & dirt. So even the environmental aspect was covered.

Apart from a brief visit to see the magic happening, I spent the day in the office. Indoors, almost covering the cost of blasting.

At the time of preparation before launch the hull was wiped off, given primer and thin film AF. Easy job, looked brand new!

 

[Stemar]

30-40 or so kids? Thats even more than BJ

You have 30-40 kids????

Are you the Prime Minister? ?

Oops - not that prolific - make that aged 30-40

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Antifoul removal of a long keeled boat with scrapers. This will never happen again.

Foam back headlining. Since this episode, I have purchased boats without it.

I mostly use grandchildren for difficult access areas.

 

[BobnLesley]

Antifoul removal of a long keeled boat with scrapers. This will never happen again.

When we first got our boat it had a multi-year build up of the semi-eroding Greek antifoul on it, which we scraped off completely, the main tools used were a tungsten bladed heavy scraper and more successfully, those little plastic jobs with a Stanley-knife blade in them. We did that job in Spain in mid-August (05:00-08:00 and 18:00-20:00 each day) and I thought it was a bloody awful job despite only doing a few stints; 80% of it was removed by Lesley and I don't think I was ever more impressed.

I've just reminded her of the task - apparently it was a lot of expletives to do and we're never buying a more expletives boat like that again, no matter how expletive cheap it is. So, it seems you're probably right.

 

[Lightwave395]

Sorting a broken mast in a rough and lumpy sea mid-channel, during a JOG race.
I had a half tonner with the engine mid-ships under the table over the keel, the exhaust came out of forward and turned to port at the forward bulkhead going up the side of the hull and out via a gate valve just below the gunwhale. We had a piece of pipe to stick into the exhaust outlet called 'the donkey's plonker'...
We'd come off the top of a particularly tall and steep wave crashing down into the void beyond, the shock load was enormous and the bottom of the mast had split, jumped off the foot and moved backwards compressing the exhause pipe against the table base so the engine wouldn't start.
With the boat wallowing around like a drunken pig we each (crew of 6) took turns spending 10 mins with a hacksaw cutting through the mast before climbing out into the cockpit to throw up over the side, I think we had two rounds each before we could finally start the engine

 

[LONG_KEELER]

When we first got our boat it had a multi-year build up of the semi-eroding Greek antifoul on it, which we scraped off completely, the main tools used were a tungsten bladed heavy scraper and more successfully, those little plastic jobs with a Stanley-knife blade in them. We did that job in Spain in mid-August (05:00-08:00 and 18:00-20:00 each day) and I thought it was a bloody awful job despite only doing a few stints; 80% of it was removed by Lesley and I don't think I was ever more impressed.

I've just reminded her of the task - apparently it was a lot of expletives to do and we're never buying a more expletives boat like that again, no matter how expletive cheap it is. So, it seems you're probably right.

I have one of those watches that has heart rate and alarms. Even thinking about the above has made an alarm go off.

 

[mjcoon]

I have one of those watches that has heart rate and alarms. Even thinking about the above has made an alarm go off.

MoB?

 

[johnalison]

Any job under the base of the cockpit locker. This would involve compressing oneself into the space and then placing one’s feet on a sloping surface between assorted tanks and pipes, and the heating ducts which mustn’t be squashed. There is no prospect of kneeling comfortably, so one has to curl up into a ball and work at arm’s length well below one‘s feet. And even when finished, one has to find a means of escape.

 

[BobnLesley]

...even when finished, one has to find a means of escape.

On several occasio.ns the slight girl I mentioned earlier would disappear over/under an engine with a rope tied around each ankle; that way we could pull her back out, or on a couple of occasions that I know of, more easily lower her head first into a deep bilge

 

[Laysula]

Spent three hours scraping the antifoul and then went and paid the yard to do it. When I came back later there were three "smurfs" underneath busy scraping away.
Worth every penny.

 

[PhillM]

How about not having to varnish ever again. not because the brushing bit is hard but the sanding bit is hell.

Steveeasy

I love the sanding bit. .. but how about clearning out your boat when you've sold? I hated that. Actually, I did more than that, after I put Paean up for sale, I did all the winter maintainence so that the new owner could sail away. I loved doing it and made her her all smart and ready to go .... but hated that it would not be me going with her.

 

[fisherman]

Single handed on a lee shore off Kynance, the ram came off the tiller arm. the boat would head up wind, so left going slow ahead crawled into the 2ft under deck space and wrestled to get the bolt back in. I had an emergency tiller, but had more work to do.
Or maybe, lying in the mud in subzero february at low tide changing bolts under water.
I don't miss that sort of job, or any involving grinding GRP.
Friend of mine dropped the sump on his Gardner and crawled into it to change big end shells, or some such.

 

[Yngmar]

1. Removing the old teak deck. My back has not fully recovered a year later. Also got trouble with some local elements (Mafiosi?) who decided I should really go to their mates boatyard for this job instead of doing it myself. We agreed to disagree but it spoiled the place for us.
2. Scraping decades of old antifouling off by hand, then sanding the entire hull. I should probably open a media blasting company though, they seem to have better hourly rates than Oracle DBAs.
3. Changing the saildrive seacock in the water because boatyards were shut down for the pandemic and emergency haulouts not available. Then snapping the old one off flush with the gearbox. Then the pump that was keeping the seep water out breaking down. Well, actually now that I've got the experience, I would do this again (better prepared), but hopefully never need to!

 

[PilotWolf]

Does that include companies that were technically boat jobs?

W.

 

[Poignard]

Sorting a broken mast in a rough and lumpy sea mid-channel, during a JOG race.
I had a half tonner with the engine mid-ships under the table over the keel, the exhaust came out of forward and turned to port at the forward bulkhead going up the side of the hull and out via a gate valve just below the gunwhale. We had a piece of pipe to stick into the exhaust outlet called 'the donkey's plonker'...
We'd come off the top of a particularly tall and steep wave crashing down into the void beyond, the shock load was enormous and the bottom of the mast had split, jumped off the foot and moved backwards compressing the exhause pipe against the table base so the engine wouldn't start.
With the boat wallowing around like a drunken pig we each (crew of 6) took turns spending 10 mins with a hacksaw cutting through the mast before climbing out into the cockpit to throw up over the side, I think we had two rounds each before we could finally start the engine

Respect is due!

 

[Poignard]

Any job under the base of the cockpit locker. This would involve compressing oneself into the space and then placing one’s feet on a sloping surface between assorted tanks and pipes, and the heating ducts which mustn’t be squashed. There is no prospect of kneeling comfortably, so one has to curl up into a ball and work at arm’s length well below one‘s feet. And even when finished, one has to find a means of escape.

After trying, unsuccessfully, to repair my sterngear. I said 'Sod that for a lark' and made a removable cabin sole in two pieces.

 

[Wansworth]

All of this thread has quite put me off buying an old boat?