False economy?

[Guest]

It may be cheaper to do all of those winter jobs yourself, but does it reduce the value of your boat in the long run? Surely it is better to get someone in who really knows what they are doing. I have seen some terrible DIY attempts on boats in the past which would surely put off a potential purchaser in the future. I now draw up a list in the spring for the yard to attend to. It may be expensive but I think it will pay in the long run.
We will see...

 

[vyv_cox]

My wife and I went through this discussion when we first joined the ranks of the houseowner, 30 years or so ago. The two sides of the argument were:
1. We pay a tradesman to do everything and hope all will be well and top quality
2. We do everything ourselves, accepting that some jobs may not be perfect at first, but we'll learn as we go along and improve.

We opted for 2. and never regretted it.

Much the same applies to boat ownership, except that you don't often get a second chance as you do with, say, plastering. Which is a very good plus for the old idea of buying a cheap boat first to practice on, and gradually moving up. Now, those owners who start with a brand new boatshow special miss out on perhaps the best part of boat ownership - fixing it up in the way you want it.

Aside from that, I have only employed professionals very occasionally on my boat, and in each instance the work has been done in an unsatisfactory manner, forcing me to re-do it correctly. If you want it done properly, do it yourself, but first you need to learn how to.

 

[Will_M]

In our marina, a ******** ******* nearly sunk overnight (water over top of engine hatch) this last Sunday & had to be delt with Monday early pretty quick smart to ensure it didn’t sink.

Its now out and in a very sorry looking sate, trouble is its got a pair of old BMW petrols which you can’t get anything for anymore..

Why…. Oh, the owner claims he has done the same for years every year, only this time some aspect of the DIY weekend work might have written his boat off.

 

[vyv_cox]

Of course, see the final line of my previous entry. Professionals are not immune from this, either. I had some modified engine mountings installed by a main Yanmar dealer. During our sea trials we realised that a great deal of water was reaching the bilges. It transpired that the mechanic had loosened the exhaust clamp when changing the mountings but had omitted to re-tighten it.

 

[Guest]

I agree with Vyv - I do nearly everything on my boat myself. I may not be as skilled as a professional but it's my boat I'm working on so I won't stop till I am satisfied with the job. And the big advantage is that I am familiar with the electrics, the roller reefing, cooling system, fuel system etc. so if they go wrong on the water I have a good chance of being able to fix them. Even changing the impellor can be a challenge if you try it for the first time on a dark night in a rough sea.

 

[brianhumber]

I agree with you. Not many know know the ins and outs of an old Baraccuda anyway. I shudder to think of the cost of getting others to renew the keel box bearing pads for example and I know if I get caught out in 50kts the jobs going to hold together cause I did it!

 

[oldharry]

Agree entirely: If caught out, its good to know that things are up to scratch because you did them yourself.

BUT, and it is a very big BUT: what about the DIY owner who doesn't know how to do the job properly? I once went to view what seemed to be a very nice catamaran. The owner had WALLPAPERED the cabin - 'Its OK, its bathroom grade vinyl' was the explanation....

Now wallpaper wont sink the boat, but what about the bits that mattered - like the mild steel screws holding the lower pintle on, and the household nails used to secure the rubbing strake.

I didnt look any further....

 

[LadyInBed]

How good is your DIY?

It depends on how fastidious you are. If you jump into a DIY job both feet first, then the finished job will be seen for what it is. If you research the job and only start it when you can see it through to completion in your minds eye you will probably get a satisfactory result. It also allows you to spend a little more on quality materials.

 

[billmacfarlane]

You're missing one very important point here guys. Most people who DIY think they are good at it. Judging by my experience of houses , most people are not good at it. I'm a DIY disaster area but I think I'm a reasonable judge of how a job should be done and in both my house and boats I've owned , have found a small core of people I can trust to do a job for me. A DIY man who THINKS he's done a good job can be an accident waiting to happen. I also know some brilliant DIY people who I would trust to do anything.

 

[LadyInBed]

Trust me - I\'m a professional!

A lot of the so-called professional jobs can be a bit ‘Heath Robinson’ (See HELP Needed - overheating engine Part 2). You have to do a lot of asking around to find people you can rely on, but then, what’s new there?

 

[Guest]

I have spent most of my life around boats, helped build them, surveyed them, loved 'em, hated 'em ...... but there are many jobs on a boat I leave to skilled professionals.
OK I have had my engine mounts replaced, shaft, bearers etc. A really good strong job made ..... but sadly let down by a silly split-pin !
The engine was taken out and meant all control cables / leads disconnected. I can imagine that when it was all put back, the last little job was the throttle linkage split pin ........

I arrive back to use the boat, run it up, checked with engineer ... fine.
Let go lines, backed off from pontoon finger, pushed forward on throttle ...... she wnet into fwd, but no revs ! So I quietly chugged out at tickover to a mooring buoy ..... ( I couldn't select astern - so decided to get away from others boats etc...) checked the throttle link and found the split-pin had fallen out ! So I fitted a rigging ring and off we went.

So yes it happens to the best ..... but I have to say that the work done was good ... sadly let down by 10p's worth of pin !

 

[LORDNELSON]

I agree with Nigel - I do most of the work on my boat but there are some jobs which I leave to the Yard because they require specialized equipment or knowledge or lots of muscle power. For example I can weld but any stainless steel welding on my boat goes out to the "stainless steel man" because it is very difficult to check a lot of small welds and in any case I do not have the equipment available - hiring it would be as expensive as putting the work out and the finished job is better.