Is this normal behaviour?

[Fulmarboy]

OWNING A BOAT
Dry Bilges?
The boat was taken out of the water in November to allow it to dry out a little. I went down in February to check her out and the melting snow has somehow found its way into the bilge and there’s more water there now than there ever is when the boat’s moored. So, I pump her out, then sponge the remaining, cold, oily soup into the special ‘blue’ dirty bucket. To do this properly I have to empty the starboard locker and get under the engine. This means removing the fenders (3 round, 8 long), the red and the yellow buckets, the mooring lines, the shorelines, the anti-snubbing devices, the hose, the bag of hose fittings, the bag of ‘useful’ cordage, two boathooks (one ash handled, one hickory), the oars for the dinghy, the step for the dinghy, the fuel tank dipping stick, the container that catches the overflow from the hot water tank pressure valve, the outboard fuel container, the spare engine oil container, bits of old rag that I know I didn’t put in there, and a shrimp net. 3 nearly empty bottles of teak oil, a tub of oxalic acid, a bottle of meths, a bottle of fibreglass cleaner, a lead-line, a heaving line and two small anchors suitable for mooring the inflatable but never used.
Now the locker is clear I can get at the panel that gives me access to the underside of the engine. The panel is removed (and put in the cockpit with all the rest of the gear) and I can at last start sponging out the remains of the muck. Olga Corbett could have done this easily .....I force myself into the required position (upside down with one leg under the diesel heater and the other behind my back) and manage the whole clean up in less than a minute.
While I am sponging, I notice the screw top of the engine anode. The anode needs replacing; in fact there is nothing left of it. I don’t have a spare…. I need to order one. Whilst pondering this dilemma I notice the gearbox dip stick. Not sure I have ever seen this before however the oil needs topping up. I don’t have any…. I need to buy some.
Neither job gets done.
Before I go home I have to pack all the doings back into the locker and, strangely, drive the 40 miles home feeling a sense of achievement.
Last weekend I returned to the boat with a new engine anode and some gearbox oil and started again.
Is this typical of owning a boat?

 

[Evadne]

The short answer is "yes".

Nothing is ever easy, but anything that brings as sense of achievment is good for the soul. Or in the case of water ingress, good for the sole. Preventing problems is always a satisfaction, whether it's realising you need to change the engine anode/oil/filters or whatever. I went down to Evadne on Wednesday to turn the engine over and found both batteries flat. One, rather ancient, has been consigned to the dump and replaced with an 85Ah leisure battery from the caravan shop (£63, don't nobody tell me that they can get it cheaper elswhere, it'll spoil my weekend) and the other taken home and, like Lazarus is live and kicking after a seriously good charge.

The result? some good, some expensive, but a day spent on the boat, even ashore with my nose in the bilges, is a day of pleasure. As long as you don't take it too far.

 

[Danny Jo]

Just you wait - in no time at all a helpful forumite will point out that if you don't remember seeing the gearbox oil dipstick before, the gearbox oil is long overdue for replacement.

Then, on your first cruise of the season, you'll call in at a frightfully expensive marina and find you need a hose fitting that was in the bag you took out and stowed away so many times. Now that you need it, however, the bag will have disappeared. During your search for it you will discover that the tub of oxalic acid has split, thus providing an explanation for your feeling so ill after tasting the bilge water for salt, and for the rusty accretion which seems to have fused the two small anchors together.

Welcome to cruising!

 

[Pitterpatter]

I was going to ask if you have an old Dufour as well? I think what you are referring to are 'the joys of boat ownership'. Myself, I've had a mab for a couple of years and have progressed past the joys stage.

I have a feeling that for me boat ownership will follow this course:
-enjoy boat ownership (as above) and enjoy economy of maintaining own boat
-realise that the cost of repairing things broken whilst maintaining own boat outweighs costs of getting someone to maintain it for you (current level)
-realise that the cost of getting someone to maintain a mab is roughly equivelant to buying and running an awb. I reckon this stage will cause headaches for a couple of years
-buy bigger awb just as I get too old to handle it. More headaches for a couple of years.
-Die

Just a theory, but a plausible one!

 

[Evadne]

I was going to ask if you have an old Dufour as well? I think what you are referring to are 'the joys of boat ownership'. Myself, I've had a mab for a couple of years and have progressed past the joys stage.

I have a feeling that for me boat ownership will follow this course:
-enjoy boat ownership (as above) and enjoy economy of maintaining own boat
-realise that the cost of repairing things broken whilst maintaining own boat outweighs costs of getting someone to maintain it for you (current level)
-realise that the cost of getting someone to maintain a mab is roughly equivelant to buying and running an awb. I reckon this stage will cause headaches for a couple of years
-buy bigger awb just as I get too old to handle it. More headaches for a couple of years.
-Die

Just a theory, but a plausible one!

I am probably showing my age when I say that seeing the words "old" and "Dufour" in the same sentence seems wrong. I remember Westerlys when they were new, lightweight AWBs. The correct sequence is:
1) buy a boat
2) go sailing
3) spend the rest of your springtimes getting her ready for the next season's sailing
4) er, that's it.

Apart from saying goodbye to clean fingernails (or fingernails at all), getting to like the smell of diesel and the familiarity of twinges in your back when you need to delve into the bilges or remove the engine. And an excuse to buy every single manual and power tool in B&Q and Screwfix combined, as well as half their ironmongery.

 

[samwise]

One day I know that I will finally track down that elusive "10 minute job" on the boat. However, as the years roll by and the "to do " lists grow ever longer, I am becoming resigned to the fact that the 10 minute job is rooted firmly in fantasy together with "just a quick half," and "Dad, can I borrow £20, I'll pay you back," and others.

 

[Major Catastrophe]

Is this typical of owning a boat?

Not entirely. He forgot to mention the fibre glass 'burns' on your arms and hands after reaching into and behind lockers. They burn and hurt for days.

 

[flyingscampi]

Absolutely typical from my experience.

It is utterly impossible to start and finish a job on a MAB without adding at least two more items to the 'To Do' list.

You also have to contort your body into positions that would make a yoga instructor blanch.

On my Westerly Storm, my fondest memories are fitting a new toilet waste hose to its seacock and the handles on my rope clutches. The seacock is located in the most inaccessible part of the bilge and the clutch handles were dangled on a piece of string from the roof of workshop and the rest of the boat assembled around them.

I love it really

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Just you wait - in no time at all a helpful forumite will point out that if you don't remember seeing the gearbox oil dipstick before, the gearbox oil is long overdue for replacement.

Then, on your first cruise of the season, you'll call in at a frightfully expensive marina and find you need a hose fitting that was in the bag you took out and stowed away so many times. Now that you need it, however, the bag will have disappeared. During your search for it you will discover that the tub of oxalic acid has split, thus providing an explanation for your feeling so ill after tasting the bilge water for salt, and for the rusty accretion which seems to have fused the two small anchors together.

Welcome to cruising!

Spot on.

I have come to the conclusion that the only logical time to wish to acquire a boat is when you are in the water, drowning.

 

[2Tizwoz]

As you made no mention of paint your experience is only a part of the joy.

 

[Cliveshep]

Anyone who remembers Olga Korbut (3 golds in the 1972 Olympics) has my sympathy in crawling or attempting to crawl into awkward spaces to do something, as well as struggling to extricate oneself afterwards.

It gets no easier as we get older!

 

[shmoo]

You are asking about "normal" behavior here?

I must point out a little further down the forum is a well subscribed thread more or less seriously discussing rational explanations for the biblical flood and you ask about normal behavior.

Are you quite sure you are in the right place?

 

[jonic]

OWNING A BOAT
Last weekend I returned to the boat with a new engine anode and some gearbox oil and started again.
Is this typical of owning a boat?

No. Not at all.

It is far more usual to have forgotten either the anode or the oil and had to make two trips. It is then usual to drop the anode overboard whilst getting back on the boat after the second trip. Sounds like you've had a huge dose of beginners luck.

 

[tinkicker0]

OWNING A BOAT
Dry Bilges?
The boat was taken out of the water in November to allow it to dry out a little. I went down in February to check her out and the melting snow has somehow found its way into the bilge and there’s more water there now than there ever is when the boat’s moored. So, I pump her out, then sponge the remaining, cold, oily soup into the special ‘blue’ dirty bucket. To do this properly I have to empty the starboard locker and get under the engine. This means removing the fenders (3 round, 8 long), the red and the yellow buckets, the mooring lines, the shorelines, the anti-snubbing devices, the hose, the bag of hose fittings, the bag of ‘useful’ cordage, two boathooks (one ash handled, one hickory), the oars for the dinghy, the step for the dinghy, the fuel tank dipping stick, the container that catches the overflow from the hot water tank pressure valve, the outboard fuel container, the spare engine oil container, bits of old rag that I know I didn’t put in there, and a shrimp net. 3 nearly empty bottles of teak oil, a tub of oxalic acid, a bottle of meths, a bottle of fibreglass cleaner, a lead-line, a heaving line and two small anchors suitable for mooring the inflatable but never used.
Now the locker is clear I can get at the panel that gives me access to the underside of the engine. The panel is removed (and put in the cockpit with all the rest of the gear) and I can at last start sponging out the remains of the muck. Olga Corbett could have done this easily .....I force myself into the required position (upside down with one leg under the diesel heater and the other behind my back) and manage the whole clean up in less than a minute.
While I am sponging, I notice the screw top of the engine anode. The anode needs replacing; in fact there is nothing left of it. I don’t have a spare…. I need to order one. Whilst pondering this dilemma I notice the gearbox dip stick. Not sure I have ever seen this before however the oil needs topping up. I don’t have any…. I need to buy some.
Neither job gets done.
Before I go home I have to pack all the doings back into the locker and, strangely, drive the 40 miles home feeling a sense of achievement.
Last weekend I returned to the boat with a new engine anode and some gearbox oil and started again.
Is this typical of owning a boat?

Fairly typical with a larger boat I suppose. with a smaller one, you don't have room to put the gear IN the boat, but have to pile it on the berth finger.
Then you discover the anode, want to go to the chandlery to aquire one, but first one has to negotiate that mountain of gear that you can't get past.
You pile it back on the boat, get in the car and go to the marina chandlery.
They don't have one, so it will be a two hour trip in the car to the nearest dealer. Fearing a tip rat will come and half inch your gear, you square it all away and jump in the car. You get 3 miles down the road and realise the old anode is still on the boat, so you turn around again to go get it.

Back at the boat, you realise that you had loosly screwed the anode back in its mounting hole, that can only be accessed thru the now full again locker. Gear piled on dock, anode out and placed safely on the dashboard, gear squared away again. Stop to ease one's aching back and admire the lovely sunny day for a moment.

Get off the boat and walk to the car, remember the anode is still on the dash, walk back to the boat.
Grasping the anode, one jumps off the boat and drop the anode on the pontoon. with baited breath you watch it lodge precariously between two of the boards and stop just before it goes in the briny.
Thanking your lucky stars, you take your sample to the dealers where the thread on the holder is carefully checked against the replacement anode and the catalogue number is cross referenced against your engine make, model and year.

You make the two hour trip back to the marina and in failing light, empty the locker contents on the dock again.
Anode in hand, you squirm into the engine space upside down......and drop the anode into the bilge.

A half hours worth of fishing with various rods and sticks found on boat and in car park, you get the anode where you can just touch it with your fingertips, but you can't see it cos its now dark and your torch batteries are failing.
An Herculean lunge into the engine space sees you with a visit to the chiropracter required because you overflexed your shoulder and trapped a nerve, plus an anode clutched in ones hand. Success!

Ignoring the pain, you put the anode into the engine, but it appears too long, the thread won't even engage. Sod it, you think to cut a bit off with the hacksaw.
Another locker opened and all the contents piled onto the pontoon finger with the rest, you find the hacksaw.

Turning the anode over in your hand to assess where to make the cut, in the final dying moments of your torch battery, you see the legend engraved into the metal......."Magnesium".
You look over the expanse of moonlit, very salty sea for a moment and have a long silent scream.

"Feck it, I've had enough, I'm going home, I'll get the right anode and come back next weekend when me shoulder's stopped hurting, I'm not so absolutely knackered, its daylight and I don't have a two hour drive home in prospect".

You close the covers, fasten 50 DOT twist fasteners and 20 pop fastners, go to get off the boat in a now deserted marina, where only the cry of a solitary Owl breaks the silence and you see the huge pile of gear on the dock........

FFFFFFFFFFFFF uuuuc kkkkkk aaargh.

Of course, despite how many combinations of placement, the gear won't all go back in as before.

On the fourth attempt, your bladder suddenly and violently alerts you to the fact that it is full to capacity and a 10 minute walk to the toilet block is becoming urgent......
You arrive at the bogs......"Mmmm what is that new combination code for the electronic door lock, ah it's in me wallet". A feverish pat of the pockets and the realisation dawns that the wallet is on the boat.


Those begonias growing by the path at the side of the toilet block never did grow to their full potential that year.........


Thats typical boating, not the namby pamby beginners lucky break that you tried to fob us off with

 

[colvic987]

lists, damn lists and empty pockets

However, as the years roll by and the "to do " lists grow ever longer, I am becoming resigned to the fact that the 10 minute job is rooted firmly in fantasy together with "just a quick half," and "Dad, can I borrow £20, I'll pay you back," and others.

Sigh of relief, i was getting paranoid over the size of my 'jobs to do on boat' list.

note to self, 'start asking kids for lend of £20, each day over several days, then have a senior moment and forget, go and buy some new gadgets'.


All 'normal' behavior for a boat owner, a normal 5 minute job will take hours on a boat...but we keep going back for more. (i must be mad, but i know that already)

 

[Clyde_Wanderer]

OWNING A BOAT
Dry Bilges?
The boat was taken out of the water in November to allow it to dry out a little. I went down in February to check her out and the melting snow has somehow found its way into the bilge and there’s more water there now than there ever is when the boat’s moored. So, I pump her out, then sponge the remaining, cold, oily soup into the special ‘blue’ dirty bucket. To do this properly I have to empty the starboard locker and get under the engine. This means removing the fenders (3 round, 8 long), the red and the yellow buckets, the mooring lines, the shorelines, the anti-snubbing devices, the hose, the bag of hose fittings, the bag of ‘useful’ cordage, two boathooks (one ash handled, one hickory), the oars for the dinghy, the step for the dinghy, the fuel tank dipping stick, the container that catches the overflow from the hot water tank pressure valve, the outboard fuel container, the spare engine oil container, bits of old rag that I know I didn’t put in there, and a shrimp net. 3 nearly empty bottles of teak oil, a tub of oxalic acid, a bottle of meths, a bottle of fibreglass cleaner, a lead-line, a heaving line and two small anchors suitable for mooring the inflatable but never used.
Now the locker is clear I can get at the panel that gives me access to the underside of the engine. The panel is removed (and put in the cockpit with all the rest of the gear) and I can at last start sponging out the remains of the muck. Olga Corbett could have done this easily .....I force myself into the required position (upside down with one leg under the diesel heater and the other behind my back) and manage the whole clean up in less than a minute.
While I am sponging, I notice the screw top of the engine anode. The anode needs replacing; in fact there is nothing left of it. I don’t have a spare…. I need to order one. Whilst pondering this dilemma I notice the gearbox dip stick. Not sure I have ever seen this before however the oil needs topping up. I don’t have any…. I need to buy some.
Neither job gets done.
Before I go home I have to pack all the doings back into the locker and, strangely, drive the 40 miles home feeling a sense of achievement.
Last weekend I returned to the boat with a new engine anode and some gearbox oil and started again.
Is this typical of owning a boat?

Have you considered the fact that if you have not seen/used most of this stuff for a season or more then it is highly likely you will never use it and dont need to carry it? My motto is if I havent used it within the last year or so, then I dont need it and leave it at home.
Now oily rags are trouble waiting to happen, certain types of cotton rags soaked in engine oils etc can self ignite, according to an RNLI safeyy officer who gave us a lecture a few years ago. Bin them when finnished as opposed to storing them.
If there items you must keep for maintenance or emergency purposes, they should really be stored where you can easily access them within a few seconds.
If there is going to be panic, make sure it is organised panic!

 

[MoonlightShadow]

I have come to the conclusion that the only logical time to wish to acquire a boat is when you are in the water, drowning.

Excellent. Top marks for thought process. But...

We still do it, in spite of that realisation.

It's character building. It's therapy. It's escapism. And clearly, not all that sane. But none of you are boring people. I wonder what the average IQ of a yachtie actually is. Yachties come across as intelligent, but didn't someone once say that there was a fine dividing line.

PS. Forgot to mention having to have the boat craned out again after launch because of a leak just discovered, which meant emptying everything out just one more time - hopefully.

 

[alan_d]

Have you considered the fact that if you have not seen/used most of this stuff for a season or more then it is highly likely you will never use it and dont need to carry it? My motto is if I havent used it within the last year or so, then I dont need it and leave it at home.

No, no, no. The only reason you haven't needed the stuff is because you have it with you. As soon as you leave it behind it will become absolutely essential. (This is an immutable Law of the Sea.)

 

[Fulmarboy]

It doesn't get easier!

OWNING A BOAT
Water Pumps?
Hi everyone
Sorry for the delay in replying to your witty comments. They all made me smile.
I got the job finished eventually and, at the same time, managed to adjust the tickover with no bother at all....Amazing!
Just before I put the lid on the engine bay I had a quick look around to check all was well and guess what? I have a slight leak from the water pump. Oh well, I'll just have to take it off and find out what the problem is and repair it. How hard can it be?
The water pump is held on with two bolts; one is easy to get to and other one (the corroded one) is cunningly hidden behind the edge of the flywheel, just enough so as to stop you undoing it. Oh good, this means I get to take the flywheel off as well. How exciting.
The flywheel is held on with 8 Allen bolts which totally refuse to budge. The only way I have a chance to move them is with an impact screwdriver which luckily I own. Unluckily, I have mislaid the bit that connects the allen key to the driver and there's no point trying to find it. It will turn up when I am looking for something else unrelated... like the O.K. Sauce or the PanYan Pickle. Anyway, I wash up and drive to the tool shop to buy a new impact driver @ £30.
Back on the boat I manage to remove the flywheel, having first removed both fanbelts by releasing both (yes two!) alternators. By the way, do you realise how heavy a Bukh flywheel is?
I remove the water pump and can't find anything wrong with it. It looks fine so I replace it with a new gasket and some Hermatite. I replace the flywheel and fanbelts and re-tension the alternators. Marvellous.
I fire up the engine and water pours out of the back of the water pump. It's much worse then it was. I 'inform' my Wife how happy I am with the situation and she asks me what colour the new curtains should be.
Five minutes later the leak stops, and it hasn't happened since. The leak has healed itself, I am very impressed although a little of me can't help feeling that all is not well. Next day I order a new water pump however to fit it will have to remove the flywheel again.
I am getting to know the engine quite well.
Is this typical of owning a boat?

 

[Mandarin331]

, ah it's in me wallet". A feverish pat of the pockets and the realisation dawns that the wallet is on the boat.


Those begonias growing by the path at the side of the toilet block never did grow to their full potential that year.........


Thats typical boating, not the namby pamby beginners lucky break that you tried to fob us off with

very nicely put....

From personal experience a slight variation of this is to discover your wallet is on the boat at the end of the 100 mile drive home, coupled with the realisation that you must have it by next morning to go to work, the car's out of fuel and all money and credit cards are in the wallet......