Restoration/Repair - how long?

[djyacht]

On retirement three years ago I bought my first boat, a small 23 foot motor sailor an IP 23 (without a survey I should add - I know, big mistake) off an ex-trawlerman on the Humber.

I intended to potter around NE coast, but the reality is that I have spent the last three years backwards and forwards to my marina renewing rotten deck, cabin and now wheelhouse with new ply and epoxy. Fortunately the hull is fibreglass. Now bulwarks need doing and alternator needs to be replaced. I have not yet left my mooring......winter is here so it will be late spring before I`m finished. Hopefully that is late spring 2012.

Meanwhile my newly acquired radio licence and day skipper ticket are languishing unused

Has anyone else spent a long time sorting their boatand how long- I just need a bit of moral support and certifying really....

 

[lustyd]

It will take as long as you want it to. You said the hull is GRP so I assume it's dry enough inside. Get an engine on there that works and go out when you have good weather. My boat was far from complete when I launched and I did over 500 miles this year while doing various jobs. All you need to complete before going out are:

• Stop the hull leaking
• fit reliable propulsion
• buy a lifejacket (optional)

 

[lustyd]

I should have also added that your newly completed work will look old within a year or two so before replacing more make sure it actually is unsound rather than just a bit scruffy. I repainted mine this year but you wouldn't know that from looking at it!

 

[BACUS]

dig a big hole and throw money at it

HI djyacht
You are not alone it took me two years to get my boat afloat and now sits in the marina awaiting new water and fuel tanks and then a new interior.
Keep the faith and hope your wife/partner is patient .
Good luck for 2012
regards
Bacus

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

As with women, a boat's work is never finished. I am now in the early stages of restoring my second boat - the other one is still unsold. The one previous to that was also the beneficiary of quite a bit of restoration...

The basic guiding principle is to differentiate between what is essential and what is cosmetic. The essential part is to make sure that the boat is sound and that she has a reliable system that enables you to go to sea...safely. The transformation of the sound boat into one that is beautiful to behold and that is also comfortable and practical to live on for a week or more takes longer and is best not rushed.

Use the boat as much as you can and while away the time spent at anchor thinking about what to do next and how best to do it. Ask a lot of 'What if' questions when it comes to layout and arrangement / alteration. This applies to both internal and external work. Until you are used to how a particular boat behaves you would be very lucky to get things right at the first attempt. Hence the idea of not rushing things.

You will never finish 'doing' your boat unless you intend to sell her soon. It is also unlikely to recoup all that you will be spending, even if you do not factor in your labour. BUT, as the years fly onwards, you will develop a boat that draws admiration from other boat-lovers and you will have the immeasurable satisfaction of knowing that it was all thanks to you and your efforts.

Trust me, it is a very worthwhile project. Been there, done that, STILL doing it!

 

[prv]

Coming into my third winter and still doing restoration/upgrade jobs I planned to do in the first one. But I've had lots of good use out of the boat in the summers in between.

There were some things that really needed to be sorted for safety - broken seacocks, ancient hoses, dodgy stern gland, etc - and I did those in the first winter before we ever launched her. After that, I had a rule not to work on the boat (except essential maintenance) during the season, but to sail instead, even though the cabin table is held up by a bit of scrap wood and the wiring down the starboard side of the saloon is all hanging out.

Was your boat really not at all seaworthy this summer?

Pete

 

[capetown]

You are not alone, as has been mentioned, it takes as long as you want and have the funds.

I got mine seaworthy, asap, that took about two years, plonked her in the water, use her, and do the rest as and when, it doesn't really finish, as a couple of years down the line, you are renewing what has worn out.

Welcome.

 

[Simondjuk]

We decided to completely finish this one before going back in and took 16 months from purchase to launch day.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Get After The Refurbishment or Get Used To Sailing a Floating Workshop

My own boat is a mature lady, not old, certainly not vintage. She has required windows, headlining, rigging and such stuff to be refurbished / replaced.

If I stuck her in a yard to have these things done it would take one winter season to sort out. By doing it myself it has taken three slow years and is still underway. In that time I have sailed her about the Firth of Clyde.

However, I am a bit wearisome of sailing a boat that always has some item in a semi state of repair. It has impacted the enjoyment of the boat because at time the family have said no, they don't want to go sailing in a construction sight. Of course stuff like finishing detail (headlining, for example), is not safety critical, but it detracts from the experience, as my family have indicated and diminishes the fun.

As a result last year was limited to Dads and their Lads sailing (we don't mind roughing it), which is OK, but not what I really want. Don't loose heart, just persevere. One area to consider though, like renovating a home, is that it is easy to get used to a less than satisfactory condition as I have found out sailing a floating workshop. So get after it and get the boat finished by putting the time in so you can enjoy her fully.

 

[dharl]

lifejacket

[*]buy a lifejacket (optional)
[/LIST]

Would say that buying a lifejacket is NOT optional. especially if singlehanded or on a small boat with low safety rails....

As per other posts work needed on boats of any size is never ending! but as Lustyd noted all you need is to have her seaworthy so that you can enjoy being afloat!

 

[lustyd]

Would say that buying a lifejacket is NOT optional. especially if singlehanded or on a small boat with low safety rails....

That depends on the sailing you are doing and your attitude. If you're pottering in a quiet bay on a hot day then I see no reason to wear one or even have one on the boat. If you're crossing the channel then you may want to wear one. It's personal choice all the way with boating and is the skippers choice regardless of what others say on the internet. If I sailed with you on your boat I'd respect your wishes and wear one. If you were on mine I'd respect your wishes and let you wear one. If you told me to wear a lifejacket on my boat, however, we would very quickly be testing yours!

 

[Jim@sea]

When your boat is finished, early spring, I would put it up for sale. At that moment after all your work it will be in the best condition its ever going to be. And once sold I would buy something which is all GRP and all you have to do is cosmetic work.

 

[PCUK]

Brilliant pics Simon - and a fantastic job!

 

[Searush]

SR is all GRP & I have had her about 25 years & still doing stuff. But I never stopped sailing her. You will always find more to do, some people prefer to repair & never sail, others prefer to sail & never repair. Most of us do a balancing act, you make your own choices.

I know a concrete world girdler that has broken down every time the guy takes it out despite spending a fortune on new gismos. But he hasn't replaced the bits that actually need doing &, when he gets into trouble he doesn't know how to get out of it so ends up being towed home. Get experience in small bites, take someone with you who can help solve problems & your confidence will grow rather than take a knock.

 

[Marine Reflections]

We decided to completely finish this one before going back in and took 16 months from purchase to launch day.

What a superb set of photos!

A lovely job, you must be so pleased.

 

[oldharry]

Sounds as though you bought one near the limit of repair. At least you know now it will all be sound. We reckon that for every day spent stripping something, theres a months work to put it back!

It is quite dispiriting when the job never seems to end, and you just want to get on the water and get on with it. However it does sound as though you are getting near the end. So stick to it, and you will be on the water!

Otherwise, if the structural work is all done, concentrate on gettng the boat ready to sail, even if the accomodation is unfinished. Hull and machinery, steering, rig and sails, and she will go.

 

[wakatiki]

Come February I will have been messing about with my Westerly Berwick for a couple of years... plans somewhat delayed by the arrival of child number 3 during the process. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Yes its a boat and it should and will be in the H2O but the time I spend working on her and as I think "Searush" has said getting to know her are far from wasted. Keeps me sane... and its far more productive than a very good friend of mine who has recently reverted to his 12 year old self and is making air fix kits in his garage... and very good they are too.

 

[Simondjuk]

Thanks PCUK and Marine Reflections.

djyacht,

We avoided the 'never ending task' feeling by going at the restoration of Trifle as hard and fast as possible. We went and worked on the boat every weekend, in all weathers, and put in as many hours as we possibly could. As a result, we saw tangible progress at a rate which enthused us. We watched people working on other boats who'd come along, do a couple of hours tinkering and then give up for the day. Nothing really seemed to change on these boats from one week to the next, which caused the owners loss of enthusiasm as they came to think they'd bitten off more than they could chew and consequently their visits became fewer and fewer until progress all but ceased. Many of those boats needed less work than Trifle but are still lying in the yard half finished.

Sometimes it was hard to find the enthusiasm to put in a full weekend after a busy week at work, particularly when it was wet, freezing cold, or the day's job was a particularly boring or unpleasant one. Sometimes we'd sit in the boat drinking coffee, watching the rain fall, cursing the weather and debating making for the pub if it was a Saturday or heading for home if it was a Sunday. On one or two days, we gave in. Mostly though, we just pressed on.

At the outset, we only intended to spend 4 months tarting the boat up and making her useable, but very quickly our plans evolved and we did way way more, literally renovating or replacing every single part of the boat, from stem to stern and masthead to keel. Missing a full season's sailing was a shame, but the reward of seeing the boat turn from looking and feeling like she'd had a mid life crisis she might never shake off into a loved and fresh little ship was more than adequate compensation for that.

By this point it was approaching the end of the summer and the temptation to launch and get some sailing in was overwhelming, but we resisted the urge knowing that she'd then become a floating project and unlikely to be finished to the standard we'd set by then. In the end, the hardest thing was actually knowing we'd finished. Suddenly there was just nothing left to do and it took us a day or two of actively trying to find bits and pieces to finish for it to sink in that we'd cracked it and it was time to go sailing.

We had her put back in and, after a minor delay caused by the forestay having to come and the furler reworked, went sailing. As well as a fortnight of fantastic sailing, one of the highlights was when a chap rafted alongside us said to us that he didn't know Evolution 25s were still in production. It gave a quietly satisfying sense of pride to say that they weren't and that ours was built in 1981.

The bottom line is to keep pressing on as hard and fast as you can. The more progress you see at the end of each day, the keener you'll be to come back get put in another successful and rewarding one. Also, try to think of the time you put in hours rather than days, it tends to encourge you to put in a full day's work rather than calling 11:00 to 15:00 a 'day'. If you can learn to enjoy the work for itself and not just as a means to and end, that helps too.

Suddenly you'll find things are all coming together and you'll be done, then it's time to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

.... We avoided the 'never ending task' feeling by going at the restoration of Trifle as hard and fast as possible. .....

This is my plan between now and spring. Get after the windows and lining, complete and then stop. Do no more next year and just enjoy sailing the boat.

 

[rob2]

I was reminded of the practice every Spring of making a long list of all the things that still need doing. I then cross off and transfer to an ongoing list anything that won't actually stop me sailing - then I launch! (Priority to things that keep her afloat)

Rob.