So much to do...so little time

[dancrane]

How has it happened AGAIN...? Back in August when I parked my overfed avoirdupois on the rear deck, there was a nasty crack, and I knew it meant a bit of careful work. Then I visited family abroad, then began a new job, then another, then back abroad over Christmas, then some hellish weather since...

...and now, 7 months after I cracked the deck, I'm still occupied and the job still needs doing (with several others), as the weather promises to improve and I want to get afloat.

Is it an unwritten rule that however vital a job is, it won't get done until the last, latest possible moment?

 

[Poignard]

Is it an unwritten rule that however vital a job is, it won't get done until the last, latest possible moment?

In my case - yes!

Whenever I begin to feel guilty about this I console myself by recalling the words of Robert Louis Stevenson:

"Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits."

:nonchalance:

 

[dancrane]

"Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits."

:nonchalance:

For once, that 'smiley' has the right expression, though I'd hardly call it 'nonchalance' as the system does. Looks more like baleful impotence as unhappy circumstances unfold...

...the Victorians may have been proud of persevering in spite of continued failure, but I'm not so patient!

And those duffers at the nameless online chandlery are keeping me waiting...it's been three weeks now with no good excuse. Right, I'll blame them. It's ALL their fault. :mad-new:

 

[dom]

...and now, 7 months after I cracked the deck, I'm still occupied and the job still needs doing (with several others), as the weather promises to improve and I want to get afloat.

Is it an unwritten rule that however vital a job is, it won't get done until the last, latest possible moment?

My wife got fed up with my spring panics; she now keeps a note of all the jobs that need doing and I put a completion date against them. If I haven't done it by that time she asks the boatyard to do it!

For some reason I grossly underestimate the time required to collect the necessary bits and pieces, wait for the right weather, and then complete the task. I wonder is this chronic underestimation of the time anything to do with a chronic overestimation/dream about the time we'd all like to spend messing around on our boats? If only life would only stop getting in the way!

 

[Twister_Ken]

One of those obscure rules - let's call it Blenkinsop's Law…

"The last 10% of a job takes 90% of the time."

 

[dancrane]

...is this anything to do with a chronic overestimation/dream about the time we'd all like to spend messing around on our boats?

I'm certain it's true. Boat-ownership is ominously similar to an iceberg scenario - the visible tip is a glorious day of just-enough wind, high bright sun, boat in perfect running-order...

...the vast majority of it is unseen awfulness - undreamt-of bills, deterioration during storage, damage during use, awkward and infuriating delays caused by weather, and no clear plan ever running as the planner foresaw it. Amazing that we maintain our enthusiasm!

 

[dom]

I'm certain it's true. Boat-ownership is ominously similar to an iceberg scenario ...

True, but is it all about sailing? Think about sitting on your boat in the marina or on its mooring ...the world suddenly looks a bit different, a bit clearer, a bit melancholic even. One somehow regains perspective on life by watching cars streaming orderly to work on a quiet morning rush hour, whilst the wading birds search for their breakfast just a few metres away. Perhaps it is because boats somehow arouse our minds like this that we all like them so much.

 

[prv]

What's all this wittering about weather? Unless your only remaining job is large-scale varnishing or painting, weather should not stop work proceeding. I have a lot to do on Ariam (and no, I ain't going to finish it all) but I've been giving it a damn good try by spending every weekend bar one, since New Year, down at the yard.

Obviously most people have more of a life than me and have other engagements at weekends, but that's even more reason not to be put off by bad weather on the weekends you can do.

Pete

 

[JumbleDuck]

One of those obscure rules - let's call it Blenkinsop's Law…

"The last 10% of a job takes 90% of the time."

Pareto principle?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

 

[dancrane]

What's all this wittering about weather? Unless your only remaining job is large-scale varnishing or painting, weather should not stop work proceeding.

Certainly, I've a bad habit of leaving important paid work until times when, inevitably, the sun is out and I'd otherwise be free to go down to the boat. Like today, for instance.

My weekends have been consistently crowded with my work and family visits for a while now...and the jobs on board are definitely those that need fine weather - paint-stripping, undercoating, top-coating, Pro-Grip laying...and the unending keel-band saga which will also want gluing - ideally not in heavy rain with leaves and grit blowing about the scene...

...plus a few jobs of woodworking, glassing and varnishing...none of them best achieved in a windstorm or rainstorm.

 

[CreakyDecks]

I am using the excuse that resin won't set properly below ten degrees.
And I don't want to hear anything to the contrary.

 

[Swanrad2]

Right there with you - loads of work and still no where near.

I just had an idea though (no-one knick it) I'm thinking of placing an advert in the crew wanted section - the deal, launch weekend -2 days, turn up, pick up a paintbrush and start work. Launch day. Then free cruise...

Those last two days work could be vital!

 

[johnalison]

Never do today what you can put off to tomorrow. Should be on my gravestone.

 

[dom]

Never do today what you can put off to tomorrow. Should be on my gravestone.

I'm Irish so mine can be, "Never put off to tomorrow what you can put off until the day after!"

 

[Poignard]

Life gets tedious, don't it?

The other day I put off a power sanding job so I could listen to the afternoon play on R4. Then it was time for some tea and toasted crumpets, then it began to get dark, so I went home.

 

[prv]

I am using the excuse that resin won't set properly below ten degrees.
And I don't want to hear anything to the contrary.

Fan heater, eBay, £7 delivered. I've done quite a bit of fibreglass and epoxy work this winter.

Our new spot has power, which is convenient, but for the old one I used a generator. That's a bit more than £7 admittedly, but if you don't have mains then you'll need it for serious work anyway.

Pete

 

[prv]

the jobs on board are definitely those that need fine weather - paint-stripping, undercoating, top-coating, Pro-Grip laying...and the unending keel-band saga which will also want gluing - ideally not in heavy rain with leaves and grit blowing about the scene...

...plus a few jobs of woodworking, glassing and varnishing...none of them best achieved in a windstorm or rainstorm.

Tarpaulin, set up as a tent. Use the mast as a ridge pole if it's down (that's what I always did on Kindred Spirit). I'd hold off on the varnishing and topcoating as the humidity in the air won't do them any good, but everything else should be achievable.

Obviously fine weather makes everything easier and more pleasant, and I'll do inside jobs in wet weather if that makes sense in the schedule, but I make a point of never stopping for bad weather. We work on boats in the winter (except Lustyd and a few other enlightened souls ) so nothing would get done if we let rain stop play.

Pete

 

[dancrane]

Sound advice. Hopefully I can be businesslike about my list of jobs. Part of the difficulty is that they don't centre around a single area. There's something wrong almost everywhere!

Ah well, probably too cold to risk capsizing till May anyway...I'll aim at completing one job per week.