My rant on boat cleanliness & maintenance!

[AndyK]

without getting too philosophical...

You answered your own question. 35 boats and not one in bristol condition??? I keep my boat bristol clean. I kept my ten year old jeep bristol clean. It sold in 24 hours to the first guy to stop by. The guy said he had been looking for months and they were all trashed. The well-kept boats are gone immediately. Well kept houses that are for sale sell immediately, even in down markets. All that is left are boats (or jeeps, or houses) of less desirability. You may find that the nice ones never even make it to market.Here's to ship-shape and bristol-fashion...Andy

 

[Maine Sail]

The things I've seen...

here's a list of some of the things I've seen on boats described by owners and brokers as an 8 or 10 condition boat.1) Decks so wet and rotted there was a brown coffee like goo dripping out of every hole in the cabin liner or headliner.2) A cockpit sole that was totally delaminated from bilge water and a rust line 1/4 of the way up the engine form the same bilge water.3) A totally delaminated cockpit sole that was so bad the fiberglass was actually lifting and peeling from being frozen and expanding and contracting.4) Off white interior cushions that were literally black with mold and mildew5) A "re-finished" cabin sole done with Home Depot stick on linoleum squares.6) Lichen growing on exterior teak7) Keel bolts with NO threads left on them above the nut from corrosion.8) Engine's that look worse than the after affects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.9) A transmission so rusted from a leaking stuffing box that it had pitted and began leaking from the corrosion.10) Running rigging that had no jacket left on it just bare strands of the base line.11) "Freshly re-painted decks" no not Awlgrip or even marine epoxy but HOUSE PAINT with brush marks the size of ruts on a country dirt road and flakes of peeling paint the size of slices of pizza.12) DIY installations above decks with NO bedding compound and sever deck rot!13) Deck rot, deck rot, deck rot! I have a moisture meter and use it. Any one buying a boat should own and know how to use one it will pay for it's self on your the first boat you look at!14) A hole in a Nonsuch mast, made by the owner & not factory, that essentially ruined the mast making it unsafe. A new mast for this boat is 18K!15) 12 volt DIY wiring done with 14/2 solid copper residential romex wire.16) An LP tank installation with no overboard venting.17) "Boat is in bristol condition a definite 9" but it needs a new water heater, water pump, cutlass bearing, impeller, the mast lights don't work and the radar has been inoperable for a couple of years. Oh yeah and we don't know whats wrong with the motor and the owner says it smokes a little. How are the sails? Owner says good. So when I get there (150 miles) they have a chipmunk living in the genoa and it looks like swiss cheese. The main sail however is "neatly" wrapped around the boom and laying on sawhorses under huge pine trees in the guys back yard uncovered! This boat is described to me as a 9 on a 1-10 scale with a 10 being concourse quality and 9 being Bristol????18) Teak that had been sanded by the owner who also managed to sand about 4 inches of the surrounding gelcoat with what could only be described as 36 grit sand paper. 19) A boat with a headliner that was totally collapsed with sopping wet foam from numerous deck leaks that had been noted in a 1995 survey when the current owner purchased the boat but never addressed the issues.20) A cutlass bearing with NO rubber left in it. "The engine might need an alignment" the owner says??21) All but three of the 36 boats I looked at were as chalky as a grade school chalk board and apparently NEVER waxed.I could go on and on but I think you understand what I've been dealing with. Yes all the good boats get snapped up quickly but just about every boat on the market is advertised as good to very good condition so it's tough to tell wthout looking..!

 

[TJ-LJ Champion]

One mans dirty is another mans fortune

If our boat hadn't been in such dis-repair/dirty we wouldn't have been able to snatch her up for a song. BUT now we're paying for that by the back breaking efforts of getting her in "Bristol Condition". This boat needs so much attention I doubt she will see water until late June this season.AS I read through this thread my mind flashed over the years of raising my three boys and being able to eat off my kitchen floor. As the years went by I now look back and wonder if instead I missed the opportunity to "play" with my children and enjoy their innocense while they still had it. Now my children are so wrapped up in lives of their own I wonder if I didn't make a mistake and should have let the house work go and cherish the moments with them. There is a valuable lesson to be learned in "smelling the roses".While I too must organise, neaten and scrub there must be a healthy balance as was pointed out by the gentleman who feels that perhaps his spouse would benefit more from his time instead of the vessel/car calling to him for maintenance.Of course we all love a pristine habitat that glistens and screams with care from our hands. But if everyone did that we'd have little work or nothing to invest each time we trade in our last boat for our new latest project. Honestly? I think we're all gluttons for punishment and cannot be happy unless we're scrubbing our bilges and laying a fresh coat of paint. At this point I'd just like to imagine being partially done and hoisting the sails. That moment is far far off for me.....*sigh*Laurie

 

[Ross]

I bought a bought a boat like that MaineSail

and completely rebuilt her inside and outside. Made her just the way I want and I will probably die in possession of her. I am not a dealer in any sense of the term. I don't like to buy new cars or boats. I figure get one you like and take good care of it. Done it with my wife, my house, my cars, my tools and my boat. I am a self discribed tightwad and figure what I don't spend I don't have to earn.

 

[Ross]

Laurie, You can eat off my kitchen floor,

that's mashed potato, and over there is a piece of spaghetti. ;D. Don't worry about whether or not you did right by the kids, they turn out however they will and we can't do much one way or the other. I have seen it go both ways. Parents that do everything with and for their kids and the kids just learn to take advantage and abuse the good nature of their folks. Other kids I see are raised in the most difficult conditions imaginable and the kids turn out great.

 

[RG]

Main Sail, I am with you partner

I am with you on this. My wife and I put so much into our Cat22 that she was the best looking boat at the docks. When we decided to sell I got the price I was asking with no arguements. The boat was spotless and well maintained.We have been on a quest for a larger boat in the 28 to 30 foot range. I am sick of finding pretty boats on the internet only travel and look at crap. I finally found a boat that is just like mine with an owner that is proud of his vessel.I believe the inside will match the outside and the mechanical will follow. Just my thoughts.RG

 

[Ken]

Wiring

Hey MailSail, I think I have you beat on wiring. I found six feet of shooting wire (the kind used on Dynamite caps) used in my boat by the PO owner, other than that it was in very good shape. Left me wondering if he might have paid someone for that.

 

[Ctskip]

I sail because I enjoy it

I own a sailboat because it allows me to enjoy my life. Sailing is fun. I'm not loaded, (rich) but I enjoy the little things that life has to offer. My boat is not perfect, nor is it trashed. It's used and loved. Yea it gets dusty and the dirt seems to find the corners.She gets a bath when needed. I clean her twice a year, real well. It meets my qualifications. Maintenance is a ongoing affair that brings me closer to her vitals. To know her is to love her. Just as I'm interested in my wife's vitals. I take care of her for two reasons. I love her and she takes care of me. The wife is always there too!Relax and smell the flowers. They smell just as good this year, as they did last year. The boat looks just as good (if not better) this year as she did last year. Does that make me bad? Who really cares when it's our standards that we must live up to. Thank God we all have differant standards. Where would the next deal come from then? Keep it up, Ctskip

 

[John5961]

Pristine?

I walked the docks for almost a year looking for a "good old boat". I was amazed at the number of forlorn, neglected looking, expensive boats at most marinas.I ended up with a hunter 27 that was in really good condition, meaning almost everything worked except the steaming light and bow lights. (I learned the previous owner never went out overnight) The steaming light turned out to be bad wiring in the mast. I'll replace it when I haul out the boat this summer. The boat is clean but chalky because its 25 years old and never been repainted. I wash it down every other week or so, oil the teak and fix things that break or are about to break. I had a dock neighbor that had a cal 35 (?) that was immaculate. He was at the lake at least every other weekend, cleaning and polishing. But in one year, I saw him take the boat out twice and he was back in a couple of hours. That's not what I bought a boat for. I sail almost every weekend and overnight at least once or twice a month. Too each his own.

 

[Mike B]

A+++

Jeff your right I'm sure I'm a pain to live with and for that reason I try my best to relax, although my wife and kids would probably tell you otherwise. Yes I'm an A+++ type and have worked to drop it to an A-. It ain't easy but I try. We've got boater friends that run from slobs to ultra anal. I try to respect each style and ask the same. Overall it works and we have a very good time. I have learned to keep my mouth shut, leave someone's bag where it lies, try not to clean up after someone right after they leave a mess and so on. I even kept quiet when a buddy sat against my cockpit with his cars keys scraping against the fiberglass. So leave hope for us, it's just the way we're programmed and what makes us who we are, for better or worse. Now it's 70 out, the sun is finally shining and I'm going to play hooky from work to clean the house. Which will leave the weekend to washing and waxing at the boat. Oh and down a few cold ones too. Enjoy!!!Have a great weekend!Mike

 

[ellis]

looking

I am looking at boats right now and can't believe the discrepancy between what is advertised and what is actually out there. I am still trying to find a Nordica or Halman 20. I just went to look at one that was advertised as excellent condition. I guess excellent means holes in the cockpit floor, chalky topsides, gray and dried out brightwork. cracked boards in the companionway, the mast propped up with a two by four, cabin liner peeling away, boards missing from the cabin top, sails thrown inside all over each other, missing pieces of rigging, gas leaking from the gas tank, a waterline stripe that looks as if it was painted on with a scrap of cardboard and on and on, and for this he wants more than another advertised in Kentucky that truly was bristol. On top of it all he was insulted when I made an offer of about half of the 6K he was asking. After figuring out the time and cost to bring this boat up to the "excellent" condition he advertised I felt this was a fair offer. My point is, treat your boat the however you feel you have to, but don't waste my time by telling me it is excellent when it isn't even in fair condition. This little boat will end up sitting in the yard until it deteriorates to a hulk. Only a fool would pay the price this guy is asking.

 

[Ross]

Most people don't have a realistic opinion of

their stuff or their kids. Their house is in perfect condition and move-in ready, their kids never cause any trouble and the teachers are picking on them. But their cars and boats, those they spend some time on or not. but theywill always tell you that everything is just as it should be. But if they are buying they will nit-pick you to death.

 

[Edmonds]

Speaking up for those "previous owners"

In my well-kept marina, there are some poorly kept boats. The constant rain here makes it a challenge. But I learned to be less judgmental after meeting some owners of a less-than-well maintained boat on my pier. The couple was in thier 50s, and had been avid sailors until the husband went into a wheelchair as the result of a debilitating illness. They would come down on nice days and putter on the boat without taking her out simply to be near the water and remember happier times. As life marches on, things change. While its laudable to keep your boat in Bristol condition, all the OCD captains will eventually find themselves in situations where the boat has to give.

 

[Capt. Kermie]

Pride of Ownership

Well, I bought my 26' sailboat new 4 years ago and plan to have it another 6 at least. In the first year I took everything out of the interior and sanded then painted the bilges with white gel-coat so that I could see the dirt when it accumulated. Because my boat is trailerable I can do all needed work in my driveway. Every year at the beginning of the season I clean & wax every FG surface inside & out plus I apply 3 coats of super slick bottom wax to the hull. I have spent probably another 3rd of the initial price on mods & upgrades and plan to double that. I am always proud when I pull into a marina for the night and my boat shines brighter than all others. Yes, I take pride in ownership and my boat is all I have to show for the fruits of my labour (House aside). I feel good when my wife & I go for a sail in our "like new" boat and she enjoys it too. I rinse it down and clean it up after every sail. I don't drink, smoke, gamble, do drugs, play golf or have kids, my boat is my life. When the day comes to sell it I am sure the first buyer to see it will buy it just like Maine Sail experienced. Yes, I am a fanatic.

 

[HukilauMike]

Never enough time

I never have enough time to do what I want, and I don't mean just with my boat. I read here about owners who every year spend weeks prepping their boats for launch, getting that wet-sanded, twice compounded, three coats of wax shine on the hull, and the stripped to the bare wood, twice washed, five coats of varnish glow to the brightwork. All labors of love, and I admit that I am sometimes jealous; jealous of the results, and jealous of the fact that they had the time to do the work. Me, I am lucky if I get two three-hour blocks of time to ready my boat for launch. Slap some paint on the bottom, wash and then wax the topsides with a one-step compound/wax, fix whatever major needs fixing while the boat is out of the water, and then step back for the crane. Another coat of Cetol on the brightwork? Fix the steaming light connection? Maybe. I find that after taking into account school plays, kids' soccer, softball, lacrosse, family vacations, house chores, work, and things I do for myself that don't involve sailing (sports, friends), I get about 15-20 days to sail per season. Something's got to give, and I have decided that the work on the boat that is not necessary to make her safe is the first stuff I don't do. Make no mistake, I agree with the points made here that the well-maintained boat is the one that sells quickly, and when I sell my boat, she will be Bristol. Just not now.