5 Things We Learned After Our Sailboat Spent 1 Year On The Hard
We know most used boat owners have spent copious amounts of time, with their boat, in the yard. So we thought it would be helpful to share our experiences. However, that might take forever, so we’ve summed it up to the top 5 things we learned after our sailboat spent 1 year on the hard.
For those not quite versed yet: “On The Hard” means when your boat is taken out of the water and placed on jack stands to sit on dry land so you can work on the bottom of the boat.
Of course we learned the hard way on all of it. Nothing came as an easy project. They say you’re only one bolt away from a three day project. They’re right! So I hope our experiences can be useful to someone else so you have a smoother experience.
1. Organization will keep you sane.
Nothing is more important than this lesson right here. We’ll admit we had none...no organization. Especially in the beginning. For example, we would start a project at 7am, we would spend an hour gathering up supplies because we didn’t have a place where everything went after every use. It was merely placed down where last used. So half of our days were wasted, poof, gone, if we had to look for tools or those bolts we know we just bought.
It didn’t take us long to realize organization will keep you sane. You will understand when you can’t possibly look for something harder than you’ve already looked. But you know you have it. You tend to get an eye twitch or worse permanent blindness. Hahaha I’m only kidding, about the permanent part that is.
Having a place designated for tools is a must! Having a place designated for supplies is a must! Take the time before it’s too late to organize, it’s vital to your mental health during such projects.
It took us about a month to realize this is something very important to any boat project. Do yourself a favor and don’t wait that long.
2. Don’t buy used boat parts for anything under the water line.
Ok, so Bobby and I are very into buying used things from eBay, a salvage yard, off Craigslist. Shoot we’ve even bought whole boats just to get certain things off of it that would’ve cost more than buying the whole boat. It’s a great way to save a ton of money because there is no reason not to. As long as what you’re buying is still in excellent condition.
However, there is one thing you should never do. You should never buy anything used that your life depends on. Meaning don’t put used parts under the water line of your boat. It’s just the fact that if a part fails it puts you and your boat at risk. Buy new parts for all things under the water line and at least you can sleep at night knowing you don’t have a problem waiting to happen.
The only used boat part we bought for under the water line was a PSS Dripless shaft seal. We bought it used off eBay because it was significantly cheaper than a new one. This is of course before we learned our lesson. It was in great shape so we installed it. When we splashed our boat, we held her in the slings to check for leaks. I go down to check and the shaft seal is leaking like a sieve. We freaked out and raised her back up above the water. We realized right then that was a grave mistake. Buying used boat parts for under the water line. It turns out we could still use it. It was not tighter all the way. So yes, we still have this installed on our boat. But we bought another one just in case. And will never buy used boat parts for such things ever again.
Other than that, buy all the used stuff you can. As long as you can decipher between a really good used part and a piece of shite. It saves a ton of money and gives you more money to do other projects with.
3. Keep to one project at a time.
This was a hard lesson to learn for us. Well, because I don’t think we really learned how to do this one properly. We had so much to do all the time that it was way too overwhelming. Which is why I put this one on the list. If we had learned earlier we would’ve ended up getting more done, quicker.
Take one project and see it through till the end before you start the next project. It eliminates project materials from getting mixed up, misplaced, or lost. Take it from us. We did all of the above. All the time. To the point of ripping our hair out.
We would buy materials for a project & wouldn’t start that project for weeks or months and of course, when we needed the materials for said project, we couldn’t find them. It would take a whole day sometimes to locate materials. Sometimes we ended up having to buy more materials because we couldn’t find the ones we already had. Which can be extremely frustrating and demoralizing.
So, moral of the story is to keep organized with one project at a time. Only exception would be to have a rainy day project and a sunny day project. One project you can go to when it’s raining outside and one project that you work on when it’s not raining outside. Sometimes you can’t do all projects when it’s raining. But then again, just take the day off if it’s raining. Especially if you’ve got a long road ahead of you because you’re going to need your rest.
4. Lists are your best friends.
It all goes hand in hand with organization, but yes I said lists are your best friends. Make a list for what you need, make another one for projects to be completed. Make one for things you know you’ll forget. And definitely make a list for things to complete every day. It’ll keep you on track and keep you focused.
Sometimes we had five different lists going on at the same time. At least it helped us not forget what we needed to do for the day. We would make one every night after a hard days work in the yard for the next day.
Yes, your lists will change based on weather or life or when materials come in. When you are working on your own boat, it’s crucial to have your ducks in a row, to one, save money and time in the yard and two, to just have the piece of mind you’re not forgetting anything.
Lists, keep you sane and again help keep you organized.
5. Make friends with people in the boat yard.
There is a wealth of knowledge in boat yards across the world. You never know who your neighbor in the boat yard is. And you never know what they know until you make friends.
Disclaimer: hear all, but be careful who’s advice you take. Look at their boat, you’ll know really quickly if they know what they’re talking about.
We made a ton of friends that have been working on boats their whole lives and they were so willing to share what they knew. Which honestly has made all the difference in having a hard time vs. marking it an easier project.
Asking for help when you don’t know something. It’s 100% ok and you should ask. Why put yourself through the turmoil and agony of figuring it out on your own and not to mention, risking messing something up on your boat. If you don’t know, it’s quicker and easier to ask a knowledgeable friend. Use the resources you have in front of you.
Most people in the yard will be there together for some time and when you make friends trading work, time, tools, and supplies becomes like second nature. Never take advantage of someone, but giving a day to their project never hurts because they might give you a day back. And tool swapping is the greatest thing since sliced bread. We can’t all have all the tools we need. And having to go out and buy new tools all the time sucks. So again utilize what you have in front of you. Ask your boat yard neighbor for a helping hand or to borrow their tool when needed. It never hurts to ask.
We spent a lot of time in the yard. One year and one week to be exact. There were a ton of things we learned, more than we could’ve imagined. We are extremely grateful that we’d found a boat yard that was right for us to spend so much time there. Very lucky indeed. I could talk about the boat yard for days on end and maybe I’ll keep going on another day. For now, this is where I’ll leave you. If you have any questions about being in the boat yard please don’t hesitate to reach out and talk to us about it. We’d be glad to help any way we can.
We hope these 5 things we learned in the boat yard can help you in your boat refitting journey.
✌️Peace & Love❤️
Nikki & Bobby
