Seems our hack job didn’t really pass muster and we have, in the words of Brandon with Perdido Sailor, “a lot more to do.” So, bad news and now a very BIG decision to make. What do you think we should do?
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Annie,
I give you an A+ for the diligent effort that you and Phil put into this problem. I think that at this point I would turn it over to the professionals. I am the first person to DIY any project having pulled an engine/transmission and done a complete rudder repair and having totally stripped a blistered bottom on a 39′ boat and did the epoxy repair. It make sense to pull the boat and do this work on the hard. This is not simple work and your boat’s seaworthiness is a factor of how well this repair is accomplished.
It might be a good thing to emphasize to your followers how important pre-purchase surveys are in learning the seaworthiness of a vesse before buying it. I am currently in the process in buying another boat and I took great pains to hire the best surveyor to protect me as the buyer. This would have been discovered in the survey. Surveys are not cheap. I’m looking at $1200.00 dollars, but I’ll know as much as I can learn about my new to me boat. I wish you good luck in your repair and your future endeavors.
Best regards,
Bill Creadon.
Thank you Bill. I appreciate the input and kind words. We are definitely learning a lot about our boat during this entire process and I share it all so others can learn too. The repair will be very interesting to show you all. I am certainly no expert in the proper scope of a survey so I hesitate to comment on that or cast blame, but I’ll discuss your suggestion with Phillip. We know we have a good boat, she just needs some TLC. Appreciate you following along.
Keep up your spirits and thanks for getting back to me.
Best regards,
Bill
Annie, I am currently doing some fibreglass work (not as complex as your project) and thought I could do it all with a angle grinder. Fortunately, I discovered a multimaster oscillating tool on sale. It is more easily handled with a lot less dust. You may get a little bit further in the prep work before turning the job over to the “pros” and a haul out. Stop doing the job before you get burnt out and distracted from the goal of having fun.
Ahhh … good advice Bob! “Stop before you get burnt out.” We’re far from that point (in the video timeline) but we have a TON of work to go. I’ll let you know when we’re approaching the burnt out point. Ha! Thanks for following and the tip! At the shipyard, we will have SO many tools at our disposal. Definitely a huge benefit.
Time too call in the pros and get back to life and sailing. Too much negative karma.
Ha, thanks Steve! I believe you’re right. We have no need for bad juju. : )
Time to bring in the pros and get back to sanity and sailing.
Loved this video but the audio of you voice was missing so I am not sure of the details of your repair. The audio of the 3 of you talking was good, only when you were talking was it gone even though the background music was still playing.
Huh, that’s strange. Do you mean when it was just me talking into the camera? I haven’t heard anyone else mention that. Thanks for the heads-up though. I will look into it. Glad you enjoyed.
Hey Michael. I’ve done some research for you? Were you listening via headphones? My headphones seem to only play vocal audio in the right ear, so if you just have the left bud in, you’ll only hear background music during the confessionals, not my voice. See if that fixes it for you. Playing on a computer, the tracks are all ovelaid and played simultaneously there, so most folks don’t notice an issue. I think it’s only when you’re listening through headphones. Let me know if that fixes the issue for you! Thanks for watching and letting me know.
Sorry to hear that news. You guys have worked hard so far but it’s time to let the professionals with the tools finish it up. In the long run you’ll be able to make enough money for the repairs and get them done much quicker. You keep referring to going south. Where are you planning on going and for how long?
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Hey El! Thanks for the input. You’re definitely right. There’s only so much we can do and then it becomes inefficient (both time and money) and a worry about whether it was done right. No place specifically, we want to go back to the Keys for longer, Cuba (of course!), Isla Mujeres sounds amazing and definitely the Bahamas, not necessarily in that order. All goes well, we hope to leave this October! Whoo hoo!
I’ve done 99% of the work to my boat not only to save money but to learn. Even at the beginning of the video I would have said just go home and let someone else take care of this one.
It will be such a relief to come back and have it behind you.
Best wishes.
Hey Cougar (sorry, I just like calling you that!). Thanks for your thoughts. This was quite the chore. You’ll see we stay incredibly involved. It’s been hard to balance everything — work, time, money — but we just can’t help it. We love our little boat!
Hey Annie and Phillip, Sorry to hear of the setback on your DIY project. Like y’all, we try to do most things ourselves but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and let a pro do it. This is one of those cases, the issues are weighted far to the side of stepping back and turning it over, your safety, both while doing the job and afterwards when it’s dark as hell in the middle of the deep blue sea, you want to have the confidence in your boat and all of your fingers just in case ‘Hal’ takes another trip, lol
Couldn’t agree more Bob. I’ll share all of our discussion and debate in the next video, but I’m sure you can imagine which way we were leaning. You definitely want the peace of mind to know that it was done right. Good to hear from you!
Hey Annie, I agree with previous comments, another big A for effort and ditto on the importance of a proficient surveyor. I do not know what your relationship is with the surveyor, but this problem is a basic structural one that should have been documented. I agree that it is time to turn this over to the professionals. You want the repair to be “bullet proof” so that you can continue your adventure with confidence in your boats seaworthiness. Your positive attitude is an inspiration to us all. Most of my sailing friends and I are looking forward to following and supporting your journey. You rock!
Hey Charles! Thank you so much. Such kind words. I really appreciate that. We definitely try hard to share the entire experience to help others out there dreaming of cruising get a full picture of the rewards and realities. Glad to hear you and your buddies are enjoying the journey. If you haven’t yet, please check out my Give the Gift of Cruising campaign on Patreon and you can help me help a budding cruiser find their boat and get sailing sooner! Thanks again. Glad to have you on board. http://www.patreon.com/havewindwilltravel
You realize you need to turn it over to the pros. It sucks, but you’ve surpassed your time, talent and tools to do this properly. The pain to continue on your own would not be worth it, and would likely cause you bigger problems. You wouldn’t do surgery on yourself would you? Watch the pros do it if possible to get the best sense of what this entails to get the appreciation of why there are people who do this type of ship repair for a living, and consider it money well spent. Then start the countdown (and save your money) to the next boat ownership fiasco. Another notch in your boat ownership saltiness belt.
CJ! Where ya been?! Good to see you here. Thanks for the thoughts. You know I would cause bigger problems. I’m a hole in the hull just waiting to happen! You nailed it with the “watch and learn” method, that means you all will be watching too! The countdown begins!
That is a huge project worth doing right the first time! Have you tried using a shop vac while grinding to remove the dust so you can see? I think I can taste that fiberglass dust and may need a beer also lol!
Hey Ralph. We have! And, you’ll see it made an awesome whistling sound we did. Wheeee!! Still couldn’t get all the dust though. It seems there’s no escaping fiberglass dust! http://havewindwilltravel.com/2016/02/12/47-we-can-dig-it/
I have done a lot of grinding (mostly on tile)using a shopvac and have never heard that kind of noise! I guess I have to catch up on your videos after I finish your new book. Another way to cut down on the dust is to use a wet sponge but then it makes a wet mess. I’m jealous that your able to be working on your boat because my MK21 is under about 4 feet of snow right now and she cries to take her out every time I walk past her. Keep posting those videos of nice warm Florida!
Annie,
There comes a time in every project where there is a “Tipping Point” as to whether to continue the job yourself or turn it over to the pros… And I have the same opinion as pretty much everyone else here… the project has tipped. The pros will get it done faster and with better efficiency. I have been here before, and the hardest thing is just making the decision to do it. I guarantee you will feel better once you do. The other reason is that this is a critical location on the boat… best to get it done right! You are to be commended for doing as much as you did though… I am hoping you get more video as the project continues… would really like to see how this is done!
OH… and you are right on the headphone issue…. I had that issue earlier, but I was using a headset with one earpiece and a microphone. Once I put on a real headset, the problem was resolved! Hang in there!