10 years ago, when I bought Wisdom, there were a bunch of issues that I felt strongly, that needed to be corrected immediately to make the boat liveable. Naturally, as I was a new boat owner and fresh to sailboats at the time; my concerns were far from applicable as to what actually needed to be addressed!
The boat had a little bit of water damage on the interior which had discolored the veneer. Nothing structural, only cosmetic. I mentioned to the surveyor how I planned to replace those panels with new wood and to “fix the problem”. He told me:
“Live with the problem as it is for a few months and see if it still bothers you”
This helpful piece of advice was taken to heart and I lived with the discolored veneer for a few months to see if it still bothered me. Needless to say, 10 years later my parrots found the weakened veneer and started to peel it off the bulkhead. Suddenly, the problem became very ugly and needed to be addressed!
Had I started working on the veneer all those years ago, I would have been wasting my time and resources on unnecessary aspects of the boat which offer nothing to the actual integrity to the hull and her ability to sail! Every time I see something that screams “Urgent Need To Be Fixed”, I stop and think about his wise words.
Is this something structural or cosmetic? If it’s structural, is it important? If it’s cosmetic, will it bother me in a month?
Structural issues that are part of a seldom used system are of lower priority than a structural issue that is integral to the soundness of your hull. Picture this: the car on the mast that holds the spinnaker pole broke. You no longer have a secure way to mount the spinnaker to your mast and can’t use your spinnaker pole. This sounds really bad but you are on a beam reach from one island to another and will be anchored in two days, where you can then carry out repairs.
There is no reason to repair the car while underway, and when you get to your anchorage, ask yourself “How much did I actually use the pole?” Some people use the pole every time the sail off the wind, while others only have the pole on their deck to bang their shins on when they walk by. If you are the former, replacing the broken car becomes a top priority, but if you are the latter, maybe clear off the deck a little by selling or giving away your spinnaker pole and removing the broken car.
Compare this to noticing a crack in your stem. This is a structural issue and cannot be ignored! There is no waiting or contemplating about this issue as it is critical to the structural integrity of the hull and the safety of the ship!
With cosmetic issues, imagine that your fender popped, and the topsides got scratched. For a few thousand dollars, you can get the scratched fixed and make it look like it never happened! Before you go spend thousands of dollars, maybe wait on it and see if it still bothers you in a month. If after a month, you realize that you don’t even notice the scrape, let it be and use that money on something more important to you on the boat. Likewise, if after a month, you can’t stop looking at the scrape and thinking about how horrible it looks, then get it fixed and that will be money well spent.
There is no shortage of boat projects, but there is a shortage of time and resources. Managing time, money, and parts is critical to making sure that the important projects get done in a timely manner and the less critical projects get done when you get around to it (or never).
This little bit of advice has been instrumental in the way I approach boat repairs as well as other facets of my life and I hope that it can help you too.
