Things we fixed (aka broke) along the way….

Things we fixed…..(the last few things on this list were more like upgrades)

Both heads (toilets)…..rebuilt the pumps, replaced the intake and output lines, replaced the water intake strainers, siphon breaks..rebuilt the forward head pump multiple times before finally replacing the entire housing…

Diesel—adjusted the Valve lash, oil changes, used high dose diesel cleaning solution treatment four times due to contamination of our injector pump…(this wasn’t an issue we caused, it was caused by a boat yards poor work in NC)

Patch the Genoa Sail sunbrella sacrificial cover

Racor filter / housing rebuild and filter change

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Galley Faucet….this began to leak and reached a critical point while moored in Key West…..the faucet was so old that the owner of a plumbing supply warehouse, who was in the family business for 50 years said he hadn’t seen one of these in 35 or 40 years!!!

Galley Sink….at some point in our boat’s history….someone (possibly a sadist) used 3M 5200 to seal the sink to the countertop…..for those of you unfamiliar with 5200, it’s a great product for installing things you want to be bulletproof…..it’s not so great for something you might want to remove….ever……even employees at boatyards groan audibly when they learn they have to remove something installed with 5200….it has been nicknamed by some “death paste”.   The upside is, since the edge of our sink was so severely damaged during removal, we had a custom single bowl sink fabricated and installed …..if anyone needs such a replacement let us know we have a great source for these sinks !!!

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Drinking water inline filters (x3)

Aft head cold water faucet replacement

Power switch for VHF radio….which completely deteriorated and fell apart in my hand when we went to switch on the radio to check the weather in the Dry Tortugas…..

Zinc replacement x2

Remove lines from props ….five times….one with a crab trap on it….no bonus crabs though….

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Tune up, recommission the diving air compressor and change the breathing air filter

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Replace outboard prop and kill switch

Refrigerator coolant line unclogging

Replace Aft cabin fan….then replace defective blade….then fan died…again…ugh

Unclog Lazarette drains

Unclog sink drain x2

Fix aft head intake leaking seacock

Replace steering sheave and pins

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Replace Hatch solar fans

Replace / upgrade anchor to a Mantus 85lb galvanized anchor

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Upgrade Battery cables, install battery bank monitors, replace underrated/melted battery selector switch and install a main fuse for battery banks

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Install new Wind instruments and displays

Painted the salon and V-berth interior

Repair salon sole soft spots

Shower stall refinish……

This all added up to about $12k for the year in boat upkeep….they say to anticipate 10% per year of your boat’s value for upkeep so we are a little high but fingers crossed that goes down next year……

 

   

Published by

captainbrett@learntoliveaboard.com

I'm the average sailor...converted from a landlubber of course. While I was born with a love of the ocean it has evolved into a love of sailboats and other vessels that ply the open seas and connected waterways. I am probably like most of the people who (hopefully) will read our blog with the exception that we are now doing what we always dreamed of doing and I hope to help others do the same. I am NOT any of the following...a naval architect, a marine surveyor or connected commercially to any builder, distributor or boat sales organization. My opinions are generally my own, although influenced by many years of research.

3 thoughts on “Things we fixed (aka broke) along the way….”

  1. Fascinating info. Your $12k annual expense is much more than my inexperienced mind would have guessed. Brings to mind the old adage: “If you think it’ll cost $X, you’ve underestimated by 25%”.

  2. That’s a pretty comprehensive list. I’m curious [if you don’t mind] how much of that $12k was used to hire someone to do the work or did you do most work yourself?

    Thanks!

    Mike

    1. Mike,
      I didn’t think to break it down that way precisely, but looking back I’d say about 40% was professional work on things we weren’t certain we were qualified to do. For instance, we had a thru hull and seacock replaced that was about $860 and we had a yard do that. I didn’t specifically mention the seacock in the post, but lumped it into the total. Looking back at the post almost all of the listed projects except for the wiring and the wind instrument upgrades were DIY. I hired a Marine Electrician to teach/assist with the wiring upgrades and that was about $1800 for three days including parts. This upcoming year I think I’ll break it down into pro vs DIY. Thanks for the idea!! One of the things I enjoy about hiring someone (if there can be anything to enjoy about having to do that…haha) is that I learn a great deal in a short amount of time by finding someone who doesn’t mind teaching me as they work. Since this was our first year, in hindsight, I think our categorization and tracking could have been more precise since we tended to lump repairs of any type together this last year.

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