Many of our acquaintances and friends are now retiring.
Yeah we are part of the 75 million “boomers” who are rearranging what we do with our time and our life!
Many are buying boats and some even “living aboard” for considerable periods of time and cruising at least for part of the year.
We’ve been talking to some of them and also to experts such as Dan Moore a certified captain, boat electrical engineer, surveyor and all around smart guy who lives in Charleston, South Carolina (he can be reached at dan@CaptainDan.net).
Here are some of the common problems to avoid.
1. On sailboats make sure that all the running and standing rigging, mast attachments, every piece of hardware and the canvas is up to performance. We have personal experience with a charter boat that was supposedly reconditioned but blew out the sails and lots of boom hardware when we were hit by a quick squall off Miami Beach, Florida on our way to Mexico. A friend crewed an older ketch to the Bahamas a few years ago which “sproinged’ (that’s what we call it c’ause that’s what it sounds like) with hardware and mast fittings blowing out. They made it back safely to the marina 2 days away but it wrecked their trip.
2. On sail or motor boats clean or replace fuel tanks. All fuel is dirty. After a while fuel tanks accumulate junk which settles to the bottom. When you hit seas or bad weather the tank is stirred. The dirt mixes with the fuel and will clog the filters or diesel injectors. Then the engine stops running and you are up the creek without a paddle (I mean propeller).
3. Check the fuel tank shut off valve. If installed improperly it will vibrate down and if down is “off” you will find yourself stalling, spending hours trying to figger out wassup, and then bleeding the diesel. It happened to us one Christmas eve and it was not a happy Holiday!
4. Check fittings and hose clamps. Our water hose clamps wiggled loose on a brand new boat. The water pump started running. Hmm?? I shut off the “fresh water” switch. After crawling through all the connections I finally found a hose off in the very rear of the boat where it connects to the external shower. Hose clamps were made for vibration but they wiggle loose. One friend smelled diesel and found 70 gallons in his bilge on the way to the Bahamas. Loose clamp.
5. One final tip from a very smart friend. keep at least one “Nerf” ball on the boat! When he sprung a leak a few years ago he jammed the Nerf into the hole and the bilge pump kept the boat afloat until he made it to the nearest boat yard. Don’t run your boat on rocks but if you must, have some Nerf balls handy. They are very squishy and can fill holes!
Happy sailing!
