| Despite what most of us think, repairs to a boat are | | | | knowledgeable. So many people have tried to pull the |
| not usually carried out because it's been damaged in | | | | wool over their eyes that they know all the crooked |
| an accident. In fact, by far the majority of repairs are | | | | tricks of the trade and are ready to defeat them on |
| done to make good damage from wear and tear, | | | | behalf of their employer - the owner or purchaser. |
| poor maintenance or a combination of both. The | | | | Now, you won't be able to take on all those attributes |
| difficulty is that the damage has to be obvious before | | | | overnight, nor will you, in most cases, have the |
| the owner realises it's there and needing to be fixed. | | | | knowledge and experience they have. But you can |
| Generally some component breaks when your boat is | | | | take on their attitude of thoroughness, their |
| under more than usual stress -- just the time you don't | | | | single-minded search for every last fault, and their |
| want anything to go wrong. | | | | determination not to be fooled. |
| So the story is, know your boat intimately, go looking | | | | You must have that same determination, because |
| for trouble, and when you find it, fix it. | | | | otherwise the only person you will be fooling is you. So, |
| How often should I inspect my boat? | | | | armed with these qualities, you will now need some |
| The answer is, any time. But the most common times | | | | more mundane tools. |
| would be at purchase (although you would be well | | | | Tools to record the defects |
| advised to employ a professional surveyor), after the | | | | First and foremost, you'll need a notebook, pencil and |
| winter lay-up, after a fixed period, say six months, and, | | | | two or three coloured marker pens. Using a notebook |
| of course, after an accident. | | | | is obvious -- to write down everything you see. You |
| A boat which is used once or twice a week will show | | | | won't be able to remember everything, so stop |
| you itself what needs to be done. A regular crew | | | | regularly to jot down your observations. The coloured |
| buzzing about the boat will all remark on defects if | | | | pens are to define and label different problem areas, |
| they are encouraged to do so. Have a defect book | | | | for instance, rot (red), corrosion (blue), electrical (yellow) |
| and then maintenance, rather than repair, will be your | | | | and so on. Don't go armed with 50 colours for all the |
| pastime. | | | | categories because you'll be confused in minutes. |
| But you should still have a survey-style inspection | | | | Rather, split the survey up into categories. |
| every six months, using a detailed checklist. Produce a | | | | Don't try to complete the survey in one day |
| list of repairs needed, then decide whether they need | | | | If you try to survey the whole boat in a single session, |
| more expert attention than you can give, whether you | | | | by the end of the day you will be taking shortcuts. It's |
| can do the job with the help of a book or video, | | | | far better if you spend the first day or half day on the |
| whether the crew can knock over some relatively | | | | three areas above, namely rot, corrosion and electrical. |
| small repairs on a working-bee. | | | | Next time come back with three different colours for |
| Act like a marine surveyor | | | | three different areas the next time: say, plumbing |
| Assume you are making a major inspection of your | | | | (black), engine (orange) and safety equipment (green). |
| vessel to work out what needs repairing. To do this | | | | Splitting the survey into categories in this way allows |
| you will have to take on some of the attitudes and | | | | you to decide from your notes which area of all those |
| skills of a marine surveyor. The good ones are | | | | surveyed needs attention most urgently. From this first |
| notoriously hard to fool: sceptical, cynical, ruthless and | | | | survey you can develop your work plan and schedule. |