DEFCON 6: How do I Learn Boat Maintenance?
01:02:06
Don’t, whatever you do buy a fixer-upper, thinking this will save you time and money. It won’t.
“The big divide in this country is.. between talkers and doers”
Learn to Maintain, Maintain to Learn
In DEFCON 5 - ‘How Do You Learn to Sail?’ I made the distinction between ‘sailing’ and ‘cruising’. Well, here’s another definition that every experienced cruiser is all too familiar with:
“Cruising is just fixing boats in exotic locations.”
Boat maintenance is a big part of cruising life. How much you need to do will depend a lot on the type of boat you initially buy and the condition it is in when you buy it. Much of the anguish will be mitigated by a good survey and a diligent shakedown sail at the very beginning. Don’t, whatever you do (as I have mentioned on numerous occasions), buy a fixer-upper, thinking this will save you time and money. It won’t.
There are two types of maintenance problems on a boat: those that you know about and those that you don’t yet know about. Cruising can, at times, feel less like freedom, travel, and adventure and more like a relentless effort to keep your head above water—sometimes literally. It is by far the main reason many cruisers prematurely quit the lifestyle.
S/V Mothership being hauled out for maintenance - Curaçao.
You won’t survive by throwing money at problems either. In many off-grid locations, the expertise and skills needed just aren’t available. Knowledge IS currency when you’re cruising, particularly in the form of practical skills. Time and money invested in learning boat maintenance before you depart are invaluable. You don’t need to learn everything, but you will at least need to understand the language of boat maintenance and be able to diagnose problems when they arise. Moreover, many boat skills are transferable and compoundable. The more you know, the more you know.
And here I will give a quick plug to the bible of boat maintenance, Boat Owner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual by Nigel Calder. Most experienced cruisers have this book onboard, and while it probably won’t replace your Harry Potter collection for a gripping nighttime read, it will make for an invaluable reference book for diagnosing and understanding most things relating to boat systems.
‘Boat Owner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual' by Nigel Calder. Most experienced cruisers have this book onboard.
So, where do I even start?
Many years ago, I was listening to friends talk about car maintenance. At the time, I didn’t own a car because my work was just a five-minute walk from my city center apartment, so I had no need of, or interest in, car maintenance. What bothered me was that I couldn’t even follow the conversation, much less join in. It was like they were speaking a foreign language, and this yawning gap in my knowledge irritated and embarrassed me.
These were the days before YouTube (if you can conceive of such a time!), so a week later, I signed up for a series of evening courses in car maintenance at a local college. Within a few months, I was talking car maintenance like a pro. The experience proved to me that any knowledge gap could be overcome with a minimum of effort; you just need to find a source.
Years later, Irenka and I had just bought seven keel boats for our RYA sailing training centre in the UK. The outboard engines were temperamental and unreliable, so I had a local mechanic take them away to 'fix' them. A week later, he returned them along with a large bill.
Buying a broken outboard and stripping it down was one of the best maintenance investments I ever made. Bocas Del Toro - Panama
The outboards were even worse on their return, so I had another mechanic check them over and was informed they needed a complete overhaul. It turned out that the original mechanic hadn’t even changed the spark plugs, let alone checked the carburettors. Again, I felt annoyed and embarrassed, not only that my lack of knowledge had gotten me ripped off, but that my ignorance and naivety had cost me a lot of time and money.
There were no evening courses on outboard maintenance at the time, so a week later, I bought a broken old outboard for £25 ($30) and spent a couple of days stripping it down and putting it back together until I knew it inside and out. Not only was I able to service our own training centre outboards, but the following season I also set up a course teaching people how to service theirs. That cheap outboard and two days of learning were one of the best maintenance investments I ever made.
Using Professionals
I’ve learned over the years that rectifying ‘professional’ repairs can cost far, far more than learning to fix the problem myself. Yes, it takes longer, but the best investment you will ever make is in your own resourcefulness, skill base, and knowledge. If you do find a trusted professional, don’t pay them to do the job for you; pay them to teach you how to do the job yourself. Yes, it will take longer and cost a little more but, ‘teach a man to fish..."
The best investment you will ever make is in your own resourcefulness, skill base, and knowledge
But even after years of experience, danger lurks around every corner. I recently paid A$120 an hour to a mechanic who spent half a day trying to convince me to make modifications to my drive shaft that I knew to be wrong. I couldn’t fix the problem myself as it needed a workshop and steel fabricator, but I at least had enough knowledge to dispatch his services before expensive mistakes were made and get someone else to do the job. Yes, it was frustrating, but to act on his advice would have resulted in a far bigger problem.
Sometimes, the knowledge to say ‘no’ is all the knowledge you need.
When I have to pay professionals to work on the boat, I watch them, film the process, and ask lots of questions. This does a few things:
It ensures that the job is done properly and professionally—after all, no one wants their shoddy work exposed on film!
You can use what you have learned to do the job yourself in the future should the need arise.
If you edit it and share it on social media, not only will you provide invaluable content for your fellow cruisers, but you will also endorse and promote reliable boat professionals who are hard to find, particularly when you find yourself in an unfamiliar country.
Woody in the engine bay of S/V Mothership
YouTube is your best friend!
Like most things these days, you can acquire a shed load of skills and knowledge by simply watching YouTube videos. As I mentioned in DEFCON 5 - ‘How Do You Learn to Sail?’ YouTube videos won’t necessarily be a substitute for practical training, but you can at least start learning the fundamentals of boat maintenance in the comfort of your own home over a nice cup of tea.
I have built solar and lithium battery systems, fixed burnt-out coils in autopilots, and stripped and rebuilt electric furlers and gearboxes starting with zero knowledge, all through remote instruction from fellow cruisers, online research, and YouTube videos. In an era where information is literally at your fingertips, the only difference between knowledge and ignorance is simply choice.
I am indebted and eternally grateful to the folks who take the time to make these YouTube videos because, in creating them myself (https://www.youtube.com/c/Mothershipmaintenance), I understand how much work goes into them.
In an era where information is literally at your fingertips, the only difference between knowledge and ignorance is simply choice.
Filming boat maintenance slows down the job, interrupts your workflow, and because of the niche nature of the subject matter, makes little to no advertising revenue. Then, there’s the editing, which can sometimes take as long as the job itself.
So, at the very least, give a thumbs up, leave positive comments, and if you can, use the “Super Thanks” option below the video to tip them, which ensures guys like me can at least afford a beer at the end of the day!
Boat yards
As I also mentioned in DEFCON 5 - ‘How Do You Learn to Sail?’ you will learn far more about sailboats in a boat yard than you ever will sipping gin on the deck of a friend’s yacht. So, I will repeat that advice again here—If you’re even half competent at DIY, put the word out at your local marina, yacht club, harbour, or boat yard that you’re looking for ‘day work’ to gain some experience. Sometimes there are even notice boards on which to post your availability.
Put the word out at your local marina, yacht club, harbour, or boat yard that you’re looking for ‘day work’ to gain some experience.
You will not only find boat owners undertaking scheduled maintenance but inevitably come across that poor guy who, against all advice, DID buy a fixer-upper. You will be his immediate best friend if you offer to help, and you will also learn more than you ever wanted to know about boat maintenance.
Commit to the process
Even with a lifetime of ownership, you will never complete your boat maintenance jobs list. Equipment needs regular servicing, and the saltwater/UV-intense environment means things fail with alarming regularity. Instead, regard it as an intrinsic part of cruising that inevitably has to be carried out in even the most exotic locations.
Breaking down and reframing any knowledge gap into small, manageable chunks, especially boat maintenance, can help motivate and overcome it. It’s a central theme in one of my favourite motivational books, The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday. It’s worth digesting, not only when facing boat maintenance but any of the DEFCONs listed in these posts.
'The Obstacle is the Way' by Ryan Holiday is a great way understand the art of breaking down and reframing obstacles into small, manageable chunks.
Commit to watching one maintenance video a day and follow boat maintenance threads on social media. Then, within a few months, you’ll be talking boat maintenance like a pro and facing those jobs with confidence.
And on that subject, I'll be taking a short break from these posts for a couple of weeks while we travel to Indonesia and also to catch up on some maintenance and editing.
So, next week I’ll be back in the engine bay at: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mothershipmaintenance
See you there!
“The big divide in this country..”
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