A 'reintroduction'

[sooz]

Hello!

 

I thought it best to do another introduction of sorts, since I’ve had a bit of an extended absence from the forum. Completely unintended and really poor timing, actually; around the time we got our boat I had a relapse of a health condition. Well, it sucked (and still does) but during some of the ‘slightly-more-well-than-usual’ moments we managed to get up to the boat – albeit not as often as we had hoped.

 

Anyhow, I’m slowly regaining my ‘online presence’(!) and catching up on forums etc. All the advice from people here was invaluable when we were buying. Often conflicting and confusing, but invaluable nonetheless! We thought that going through the process of researching and buying a boat was complicated enough, but it turns out that was nothing compared to everything we’ve had to contend with since it became officially ours – it has been the steepest of learning curves!

 

Within hours of having the boat craned into the water I made a foolish mistake and blew up the inverter (and funnily enough haven’t managed to save enough to replace it yet). Over the next couple of days we discovered that the cooker was ‘unsafe’, the fridge was an ineffective waste of space, the shower was kaput, the engine was leaking water (okay, that may not have been quite what it was doing but that was my non-technical interpretation of the issue), the 240v hookup socket was potentially lethal, the electric wiring and gas pipes were running too close together and uninsulated, in places they shouldn’t have been, a couple of sockets were hazardous

 

So we had to spend a couple more days than we had planned at the marina where it was craned in so that they could help us prioritise things and get it at least safe to run. As such we were delayed in reaching our own marina, and when we got there we made quite an entrance (the less said about that, the better!). We also had our first experience of manoeuvring in the wind – not fun! Our cruising had till then been limited to the eastern end of the K & A and a small section of the Coventry Canal. Suddenly it was all very different on the exposed marina and western K & A.

 

Over the following months, we discovered many more delights; some niggly and some deeply frustrating. When trying to get the gas central heating system working (three radiators and a boiler), it turned out that any allusions to a ‘system’ were wildly inaccurate; anything that had once been had long since been decommissioned and out of use. Our water pumps spent the winter working erratically (more not than often) so we were largely without water, which was marvellous since the marina had the taps turned off for most of the winter, too. After five months and three different opinions it was diagnosed as faulty wiring and fixed last month (hooray!). Our stern hatch is proving to be a sod, the side hatch leaks more than most locks I’ve seen and the steel work on the bow deck is unsafe. The chimney and several windows leak; one to the point where I put my hand on the wood panelling below and an entire plank shelf-type thing just fell off through damp. All mattresses and dinette cushions are actually gross inside. We had planned to get them remade, but didn’t expect them to be quite so dire – it seems all the lockers under the bed and the dinette are at best damp and at worst liable to flooding. The sofabed is somehow too big for the gap it occupies, which left us with nice scratches down the wood panelling when dropping it for the first time. Speaking of beds, attempting to drop the dinette table to make it into a bed proved impossible without unscrewing the desmo legs each time (we ended up taking a jigsaw to the table and now have to put up with its constant wobbling).

 

One other giant frustration is that we had some steel work done to the stern before the boat travelled down south to us and it was primed ready for us to paint. It’s turned out that with child-free weekends having to coincide with by being well enough to go anywhere, we haven’t had a single dry trip up to the boat in these six months and so painting has never happened, leaving us now with an ugly half grey undercoat / half rusted stern deck and lockers. Oh, and the varnish the yard had finished off the taff rails with flaked off at the first drop of rain, which was just plain rude of it.

 

Of course we expected teething problems – it would be foolish not to. We just hadn’t expected it to be quite so draining emotionally. Fortunately(?!) it all seemed to become so neverending that it was ridiculous and we ended up with an if-you-don’t-laugh-you’ll-cry attitude towards it. The joys of ‘sold as seen’ and being complete newbies, eh?!

 

So, that’s been our first six months of boat ownership. We’ve genuinely loved every minute we’ve spent on the boat and we’re so excited for all the time to come, but dear me we’ve cried so many tears over all these extra expenses and still have so far to go to get it to a state where we’d be able to have guests / visitors. Thrilled to be getting the signwriting (well, vinyl) done in a fortnight though – a purely aesthetic thing, but we think it needs personalising and we did at least budget for this!

 

Apologies for the huge ramble =/ It’s good to be back here and I’m looking forward to reading all the waterways news etc. Though first I seem to have a few unread messages in my inbox that may well need an explanation for such a delayed reply!

 

sooz =]

[Richard T]

Keep going - it can only get better!!

[keble]

Wow, a sorry tale, but good to see that indomitable spirit!

Hope you and the boat get better :-)

[MtB]

Hmmm.... sounds to me like a typical boat. This is just how boting is...

 

Anyway, welcome back!

 

 

MtB

[DeanS]

Hi Sooz.

 

The thing with buying a 2nd hand boat is that you dont have a clue where the previous owner might have run cables etc. Having been forced to fit out my own boat within weeks to ensure the family had beds, water, etc, I can honestly say I wouldnt have been able to do it, on a pre-owned boat. I had an empty shell, and it was much easier.

 

You seem to be dealing with so many different issues, all at the same time. I would suggest you categorise things in the following way:

 

1. Try to learn how each system in your boat works. For instance, the plumbing, the 220V elec circuit, the 12V circuit etc.

2. Once you understand each system, it is quite easy to make sure that each system works like it should. If you dont understand each system, then a simple water pump issue will leave you wondering...is it plumbing...or is it batteries....or is it a loose wire etc..which can be very frustrating. I would start a seperate thread for each system on your boat, and get the answers you need, so you understand how it all works. Knowledge is very empowering on a boat. Lack of knowledge is a killer, and can quickly demoralise you.

 

3. Water, Toilet, Shower, Cooking, Warmth, and controlling leaks (exterior and interior) are important things to have working. If any of these arent working, then life on a boat can be very hard. You need all these systems to be working reliably to enjoy living on a boat. Getting them working is not that hard...ask..get suggestions and answers.

 

4. Do you have a metal canopy on your boat. If so, the leakage issues are easier to address. Sealer around window frames etc. If you have a wooden canopy...you need to consider how to keep water out.....canvas is waterproof....can be laid on roofs...and good sealer needed where wood meets hull...

 

5. If you have a lot of water under the floor...bottom of cupboards etc.....you need to find the source of the water....and stop it, or if you cant, then run a bilge pump at the lowest point of your boat..normally just in front of the engine room...where water runs down to and collects....

If you need help with anything, just msg me......I'll give you good practical tips....

 

6. You can get cheap foam at charity stores...old sofas...beds etc..for very cheap.....and covering it with material isnt that difficult...if the existing foam in your boat is at the end of it's use......you dont have to spend a fortune to get yourself comfortable.

 

All the best.

 

ps....I didnt have £2000 for my boat paintjob. Instead I bought £60 (5 Litre) of paint and rollered it on a widebeam in one weekend. I knew it was just an undercoat, but it really does make you feel much better, rather than looking at a grey, rusty boat. Get some paint on it, after wirebrushing as much surface rust as you can off....and you will really feel much more motivated....I did... My boats looking quite nice at the moment....I used a matt paint, and I think it looks grand. In time, I'll sand it smoother and give it some proper coats of paint , but for not much money and time, you can at least give it a nice facelift

Edited May 9, 2013 by DeanS

[Athy]

Sooz, oddly enough I recently wondered where you'd got to, remembering your enthusiastic and humorous posts on here some months ago. Welcome back (to both of you), and a gold star with oak leaves for not just saying "sod it" and flogging the almost-floating craft to the first passer-by.

The saying "it can only get better" seems appropriate to your recent experiences, it looks as if things have started to get better and I hope that this trend continues.

[larkshall]

Entertaining read, the plain unvarnished truth, I like it. Don't forget to post YOUR chosen solutions to your problems. It might help others. Anyway best of luck and I hope health continues to improve.

[chagzuki]

Hi,

this is particularly interesting to me as I'm on the verge of buying a boat with no prior experience. . . and this sort of horror story may well scare me off the idea. Did you have a survey done before buying? Did you rely on a survey commissioned by someone else?