When you use a boat day in, day out, you wear it out. Ultraviolet eats your running rigging, plastics, sealants, paints, varnishes, and fabrics. Salt tarnishes your stainless and soaks into everything, inside and out. Fasteners rust when they've become wet in a place with no air. In waves and wind, a sailing vessel twists in response to the forces applied to it. This movement eventually results in cabinetry, partitions, and bulkheads developing a groan or a squeak. Chafing is a big problem on a boat at sea. The slightest rubbing back and forth, multiplied by 24 hours in a day over a period of weeks will rub a hole in canvas, wear the sheathing off running rigging, or mar your fiberglass, wood decks, and cabin tops.
All this has happened and is still happening on Traveler. Even though we've recently refitted many major systems aboard, we've got lots of deferred maintenance waiting for us. Connie says, "I'll get a job. Your job will be to work on the boat." She's right. That's what it will take. I guess I know what I'll be doing for the next year or so.
When I was boat shopping I looked at a big Robert Perry design 44 footer at Shilshole Marina. It truly had just circumnavigated the globe. A group of four young executives bought the boat, loaded her up with gear and did the trip. On return, they gave her to the broker to sell and they walked away. A great design, the boat sure had good bones. But there were so many details that needed attending, so many little patches, bits of wire, hose clamps, and parts just worn out. "Ridden hard and put away wet" my grandpa would say. A nice project boat, but not something you could just hop aboard and sail around the world.
When I was boat shopping I also looked at boats that got all the TLC you could imagine. You could see how the owner had added little items to make cruising more pleasant. The stainless was shiny as were the electronics. But when I ask about where the boat has been, many times it seems she'd spent most of her life at the dock, at the dock being prettied up. These kind of boats are a risk because their systems have not been tested and the boat has not been subjected to real life abuse which happens in rough seas or long hours. Heck, even brand new boats are known to have gear failures, that's part of the break-in process.
Having said all this, I'm thinking the smartest move when buying a boat is to get one that has stretched her legs with some sea time but also has a skipper who has kept up with the maintenance and made good sturdy improvements over time. It's ok to see homemade fabricated items that might not quite match what the designer intended. I've got friends with very sturdy boats, not the prettiest, but strong. When they show me their new paint job or a repaired item they will throw in the little caveat that after all, she's a "working" boat. I like that concept. Traveler is a working boat. She's got a job to do, and that job is to get me to Puget Sound safely. Then it's pay back time and I'll get to work.
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:) i imagine i'm many years away from owning a boat, but many good points worth considering. Thank you! --enjoy reading about your travels. -Nikita.
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