The Best Advice from a Boat Surveyor

10 years ago, when I bought Wisdom, there were a bunch of issues that I felt strongly, that needed to be corrected immediately to make the boat liveable. Naturally, as I was a new boat owner and fresh to sailboats at the time; my concerns were far from applicable as to what actually needed to be addressed!

The boat had a little bit of water damage on the interior which had discolored the veneer. Nothing structural, only cosmetic. I mentioned to the surveyor how I planned to replace those panels with new wood and to “fix the problem”. He told me:

“Live with the problem as it is for a few months and see if it still bothers you”

This helpful piece of advice was taken to heart and I lived with the discolored veneer for a few months to see if it still bothered me. Needless to say, 10 years later my parrots found the weakened veneer and started to peel it off the bulkhead. Suddenly, the problem became very ugly and needed to be addressed!

Had I started working on the veneer all those years ago, I would have been wasting my time and resources on unnecessary aspects of the boat which offer nothing to the actual integrity to the hull and her ability to sail! Every time I see something that screams “Urgent Need To Be Fixed”, I stop and think about his wise words.

Is this something structural or cosmetic? If it’s structural, is it important? If it’s cosmetic, will it bother me in a month?

Structural issues that are part of a seldom used system are of lower priority than a structural issue that is integral to the soundness of your hull. Picture this: the car on the mast that holds the spinnaker pole broke. You no longer have a secure way to mount the spinnaker to your mast and can’t use your spinnaker pole. This sounds really bad but you are on a beam reach from one island to another and will be anchored in two days, where you can then carry out repairs.

There is no reason to repair the car while underway, and when you get to your anchorage, ask yourself “How much did I actually use the pole?” Some people use the pole every time the sail off the wind, while others only have the pole on their deck to bang their shins on when they walk by. If you are the former, replacing the broken car becomes a top priority, but if you are the latter, maybe clear off the deck a little by selling or giving away your spinnaker pole and removing the broken car.

Compare this to noticing a crack in your stem. This is a structural issue and cannot be ignored! There is no waiting or contemplating about this issue as it is critical to the structural integrity of the hull and the safety of the ship!

With cosmetic issues, imagine that your fender popped, and the topsides got scratched. For a few thousand dollars, you can get the scratched fixed and make it look like it never happened! Before you go spend thousands of dollars, maybe wait on it and see if it still bothers you in a month. If after a month, you realize that you don’t even notice the scrape, let it be and use that money on something more important to you on the boat. Likewise, if after a month, you can’t stop looking at the scrape and thinking about how horrible it looks, then get it fixed and that will be money well spent.

There is no shortage of boat projects, but there is a shortage of time and resources. Managing time, money, and parts is critical to making sure that the important projects get done in a timely manner and the less critical projects get done when you get around to it (or never).

This little bit of advice has been instrumental in the way I approach boat repairs as well as other facets of my life and I hope that it can help you too.

Repairing Dyneema Rigging

One of the shining features of Dyneema over steel is the fact that Dyneema can be repaired.

Chafe is the biggest problem facing synthetic rigging, and one that is easily avoided by routing the running rigging in a way that it won’t contact, and then chafe, the standing rigging. Should chafe occur and become serious, Dyneema can be easily repaired with mending splices to insert a new portion of Dyneema replacing the damaged portion.

After 6 years of sailing, our synthetic standing rigging has suffered no major chafing or damage, but our synthetic lifelines have! Everyone always worries about the stays chafing, but the workhorse lifelines are neglected to a life of chafe and abuse! Fenders are tied to them, gear is laid upon them, sheets and sails rub on them! Miles and years go buy where these poor little lines are subjected to abuse right next to the prized standing rigging that is shielded from all extraneous duty.

After all those years, while in Gibraltar, I decided it was time to carry out repairs on the two areas which had chafed. One was due to the windvane control lines tugging harshly on it, which I repaired the proper way; the other was subjected to a sharp metal bicycle pedal rubbing on it the entire way across the Atlantic!

The second repair was carried out in a more “creative” and less “professional” manner. The reason for the variation in repairs is simple: I wanted to see how well both repairs would hold up to similar abuse? Both repairs were done on the same day, so their subsequent wear would be similar. The proper repair is the control, as this is how repairs should be carried out, while the “creative” repair is the variable being measured against the control.

The correct repair is carried out using an end to end splice which mends the chafed area by replacing it with new Dyneema. This method is relatively simple to do, creating two locked splices and requiring access to at least one free end. There are four tapered tails that need to be created and buried and the whole process is rather lengthy, but yields an impeccable repair which is as strong as the original line.

The creative repair is able to be carried out in a situation where you do not have access to either end. A mending piece of Dyneema is inserted into the chafed line using two long bury splices. Additional locking stitches are needed to properly secure the splice as it is not locked on its own and could easily be pulled out if someone wanted to (or if gear snagged on it just the right way). This method only requires one splice and two tapered tails, making it quicker and easier to perform.

After crossing the Atlantic again with these repairs and carrying lots of gear on the deck which chafes on the lifelines, I can say with confidence that both repairs are holding up the same. The end to end splice does look a lot nicer while the creative repair looks a little shabby.

I personally prefer the end to end splice as I prefer locking splices over splices which require locking stitches to secure them, but if you have a situation where there simply isn’t the required free end to fix it, know that this other method will work well to repair your lifelines!

The Best Can Opener

Canned food is an essential pet of cruising. It’s cheap, and it keeps for a long time, making it a staple in a cruisers diet. The problem with canned food is opening the cans!

Can openers are large and tend to die in the marine environment. We try to keep them alive but the salty air seems to kill critical parts in short time. If they don’t die if corrosion, they seem to just lose their ability to function!
I don’t know if it’s because cruisers use their can opener more than a dirt dweller or if it a combination of the constant use and the harsh environment, but in the end, the can opener will need replacing.

We picked up this little machine in France and I honestly think it’s the best Can opener ever! There are almost no moving parts and it’s very small, making storage an easier task! Best of all, it really works well, honestly better than any other Can opener I’ve ever used!

It just clamps onto the side of the Can and all you need to do is spin the little wings.
This can opener is small, made entirely of stainless steel, and works really well!

Several years ago, I did a blog post about “the best Can opener” but that one has slowly stopped working as well. This little guy really is a wonder machine!