Does anybody ENJOY boating?

[MikeP]

I know that may sound like an odd question but it's come up for me.

I arrived here at the boat 3 weeks ago today. Virtually every day I have been up at 5:30, had two cups of coffee and started "work." I usually knock off around 5PM. Several of the marina liveaboards have asked, "do you ever stop working?" My response is, "Not as long as there is something that needs to be done."

But in a conversation yesterday, it became apparent that my idea of what needs to be done and some of the folks here who really do have a good time on their boats is quite different.

For example, another person with a 53 Hatt and I were talking and I mentioned that I was putting new stators in one of the head pumps. He said he has one head pump that hasn't worked for a while and that he needs to get it fixed "sometime." As he put it, "I have two more so the fact that one doesn't work doesn't matter much." But I can't deal with that at all, even though he's right from an operational point of view. I can't accept any item not functioning as it's supposed to, whether I need it to or not. Yeah, we have 3 heads and 99.9% of the time there are only the two of us aboard but it would not be acceptable to me if one of those three heads doesn't work.

There is never a time when I'm on the boat that I am not either adding/improving (hopefully/or maintaining something. When we operate the boat, I'm constantly worried about everything working properly, navigating, etc.

In other words, I don't HAVE FUN in the typical sense on the boat and am wondering what the heck I'm doing. According to other folks here, I'm mostly getting a really nice old Hatt in perfect condition for her next owner! I take a lot of pride in the fact that it all works/looks good and it gives me a lot of satisfaction doing it but owning a boat has not been "fun" to me since the mid 70's, when we sold our 15ft Glastron ski boat. We used to take it to the lake every evening after work and water ski until dusk. That was fun!

So I'm just curious as to how other folks have "fun" on their boats. I don't see myself on a slalom ski behind our 53!

[captddis]

I am the same way. I can't enjoy the boat if something is not right. I replace things before they break. I will use the boat one weekend and spend 2 weekends doing maintenance. It has always been obvious to me that I am a slave to the boat. When I sold the Bertram, the engine surveyor said that in the last 20 years there was only one engine room that compared to mine.
BUS sent a surveyor to do inspection on the Hatt and he did not write up a thing! If you remember that boating is a sickness, then this all makes sense.

[Passages]

Mike....

You ARE having fun, you just don't realize it. The fun is the act of restoring & maintaining a fine old lady to her former glory. The fun is waking up in the morning with purpose and the ability to improve something that will enhance your boats functionality and value. The fun is hanging on the docks with like minded boating fools and learning news skills via the giving and receiving of years of experience . The fun is knocking off at 5:00 for a sundowner with the satisfaction of the days accomplishment.

Just ask Yachtsmanwillie...."are we having fun yet?"

[SeaEric]

I sold my big "workboat" a year ago. Now I have a smaller one.

FUN boating is a boat ride on someone else's boat.

[Passages]

I sold my big "workboat" a year ago. Now I have a smaller one.

FUN boating is a boat ride on someone else's boat.

Careful Eric - don't discourage our friends with big "workboats". If they start thinking like us, where are we going to go?

[yachtsmanbill]

Mike....

You ARE having fun, you just don't realize it. The fun is the act of restoring & maintaining a fine old lady to her former glory. The fun is waking up in the morning with purpose and the ability to improve something that will enhance your boats functionality and value. The fun is hanging on the docks with like minded boating fools and learning news skills via the giving and receiving of years of experience . The fun is knocking off at 5:00 for a sundowner with the satisfaction of the days accomplishment.

Just ask Yachtsmanwillie...."are we having fun yet?"

I gotta pipe up here too... Its really an AVOCATION; I get great pleasure out of doing these projects even tho I tend to swear a lot and piss and moan too! It IS a sickness, but we could be burning it up in a bar chasing crack ho's or losing the house at a casino.
Ive been on this drug since I was a kid... I used to sleep over nite on our
S22 on the driveway when I was 7. DETOX is outa the question. Got to go visit the other boat today with a to-do list (!). She feels kinda dissed also! ws

[sgharford]

I find boating “enjoyable” mostly because of all the maintenance - probably spend 8 hours working on stuff for every 1 hour of actually running her. I must say, I look forward to days when I can spend 8 hours running her for every 1 hour working on her and take the next step to being a good captain (thu experience). I wouldn't feel comfortable running my boat off shore if I didn't know everything about her from inside out.

The buzz kill comes when I have to depend on someone else to do work on my boat. I find time management and skills of people servicing leisure boats in my area suck, which is probably why a number of boat owners let things go into disrepair and don't let it get in way of enjoying their vessel. I know their are good service people out there, I just don't know any, except for a canvas guy. Anyway - we are in select company on this forum and sure our definition of Enjoy is much different than any other boat owner’s forum out there.

[Brian Degulis]

Mike....

You ARE having fun, you just don't realize it. The fun is the act of restoring & maintaining a fine old lady to her former glory. The fun is waking up in the morning with purpose and the ability to improve something that will enhance your boats functionality and value. The fun is hanging on the docks with like minded boating fools and learning news skills via the giving and receiving of years of experience . The fun is knocking off at 5:00 for a sundowner with the satisfaction of the days accomplishment.

Just ask Yachtsmanwillie...."are we having fun yet?"

Very well said. I keep my boat behind my home and I'm constantly working on it. I'm often asked why a person that earns a living building boats would want to do all this work in my free time. The answer is simple years ago when I actually built boats with my hands I would never do this in my free time. Today I'm more of an office bitch so working on my own boat gives me the satisfaction you've described or as my wife puts it "it keeps him sane" That's arguable but probably true.

Brian

[eze2bme]

I have fun whether it's a boating day (maintenance, washing, etc.) or a yachting day (taking her out). Either way it's the best therapy one could have. As that old saying goes (modified slightly here): "A day on the water is better than a day on land".

[Sparky1]

Man, is this thread like a blast from the past or what?

Seems I recall that Freebird guy saying you all needed to make owning a Hatteras sound fun as opposed to making them sound like something that requires constant fixing. I get enjoyment out of running my boat, not working on it. Now that my income has dropped to the point a mechanic is making more than I am on an hourly basis, I feel more compelled to do as much as I can in terms of maintenance and repair. Before then, that was not the case.

There used to be many things I could do that would let me escape the pressures of the real world. Over the years, most of these things (hunting for example) no longer bring me the peace of mind they used to. Thankfully, boating still does. When the day comes I can fire up the engines (or engine ) and not leave my troubles at home, I'll be one sad puppy.

Now get out there and enjoy those Hatts! We need more cruising threads!!! Remember when those were considered improper as well?