Save-A-Boat - The Forum for Plastic Classic Rebuilds!

I'm just taking the time to blow off some disappointment knowing it will a friendly and sympathetic reception.

Having hauled my Grampian in August and then waiting out four hurricanes in almost as many weeks, I felt I lost the summer. I finally got started on the deck re-core and it was worse than I expected, but not by much. Now I have gotten on to the cabin top and have that in progress. However, I still have yet to get into the cabin and all of the wood inside. THEN, I have a cast iron keel to grind, seal, fair and a whole boat to paint!

I am a victim of my own optimism. I know when a project is started, especially on a boat, double the most pessimistic time estimate. I had no idea that I could throw that through the window and quadruple my worst case estimate.

Realistically, I now admit to estimating getting the boat back in water in August of this year. Does this make me feel better? No, but at least I'm admitting the size and scope of my repairs and rather than fighting an unrealistic schedule, I'll just work on it as I can and quit worrying about what other people think. ( Not that I pay a lot of attention, but it does get old as they ask how much longer until the boat's back in the water?)

The boat is better and stronger for all of the work I am doing. She will be easier to handle and live on when I am finished. The fact she cost me nothing in the beginning and I got two years of sailing on her is something I do forget to keep in mind. The part I am not putting in here is that I have not put family in the fixing the boat equation. That is where a lot of frustration is coming out as I do have other responsibilities which I have to take care of. Who out there doesn't?

Sorry for the rant, but seeing it in print does help my focus.

Thanks everyone.

Cheers,
Ian
Wing and a Prayer, G-23

There's no doubt that each project tends to have its moments of irritation, disappointment, or despair. We all go through it: those times when you just can't face more grinding and sanding, or when the enormity of the remaining project looms indomitably ahead. At these times, the road to completion often seems impassable.

But then you manage to get past the stumbling block, or the vexing problem, or the lack of motivation, and things get back on track. Quickly, it seems, the pain is forgotten and you roll towards launch date.

I think deadlines can be important tools in retaining motivation and project progress. Too often, an open-ended job can languish with no hope of completion. Having a realistic deadline--and then working towards that goal--is the best way to stay focused.

Unrealistic deadlines, on the other hand, tend to inspire repeated disappointment, and therefore should be identified as soon as possible and re-evaluated to ensure success. This is what it sounds like you have recently done, and while it is disappointing to postpone, the realistic new deadline will ultimately serve the project--and you--better.

Good luck!

Tim wrote:[T]hose times when you just can't face more grinding and sanding, or when the enormity of the remaining project looms indomitably ahead.

Hey, you talkin' 'bout me, bub?

;-P

We have all been (or are) there. I have those moments frequently myself when I realize the picture in my head is way ahead of what's still in front of me. Sometimes it helps me to look at what has been done already and realize the amount of progress I have made. Other times it helps more to just walk away and do something else - this is supposed to be fun after all. Of course that doesn't make the project go any faster but after a break I am usually ready to enjoy the rebuilding process again. That is what it is all about, the rebuilding, because it is definitely not the easiest, fastest or cheapest way to get a good boat. What is all the rush about "finishing" the project anyway? From what I can see around here, finishing a project is only an excuse to start a new one. Having a ten year project rotting in the back yard isn't good either but that is not the problem of anyone on this board.

-Britton
"If it is not fun, why do it?"

That's all very true. Keeping things in perspective, and remembering that it should be fun, makes it all go more easily. It works. And walking away from time to time does tend to refresh the soul.

That said, there are certain aspects to a project that, once begun, sort of require some tooth-gritting and pressing forward, regardless of the lousiness of the process.

Right now in the shop, we have two boats deep in the throes of fairing, grinding, and surfacing. Neither boat can progress much until this messy unpleasantness is done. The boats are buried in dust; the whole shop is a dusty mess, putting a damper on doing anything but getting the sanding over with. True cleanings aren't even worth it at this point, and lick-and-promise cleanings actually seem to make the mess even worse somehow. It's at times like this that the true mettle of the project do-er comes to light.

I'm sick of fairing, refilling, and sanding again. The sanding is getting exhaustive after weeks of repetition. Nathan is even more sick if it, having had some marathon sanding sessions during his big deck project. But the only choice is to get it all done. This too shall pass.

It's all fun, in the end. That's why some of the more disturbed among us go back again and again for more. But there's no escaping the occasional low point--it's all part of the process. Perhaps that's why I'm playing around on the forum in the middle of the day instead of working!

at least you are at that point, on the hard. I envy you lol You should see me squinting away in my 17 x 10 garage swearing at myself for sanding the darn locker doors again. Cursing away over some petty little thing like that, shameful ..and doing it backwards too wood and interior then the outside..ah well.. the cool thing about biting off more than you thought you would chew is that it expands your capabilities to deal. You complain now but as I type I bet you ve allready sucked it in and are working away like a pro.

I know real well what it means to bite off a big project. (www.javelin38.com) Because of the time required for my family (Mr. Mom for 5 teenagers in 4 schools, while my wife has gone back to work and back to school), we chose to actually buy another boat that we can sail while the "project" is ongoing. I really enjoy the boat work but don't want to get heartburn facing deadlines. So we just purchased an old Pearson 30 with new sails and nice gear that we can sail and not spend a lot of time tinkering with her. It's not a classic, but I can look at the classic in the yard and get inspired to do some work while still enjoying time on the water.