Tales from the boatyard: Refits and major works.

How to successfully pull off a restoration, refit or any major work on your boat.

Ever fixed anything? even the seemingly most straightforward of things can go awry, now imagine this scaled up many times. A restoration, major overhauling or upgrading is referred to as a  refit, having been involved with a good many I am able to share some top tips and advice to make yours go smoother.

Pencil and paper

As advanced as we have become, nothing beats starting with a pencil and paper (or tablet) and outlining what it is that needs to be done. Rushing into projects without having a plan is a recipe for spending over budget and not finishing anything, potentially ending up as an abandoned boat. Tales from the boatyard: Abandonment issues, not abandoning ship.

Breaking things down into smaller projects will help you progress at your own rate and also allow you to see where you could run multiple projects simultaneously. Do not "scattergun" your planning, performing various random tasks in no discernible order is not the way to go. Try and get as much of the work that requires the boat to be on dry land done first, all the time you´re in the yard, you are paying for it.

Protection Equipment & site safety

We all know that one person, not a glove or pair safety glasses in sight, uses a grinder without a guard, not caring where the sparks go. As the saying goes, "Its all fun and games until.....". Please do not be that person, use precautions.

Order, Order

There is an order to the way tasks are done, in a broad strokes, try and get the most messy items off the list first. I have said messy, not the longest task, these two can go hand in hand but I can assure you nobody wants to work in mess.

Typical examples of the dirty jobs are bottom cleaning and stripping, engine room cleaning & deck sanding. You could potentially have a couple of these jobs running in tandem, bottom cleaning and engine room degreasing for example. If you subcontract trades, they typically do not want others getting in their way or making mess while they work.

Critical & not so much

If you take no notice at all of anything else in this post, please pay attention to this bit. I have seen this many times, it´s when a boatowner gets carried away and starts on all the non critical items first, goes overbudget and then cannot get their motor serviced.

It typically starts with things like stereo upgrades, replacement upholstery, underwater lights and other nice to have but non critical items. A technician visits the boat for something, then it starts, the critical list, fire extinguishers, bilge pumps, batteries, navigation lights and the list goes on. These items are critical to boat operation, boring, unseen for the most part but critical, they are also mandatory for navigation and insurance purposes.

It actually happened recently, a couple of young guys had an outboard powered speedboat, about 6 metres in length. They had the hull wrapped (vinyl covering), tower speakers installed, custom decking and a few other bits and pieces. The boat was in the yard because the motor didn't start, new starter motor and battery cables were needed but as they had spent too much money on other things the money box was empty to actually go boating.

Quotes

Unless you are capable of doing literally everything yourself, get quotes in advance, many a project has been abandoned by not being informed of how much skilled trades and services can be. At the time of writing, skilled trades are in demand and a lot of materials have gone up hugely in price, one in particular that springs to mind is teak.

Boatyards, fields, marinas and storage facilities are littered with abandoned projects, some are there because the project was just not viable for whatever reason, a lot are there because the owner bought the boat cheap and underestimated just how much it was going to costs to put right. Don't let this be you.

Location, location, location

If there is any one factor overlooked more than any other its location, not yours but where the boat is. Distance and working environment play the most important parts is helping guarantee a successful outcome.

Do you have to travel a long distance to get to the boat? Are you going to be spending a lot on fuel? What are the yard facilities like? Is there a toilet, are there places nearby to eat?

The knock on effects of this are that it might pay (not necessarily financially) to have the boat moved, even if not closer but to a location where you will be more comfortable working. The more comfortable you are, the more likely you will go to the boat and do things. For those of you who have to work in colder and rainy environments, consider getting the boat put into a shed, some yards will prioritize their own clients for the indoor storage but might be more agreeable if you contract them to do some of the work.

Is there a chandler there just in case you need something? The smallest item can make all the difference, such as screws, silicone or acetone for example.

Are there other companies you can contract if needs be? mechanics, fibreglass or general boatyard duties. It is inevitable you will need a sub contractor to perform some work, some yards insist on performing certain types of jobs, such as antifouling, they obviously need to make money but, also they have certain obligations for recycling and using certain products.

Are there facilities for proper disposal and recycling? items such as oils and batteries as well as scrap metals must be properly handled and disposed of.

Insurance

Is your boat insured? A lot of yards and other storage facilities will simply not let you have your boat there unless it is insured, it might be worth checking your policy and reading the clauses about boatyards. If you are in any doubt consult your insurance carrier, even if you have a friend who lets you use their piece of land, workshop, warehouse or whatever, make sure you are insured.

In light of some recent events in this my professional life, the subject of insurance cannot be overstated, never find yourself underinsured, even though your own boat might not have a high value, others around you might and if you are found to be negligent or even the cause of an accident, the costs can be bankrupting.

Cleaning down

Before starting anything, start clean. Bilges, decks, clean and declutter the interior. One of the first things a yard will do on a large refit it remove and box up items and label them, only to be returned when the job is over, technicians hate nothing more than having to spend time moving things around to work. Do not underestimate the cost or quantity or cleaning materials needed. This is an area where your sweat can actually equate to saving money, if it takes a professional time to move your personal items around to work that time will be chargeable.

Cleaning up

Make time at the end of every day or every task to clean up, even if very soon you are going to make a whole load of more mess, nobody wants to work in dirt, it´s also morally uplifting to return the next time and not have to start work in an untidy and dirty environment, this goes double for not cleaning up your mess around the boat, if you litter the yard they might ask you to leave.

Backup plan

In a perfect world, have a back up plan to do something else to not waste time, an example might be, polishing the hull, if it starts to rain, maybe have something to do under cover. Try not to start too many jobs at the same time, it becomes difficult to keep track. There is also great satisfaction in starting a task, doing the task and completing it, no matter how small.

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