Wear and Tear

Vero Beach Public Library
No LL

One of the "features" of living aboard a boat is making do with fewer things. It does make for a very pleasant life style, but there are consequences. One consequence is that things used very intensively wear out fast.

Yesterday, I spent the whole day sewing on fabric tags on to our new anchor chain. These tags mark the length of chain every 20 feet. We use the marks to judge how much chain is let out. I have 1 blue tag at 20', 2 at 40' ... 5 blue tags at 100', 1 white tag at 120' ..., and finally 5 white tags at 200'. No tags are needed at 0' and 225' for obvious reasons. Many people use plastic wire ties instead of fabric tags. With wire ties, I could have completed the job in 30 minutes rather than 6 hours. However, we think that the fabric ones are tougher, and more visible. When one pulls up chain from a muddy bottom on a dark night, then visibility is appreciated.

How long will the new chain last? I don't know. However, since we anchor a lot we should expect the chains to wear out much faster than those who don't. Case in point, our neighboring boat Zaftra. Zaftra spends most of its time at the dock or on a mooring ball. Therefore, their anchors and chain don't wear out so fast.

Another project on my list while in Vero is to refinish the hardwood floor in the cabin. I refinished it once before in the summer of 2005. I use the same hard polyurethane finish that you use on hardwood floors in your house. However, since we have to do all our walking only 30 square feet of floor, it wears out much faster. It's a bit tricky to do projects like that when we live onboard the boat. We have to arrange for a day when I can lay down a coat of polyurethane, then step off without getting footprints on the wet floor, then stay away from the boat long enough for it to dry. For each additional coat, the process has to be repeated.

My neighbor, Don on Zaftra, is also involved in projects. For the past 4 days he has been engaged in re-plumbing his engine. That means, fuel lines, cooling water lines, and exhaust piping. That's another thing that needs to get done every 5 years or so.

Interior paint lasts about 3 years. Slip covers on cushions wear out, cockpit cushions wear out. Bottom paint every 3 years, and redo the hull barrier paint every 10 years. Replace the rigging every 15 years, and the sails every 5 years. In 10-15 years, we'll be in need of yet another new engine.

The point is, when you live with fewer things, you must plan on those things wearing out more rapidly than you might expect. Plan on renewing and/or replacing common things frequently. If you don't like the idea of having a bottomless list of chores, then the cruising life may not be for you.

Many experienced cruisers concentrate these jobs in batches. They cruise for 5 years, then spend 6-12 months on shore while the boat is put up on land for a "refit".

On the positive side, thanks to the endless maintenance and renewal, there is no upper limit on the effective lifetime of (non wooden) cruising boats.