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I love this forum, and I continue to learn, learn, learn from it, largely
because so many knowledgeable people are fascinated by the minutiae as well
as the day-to-day of trawler boating.
However, in the first 6 months as a subscriber to TWL, I began to worry that
I would have to replace every system on the boat, spend most of my time
aboard with my head in the bilges, and add many thousands of dollars worth
of extras. Then I checked with the original owner and a friendly mechanic.
Both said, "Do the routine maintenance routinely, and take care of anything
that fails immediately, and she'll continue to serve you well for another
couple of decades."
My President 41 is in its 20th year, and its systems are simple and mostly
original. Because it has always been well maintained, it has never had a
serious problem. As an example, I've been interested in the recent threads
on cold starting. In an earlier post I noted that the boat has been sitting
unused for a couple of months with a few sub-freezing nights, yet she
started without the cold start feature and with only a few seconds more
cranking than usual (twin Lehman 120's) when we decided to go out twice over
the holidays.
But,it is a boat, so I did and still have a fair list of work to do. I've
added a VHF, compass, GPS, and depth sounder at the upper helm, and need to
install an intercom. The throttles on the upper helm are beginning to slip
out of position, so I'm going to service the cables at both helms and adjust
the control mechanisms. I've got a couple of years left on the existing
battery bank, but when I replace them, I will make some changes because I
want to add an inverter and I now know a lot more than I ever did, thanks to
TWL. There are lots of other things to do, some simple, some complicated,
and I continue to peck away at them. Almost every one has been covered in
earlier threads on TWL and as a consequence the jobs are a lot easier,
especially when I know that if I run into trouble I can always call on a
hundred or more fellow Listees for advice before I have to call a mechanic,
eg my question on start alarms. Even the choice of a second anchor was made
easier thanks to TWL.
However, I'm also increasingly of the view that the majority of the very
sophisticated discussions on things like pyrometers fall into the category
of exotica. I, too, am a gadget freak, and my woodworking shop is, I am
embarrassed to admit, probably better equipped than a lot of commercial
businesses. In that shop, my interest is in making the piece rather than
enjoying it once it's finished. As for boating, it's the other way round.
For me, the boat is a means to an end, i.e. access to what Nature has on
offer in this particularly beautiful corner of the world, the Pacific
North-West. While I very much enjoy learning about what is possible in
pushing the limits of on-board systems, I probably will apply only a
fraction of it to my own boat.
My point is not to stifle the very interesting dialogues on triple-echo
battery charging or pyrometric exhaust temperature monitoring. On the
contrary. I simply want to caution other Newbies to relax and enjoy them for
what they are, wonderful expositions of the possible from people who know
and love their boats, and who take enormous pleasure in pushing their hobby
to its limits. We're fortunate to have the benefit of their enthusiasm and
expertise. However, we don't have to try to match their collective
achievements system by system.
Thanks, everyone. Keep it up and have a great 2001.
Cheers, Garrett
