Even good boats, there is always something borken. yes, borken. With this boat I’d say its about 25% bad design, 25% wear and tear, 50% previous shoddy-ass work. Getting real sick of the last one.
Spent saturday morning doing some finishing touches to some newly fabbed swim platform brackets. These were in the first 25% category, I guess, and are known to break. The guy that made supplied them to the manufacture warned them about the design and urged them to look into a better design and they passed. Classy. I don’t mind this though because it’s just part and parcel of owning a boat...things break from use and you have to fix them. Its shoddy work Im tired of.
Electrical skills, plumbing skills, style, common sense. These are all the traits the previous owner lacked. The electrical alone is going to require some serious reworking. Everything works without fault pretty much always, but it’s all put together like a game of Jenga thats half way in.
In the latest WTH moment: a few weeks ago I noticed belt squeal...a lot...but I figured it was bilge water sloshing back under acceleration and I thought that a new belt in the spring time would solve it. Season is winding down here and it would keep till then. Kept getting worse and worse though and I noticed steam coming from the engine hatch. I looked and found the problem. The auxiliary heater unit that was installed by the previous owner has a supply of hot engine water in a loop coming from the t-stat housing, the hose to supply hot water goes from there to an exchanger up fronter to supply heat. The PO apparently though that it was okay to not secure that hose in any way shape or form and drape it over the belt drive...
Yeah, it had been slowing wearing a hole in the hose and it had finally sprung a leak, spraying 175 degree water, under pressure, right on the idler pulley bearing (and the belt). Well, that solves the mystery belt squeal noise. I sliced out the hole, applied a brass barbed joint with hose clamps and secured the hose AWAY from danger. Now I need a new pulley and belt. The list of things to put right on this boat is long if I want to do it all well. I can’t stand people who would rather spend money on 22 inch trailer wheels and windows tint than spend it on a proper professional to do quality work.
Its a petty rant, but its my rant damn it.