Having had a week away from the boat, i've now drawn up a brief i intend sticking to. It doesn't take away the fact my hearts not really in it but now its about getting the boat to the finish line without going bankrupt.
What has this project taught me, well in my experience so far?
1) Make sure you have the funds before you start.
2) Build a workshop or a shed big enough to work in close proximity to the boat.
3) Have a plan and stick to it.
4) Only use epoxy resin for external/structural apps unless you're looking to go bust and especially when restoring a Centaur, Vinyl or Poly is perfectly adequate just not the strongest.
4) Never buy a boat with the intention of restoring (at least in the UK) as the costs are almost prohibitive (even if the boats free) a fact compounded when viewing the costs of tidy secondhand boats. I was never in this to make a profit but seeing how far secondhand values and fallen through the floor its hard to grasp the fact that what i've spent on this project to date would get me almost any Westerly in very good fettle excluding the Oceanlord and Oceanmaster. That'll give you an idea of what i've spent!
5) Give yourself no more than a year to complete, motivation is hard to maintain after that as well as the cash flow hence rule 1.
So from here on in its neither a pleasure nor a chore just a job that needs expediting....................
Ta ta
Hey Roger. I know exactly how you feel...I have gone through the same doubt and despair a few times, during my 4+ years on this project. The worst was while installing the interior...so slow and tedious! Those of us at the yard, who are doing major renovations like this, have come to the conclusion that this is "like putting together a jigsaw puzzle from a picture in your mind and having to make each piece as you go." It's just the nature of this level of the game.
ReplyDeleteWe evolve with challenging projects and the projects evolve with us. Hang in there. Eric
Roger,
ReplyDeleteHaving just read this and the previous post. I feel your pain, especially in the earlier post from last weekend. Sorry, I wish that I could help - but I‘m at the wrong end of the country and no skills.....
This new post has reassured me that you have turned the right way again. With your skills I‘m sure you can get the inside refit done quicker than the rest and to the highest standards.
Sailing with Dylan has probably unsettled you, and you now need to get out there in your own Centaur asap. Maybe Dylan can use his networks to get you some support? Hang in there with the boat and feel those positive vibes we are all sending you. We're rooting for you mate. All the best S
Kymeric you're bang on with the jigsaw analogy of the interior its just the slowness of it all that compounds my mood at present. Last week was a howler, i really should of stayed in bed and saved alot of time and money. I was chatting to Rob Hoffman awhile back regarding his Pageant and said similar to him as you have to me that if we didn't push ourselves and try different ideas we'd still all be living in caves. So i gave myself a right talking to and told myself to buck up a bit.
ReplyDeleteAnon, thanks for kind words its all cool now but boy if i had my time again i would do so much differently but it was all a learning curve at the time. Yeah watching Dylans vids does get juiced up about getting out there with mine one day but the hurdle in the mean time is the other £10k i need to finish but where there's a will as they say.
Thank you both so much for the words of encouragement it means alot.
cheers Rog
Rog, your wisdom and encouragement have bucked me up and along in my project with the Pageant, so here's a return of that needed (encouragement, anyway....lol) boost. No way any of us will ever recover the expense involved in our passion for these boats. It really is more about the journey than the destination, is it not? And you will have the finest Centaur in existence when you finally splash her. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteCheers Rob,
ReplyDeleteThanks mate, it was a bad couple of weeks , everythings cool now but it was more the waste of materials and time and seeing as money's tight it really got me down.
I think i was still having a panic attack when i wrote that piece, i went into complete meltdown and had to walk away from the shed for a couple of days. I appreciate your words and i know the boat will see water again but from time to time i get a little overwhelmed with the size of the task.
cheers mate.
P.S. Hows the pageant coming along, email me with your updates?
cheers rog
The acronym for b.o.a.t. holds true always (Break Out Another Thousand)
ReplyDeleteI was fortunate and the two previous owners of my W25 had done the lions share of the work. I just had to freshen her up a bit and correct a bit of painting with better materials