My confidence is being effected.

[jefndeb]

My boating "enjoyment" is being diminished somewhat by my confidence. Im not loosing confidence in myself, its a loss of confidence in my boat. As I approach my 60th year on this earth I seem to becoming less and less tolerant to the various issues cruisers have to deal with as part of this lifestyle. I worded it this way to the admiral - If my confidence, say concerning the generator, is very low, that in itself adds an undesirable level of stress to what is supposed to fun, "will the generator actually work today when we get to our anchorage spot?".hell I sure hope so... things like that take the fun outta cruising and if you have to cross your fingers every time you press that button?.where do you draw the line? Now, I baby the various systems on our boat and beings a retired Aerospace Systems Engineer specializing in failure analysis, i absolutely understand how and why things fail and because of this i do as much as humanly possible to prevent failures from happening. But as i begin to think about the upcoming trek south it just sorta seems less fun or even kinda dreading it. Sorry to be such a downer..






the boat eroding break all the time and unpredictable

 

[Comodave]

If it is just the generator that is concerning you then find a good mechanic on your brand of generator and have them come do a complete service on the generator. Tell them that you want it to be very reliable and therefore replace whatever is needed. It may be expensive but if it restores your confidence in it then it will be worthwhile.

 

[BruceK]

Is this anxiety purely boat focused, or more general? If it`s just the boat, why? If it`s more general, look for a reason.
It sounds like you are transposing something related to your occupation. If you think about it rationally, you are probably already doing reasonable precautionary maintenance and checks. If thinking about it rationally doesn`t help,look further afield.
You can just start the genset before leaving the dock, if it starts it`s more likely to start when you reach the day`s destination. But if the genset is just one example of many, there could be more to it. Question whether doing something causing enough anxiety to post about it for help is worth doing, or whether to do something about the anxiety.

 

[magna 6882]

Have you been having multiple failures to cause this anxiety ? When we are traveling my confidence in the boat and systems do not cross my mind. The only anxiety i have is with other boats who seem to want to run head on instead of adjusting there coarse and ferries that always seem to be running faster then i think they are. I do stay ahead of maintenance.

 

[boomerang]

Don't feel bad because you're not alone. Back in the day, I was happy to get to the destination and if something happened to need repairing on the way, so be it. I would be happy to cobble a repair together and continue our journey. Nowadays, I overthink everything regarding maintenance because I tend to worry too much about issues that could happen and potentially lessen the enjoyment of our trips.
I remember decisively the moment I decided it was time for a twin engine boat or at least one that had a bow thruster. We were in a high current/high wind undocking situation in Morehead City early one morning and getting away from our side-to slip with the wind and current not in our favor was a bit stressful. The younger me would've been full of bravado where I would've almost looked forward to the challenge. Now, I have the nagging concern that a Morse cable will fail or if the prop wall fall off in a high thrust docking event.
I haven't lost confidence in our boat or equipment, I just have less patience at my age.

 

[psneeld]

I was the same way with my boat and now my RV. Just returned from a FL to Seattle to Yellowstone to Fl trip. 7000 miles/3.5 months. Every day a little concern crept in regarding "failures" that would severely impact the trip.

Yet every day for a decade while snowbirding between NJ and FL on my old trawler... everything kept working. Sure their were minor failures...but usually in a couple hours or days they were fixed and the trip proceeded. The RVs have worked flawlessly for over 75,000 miles and years of service. Even failures of major items had some sort of backup or alternative or plan B... that was always something that was part of the trip planning to keep plans on track.

Why am I a bit paranoid? A bit of lifelong personality and a bit of 35 years in jobs that may have had pretty serious consequences if equipment failed at the wrong time.

My reason for continuing all these years.... like any irrational fear, by living with it every day and honing planning skills to lessen that fear...but mostly just shaking it off and get going was mainly the answer.

We all have fears/concerns about things in life...it's just natural.

So every day, wake up and go through the motions. Get going, realizing that's all life usually is, one day at a time, and before ya know it the day is over and you are where you wanted to be. Be happy and grateful, not only you did what you wanted, but you beat your dreaded feeling.


I guess it's best said by the genius Tao Te Ching "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".

 

[Xlantic]

When I was experiencing a loss of confidence on my 1973 boat a few years ago I decided to simplify it.

As a result I have removed:
- three A/C units (two weren't working)
- Webasto diesel boiler and nine radiators
- 12 kW Onan generator (replaced with 2 kW of solar panels)
- electric range (replaced with propane one)
- compact fluorescent and incandescent lighting (replaced with LED)
- lots of ancient electronics (some replaced and some still to be replaced)
- satellite TV antena
- twin 240 HP Ammarine GM Toro-Flo engines which were stopped being built almost 50 years ago (replaced with rebuilt twin 120 HP Cummins 5.9B naturals)
- hanging chandelier over saloon table, pictures, carpets and general bric-brac from POs
- lots of unused and left-behind cabling

I have come to embrace my wife's philosophy of "when in doubt, throw it away".

If you don't have it, it can't break.

I am a lot more confident about the boat and its (remaining) systems now.

 

[PierreR]

I think it's a two fold problem. Your on the boat a lot so you become more aware of the condition of systems and you don't get as much physical exercise when traveling with the boat. A lack of exercise subconsciously introduces a decrease in agility/flexibility and increases the amount of brain fog making it difficult to keep up mentally with the systems.
I think the decrease in meaningful exercise is the real cause of increasing stress. My wife pointed this out and its one of the biggest reasons she is now hesitant to do the loop. Addressing the lack of real exercise is proving to be more than I expected.

 

[PierreR]

I remember decisively the moment I decided it was time for a twin engine boat or at least one that had a bow thruster. We were in a high current/high wind undocking situation in Morehead City early one morning and getting away from our side-to slip with the wind and current not in our favor was a bit stressful.

Gotta laugh. My worst docking experience in the last 5,000 miles was same dock same boat.

 

[O C Diver]

My boating "enjoyment" is being diminished somewhat by my confidence. Im not loosing confidence in myself, its a loss of confidence in my boat. As I approach my 60th year on this earth I seem to becoming less and less tolerant to the various issues cruisers have to deal with as part of this lifestyle. I worded it this way to the admiral - If my confidence, say concerning the generator, is very low, that in itself adds an undesirable level of stress to what is supposed to fun, "will the generator actually work today when we get to our anchorage spot?".hell I sure hope so... things like that take the fun outta cruising and if you have to cross your fingers every time you press that button?.where do you draw the line? Now, I baby the various systems on our boat and beings a retired Aerospace Systems Engineer specializing in failure analysis, i absolutely understand how and why things fail and because of this i do as much as humanly possible to prevent failures from happening. But as i begin to think about the upcoming trek south it just sorta seems less fun or even kinda dreading it. Sorry to be such a downer..






the boat eroding break all the time and unpredictable

I think you're missing the obvious.

There are those who do maintenance and focus on potential problems to have the spares to get back underway.

Then there are those with a boat full of deferred maintenance, blissfully cruising to their next catastrophe.

If you fall in the first category, understand that to prevent potential failures requires you to identify potential problems and eliminate them before they happen or have the spares to fix them. In 8 years and 39,000 miles of cruising, I had only one failure that I couldn't get by without a tow. Looking back, OCD can be a good thing!

Be thankful you don't own an airplane!

Ted

 

[fryedaze]

Your back ground and knowledge of failure analysis is a big plus for a cruiser. You have the knowledge to prepare and that will eliminate, reduce or minimize problems. If you're in a thought loop that has you worrying about what will happen to the boat, break it by asking yourself, whats the worst that could happen if that failure occurs. In all most all scenarios its not a big deal.

 

[Dougcole]

Sounds like a good excuse to buy a new boat, lol.

I suffer from this as well sometimes, though much worse when we are planning a remote trip. Bring spares and tools. Like PS said, in the end how bad is it going to be? Most likely it delays your trip, but is not catastrophic. If it is catastrophic it was likely to happen anyway despite your preventative efforts.

In 17 years of long Bahamas trips, despite careful prep on my part, we have only had two trips where nothing broke. We have also only had two with "serious" issues (Gen set failures both times) that I couldn't fix myself. Both times we tied up at a dock for power and then came home early. Not what we wanted, but not the end of the world.

Most of the time it is small stuff and you deal with it. Sounds like that is well within your skill set.

 

[psneeld]

As far as exercise and mental fog when you cruise... That I think is both personal approach and cruising style.

Pretty much my whole adult life when meeting people and reading countless stories from cruisers, it seems nearly unanimous that cruisers enjoy a healthy and vigorous life based on their cruising. They are happier, less stressed and more active. If you watch your diet, sounds like a big plus. That's not saying some people are more busy and focused when at home...I think though it depends on a lot.

I will add that stress while cruising due to worries over the boat, safety, money....whatever is the concern is OK in small doses, but if it's constant and to the point of being depressing/ruining the day/trip...then maybe it is time for a change if one can't overcome it.

But don't think you are alone, just admitting and talking about it with fellow cruisers may help.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. j. I heard from numerous people that this book helps with situations just like yours...
https://www.amazon.com/F-k-Ultimate-Spiritual-Way/dp/1401945996

 

[jefndeb]

I appreciate all the comments, I guess what got me started on this rant was the other day, doing what is supposed to be done to ward off any issues, I changed the oil and the filter on the genset and while I was there I decided it was time to replace the impeller, a little early but might as well. With all that completed I started the unit and no water flow. The water pump housing was very warm so I knew the impeller was turning but I wanted to inspect anyway. Upon inspection I found the impeller blades were facing in the wrong direction, however I know that doesn't matter because they will move when cranked as they are flexible. I removed it anyway and reinstalled in the direction as to pull the water from the thru-hull. After that the test, still no water. I then assumed I had introduced an air gap?
I removed the inlet hose and opened the thru hull and water flowed as expected. No air in the inlet line and retest and all was good so I assumed that was the problem, Fast forward 4 days. Ran to test and no water, checked hose, no water, the pump is above the water line so I am guessing I am losing prime. You see?. I try to do what's necessary and I get kicked in the balls. Is the new impeller not fully to spec causing a slow leak? Do I have a small leak in the inlet hose? All worked fine before, what did I do?...Jeez...I re-primed and with everything as normal ran each day for 4 days, all good, let it sit for 8 days and retest, no cooling water, Ordered a new water pump and I guess I will replace the inlet hose as well...things like this cause you to second guess yourself and your abilities...

 

[PierreR]

I have been in the process of rebuilding and updating all the systems in my boat. Because I have rebuilt a system I assume if it does not work when turned on that I must have gotten something wrong. Now on 4 different occasions I have gone into trace and recheck mode only to do a bunch of work and then find in the tight space I was working in I shut off the breaker or closed a valve scraping by with body parts. The more I do the worse I seem to be getting about checking simple things like a through hull valve.

 

[Davil1]

your concerns are shared.!

not on the “generator” issue only but on a wider sense, part is aging and the perceived diminished abilities and part the increasing complexities added to our boats.
The need to be full-time mechanic, electrician, electronics technician, plumber etc.

I am still at it!

personally, I accept the fact something will fail, I am convinced!

Since that is a fact to happen in the future and knowing I cannot change the future, prefer to concentrate my energies on the present and what I can do.

On the Cruisers Forum, somebody posted
“What if the engine fails”
Lots of suggestions and recommendation provided to no avail, the OP eventually left the thread very upset because nobody could give him a useful answer.

Well, there was no answer, because sooner or later the engine will fail!!

I, like many of us, continue chugging alone, yet acknowledge will do so as long it is fun, and the risk/reward is on my side, when the equation changes will bow to it, no shame on it.
Life is good, hell, will be a shame not to squeeze every drop.

Mahalo plenty

 

[Docktopus]

I do the vast majority of the work on my boat myself, but I always take it in for the annual services. I am perfectly capable of changing the oil and other minor jobs, but I love having an actual professional go through the boat once a year. I always ask them to take the boat out afterwards and let me know if they spot anything. I find that it gives me a lot more confidence to have a second set of eyes on everything.