But first:

I’m a firm believer in DIY. Not just because it usually cost less (but takes way more time) but because I know how the job was done. I understand and have researched the intricacies. And I have learned something. And if it wasn’t done well, I redo it. And if there is something about the job that needs checking over time, I know what it is. And if I mess it up, I messed it up for free. It is often not the prettiest job, but function trumps fashion when you’re crossing the Pacific.

As opposed to:

Paying top dollar to a tradesman. Let me use a few of many stories to explain my point.

There is a boat in the yard here to do sail drive repairs, They discovered milky gear fluid on the passage from Panama. Savvy enough to do it themselves, they began to dismantle it. They previously had a tradesman do the job a couple years ago in Florida. One of the screws needing removal has its drive stripped out. They have not yet gotten it out. This had to have been done on the previous job. Did they even tell the owner, “Yes, I got it back together but this happened and its likely to be trouble the next time.” No they did not. Did they deal with the hassle then. No they did not. It was covered up by the anode, so not visible with normal inspection. Now the owner is on a tiny island in the South Pacific dealing with a surprise mess. He’s been waiting here over a month for his friend to arrive from Australia with the seals already. I’d like to say this is an isolated incident but it’s not. (It is also normal for parts to take a month to arrive in Hiva Oa from overseas.)

In the Pacific NW I know of two boats who lost their props shortly after having them worked on in yards. One from Seattle who lost theirs in PT. The yard did pay to have the boat towed back to Seattle for warranty work, but the convenience and disruption of plans is un-compensatable. The other lost their prop in Winter Harbor, the most northern harbor on the west coast of Vancouver Island. What a nightmare.

A little closer to home. I helped a guy deliver a boat from PT to Tacoma. He was a first time boat owner and was cautious. He had a top reputable full service shop inspect the 1GM Yanmar before he bought the boat. Then had the same shop service the engine before we left. He paid top dollar because he didn’t know diesels. I also don’t know diesels so I was nervous. My reading has always implied that the most likely trouble comes down to fuel and air in the line and the filters. The filters were now new. So the night before I watched several videos on how to bleed the line of a 1GM Yanmar diesel, just in case. The next morning the owner started up the diesel and it ran well…for two minutes and stalled, and wouldn’t restart. You should have seen the look on the owners face. Priceless. I explained to him, honestly, that we’re going to try to bleed the line. If that doesn’t do it, we’re at the end of my knowledge. So for the first time ever even looking at a 1GM up close I went through the process at the three points I learned from the video, and what do you know, it worked. The engine ran like a top for the next two days to Tacoma. But I was very disappointed in the shop. The mechanic knew the guy didn’t know about diesels. How come they did not bleed the line? Or if they did not have they key or the extra hands, how come they did not tell the guy, “Hey, we couldn’t bleed the line, for such and such a reason, you may need to do that before you go.” No follow through. I expect more from top professionals and their workers.

Unfortunately, these stories could go on and on. I understand that all boats are custom and people are human, and mistakes can be made, but often times mistakes and lesser work are just covered up and not mentioned with the idea the owner will never know. Or they’ll sell the boat and won’t be the one to have to deal with it. Since they don’t do the work themselves, it’ll just be another tradesman making extra money on extra work. Boats are difficult and variable, but integrity is not. So I work on my own boat, do the research and put in the time. Sometimes insurance companies want to know something was professionally installed. Like that assumes the job was actually done professionally and better than myself.

I’ve been holding that all in for years. Some people aren’t going to want to hear it, but that doesn’t make it false.

It was pointed out to me by my writing mentor that it is also my anxiety that helped me to prepare the boat for this journey. There are many boats here in need of repairs from the passage from the east. Some of them multiple and serious. I’m trying to take that to heart. Another friend says I am too hard on myself. They are correct too of course.

The weather here oscillates between heavy downpour and oppressive heat. When it downpours its cooler but you cant work out side. And all the water sources turn brown for a couple days. When the sun is shining, you can’t work inside or outside.

On a brighter side, there is a food truck here in the Port Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights that dishes out huge plates of food for between $15-$20US, which is a bargain by local restaurant standards. I’ve had the chicken chow mein and the raw fish plates so far. Tonight I’ll try the sesame style chicken.

Most sailing stories don’t describe the whole truth. They are often dreamy because it sells to people dreaming of sailing and it sells the advertisements who want to sell things to those people. Plus, few want to admit that it’s not as dreamy as they thought. It’s a self-defense mechanism. When it’s great, it’s great. When it sucks, boy does it suck. The living the dream thing is hilarious. My time here isn’t any harder than any of the other boats. Though maybe less comfortable. Then again, is it comfortable when your fridge is now an oven, your mainsail is shredded, your stern drive is leaking, your heat exchanger is leaking, your water maker doesn’t, your steering sounds like an irate eagle, you’ve ordered two new sets of batteries because the original will not arrive before you want to leave, you hauled your million dollar catamaran for a skeg repair because you hit something that could have only been a meter below the surface, your changing your masts electrical because of a lightning strike while transitting the Panama canal, or your timing belt no longer keeps time. These are all real situations from people and boats I’ve spoken to here in Hiva Oa. So they wait in a sloppy anchorage for parts to arrive, and their turn for a haul out, playing musical chairs when the big ships arrive. Except those whose engines don’t run. They have to stay in the outside anchorage because they can’t move. Instead of one less chair, there are five less because somehow people are clever enough to have half million dollar boats but not clever enough to stern anchor. And the cockroaches are massive and everywhere. And I have seen them flying. They give the chickens some protein. So, It’s just a thing we’re all doing.

And now on to the jokes:

Are the chickens in the boat yard or are the boats in the chicken yard?

Why did the chicken cross the Pacific? To get to the Hiva Oa boat yard.

Which came first? The chicken or the boat?

Thank you. Thank you very much.