Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
As we sat on the bench overlooking the marina, the old captain took a drink from his can of Coca-Cola, then nodded over to my boat tied up in a nearby slip and asked, "Do you paint your own boat?"
Confused by the relevance of his question, or if I had even heard it right, I asked, "Excuse me?"
"That boat you've got over there, do you paint it yourself or pay someone to do it for you?"
"Oh yes sir I do, I can't afford to pay someone else to do it. Actually, I imagine even if I could afford it, I'd probably still do it myself, not that it's something I particularly look forward to doing each year, but the sanding and painting and everything else I do sort of forces me to crawl around and inspect her up close and personal."
Staring at the ground in front of us, the old charter boat captain took another drink and started slowly nodding his head as if in both approval and contemplation. "Yep, if you're going to make it in this business you better know how to do most everything yourself, otherwise that boat of yours will make you broke in no time."
"Back in the day" this guy was one of the top-dog captains who had quite a reputation for catching a lot of fish, running a lot of trips, and really knowing his stuff about boats. My chance encounter with him that day at the marina was the first time we had met and it kicked off a friendship that lasted until his death about 20-years later. The guy really did know a lot about boats and fishing, and although much of it was more relevant to what was going on when he was in the charter business back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, I had so much respect for his experience and willingness to share it that I always looked forward to hearing more. The one point he was always very adamant about was knowing and being able to work on your own boat. He told me, "Anybody can go out there and catch a fish, but I've seen guys get towed home because the clutch cable came off the transmission, or a wire came loose from the battery! If you're going to rely on your boat to make your living it's gotta get you out and back every day of the season, and let me tell ya - there ain't no mechanics or service stations out on the water! So you'd better be able to fend for yourself, otherwise something that could be a simple fix will turn into a major repair, not to mention the cost of the downtime.
We had that first, of what would become many, conversations over 30 years ago, more than a decade after he had run his last charter, but his words still come back to me every time I'm busting my knuckles with a wrench in my hand, breathing sanding dust, or crawling around the bilge. After navigating through the last 35-years of charter fishing I can definitely concur with the point my old friend was trying to impart to me. Actually, it's pretty much of a no-brainer that the more time you spend working on your boat the better you'll come to know her inside and out allowing routine grunt work to become a little more bearable as you contemplate not just the money saved but also the knowledge and experience being gained that could provide big dividends later if you run into problems while out on the water. I can't imagine how much my "maintenance and repair" expenses would be each year if I had to pay someone to do it all for me, but suffice to say I wouldn't be turning a profit driving my own boat.
For instance, when you've installed the bilge pump yourself, you'll know what to do if you have a problem with it because you'll know exactly how it's mounted in place, where the wiring is run, and the location of all connections, fuses, and splices. And after a while if the pump fails you'll learn where you went wrong and be able to adjust and do it better the next time (better connectors, run the wires differently, relocate the pump or switch, etc.). When you replace your freshwater washdown pump you'll learn a lot about how your vessel's plumbing is run and be better equipped to troubleshoot and repair any glitches that might pop up in the system later on. When you change your own motor oil you'll learn more about oil pressure, the health of your engine, and where to look for leakes or other oil related issues.
My boat is pretty basic without a lot of frills and accessories but I've still had plenty of issues over the years that could have ruined a fishing day or ended up in the need for a tow home if I wasn't able to fix it myself. While at sea I've had to replace the engine's water pump impeller (and in one case then entire pump), repair a hydraulic steering line, repairing a ruptured coolant hose, repair a leaking transmission line, and fix battery cable connectors. Other tasks that would not have stopped us from getting home on our own but that were important at the time include: repairing electronic equipment, running lights, tackle and equipment, and more than just a few times the under-rated but all important "head", which is never a fun job but something on a boat that if not working properly can make a trip very uncomfortable for everyone aboard.
So getting back to the old captain's question, "Do you paint your own boat?" Everyone knows that when you paint something - anything, you get to know what you're working on very well, every crack and crevice, every smooth inch and every flaw. When painting a boat you really get to know her inside and out, and while I thought that I fully understood the meaning of my friends question that day on the bench, it took a many more years on the water to really grasp that he wasn't literally referring to the benefit of "painting" one's own boat as some boats don't need to be painted. But what he was he was getting at was the importance of having the knowledge and ability to properly maintain a boat so that it will allow it to take care of you day after day mile after mile.
When you call the guy to replace the float switch on your bilge pump you're not learning about your boat anymore than when he changes your, oil, replaces your water pump, adds fluid to you power trim unit, puts a new macerator in your head or a new zinc on your shaft. And the need to know this stuff isn't limited to just those in the for-hire industry. Anyone who runs a boat of any size or description is going to be safer and better off all the way around if they have a good working knowledge of their vessel. And these days with so much instructional information available on YouTube and other online sources there is no reason for any boater to be cruising around in the dark about things they should know.
So how about it skipper - do you paint your own boat? ยง
