Stump Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Anybody but me seem to slow down as they got towards the end of the build? I seem to be getting a reluctance to finish. Weird :oops: Kind of feels like when the kids were getting ready to go to collage... :? Maybe I'm identifying too much with the boat. :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Stump Maybe you're just worried that once the project's finished, you'll have nothing to do! Sounds like it's time to start looking for some more plans...for a bigger boat :wink: In the 2 years I've been building I've found that I've had 2 MAJOR 'pauses' during the build. One when the deck was 4" short and I thought I'd screwed the whole thing up (so I just left it and moped around a lot) and the other when my parents drove across the country to visit the grandkids for 3 months (I had a funny feeling that if dad helped it would end up being a catamaran!!). Now that I have the boat almost to the fibreglass stage I find that I'm getting more and more eager to get it finished and sailing...but I have a funny feeling that this will be that first of many sailing boats for me :twisted: Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomstock Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 The big delays for me were: 1) Before glassing... I must have sanded it forever... trying for perfection anticipating glassing... 2) After glassing...anticipating painting... 3) After painting...anticipating rigging... I hear once the sail is rigged things really pick up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Pyeatt Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 I think the Stevenson's refer to it as "Finishing Fever", you begin to realize that one of these days you have to see if it floats when you get it wet. There will always be something to do. And there will always be modifications that you want to make or things that you want to adjust. That is what the off season is for. :roll: JUST DO IT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Paxton Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 A fella once asked me what the most difficult step was in building my boat. I said, "Whatever was next." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 The worse part about building your own boat is knowing when its done to launch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Ya, Ya, this is all bad and it's hard to say it is finished because it never is, however, at the risk of being called Noah you have to go to the water some time. No one else can see what you were agonizing about anyway. Suddenly all the little stuff you were thinking about is forgotton in the joy of sailing something you made with your own hands. Not from a kit, not a collection of plastic subassemblies, but a real no kidding built from scratch boat! She looks GREAT and sails even better. Then, as Mike and Barry will tell you, there is the next boat to build..... Happy Sailing, gitterdone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdrown Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 When I built most of my boat (March through June 2003) I was in school most of the day and came home to work on the boat. Once school let out I had all day and yet did less work in a day than I did in an afternoon when I had school. I wanted to finish the boat by Memorial day. Since I had already missed that deadline, I slowed down since I was in no rush anymore. The next deadline I had to make was July 3rd, since my family was going up to Massachusetts to visit family and for vacation. I nearly missed that deadline. I left without the steering hooked up, without windows in the portholes, a last minute hatch, and an unpainted cabin. I spent most of the 4th rigging the boat. I didn't get to launch the boat until late in the day and we all had dinner in the dark after we came back from the lake Chebacco (we ruled out launching the boat in Beverly Harbor, the boat and I wouldn't have been ready for that.) the point of the story is: having or setting deadlines helped keep me motivated, sort of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stump Posted June 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Thanks all, I'm at the rigging stage and its just kind of odd. I was out today and got my standing rigging up, need to make the sails. Already have my next boat picked out. The Archimedes, a George Buehler design from his Backyard Boatbuilding book. That will have to wait until I actually retire and move to a place with more space. :shock: You all are truly an inspiration. Thanks for your words of encouragement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konrad in Lincoln Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 The absolute BEST thing you can do to finish your boat in a timely manner is to make a punch list. Go out to the boat with a pad of paper and a pen, and spend 20 minutes walking around the boat. Look at all of it, and make your list of items to be completed before launch. Then just go down the list and cross them off as you do it. This sounds like a rediculously pragmatic suggestion, but it's the best psycholigical motivator you can have. It works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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