Jack of All Trades

I know there are people out there that go cruising with nothing more than a cursory understanding of how their boat works, but Lord help me, I don’t know how they can possibly get any where. We’ve been out cruising for 19 days now and I’ve had to make numerous repairs along the way: multiple engine issues, anchor windless, mainsail track slides, mainsail reefing system, etc. It seems that every day there is some new challenge for me to deal with and so far, with Michelle’s help, we’ve been able to keep everything running and continue on with very little duress.

My Dad, the McGyver of boats, taught me to be resourceful and self-sufficient. He was always coming up with some way to keep his boats running – without having to spend a ton of money or ruining a vacation. I have several stashes of parts on Double Wide (Michelle calls them junk drawers). When I need to make a repair I often spread the contents of a stash out across the floor and try to figure out how to use the odd items to keep us going. Once, while crossing the Gulf of Mexico, a water intake on the port engine broke and began pouring salt water in to the bilge. I spread out the contents of my “plumbing store” on the floor in the main salon and managed to cobble together several different PVC and brass parts to come up with a solution that got us the rest of the way across the gulf without any leaks. I was especially proud because my Dad was with us on that trip and he watched me put his training to good use — thanks McGyver (er, I mean, Dad)! I’ve got a long way to go to get to my Dad’s level, but for now, I’ll accept the title, “Jack of All Trades.”