Getting frustrated!

[fixb52s]

Working on the boat today just does not seem fun today. I got the fuel tank back in and framed it for the fuel access deck, but after working for about 4 hours, I am getting wiped out. I have been dragging butt all day.

I hate the feeling that after working countless hours, there is still more to be done. I know there is light at the end of the tunnel (the goal is to get it on the water by the end of the week) and I am looking forward to it, but this project is just wearing me down. I hope to get a second wind soon. Besides, I have some suspension and A/C work to do on the BMW, and it will wait until I get this boat finished.

Plan is to finish the fuel system, carpet, helm seats, install battery, reinstall the trim motor, get it running again and take it out for some sea trials before building the firewall and finishing up the rear seat. Buffing the gel coat and redoing the seats will wait until later.

So how many of you ever get like this during your project? This seems like the bottomless pit sometimes!

Oops, I don't know how you do it, but I give you big props on your project!​

 

[i386]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I'm tired and sore but I really enjoy the work (except grinding). I just try to enjoy what I'm doing and not focus too much on the finish line.

Hang in there.

 

[oops!]

Re: Getting frustrated!

the dispair on a project is one of the biggest battles 52....

its a constant high/low thing...your on a high cause you finished that stage, then you start thinking about the next stage, and your low again.....

im getting so sick of grinding and glassing.....the blisters on my hands wont callous, so they just keep reappearing, and re ripping open.

but your allmost done bud each new phase, creates different challenges to overcome, your done framing the tank in right?.....

carpet is a breeze, mounting the helm seats is only an hour or two, the battery is an easy challenge compaired to what you have gone thru. and unless murphy dropps in...that trim motor is a snap for a guy like you.

the light is at the end of the tunnel my friend. and its a bright one

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I find it works better to look at the rebuild as a bunch of small projects rather than one long one. It's gonna be like that even after it's "done", so get used to it now. By breaking it up into smaller projects, you feel better about completing something, rather than feeling like you're only making a little progress on the project as a whole. Look at it this way: Today you got the tank in! Cool, that's "done". Tomorrow you can plumb the fuel system, then that'll be "done". Pretty soon, the "done" list will be pretty long and you won't have much left to do!

- Scott

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Getting frustrated!

My project took a lot longer than I could have ever anticipated (next time would be different) it also cost more than I could have planned for BUT I do enjoy the work, often times finding new ways to do things, and when it is done, you know it is right and have the pleasure of knowing it was by your hand.

All that being said, deadlines are fun killers, but I found if I got in the state you are in, just walk away from it for a day or two. Not being able to put it all out of my mind, I always found myself planning the next step and sometimes a new direction would present itself.

Hang in there.

 

[kbomb]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I feel your pain dude. Deadlines are tricky things. In a way they take the fun outta the project even if it something you normally enjoy doing. However, when you meet your deadline all your misery will be replaced tenfold with joy!

I suggest what others have said which is to breakdown the whole project into small tasks on a peice of paper. Break up each task so they consist of about 2-4 hours so that you are checking something off every single day. Hang up the paper in your garage or wherever you work on the boat. Consider each completed task a great victory. Get yourself a root beer float for each task you completed!

Hang in there man!

 

[oops!]

Re: Getting frustrated!

breakdown the whole project into small tasks on a peice of paper. Break up each task so they consist of about 2-4 hours so that you are checking something off every single day. Hang up the paper in your garage or wherever you work on the boat.
Hang in there man!

heh heh heh...my peice of paper hangin in my garage says transom,foam,deck,stringers.....with in 2 weeks ill cross them all off...heh heh heh

 

[zach103]

Re: Getting frustrated!

i only get tired when i have to keep getting in and out of the boat.. its on the trailer and the floors out so i have to climb up and stradle the boat and my feet barly reach the fiberglass. but ive been workin on the paint so i stay in for a while.. but deff looks nice

this isnt the best picture cuz i hadnt completed finished the part of the left. but there ya go

 

[maxum247]

Re: Getting frustrated!

Maybe this will help you feel better! I changed my 20ft maxum from a cuddy cabin to a bowrider and now am in the process of changing it to a center console or maybe Chriscraft style. I feel like it will never reach completion at times, but mine is a hobby. So I try to work on it when I'm in the mood, the rest of my free time is spent dreaming about what to do next or sitting here reading what everybody else is doing to there boats. Good luck and happy boating. max!

 

[eaglejim]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I bought my project boat at the end of last summer and the only deadline I put on myself was to have it ready for water this summer, well not everything was ready but we did put it in the water on Saturday had a blast even though it needs a little bit more work,we rated it out 1 to 10 a 6 it was on the trailer so long I had to leave the boat at the lake to work on the trailer was not planning on that well that give us another reason to go back this week.Jim

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Getting frustrated!

If you really want to get discouraged... think about the fact that with the time you spend working on it, you could have easily paid someone else to do the work for you and do a good job...

Oh wait, we're supposed to be encouraging... Hang tough, it'll be great when you finally hit the water!

if you're like me, don't forget the paddle cell phone and friends to call...


ps. please note that I have pieces of 3 engines scattered through out my work area as well as many many other related things for the current project... there are boat parts in my office and in the playroom... and I'm going to take the better part of a week off to get some progress made here in a few weeks...

 

[marine4003]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I owned the same boat,but w/ 305 merc. GREAT BOAT!!!, Stick with it,yea its a *****,but said & done when your sitting in her come summer,that feeling of accomplishment will outweigh any misgivings you have now.
To quote the infamous Vince Lombardi:
winners never quit/quitters never win.

 

[fixb52s]

Re: Getting frustrated!

Thanks for the encouragement guys. Yesterday it seemed that nothing was going right!

I got the fuel tank in, and it was the biggest pain. The stringers are now a little thicker now, and that affected the tank fit on the sides. I had to beat the side brackets to get it in but all is good now. I got the fuel gauge working (it was dead when I got it) and will be taking it to the gas station today to fill it up. After a leak check (the tank was rebuilt, but I like to triple check stuff like this) the center deck will go in and then carpet .

Hope to get the muff on it later today and fire it up!

As for breaking the project up, I have been doing this all along. I read a quote on the forum that said in effect "eat a whale one bite at a time" and it is so true. I am just getting itchy to get out on the water because the weather has been beautiful! But I do know it has to be done right, so I am not rushing it just to get it done. That is when things get sloppy, and I refuse to do this. I think that is where the frustration come in here.

I did take a few hours off from the boat to detail the wife's car. She is out of town for a few weeks, so I finally can get some work done on this. Angel eyes are in the mail, and I am trying to figure out where to mount train horns. Yes, train horns. Got them on my Avalanche and they have saved my butt a number of times from people who just LOVE to cut you off. People don't think twice around here on the road.​

 

[kbomb]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I did take a few hours off from the boat to detail the wife's car.​

Sharp looking beamer!

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I was gonna say, don't be afraid to take a week off and do something else, or nothing else.

We do this stuff for fun, not for work (well, some of us do it for work too) and if you're not having fun then take a break.

I like oops' coping mechanism... you always see all those empty corona bottles sitting around the shop

Erik

 

[fixb52s]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I just got back from 1 week in NY. Maybe getting away did it!​

Also the fact that all my Woodchuck is gone...... Note to self: GET MORE! ​

Anyho, things are going much better today! Getting the fuel lines in, and will be gassing up later.​

 

[lundnisswa]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I was at work the other day and had some time, so I started typing a sequential list of tasks that needed done to get the boat on the water. Needless to say, the list got huge! Bummed me out so I threw it away.
As you said Fix-Buffs;
"Eat the Whale one bite at a time"

Lund

 

[Cptkid570]

Re: Getting frustrated!

Where will you go boating once it's done? I live in the Tampa Bay area too. Spend a lot of time at Beer Can Island

 

[fixb52s]

Re: Getting frustrated!

Looking at launching in the bay. Also looking to take it down to Bradenton Beach (Mother In Law lives there). I will be doing initial sea trials at Menard Park. Too bad it's a no wake body of water though.

Where are some good places around here? I am still a Tampa noob and have not fully learned the good spots yet.​

 

[fixb52s]

Re: Getting frustrated!

I think I know why I felt like I did yesterday. I found a leak in the fuel tank today. Who knows, something was bothering me, and it might have have to do something with this. Story in another post.​