A jack of all trades
A jack of all trades, a master of none.
In my before life, never would anyone have described me as a jack of all trades, at least not where the word trades was meant to be some line of skilled manual or mechanical work. On several occasions, Rebecca and I have lamented over the fact that neither one of us took advantage of the shop classes that were offered in our high schools. Alas, those programs weren’t considered cool and we all know how important fitting in is for teens.
Here we are now though, living and working on a boat, where being a jack of all trades is not only beneficial but a necessity. In the past week I have found myself acting as mechanic, carpenter, plumber, electrician, rigger, fiberglass repairman and sailmaker, not to mention the less physical jobs of web designer, writer and project coordinator. Those who, like me, were less than handy before setting off cruising should not be surprised to find that the lifestyle forces this knowledge upon you. There’s really no way to avoid it.
I know of one way and I’ll quote the then captain of “Whitehawk” as he descended the mainmast in a bosen’s chair after inspecting some damage recently incurred. “Nothing a fat pocket full of cash can’t fix”
I, of course, considered that when I wrote this post. We both know the truth though… a fat wallet won’t do you any good when on passage or in areas where skilled tradesmen don’t abound.
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” Robert N. Rose
http://www.nomadicliving.com
A nice quote.
Even tho we are not sailing YET, I totally could see this coming with regards to being able to do a little of “everything!” My work history in the oil patch will come in handy someday! According to some, the best things to have on board is a full set of wrenches, sockets, etc, but ESSENTIALS are a good multi-tool and several rolls of DUCT TAPE. Temporary fixers only, of course. Did you ever see the Mythbusters episode where they made an entire small craft sailing boat entirely out of duct tape? Sailed it around the SanFran bay…. 🙂
My new favorite tools are my ratcheting wrenches with pivoting heads. Definitely get some of those.
I like your photo-shopped playing-card. Very neat and clever!
You see now why sailors have, for centuries, been famously useful handy-men when they retire ashore. Still true today. Well done you two.
Mike
Wish I could take credit for that image but I can’t. Just found it on the web.
I read a post somewhere that satisfaction with cruising is directly correlated to how handy you are. From my own experience I believe it totally.
Deb
S/V Kintala
http://www.theretirementproject.blogspot.com
I can see that.
Having followed you and Rebecca for the last several years (because I want a cat of my own), I have no doubt that all you need is a good manual or youtube demonstration video and you can pretty much do anything you need to do as long as you have the needed tools.
I’ve also noted as you quickly pick up knowledge on how to do various things like cleaning carburetors, replacing impellers, etc. (I’ll leave out the part about rebuilding heads 🙂
I also enjoy your troubleshooting descriptions. They give enough information to learn from.
Gonna have to get me some pivot-head ratcheting wrenches.
Those wrenches are the bomb! 🙂
I like to remember the expression that my mentor kept telling me, “There are no electricians or plumbers when your at sea.” I pass this on to all the rich and aspiring cruisers in my marina. Thank god, my dad was a jack of all trades and what he didn’t know he learned quickly. He made sure I had the exposure. I have also learned that it is very prudent to learn to install every component you are capable of doing right. When it breaks or malfunctions you are way ahead on the repair curve.
I agree. We have been jobbing out several of the installations here on One Love largely because of the short amount of time we have available.
A JACK OF ALL TRADES card is very cool and oh so apropos. D & Don
🙂