The Ship's Engineer
Life lessons from boat maintenance
Something is always broken on the boat. It is important that something always be broken because if everything were working, the earth’s rotation would stop, and all life would cease. I'm not positive about that, but I think it’s true.
Right now, the following things are in need of repair:
- Port engine – needs a new propeller hub
- Starboard house bank alternator – won't output
- Watermaker – Pressure vessel #2 needs new end caps
- Port alleyway bilge pump – won't prime
- Port engine room hatch – broken latch
- Starboard water heater – fitting leaking into the bilge
- Port air conditioner control – won't respond to input
This doesn't include our growing list of nice-to-have improvements (we call it the "someday/maybe" list). These are things that might improve safety, quality of life, or reliability. But they can wait.
Fortunately, none of this stuff keeps us from cruising around Fiji. We just have to adapt to them. With only one working engine, we have to think ahead and make sure we don't put the boat into a situation where we need both engines to maneuver. Catamarans in particular come with some built-in redundancy as they often have two of everything. But with that comes twice as much stuff to fix.
Sometimes things break faster than I can fix them. It's the nature of having a complicated machine constantly immersed in rough, salty water. A brutal environment.
Super yachts have a dedicated ship's engineer. Their job is to keep all the ship's systems operational—mechanical, electrical, plumbing, sanitation, propulsion, navigational. On a boat like Roam, the ship's engineer is me¹.
These days, with a little systems thinking (what does this thing do and roughly how does it do it), the combination of YouTube, Claude, and a basic tool box will get you a long way toward being your own ship's engineer.
The cruising community rallies around problems. If you are around other cruisers you'll have someone with whom you can collaborate. Or commiserate. They might have the part or tool you need.
Some new sailors think, "I've got a budget that will allow me to hire people to fix everything that breaks." That works for awhile. In Florida or California. Until you get out into remote reaches of the islands. There, you can't hire the people even if you wanted to. They simply don't exist. Or, the parts don't exist. Or, the tools don't exist. Or customs decides to incarcerate the part you spent a bunch of money shipping into the country.
I used to get bummed out about all this. I'd think, "if I could just get ahead of it all, I could relax and enjoy the cruise." But of course, that's not the point. You never get "ahead of it." I'm learning to let go of the idea that I can get it all fixed. The problems are just part of the journey.
Years ago, Brad Feld, one of my favorite business writers, wrote this essay. It changed my worldview on problems and struggles at work. Go ahead and read it. It's short. I'll wait.
Brad Feld
Among the gems in that post is the idea that problems define your purpose. If they didn't exist, the world wouldn't need me. The company wouldn't need the CEO. The boat wouldn't need the ship's engineer.
That's where I am now. Enjoying the ride for what it is. Thankful that if I have to change the prop on the port engine², I get to do it in Fiji, a beautiful and wonderful place. I'll hire the two divers doing the dredging here in the marina to help me. We'll have a beer together in the cockpit at the end of the day. I'll make two new friends. A good problem to have after all.
¹https://www.youtube.com/@ParlayRevival Colin is a legit ship's engineer. He rebuilt a hurricane damaged catamaran and sails the world. Watching him tackle big problems is inspiring.
https://www.youtube.com/@SailingNahoa Ben is not a ship's engineer, but he epitomizes the self-sufficient cruiser. He tackles stuff that would intimidate me. When I watch his content I start thinking, "yeah maybe I could do that..."
https://www.youtube.com/@youngbarnacles Shayne is a brilliant boatbuilder. He and his family are rebuilding their Catana 42 as they sail around the world. There is NOTHING this guy can't fix.
²Like many problems there is an upside to our damaged propeller on the port engine. We wrapped a line around the prop and it caused the hub to "spin." The hub is designed to fail before the sail drive transmission fails. It did exactly that. Swapping the prop (even in the water) is way cheaper and easier than rebuilding the sail drive.