Monday, August 25, 2014

PO Recursiveness

In the past I have repeatedly referenced the Previous Owner with some disdain.  In fact I have attributed most of the problems we have dealt with aboard Eolian to the Previous Owner. 

However, astute readers of my previous post will have noticed something:
  • I whined about the use of silicone rubber as caulking under the caprail
  • I last exposed the caprail to daylite in 1998.
Yes, embarrassingly,  it is true.  That was me - I put that silicone rubber there.  I have become my own Previous Owner.  If you own your boat long enough, this is inevitable.  You will eventually have to face your own repairs, made by a younger, less experienced version of yourself.

In the 16 years we have been responsible for Eolian's care, I have learned some things.  No, that's inadequate.  I have learned A LOT.  And the inappropriateness of silicone rubber is one of those things.  While I may have whined about our Previous Owner using silicone rubber for simply everything (liquid duct tape?), I was guilty of bringing this nasty stuff aboard too.

But that is one of the purposes of this blog - to keep others from making the mistakes I have made.

Learnings:

  • Leave the silicone rubber ashore (except where explicitly required - by Beckson for installation of their ports for example).
  • Hubris can result in embarrassment

Years ago when I was a kid, I used to read Flying magazine. I particularly enjoyed a long-running series of articles entitled "I Learned About Flying From That." Each article was written by a pilot, who humbly admitted to having made a mistake, and then having lived, told about it in the hopes that others would not have to make the same mistake. I thought then that it was a good format, and I still think that now. This series of postings is my attempt to recreate that article series with a new subject and new technology.

(If you would like to help others to learn from your mistakes, please send your article to: WindborneInPugetSound at gmail dot com)

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have done the same thing. . . "who did that repair? Oh, that was me"

Anonymous said...

The old song, "I'm my own grandpa" comes to mind...

I, too, have banished silicone from anything that may ever need to be painted, waxed, glued, or otherwise maintained. However, before I saw the light I did have a few silicone removal jobs that were eased by this stuff called DSR-5. I've also heard good things about Debond 2000 (https://www.fisheriessupply.com/debond-2000-marine-formula-debond2000-4oz).

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