Winter ⛵ Project Planning & Budgeting

Amazing 1st ⛵season

We had an amazing 2022 summer sailing season, our 1st on Lake Michigan.  And while we learned a ton, we did not feel comfortable taking anyone out on the water with us.  In order to get our ‘new-to-us’ boat ready for sailing, we worked on the following projects in Spring 2022:

• Spring Commissioning
• Fuel Polishing
• New Starter Battery
• Tension Rig
• Cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning
• Renaming the Boat

Now that SV Zeke E Boy is officially ‘on the hard’ we have a list of projects that we want to accomplish this winter to make the boat more enjoyable, and hopefully bring friends and family out on the lake with us next year. 

I’ve got issues

Here’s a list of the issues that we found on the boat this year:

We’re not planning to live on the boat or circumnavigate the globe – or even the Great Lakes with her in the next few years, so how do we narrow down the list above with what we’re planning to do? 

Prioritize

We do not have unlimited resources (⏲️ and 💰) , but I’ve been in this position before.  As a product manager at Salesforce, I continuously had to refine and limit product and features based on available resources (time, budget, people) – I’m a pro at this!  One of my favorites is using the MoSCoW prioritization method (must-have, should-have, could-have, won’t have right now).

Must-Haves

If these projects are not done, it could cause serious harm to the boat and cost us more $ in the long run … or we just need them done to truly enjoy our boating experience.

1. Working engine fresh water hose (without this our engine could blow up 💲)
2. Fix propane problems (our boat may blow up 💥)
   1. Ensure that the propane storage locker is compliant
   2. Add a new working stove 
3. Deal with Odor plus we need working toilets (2 birds with … more 💸)
   1. Replace 2 old toilets with new (👊)
   2. Replace existing hoses (🤮)
   3. More deep cleaning in bathrooms, bilge, storage lockers, etc. (found this article that we’re planning to emulate)
4. New House Batteries (way past their life expectancy)

Should-Have

These projects are really important and likely something we’ll work on after must-haves are done.

1. Bottom Hull Painted (to protect the boat bottom and “de-green” the boat)
2. New Water Lines (since the water lines are likely original to the boat, we want to replace them to simplify runs and fix any possible leaks)

Could-Have

These are smaller budget fixes that we hope to have time to do before Spring 2023:

1. Fix leak in sinks
2. Fix fridge door and ensure it seals properly
3. Galley drawers sanded and cleaned
4. New cabinet drawer hardware
5. Add LED bulbs for matching light temperature
6. Install new fans
7. Fix and clean bimini and dodger
8. Fix portholes
9. Clean, deep clean and more deep cleaning

Won’t Have Right Now

There are more projects that we want to do on the boat, but these are not critical to complete this year.

1. New galley sink
2. New interior and exterior cushions
3. New bimini and dodger
4. New electronics and navigation equipment

Stick to the Plan 💪

Have I mentioned that Kyle is good at research?  He’s very thorough, which is helpful.  Based on his research, we have the following budget for these projects:   

	Budget
Toilets	$1,500
Batteries	$2,000
Propane	$3,500
Water Lines	$500
Paint	$1,500
Deep Cleaning	$500
Miscellaneous	$1,000
Total	$10,500

Tell Us what you think

We’ll keep you posted on progress and budget tracking.  How do you narrow down your winter ⛵ project list?  What advice do you have for us as we tackle our 1st season out of the water?  We want to get better, so please share your feedback and comments. We’d love to hear from you!

– Kara from Zeke Life

Live like Zeke
You’re such a good boy!