Big boat projects means working on several regions of the boat. During the install, you may find unforseen problems with electrical wiring, drains and pipes, and requirements for general maintenance. In other words, big projects lead to uknown aspects of the boat that are in a dire need for attention. This as an impact on how to manage the project.
I began thinking about the powertrain install on Jean-du-Sud with what I call a “system based” installation paradigm, meaning that all my actions were focused around the related tasks of installing the engine. Therefore, my thinking about the interdependance between tasks was based solely on the engine and the related auxiliary systems. That approach is sound, but incomplete. A system based paradigm does not account for the required time for yet to be discovered “neighbour projects”. In plain terms, there are surprise projects.
Another project paradigm would be to think of maintenance in terms of physical regions of the boat. I call this a “region view”. For instance, if someone works on the stern part of the boat, a region based maintenance would look at all of what needs maintenance in that given region: electrical, engine, paint, etc. This view accounts for the interdependance between projects within a region, and how the boat naturally lends itself to maintenance. When a region is prepped for work, it is very tempting to perform multiple tasks.
Both views are perfectly acceptable ways to think about maintenance, but there are trade-offs involved. The first one relates to time, specifically immediate time versus future time. A region based paradigm will certainly distract away from the most demanding project, but will more efficiently deal with the projects in the region being worked on. It thus demands more immediate time, but less time overall. In contrast, focusing solely on one system will save immediate time, but will be more demanding at a later date as the prepping will be done more than once. The second trade-off is on morale. A system based upgrade is much more focused and therefore gives positive reinforcement faster. Someone who gets discouraged by long days without immediate results may prefer such approach for that very reason. In other words, a region view of projects may be more taxing on morale, even though it is more efficient in terms of time spent. The third trade-off is that planning is (probably) easier in a system view paradigm. The other end of this trade-off is that practical work sometimes imposes a region view of maintenance.
How to best manage these trade-offs is somewhat personal and depends on various constraints. Budgets, immediate availlable time and plans for future projects/upgrades are certainly pushing for deffering projects. I began the engine install with a system view of the project, but the examination of various regions of the boat shifted my attention to regional maintenance on top of the install. I do not think there is a correct answer, but it is a good thing to undertake projects while knowing that new projects in the vicinity of the main task will appear along the way.
Knowing when to stop devoting time to new projects and stay focused on the main one is a crucial learning experience. During the engine install, I decided to minimize the time spent on electrical rewiring (as an electrical upgrade is planned). I also decided to defer the bulkheads replacement (which are old enough to consider installing new ones). However, I replaced the drains (including through hulls), rebuilt the engine bay and gave a good coat of paint in the bilge while the boat was without an inboard. My main decision criterion was how harder a given task would become with an inboard present. Budgets were also a factor in limithing the span to other projects.
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