Organization is a Process

Efficient work routines evolve from previous mistakes. This time of year, when demand is the heaviest, the work is spread out among boatyards in many different locations, sometimes in different states.

Professionals in the boat business are often compulsive people and yes, obsessively so. Don't get me started about misplacing a hammer, an instruction sheet, or a top to a container. It can ruin an otherwise productive week! That said, it can be very challenging to multi-task on different projects. But it can be done and in multiple locations.

Much of the groundwork for a productive day takes place in the wee hours of the morning planning, fidgetting, and fretting about the coming day. Often the best ideas, solutions, and decisions takes place tossing and turning during the night. To successfully bring about an end result on a boat project first requires a clear vision of that result. The finished product must be visualized before it can be brought to reality. In reality, there are no architect drawings to work off of unless, of course, you happen to be the architect. Builder's sketches will have to suffice. Often golfers are said to visualize a shot before they swing the club. It is very true for boat projects.

Because of this visualization process, it is easy think of nothing else - the brain has put this task in the front of the queue. But it's a trap! Other jobs on different boats can be figured out and actually worked on in the same day. Let's face it: noone I know has survived in this business with just one happy customer - ideally, we want them all to be happy. Hence, the need for multi-tasking.

I like to group boat projects into catagories or skills. If possible, I prefer tackling different jobs in the same catagory on the same day. My tools will be easier to assemble, and the materials will have more in common. The skills in boatbuilding are mechanical, carpentry, painting and glassing. I leave electronics to the nerds. And there are some jobs I won't go near simply because there are others much better qualified; ie, sail and canvas makers, metal fabricators and welders, diesel and outboard mechanics, etc. These journeymen have paid their dues from years of being on the job and are worth every penny of what they charge.

So if I have an assortment of boats requiring paint work, I plan accordingly. I load up the truck with staging horses and planks, finish brushes and throw away brushes, sandpaper of assorted grits, thinner, paint and varnish, tack rags and towels, surgical gloves, boiled linseed, paint pots and a couple of small boxes, and stirring sticks. What have I forgotten? Extension cords, adaptors for Hubbell fittings, power sander, and dust masks. And to any job I always bring warm clothes and a hat, food, and water. And don't ever leave home without your scraper, file, and chisel.

Carpentry jobs require more intense planning as each job is a process. Having completed the visualization process, the next step is preparing the job site. More on that later.