Boating is like that.
Yesterday I was fortunate to have one of those moments that really make a sailor happy.
I helped a friend install something on his boat that he considered so vital it was the first thing he bought after the boat itself. I'll not argue the merits, nor say what it was so you won't be able to either. It was a piece of electronic gear that he considered safety related. We'll leave it at that.
This piece of gear (herein after referred to as 'device') needed power. The boat it was being installed in is a 1969 boat with what might well be the original power panel(s) and several layers of "upgrades" on the battery switch and wiring. The battery is recent and with a good charge.
So we dove in to the spaghetti and tried to decide which switch on which panel to hook into...
Imagine what his looks like.
So, we went with the 'easy' answer - a temporary hook up to the battery. Followed by a complete rip out of all circuits and wiring and replacement with up to date systems within reason.
No wait, really, that's the easy answer?
To complete a 20 minute install of a simple, common device the easy answer is to rip out everything and start again?
Welcome to boating - especially to boating on old boats. It's not so much the requirements and standards changing, although that plays a large part - it's also the thing boaters call the PO.
PO stands for "previous owner". Sometimes it's a epithet, sometimes it's not. Really old boats have 9 or 10 of these folks, each with their own way of doing things. Some "correct" so not so "correct", some slip shod, some not. Occasionally a PO puts in some really nice stuff that works right - then we love 'em.
Step two (step one was coming to the conclusion that the existing we'll call it 'arrangement' was temporary ) by necessity was to see what does work on the boat electrically speaking. The good news was all the safety stuff worked (navigation lights etc.).
So, no hurries, no worries.
Except the new device is still hard wired to the battery (we disconnected before leaving).
It was already getting dark so we had to quit for the day - that's right, a 20 minute job took all evening.
Rule #1 on boat maintenance and upgrades, figure the time required and multiply by twice the number of beers (or Rum and cokes etc.) you will consume, then double for every other sailor involved. You can quote me on that.
This was a one beer job, but had two sailors on it. 20 minutes x 2 x 2 = 80 minutes. Start time was 6:00 and finish was 7:15. See, we did good.
Oh, crap. I started this post with the "happy sailor" moment so let me get back to that.
We powered it up, it came on and worked completely and correctly. The smile on his face, the high five slap and the poking and prodding as we put the device through it's paces. That's the moment.
Oh heck, it was a combination chart plotter and depth sounder. And for what he payed for it, a damn fine addition.
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