Bill’s Rules
Captain Wallace Gouk is an accredited marine surveyor serving the Toronto region and beyond (Port Credit Marine Surveys). He has given us permission to tap into his font of knowledge and experience.
This is one of the boat's Bill maintained for himself and family... and where he practised the rules he trusted.
Bill was Wallace’s father, an engineer and, according to Wallace, a meticulous craftsman. “He could paint the entire house inside and out and only get paint on 1″ of the brush and never a single speck on his fingers.” Bill’s first rule kept him organized and focused.
Rule 1:
Before a job he would lay out all the required tools in the order that he’d need them. To do that you have to think the job through, step by step. Although Wallace doesn’t say so, I imagine Bill made sure he had all the parts and other bits he’d need, as well. That’d sure save a lot of quick dashes to the hardware store that inevitably got grease on the steering wheel or dust on the driver’s seat. If the job was particularly messy, Bill would stop every hour or so, clean up the dust, cut-offs and other bits, lay out his tools again and get back at it.
Rule 2:
Start with the hard part. Bill writes, “If you get the dirty, rotten, stinking, miserable, toxic, knuckle splitting, back breaking, dirty work done first, everything else comes easy.”
Over the next little while we’ll be describing some of the other things that Wallace learned from his father… and discovered for himself… that’ll help keep you on the water all summer. Even if you aren’t the kind to do a job yourself, knowing what needs to be done will help you keep the mechanics on their toes.