Re: Grinding and the Neighbors????
Grinding isn't that bad, it's the crap that goes with it, like the CITY!
Sorry for the rant, ... but I need a solution to the noise.
Not sure if you know the story of my first boat, but here's a short version (short, believe it or not), just to let you know you're not alone.
I bought the first one, a 22 footer, from a place in Wisconsin that sells donated boats. It came with a trailer that needed work, dual axle. I was overly optimistic about the whole thing, but I had a fun adventure going to get the boat in WI. I was living in an apartment at the time, but close to getting my house.
I had switched from a car (well, a little geo tracker) to a full size pickup because I wanted a boat to go with my new SCUBA hobby. I used the truck to pull the boat home, discovering the need for trailer brakes at the same time.
I hadn't figured out exactly where to keep the boat once I got back (dumb) but I thought I'd use my favorite storage facility for a couple months. Problem was, they were out of space. Unless I wanted to move all my stuff elsewhere I had no room for the boat. I drove around the cities for a couple hours to find a place with room outdoors.
Skip ahead a couple months to having a house. I got my boat "home" finally and put it in the driveway, back by the garage. I had checked local statues on parking boats, so I was sure it was legally stored.
I spent time outdoors (no building it would fit in) removing wet foam, decking, and grinding. I didn't know what I was doing, so the grinding stretched out over weeks as I tried to use solid discs instead of flap discs to get the glass cleaned up. I also hadn't removed the engine yet.
I didn't really know my neighbors at that point except for the folks on one side of me. An old lady down the street sent me a welcome card, but I didn't know who she was exactly. I apparently irked some neighbors, still not sure who.
After several months work (from Feb-July) I realized that this boat, needing a transom, stringers, and deck, was too much work for me and not worth repairing (the engine ran and the drive was ok, but not much else worked).
So I bought a $500 boat with a cracked block on craigslist, then another boat with a good engine when I found that the first boat's engine, though running, wasn't a match for the new boat. I wanted to be on the water soon. I had to pull the trailer from under the first boat to transport it. In case you're wondering, at this point I had spent about $2300 plus storage fees, and about 15 full time days of labor.
Then I got a letter from the city saying I had a $150 fine, and more soon if I didn't remove the boats (all three of which were legally parked). According to the city, I was fined for: 1) Running a boat repair shop... since none of the boats had been titled to me yet (I didn't know which one I'd get running, hence I hadn't paid the fee) 2) Having "derelict vehicles" in my driveway since none of the boats were registered in the current year and one of the boats was not on a trailer and 3) Having "debris and parts" in my driveway that were "obviously junk".
All this according to the 23 year old newly hired inspector. She said 2 of my neighbors had complained. The "boat repair shop" was due to the city assuming that if I didn't own the boats (because I hadn't titled them) they must be other peoples' boats that I was repairing as a business.
I went through a hearing on the subject per process, which made me more angry... according to my read of the city code, boats were not considered vehicles but rather recreational equipment. As long as they weren't near the street or property lines I could have as many as I wanted.
The man who ran the hearing was a lawyer from a nearby town who worked as an arbitrator part time. He was old fashioned, condescending, and had the worst handwriting I've seen on any human being. He basically took the side of the city and told me I had to pay the current fine but if I "kept my nose clean" for a year he'd hold an additional $300 stayed.
He gave me a three page summary of his decision handwritten on stationary. I could not, no lie, read a single word he had written. I ended up asking the city to type out his comments.
So I got mad, cooled off, and realized that even though I was right it would cost more to take this issue to court than to pay the fine. Also, I was about ready to get rid of 1-2 of the boats anyway, since I wanted driveway space back.
So I paid the fine, got rid of 2 boats after pulling parts, and eventually got my current boat running. Since then I've worked in my garage on long projects (in the winter you can't work outside anyway) and basically avoided problems with the city.
As a final note, I talked with the city inspectors again when I got a building permit last year. They agreed (in an email) that boats were not vehicles and that the previous decision/fine had been wrong. I don't think the girl who wrote that fine works there any more.
I've also gotten to know my neighbors since then, and they're nice folks. I think the ones who complained were an old couple trying to sell their house and an old lady down the street who complains about everything that doesn't fit the way things were when she moved in (in 1957).
Moral of the story: Know your neighbors and know the local statutes. If you can't work legally, be prepared to pay the fine. Look for a local storage facility or shared shop space if you can't work at home, and if you can't pay the fine and can't rent shop space, don't fix the boat, you need to move first. Boats are expensive themselves, but also in space to keep them properly. It's very hard to own a boat and live in rental property.
Erik
I understand totally! The hull acts as a mega phone and amplifies the sound like nobody's business.
