It's a long one, Tom
It starts in '75 when I was drafted to Poole, Dorset, prior to a, 18 month commission on HMS Fearless (long since melted down for razor blades) working on landing craft, and is still ongoing on a small 'rich man's Med sled' out of Tarragona, in Spain.
In between I've refitted a narrow boat and a Dutch barge for myself and worked on all sorts of small commercial work boats and the like.
Most of it's been done on a shoe string and the commercial one's mostly under pressure to 'catch the next tide'. All of which has led to some monumental cock ups and the ability to sort them quickly or concoct a reasonable excuse for buggering off down the pub!
Joking aside, I picked up the road lamp trick from an old boy in a small marina years back and having knocked up 8 or 10 over the years, I've never had to rely on one, I hope there's never a first time...........
Cheers Stef