"You don't need anymore!" said my wife.  

I looked at her wild eyed, not saying a word, but deep down I knew she was right. 

Finally, I replied, "just one more then I promise to quit."  

Was this a scene from a drug intervention? Was I being called on the carpet for excessive drinking? Overeating or indulging my chocolate cravings? Not hardly. This conversation centered around spare parts. 

That's right; I'm a spare parts junkie!

This affliction reared its ugly (and costly!) head while we were outlining Cetus, our Fantasia 35, for the trip to Mexico and beyond. It started innocently enough --a few spare light bulbs here, some spare nuts and butts there - things you really do need extras of aboard a cruising boat. Then before I knew it, I was into the 'hard stuff'; engine spares, injectors, hoses, a spare starter and spare parts to repair the spare starter, a spare alternator with its rebuild parts, and on and on. The list just kept on growing, while space for Bisquick and Spam was shrinking rapidly. Greco rebuild kits and spare filters were taking over space my wife had planned for hot chocolate and flour. She pointed out to me that NASA probably wouldn't send this many spare parts on its mission to Mars and that we needed space for food supplies. 

But it didn't stop there. Spare plywood, stainless steel tubing, rolls of wire -I could envision a need for every bit of it. More spares, less clothes - after all, clothes aren't going to get you out of a life threatening situation, but a hose clamp might. Don't worry about butter or bacon; we need more batteries and belts! 

The low point came shortly after our wind generator burned out. I was nearly at rock bottom when I couldn't get rid of the old shell after installing the replacement; I wanted it for a spare. But a spare for what? It was a useless piece of junk. At this point my wife gave me an ultimatum, "You've got to choose between this obsession for spare parts or stood on the boat." Then I finally realized now bad my problem had gotten. 

I decided I must seek professional help. DHL was my first stop, and, yes, they could have most parts to me, nearly anywhere in Mexico in just a few short days, I was suspicious, but intrigued, My local marine store  also assured me that they could ship anywhere in the world - this was amazing! My anxiety was starting to ease after I got a list of all Yanmar dealers for the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Now I knew I would be able to beat this spare parts habit. 

We've been back in the states for a few months now, having left Cetus on the hard in LaPaz awaiting our return to prepare for our South Pacific adventure. Every day my willpower is put to the test as I try to avoid buying more and more spare parts to take back with us. Sales flyers, catalogs and ads in magazines all call out to me.

The most terrible of all-SWAP MEETS!

I tremble at the very thought. How can I resist their sirens call? B I must as I made a promise to my wife that we won't take more bags back to the boat than we came home with. I'm stronger now, and I think I can do it. But when the lights are off and I’m waiting to fall asleep I get to thinking that if I got one of those jackets with all the extra pockets and some cargo pants, why I could put tubes of caulking in one pocket, a spare joker valve in another pocket and maybe some ...............

Terry Kotas

Cetus Hull 71