In Three Men in a Boat, what problems do the three friends have?

The opening paragraph of the story has the narrator, J., tell readers about the "problems" that he, Harris, and George all have.

We were sitting in my room, smoking, and talking about how bad we were—bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.

J. believes that he and his friends are suffering from some kind of medical ailment that causes each of them to feel "seedy." Harris and George both say that...

The opening paragraph of the story has the narrator, J., tell readers about the "problems" that he, Harris, and George all have.

We were sitting in my room, smoking, and talking about how bad we were—bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.

J. believes that he and his friends are suffering from some kind of medical ailment that causes each of them to feel "seedy." Harris and George both say that they experience "fits of giddiness," while J. explains that he believes his problems are liver-related.

With me, it was my liver that was out of order.

As the reader continues to read the first chapter, it becomes clear that the narrator's problem is that he is a hypochondriac. He believes he suffers from the most extreme case of any ailment or disease he reads about.

It is a most extraordinary thing, but I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease therein dealt with in its most virulent form. The diagnosis seems in every case to correspond exactly with all the sensations that I have ever felt.

By the end of the chapter, readers have likely come to the conclusion that the men's problem is that they are basically feeling restless. They decide that a river trip on the Thames will help them feel all-around better.

“Let’s go up the river.”

He said we should have fresh air, exercise and quiet; the constant change of scene would occupy our minds (including what there was of Harris’s); and the hard work would give us a good appetite, and make us sleep well.

From that point forward, the men experience problems related to the fact that none of them really know much about boating, camping, cooking, navigating, etc. The story is hilarious because the three men are simply incapable of overcoming any simple problem in an efficient manner. Packing is a total fiasco, cooking eggs for breakfast is basically an insurmountable obstacle, setting up a tent proves troublesome, and opening a tin of fruit is a major task.

Then Harris tried to open the tin with a pocket-knife, and broke the knife and cut himself badly; and George tried a pair of scissors, and the scissors flew up, and nearly put his eye out. While they were dressing their wounds, I tried to make a hole in the thing with the spiky end of the hitcher, and the hitcher slipped and jerked me out between the boat and the bank into two feet of muddy water, and the tin rolled over, uninjured, and broke a teacup.