Jere Lull wrote:
In article om,
wrote:
The biggest surprise was how little prep there was for Arlene
although all the models have it hitting 200 miles away. I s'pose I
am just paranoid.
No, Momma really IS out to get you (and me). I'm with you.
In some cases, the same reasons that account for the 'trashed out'
boats also account for the lack of prep. Things like that the owner
is disabled and unable to sail anymore but refuses to get rid of the
boat. Maybe has Alzheimer's, or is in a nursing home.
Or maybe even that the person is deployed, or otherwise at present a
long way from the marina and can't get back there to prepare for the
storm. Maybe even has paid someone else to do it and that some just
isn't doing it for whatever reason.
Or that they can't afford to fix the boat up or use it and it would
not be possible to sell it because of environmental issues or lack of
a clear title.
Or that the marina failed to get some kind of legal paper that would
allow them to sell the boat at auction to recover slip fees or
possibly ditto above - boat isn't possible to sell.
These are the same kinds of things that result in abandoned houses on
land (substituting bank for marina), but we don't think about them as
much.
Second surprise is how many "trashed out" boats there are in the
marina. These boats have rotted sails hanging in tatters, mold and
fungus all over the decks, varnish peeling in sheets, frayed lines.
The owners do not appear to have visited their boats in several years
but the slips cost $225/month. Weird.
Haven't observed that around here, but that's probably because there's a
slip shortage. The trash boats are in the far corners of the yard.
Another observation that is no surprise, smaller boats get used more.
It is obvious from the fouling at the waterlines that boats less than
30' get used far more than the big boats.
No, it's not a surprise. A small boat is less status symbol more
something to enjoy -- regularly.
And it is easier to get out and sail in a small boat without so many
systems to manage. Also it is more possible to live aboard a larger
boat, and when you are living on a boat, it becomes somewhat of an
effort to rig for sailing.
I was also surprised to see so many smaller boats kept in slips.
There are many 21-23' sailboats that are obviously trailerable but
are kept in slips. Many look as if they are used regularly.
We used to trail the previous boat. Once I got the wife hooked, we
started using the boat more and trailing got old. Once we got a mooring,
we used the boat even more.
Most boats were hooked to shore power and I am not sure why. In 20
yrs I have never had shore power and never needed it so am not sure
why so many people take the chance with potentially bad hookups.
Somebody enlighten me here, why so much shore power?
Too many are clueless. Most are on shore power to keep the batteries up.
A few keep the fridge running.
Down in the south it is probably A/C rather than the fridge or
batteries.
grandma Rosalie