Bowsprit, another bad idea from the past. I have had more time on
older "dangerous" boats than I do on square riggers and the comparison
is just as pertinent. I am not sure whether being a competent sailor
is useful at all if it just means knowing how to use antique hardware
and arcane tasks. Surely being self sufficient and knowledgeable is a
good thing but at what expense? There are many old fashioned things we
might spend time learning about but we dont. How many kids today could
set the points on an older car?
I've spent a lot of time on certain "thrilling" sports but have always
been happy to give up old fashioned ways for more modern safer ones. I
even learned how to use a GPS. My peculiarity about paper charts
concerns aesthetics, not safety.
Once again, do it your way but I assure you that this idea of being a
competent seaman is about as useful as being competent with a buggywhip.