"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
oups.com...
The self appointed King of Keels, Douglas King has let us know that he
bought his Hunter 19 without a test sail!!!!

My boats thus far.....
Catalina 27.....1st boat and two test sails before we bought her.
Pearson 30.....sailed two P30's before I bought her.
C&C 32....sailed on sistership before buying
35s5...sailed 3 35s5's, two in NY and the boat we bought in Florida.
C&C 121....sea trial pending! This is a boat we're looking at down the
road.


Don't buy a boat without a sea trial and some time aboard or you'll
certainly end up a powerboater like Doug King, the King of Keels!


Rob's advice is absolutely excellent, especially for people who want to keep
their boat more than one or two seasons. The more testing and sailing on
board the boat you desire, the better. You can find out the flaws, the
strong points and things you never would even consider just by extensive
testing. One may find an aft cabin and a fast hull together a highly
desirable feature but only after a single overnight trip, one finds the hull
form generates annoying wave slapping on the aft cabin. The same applies to
cars, but there is an even better advantage. Cars are sold in large volumes
so there are others who can test it for you. Let the fools who purchase
brand new year #1 models based on magazine reviews test it for you. Then
when the vehicle is recalled for brake failure after only weeks on the
market you will not be at risk. I find Rob's advice iron-clad sound and one
would be a gibbering fool not to follow it. Just think of how foolish one
would look to brag about an aft cabin, then to complain about the noise and
it can't be used as intended or to buy a highly rated minivan based on
magazine hype only to have it recalled for brake failure. Rob's advice is
flawless!

Gilligan