"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
oups.com...

You just don't get it.

No, Jeff and I've never heard anyone EVER say their boat was "just a
lot of plastic." I'm sorry, but that's just horrible and no attempts to
rewrite will make it any better.

I can appreciate the work that went into
designing and building my boat.

It's just a lot of plastic. Your words.


check, and that's nothing to brag about.


Another sad and terribly limiting point of view. Did you work for that
money? Did you work to find the right boat? Having a yacht is an
accomplishment. I worked to have the money to own mine. Maybe someone
just gave you the money and told you which boat would be best for you.
Then I could see not being proud of owning your own yacht. Perhaps
you're one of the many folks who have no idea how some people struggle
every day just to keep a roof over their heads.


I have lots of possessions that I enjoy. But I don't brag about
them.

You just did.


I love my antique sextant, but I'm not "proud" of it, nor would I
brag about it.

It depends on how much trouble it was to find, to buy and restore. You
might be proud of it and that would be fine.

After all, anyone who thought it was worth a few
hundred of their dollars could buy one.

If they had a few hundred dollars to spare. If they could appreciate
such a thing. If they knew how to buy one to begin with.

I am proud of the fact that I
know how to use it and have actually found my location with it, (not
very well, I admit).

That's good. Mine is plastic, but I can use it....poorly.


I just don't understand how someone can be "proud" of spending their

daddy's money.

I had no idea you were spending your dad's money. I thought, like me,
you had a job. Actually, Jeff, I have TWO jobs to support my sailing.



Why?

Because a boat, a sailboat especially is so much more than a "lot of
plastic", Jeff. It's so much more.

its only purpose for me to brag about
it. If that's all it does, its just a piece of plastic.

Who said anything like that? My boat and the sailboats owned by my
friends give a lot of joy.

That fact
that it taken us 10000 miles or so, and been our home for extended
periods, that's something to take pride in.

If long voyages are what's important to you, then you SHOULD take pride
in it.


But why would I brag
about the work other people did?

Well, for most people like myself (perhaps not you), we WORK for the
money. We work even harder to find the boat that suits us and our
family situation best. Since I actually have a work ethic, I believe a
person should be proud of their work and what it brings them. Clearly
you don't feel the same way and that's simply and purely sad.

We did a small part of the design, and I am proud of that.

Cool! Which part?

But that fact that we spec'd a few
extra handholds, shelves, and steps and some other details is nothing
to brag about.

Why not?


Builders are proud when their boats are used, not when they're sold
just so that someone can brag about it.

I don't know anyone who doesn't use their boats, Jeff. Not only do we
love and use ours every week, but we also invite every friend and
family member aboard. There's nothing more rewarding than watching
someone fall in love with sailing.

Buying a Racer/Cruiser to
neither race nor cruise, but just to reach back and forth a few times
would not do them proud.


Nonsense. We use our boat for family sailing and local cruising. Our
son LOVES it. Only a total creep would question the application of OUR
boat. No one here sails as often as we do. I sailed this morning. Did
you? I'll sail tomorrow & Sunday. Will you?
Jeff, we all know your sort. If a fellow isn't sailing the way you
sail, then it must be wrong. I never make fun of how a person sails, so
long as they get out there and do it. My friend's Tayana can cruise the
world. He likes to sail locally and take his kids out. That makes him
happy and the boat is a hit. Just because I own a car that does 155
doesn't mean it's wasted if I don't drive it that fast.
You'll never get what sailing is all about Jeff. Not ever. You think
it's about cruising. You think it's about racing. You seek to define
the specific usage of a boat and grade it. But that's not what sailing
is all about, Jeff. In fact, that's the kind of thinking that sailing
allows us to escape.



you don't get a "rise" out of anyone. They're all laughing at you.


Really? Then that's even better, since it's never "me" they're laughing
at, Jeff. You don't get THAT either.


You'll notice I never compared my boat to any other than yours.
Face
it Booby, my boat is bigger than yours, faster than yours, more
comfortable than yours.

It's twice the size and half the fun, as just about any cat or monohull
owner knows.


You're the one dripping with jealousy.


Over what? Did you buy a fun boat recently? Thomas loves it when the
35s5 is sliding along, heeled over, water racing past. What would he do
on a PDQ 36? I'll put more clearly for you by quoting a certain famous
cup racer:

"When I sail a cruising cat, it's all about getting to where we're
going. Aboard a monohull, it's just about sailing and no one even cares
if there's a destination at all."

True that.


Yes, just like the streaker who thinks he owns Yankee Stadium, when
in
reality 50,000 people are laughing at his tiny wienee.

And he has a great time, a thrill of his making and want and he's man
enough to not care about who might be laughing because he can't hear it
over his own.

Jeff, you sound like a man who is embittered by advancing years. I'd
like to take you for a sail....though it might be too short.


Mine is a big piece of lifeless plastic. I'm not proud of it either.

I do enjoy the things I do with it because all it is is an extension of
myself. It is simply a tool.

It doesn't matter how hard I worked for it or if someone gave it to me.
That's not what it is about.

Having a yacht is no accomplishment. Neither is merely existing an
accomplishment.

If you think that boat of yours is a measure of you, you are sadly pathetic.