Parallax wrote:


You ppl have expensive tastes,

Depends on how you define "expensive." Compared to the way Yuppie Americanus likes to
live, my wife and I live like refugees.


I done a lot of coastal cruising
without any refrigeration and cooked on Sterno. Until the last few
months, my sails were 20 yrs old and worked better than I could sail.

What you're really saying is "My boat won't go to windward and I never noticed, and
(choose one of the two following) (1-) I don't mind taping them back together after they
blow to shreds (2-) I never sail in winds more than five knots."

Old sails are weak & poorly shaped, they tend to blow out at predictable intervals.
Usually by the time a sail has ten seasons on it, the panels are seriously deformed and
the stitching is shot. This affects the boats helm too.

Many "cruising only" sailors have never sailed with good sails, and don't know the
difference. If your sails make you happy, then good. But that doesn't mean that good sails
don't exist, or that they're not better.




I have never seen a winch wear out where it couldnt be repaired.

Sometimes the repair is more trouble & cost than it's worth. Why repair old crappy
winches? There's a fellow on our dock who is "restoring" his mid-1960s mass produced
racer-cruiser complete with bottom-crank one speed winches, which were way undersized. He
can't find the right springs or pawls (and no wonder since these things have been out of
production for 30 years), so he's hand filing assorted small parts to fit. Maybe he can
get them working 90% as good as new, but that was a pretty low standard to start with.


Do
wires wear out? (check em).

Electric wires or rigging wires? Electric wires don't wear out, but then again they do
corrode & get brittle & chafe thru insulation & slip connections; and also old boat wiring
was often not done properly to start with. Rigging wire definitely wears out, so do
sheaves.


I guess my boat (22 yr old S2)is unsafe
cuz it cant refrigerate the beer.

Good heavens! How can you stand it?


I would replace the standing
rigging, lifelines, and running rigging.

But not the sails, huh? How about rudder bearings?

Little things add up, in terms of cost and operational capability.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King