Frankly, I don't see 99% of boats on the market right now as a
"bargain" unless you have very limited sailing plans.


"Charles Momsen" wrote:
But Doug, mass produced boats are not marketed for the slim 1%


Maybe not, but they bring a lot of needless frustration & difficulty
to the 99%

For example, look at the large number of 'production boats' that have
winches in unworkable locations. Can the boat be sailed in anything
but a drifter without using the winches? No.

Another example... mooring cleats. Undersized, not fastened or bedded
or backed properly. Guaranteed heaache to use, a safety issue, a
maintenance issue... the builders & sellers assume that the buyers are
idiots.

I could go on & on & on....

Why are 99% of boats on the market designed & built to be sold to
idiots? It's not that the buyers *are* idiots, it's that most want a
boat really badly and there's nothing else to choose from.





2nd, most boats on the 2nd-hand market are badly neglected.


Most boats? What is your sample size for this conclusion?


At least a couple of hundred. I go to a lot of different marinas &
sailing clubs and have a habit of taking a look around at each... heck
there are at least 60 boats for sale in the 5 marinas and 2 sailing
clubs that I go to regularly (right in our area). It doesn't take a
genius so see frayed lines, corroded fittings, etc etc on almost all
the ones with 'for sale' signs... heck it's nothing special, close to
50% of all the boats I see are prety badly neglected. Probably at
least 50% of the boats in these places have been sailed less than 10
times in the past 5 years.





..... So, pick a boat you really really like and will
find rewarding to own & sail. Then it will be worth the work & effort
you put into it.

I think that is what most people do. The problem is you don't like 99%
of boats and other people may like 20% or 50% of boats


Prob'ly right.

Like I said, I'm picky! Either that or I'm spoiled, having owned a
series of boats & dogs that were far above the average.


Since the Democratic controlled Congress and the future administration
will be and are saddling our children with massive debt, I doubt boats will
be in the game plan for many in decades to come. There will be no rebound
for boats. Yachts will become what they once were - toys for the very, very
wealthy.


And you can be sure it's all the Democrats fault.... not a single
Republican has any share of the blame!

Isn't democracy just awful, the way you brilliant & perfect people
have to suffer the voting mistakes of the average folk? It's a shame
that President Bush & Vice President Cheney didn't just outlaw the
Democratic Party back when they had full control. Think what the
country would be like if they'd put all those libby-rulls in re-
education camps!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King