This is one of the best summaries of what a cruising boat should be
like. I first read this about thirty years ago, and still enjoy it. I
hope you do too.

Regards
Doug King

** ** begin ** **

Taken from "The Stone Horse" booklet by Mait Edey and Peter Duff, 1968

We believe that there are five essential characteristics which any
cruising sailboat ought to have, regardless of her type or size.

1. She must be easy to handle.
Cruising sailboats are almost invariably short-handed. The watch on deck
is frequently only one person. So the sails and rig should be within the
strength capability of this abbreviated crew. The smallest, weakest
member of the crew, working alone, should be able to perform aby
evolution required to rescue another crewmember who's been silly enough
to fall overboard, in any weather likely to be encountered. In case of
medical emergency, he or she should also be able to detach the vessel
from the bottom (as such things usually wait until you're tucked away in
some remote anchorage) , get underway, sail to where help can be found,
and terminate the emergency run without terminating either the patient
or the boat.

And of course it's times like these that the engine and radio choose to
pack it in (Murphy has provided a natural law to cover these situations).

Up to a point, mechanical aids such as winches and windlasses, and to a
greater extent, the the knowledge and experience of each crew member,
will permit larger, heavier, more cumbersome boats and gear. But
ultimately, a flogging headsail that must be muzzled and changed, a
spinnaker doused, or an anchor heaved on board or buoyed and slipped,
become the limiting factors.

She should be directionally stable, yet have authoritative rudder
control and a small turning circle. When the helmsman looks up from the
chart, she should not have wandered wildly off course. In fact it is
especially important that a cruising boat can be made to steer herself
for long periods. You should be able to leave the helm untended to trim,
set or shorten sail, make a sndwich, answer nature's call, study a
chart, or for any number of reasons without having to awaken a snoozing
spouse or trust a lubberly passenger.

On the other hand, to be able to negotiate a narrow harbor entrancem
twitch reliably and safely through an anchored fleet, and come to
anchor, wholly under sail, with a minimum of fuss, is a joy and a
satisfaction.

2. She must be comfortable.
Comfort on a boat is really a function of two things: her behavior at
sea, and the quality of her accomodation. Gadgets and luxuries will not
make you comfortable if your boat has a violent motion or drenches you
with spray. A cruising boat should have easy graceful motion and be dry.

As for accomodation, no small boat can be spacious, but proper planning
can make her truly comfortable to live aboard. The demand for quart
accomodations and large yacht appearance in pint pot dimensions will
usually yield discomfort. At the very least, there should be places in
the cabin where the whole crew can sit comfortably for hours. Almost
without exception, places designed to be slept upon cannot do this.

3. She must be seaworthy.
We suppose that seaworthiness should be at the top of the list. We place
it here because it is partly a function of ease of handling and comfort.
Put simply, you are less likely to get into trouble in a boat which
doesn't tire you, and whose hull, rig, and other gear are calculated to
perform handily even in extreme weather.

Seaworthiness really means just keeping the sea on the outside of your
boat. A lot of factors contribute to making a boat seaworthy. She must
be strong. A weak hull, deck, place where the two join, steering gear,
or rig, is inexcusable but not unusual!

She must be weatherly; that is, she must be able to beat to windward in
even the most trying conditions.

She must be bouyant, unless you're willing to live with a submarine.

She must be maneuverable. If she takes a country mile to turn, you'll
constantly find yourself in threatening situations.

She must be sure in stays. Inability to tack has put more boats ashore
than perhaps any other single fault.

She must be within the capability of her crew.

4. She must be fast.
Speed, surprisingly, is not usually considered of great importance by
many cruising sailors. Yet if you have become accustomed to good sailing
performance in a small boat, you are likely to be unhappy with a slow
cruiser.

Beyond the satisfaction of making a fast passage, the ability to beat
nighfall, or a weather change, into a safe haven is more than comforting.

A fast cruising boat should be able to maintain a high average speed on
all courses in any reasonable weather, without needing the special
attention to keep her "in the groove" demanded by a racing boat. Blazing
speed is not essential, but she must be able to get you to the next port
with expedition.

5. She must be beautiful.
This is an entirely subjective matter, so we don't have much to say
about it. It nevertheless is one of our principal concerns.

A sailboat can be a work of art. We pity the poor fellow who sails a
monstrosity. Can he ever really love her?

"Cut the Mustard" meets or exceeds all requirements.

1) She is very easy to handle and very easy to maneuver plus
she turns on a dime. Her sails are manageable and in top
shape. She goes upwind all day with a simple bungee cord
on the tiller to weather. She controls easily with a tiller
pilot off the wind. She tacks like a cowboy, she is very
buoyant because of her hull design. Her ground tackle
is in tip-top shape and relatively light for a man of
even modest strength. Her tiller is superior to a wheel
in every conceivable way.

2) She is more comfortable than many boats twice her size.
She is narrow by today's standards and does not
pound in a seaway or steep chop like most of the
newer, wide and shallow boats.

3) She is more seaworthy than any boat on this group with
the possible exception of Joe's and Mooron's. She is the
ONLY one with positive flotation.

4) She's extremely fast, easily knocking off 150 mile days.

5) She is more beautiful than any other sailboat owned by
anyone, bar none, here in this group. Even that fine
yacht Ella Vuella pales in comparison.

CN



"DSK" wrote in message news
This is one of the best summaries of what a cruising boat should be
like. I first read this about thirty years ago, and still enjoy it. I
hope you do too.

Regards
Doug King

** ** begin ** **

Taken from "The Stone Horse" booklet by Mait Edey and Peter Duff, 1968

We believe that there are five essential characteristics which any
cruising sailboat ought to have, regardless of her type or size.

1. She must be easy to handle.
Cruising sailboats are almost invariably short-handed. The watch on deck
is frequently only one person. So the sails and rig should be within the
strength capability of this abbreviated crew. The smallest, weakest
member of the crew, working alone, should be able to perform aby
evolution required to rescue another crewmember who's been silly enough
to fall overboard, in any weather likely to be encountered. In case of
medical emergency, he or she should also be able to detach the vessel
from the bottom (as such things usually wait until you're tucked away in
some remote anchorage) , get underway, sail to where help can be found,
and terminate the emergency run without terminating either the patient
or the boat.

And of course it's times like these that the engine and radio choose to
pack it in (Murphy has provided a natural law to cover these situations).

Up to a point, mechanical aids such as winches and windlasses, and to a
greater extent, the the knowledge and experience of each crew member,
will permit larger, heavier, more cumbersome boats and gear. But
ultimately, a flogging headsail that must be muzzled and changed, a
spinnaker doused, or an anchor heaved on board or buoyed and slipped,
become the limiting factors.

She should be directionally stable, yet have authoritative rudder
control and a small turning circle. When the helmsman looks up from the
chart, she should not have wandered wildly off course. In fact it is
especially important that a cruising boat can be made to steer herself
for long periods. You should be able to leave the helm untended to trim,
set or shorten sail, make a sndwich, answer nature's call, study a
chart, or for any number of reasons without having to awaken a snoozing
spouse or trust a lubberly passenger.

On the other hand, to be able to negotiate a narrow harbor entrancem
twitch reliably and safely through an anchored fleet, and come to
anchor, wholly under sail, with a minimum of fuss, is a joy and a
satisfaction.

2. She must be comfortable.
Comfort on a boat is really a function of two things: her behavior at
sea, and the quality of her accomodation. Gadgets and luxuries will not
make you comfortable if your boat has a violent motion or drenches you
with spray. A cruising boat should have easy graceful motion and be dry.

As for accomodation, no small boat can be spacious, but proper planning
can make her truly comfortable to live aboard. The demand for quart
accomodations and large yacht appearance in pint pot dimensions will
usually yield discomfort. At the very least, there should be places in
the cabin where the whole crew can sit comfortably for hours. Almost
without exception, places designed to be slept upon cannot do this.

3. She must be seaworthy.
We suppose that seaworthiness should be at the top of the list. We place
it here because it is partly a function of ease of handling and comfort.
Put simply, you are less likely to get into trouble in a boat which
doesn't tire you, and whose hull, rig, and other gear are calculated to
perform handily even in extreme weather.

Seaworthiness really means just keeping the sea on the outside of your
boat. A lot of factors contribute to making a boat seaworthy. She must
be strong. A weak hull, deck, place where the two join, steering gear,
or rig, is inexcusable but not unusual!

She must be weatherly; that is, she must be able to beat to windward in
even the most trying conditions.

She must be bouyant, unless you're willing to live with a submarine.

She must be maneuverable. If she takes a country mile to turn, you'll
constantly find yourself in threatening situations.

She must be sure in stays. Inability to tack has put more boats ashore
than perhaps any other single fault.

She must be within the capability of her crew.

4. She must be fast.
Speed, surprisingly, is not usually considered of great importance by
many cruising sailors. Yet if you have become accustomed to good sailing
performance in a small boat, you are likely to be unhappy with a slow
cruiser.

Beyond the satisfaction of making a fast passage, the ability to beat
nighfall, or a weather change, into a safe haven is more than comforting.

A fast cruising boat should be able to maintain a high average speed on
all courses in any reasonable weather, without needing the special
attention to keep her "in the groove" demanded by a racing boat. Blazing
speed is not essential, but she must be able to get you to the next port
with expedition.

5. She must be beautiful.
This is an entirely subjective matter, so we don't have much to say
about it. It nevertheless is one of our principal concerns.

A sailboat can be a work of art. We pity the poor fellow who sails a
monstrosity. Can he ever really love her?

The Stone Horse was designed by Samuel S Crocker in 1931. It's a Northeast
boat, almost Popeye like.
Since it's from the Northeast, it's probably sailed mostly by liberals, who,
as we all know, will burn in hell!

Amen!

Bob Crantz


"DSK" wrote in message
news
This is one of the best summaries of what a cruising boat should be
like. I first read this about thirty years ago, and still enjoy it. I
hope you do too.

Regards
Doug King

** ** begin ** **

Taken from "The Stone Horse" booklet by Mait Edey and Peter Duff, 1968

We believe that there are five essential characteristics which any
cruising sailboat ought to have, regardless of her type or size.

1. She must be easy to handle.
Cruising sailboats are almost invariably short-handed. The watch on deck
is frequently only one person. So the sails and rig should be within the
strength capability of this abbreviated crew. The smallest, weakest
member of the crew, working alone, should be able to perform aby
evolution required to rescue another crewmember who's been silly enough
to fall overboard, in any weather likely to be encountered. In case of
medical emergency, he or she should also be able to detach the vessel
from the bottom (as such things usually wait until you're tucked away in
some remote anchorage) , get underway, sail to where help can be found,
and terminate the emergency run without terminating either the patient
or the boat.

And of course it's times like these that the engine and radio choose to
pack it in (Murphy has provided a natural law to cover these situations).

Up to a point, mechanical aids such as winches and windlasses, and to a
greater extent, the the knowledge and experience of each crew member,
will permit larger, heavier, more cumbersome boats and gear. But
ultimately, a flogging headsail that must be muzzled and changed, a
spinnaker doused, or an anchor heaved on board or buoyed and slipped,
become the limiting factors.

She should be directionally stable, yet have authoritative rudder
control and a small turning circle. When the helmsman looks up from the
chart, she should not have wandered wildly off course. In fact it is
especially important that a cruising boat can be made to steer herself
for long periods. You should be able to leave the helm untended to trim,
set or shorten sail, make a sndwich, answer nature's call, study a
chart, or for any number of reasons without having to awaken a snoozing
spouse or trust a lubberly passenger.

On the other hand, to be able to negotiate a narrow harbor entrancem
twitch reliably and safely through an anchored fleet, and come to
anchor, wholly under sail, with a minimum of fuss, is a joy and a
satisfaction.

2. She must be comfortable.
Comfort on a boat is really a function of two things: her behavior at
sea, and the quality of her accomodation. Gadgets and luxuries will not
make you comfortable if your boat has a violent motion or drenches you
with spray. A cruising boat should have easy graceful motion and be dry.

As for accomodation, no small boat can be spacious, but proper planning
can make her truly comfortable to live aboard. The demand for quart
accomodations and large yacht appearance in pint pot dimensions will
usually yield discomfort. At the very least, there should be places in
the cabin where the whole crew can sit comfortably for hours. Almost
without exception, places designed to be slept upon cannot do this.

3. She must be seaworthy.
We suppose that seaworthiness should be at the top of the list. We place
it here because it is partly a function of ease of handling and comfort.
Put simply, you are less likely to get into trouble in a boat which
doesn't tire you, and whose hull, rig, and other gear are calculated to
perform handily even in extreme weather.

Seaworthiness really means just keeping the sea on the outside of your
boat. A lot of factors contribute to making a boat seaworthy. She must
be strong. A weak hull, deck, place where the two join, steering gear,
or rig, is inexcusable but not unusual!

She must be weatherly; that is, she must be able to beat to windward in
even the most trying conditions.

She must be bouyant, unless you're willing to live with a submarine.

She must be maneuverable. If she takes a country mile to turn, you'll
constantly find yourself in threatening situations.

She must be sure in stays. Inability to tack has put more boats ashore
than perhaps any other single fault.

She must be within the capability of her crew.

4. She must be fast.
Speed, surprisingly, is not usually considered of great importance by
many cruising sailors. Yet if you have become accustomed to good sailing
performance in a small boat, you are likely to be unhappy with a slow
cruiser.

Beyond the satisfaction of making a fast passage, the ability to beat
nighfall, or a weather change, into a safe haven is more than comforting.

A fast cruising boat should be able to maintain a high average speed on
all courses in any reasonable weather, without needing the special
attention to keep her "in the groove" demanded by a racing boat. Blazing
speed is not essential, but she must be able to get you to the next port
with expedition.

5. She must be beautiful.
This is an entirely subjective matter, so we don't have much to say
about it. It nevertheless is one of our principal concerns.

A sailboat can be a work of art. We pity the poor fellow who sails a
monstrosity. Can he ever really love her?

Capt. Neal® wrote:



5) She is more beautiful than any other sailboat owned by
anyone, bar none, here in this group. Even that fine
yacht Ella Vuella pales in comparison.


Of course she is. She's yours. The paling is however a mistake on your
part, Ella has a naturally white hull.

Cheers

Capt. Neal® wrote:
"Cut the Mustard" meets or exceeds all requirements.

1) She is very easy to handle

Any boat that small must be easy to handle.

..

2) She is more comfortable than many boats twice her size.

Maybe for one person. Most people sail in larger groups.



3) She is more seaworthy than any boat on this group with
the possible exception of Joe's and Mooron's. She is the
ONLY one with positive flotation.

For all your talk of "seaworthy" and "bluewater," you've hardly ever
been out of sight of land. You really have to do more than hop over to
the Bahamas to talk about this.

Now that's very doubtful. I've done a number of short passages (100+
miles) an my sister ships have done numerous trips to Bermuda and from
there to the Caribbean, and several have done Atlantic crossings. All
with no incidents. And all have positive flotation.



4) She's extremely fast, easily knocking off 150 mile days.


Very doubtful with a hull speed of 6.2 knots. What's that work out to?
148 miles?


5) She is more beautiful than any other sailboat owned by
anyone, bar none, here in this group. Even that fine
yacht Ella Vuella pales in comparison.

Everyone should think their boat is beautiful.

I've sailed them a few times - great boats. My dink is built by Edey
and Duff.


DSK wrote:
This is one of the best summaries of what a cruising boat should be
like. I first read this about thirty years ago, and still enjoy it. I
hope you do too.

Regards
Doug King

** ** begin ** **

Taken from "The Stone Horse" booklet by Mait Edey and Peter Duff, 1968

We believe that there are five essential characteristics which any
cruising sailboat ought to have, regardless of her type or size.

1. She must be easy to handle.
Cruising sailboats are almost invariably short-handed. The watch on deck
is frequently only one person. So the sails and rig should be within the
strength capability of this abbreviated crew. The smallest, weakest
member of the crew, working alone, should be able to perform aby
evolution required to rescue another crewmember who's been silly enough
to fall overboard, in any weather likely to be encountered. In case of
medical emergency, he or she should also be able to detach the vessel
from the bottom (as such things usually wait until you're tucked away in
some remote anchorage) , get underway, sail to where help can be found,
and terminate the emergency run without terminating either the patient
or the boat.

And of course it's times like these that the engine and radio choose to
pack it in (Murphy has provided a natural law to cover these
situations).

Up to a point, mechanical aids such as winches and windlasses, and to a
greater extent, the the knowledge and experience of each crew member,
will permit larger, heavier, more cumbersome boats and gear. But
ultimately, a flogging headsail that must be muzzled and changed, a
spinnaker doused, or an anchor heaved on board or buoyed and slipped,
become the limiting factors.

She should be directionally stable, yet have authoritative rudder
control and a small turning circle. When the helmsman looks up from the
chart, she should not have wandered wildly off course. In fact it is
especially important that a cruising boat can be made to steer herself
for long periods. You should be able to leave the helm untended to trim,
set or shorten sail, make a sndwich, answer nature's call, study a
chart, or for any number of reasons without having to awaken a snoozing
spouse or trust a lubberly passenger.

On the other hand, to be able to negotiate a narrow harbor entrancem
twitch reliably and safely through an anchored fleet, and come to
anchor, wholly under sail, with a minimum of fuss, is a joy and a
satisfaction.

2. She must be comfortable.
Comfort on a boat is really a function of two things: her behavior at
sea, and the quality of her accomodation. Gadgets and luxuries will not
make you comfortable if your boat has a violent motion or drenches you
with spray. A cruising boat should have easy graceful motion and be dry.

As for accomodation, no small boat can be spacious, but proper planning
can make her truly comfortable to live aboard. The demand for quart
accomodations and large yacht appearance in pint pot dimensions will
usually yield discomfort. At the very least, there should be places in
the cabin where the whole crew can sit comfortably for hours. Almost
without exception, places designed to be slept upon cannot do this.

3. She must be seaworthy.
We suppose that seaworthiness should be at the top of the list. We place
it here because it is partly a function of ease of handling and comfort.
Put simply, you are less likely to get into trouble in a boat which
doesn't tire you, and whose hull, rig, and other gear are calculated to
perform handily even in extreme weather.

Seaworthiness really means just keeping the sea on the outside of your
boat. A lot of factors contribute to making a boat seaworthy. She must
be strong. A weak hull, deck, place where the two join, steering gear,
or rig, is inexcusable but not unusual!

She must be weatherly; that is, she must be able to beat to windward in
even the most trying conditions.

She must be bouyant, unless you're willing to live with a submarine.

She must be maneuverable. If she takes a country mile to turn, you'll
constantly find yourself in threatening situations.

She must be sure in stays. Inability to tack has put more boats ashore
than perhaps any other single fault.

She must be within the capability of her crew.

4. She must be fast.
Speed, surprisingly, is not usually considered of great importance by
many cruising sailors. Yet if you have become accustomed to good sailing
performance in a small boat, you are likely to be unhappy with a slow
cruiser.

Beyond the satisfaction of making a fast passage, the ability to beat
nighfall, or a weather change, into a safe haven is more than comforting.

A fast cruising boat should be able to maintain a high average speed on
all courses in any reasonable weather, without needing the special
attention to keep her "in the groove" demanded by a racing boat. Blazing
speed is not essential, but she must be able to get you to the next port
with expedition.

5. She must be beautiful.
This is an entirely subjective matter, so we don't have much to say
about it. It nevertheless is one of our principal concerns.

A sailboat can be a work of art. We pity the poor fellow who sails a
monstrosity. Can he ever really love her?

Crap'n Neal® scribbled thusly:

"Cut the Mustard" meets or exceeds all requirements.

1) She is very easy to handle and very easy to maneuver plus
she turns on a dime. Her sails are manageable and in top
shape. She goes upwind all day with a simple bungee cord
on the tiller to weather. She controls easily with a tiller
pilot off the wind. She tacks like a cowboy, she is very
buoyant because of her hull design.


OzOne wrote:
Most dinghys are!

Yes, and it's easy to handle because it never leaves the mooring.


2) She is more comfortable than many boats twice her size.
She is narrow by today's standards and does not
pound in a seaway or steep chop like most of the
newer, wide and shallow boats.


Yep, funny isn't it that all the fast, comfortable passage makers are
wide.

You're thinking multis, right?


3) She is more seaworthy than any boat on this group with
the possible exception of Joe's and Mooron's. She is the
ONLY one with positive flotation.

Mutlis don't need positive flotation, they have no ballast to drag
them to the bottom.

No engines or batteries either?

The tri I race had her hull breached after hitting a submerged
container while travelling at around 20kts.
She was SAILED the 300 odd miles home!

I don't see what's wrong with positive flotation, if properly engineered.


4) She's extremely fast, easily knocking off 150 mile days.


Bwaaaahahahahhahahahahahahahhahaaaa!
Less than 10hours for a decent boat.

And extremely unlikely for a 30 year old low-end 27-foot production boat.



5) She is more beautiful than any other sailboat owned by
anyone, bar none, here in this group. Even that fine
yacht Ella Vuella pales in comparison.

You left off the ;^)



Edey & Duff wrote:
A sailboat can be a work of art. We pity the poor fellow who sails a
monstrosity. Can he ever really love her?

We see that the answer to that, in at least one case, is yes... but the
person in question has a fondness for inflatable love objects...

DSK

Excuse me, but Chanteuse beats Cut the Mustard hands down....and our
interior is not some hyped up designer mauve but a strict nautical blue...

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...
"Cut the Mustard" meets or exceeds all requirements.

1) She is very easy to handle and very easy to maneuver plus
she turns on a dime. Her sails are manageable and in top
shape. She goes upwind all day with a simple bungee cord
on the tiller to weather. She controls easily with a tiller
pilot off the wind. She tacks like a cowboy, she is very
buoyant because of her hull design. Her ground tackle
is in tip-top shape and relatively light for a man of
even modest strength. Her tiller is superior to a wheel
in every conceivable way.

2) She is more comfortable than many boats twice her size.
She is narrow by today's standards and does not
pound in a seaway or steep chop like most of the
newer, wide and shallow boats.

3) She is more seaworthy than any boat on this group with
the possible exception of Joe's and Mooron's. She is the
ONLY one with positive flotation.

4) She's extremely fast, easily knocking off 150 mile days.

5) She is more beautiful than any other sailboat owned by
anyone, bar none, here in this group. Even that fine
yacht Ella Vuella pales in comparison.

CN



"DSK" wrote in message
news
This is one of the best summaries of what a cruising boat should be
like. I first read this about thirty years ago, and still enjoy it. I
hope you do too.

Regards
Doug King

** ** begin ** **

Taken from "The Stone Horse" booklet by Mait Edey and Peter Duff, 1968

We believe that there are five essential characteristics which any
cruising sailboat ought to have, regardless of her type or size.

1. She must be easy to handle.
Cruising sailboats are almost invariably short-handed. The watch on deck
is frequently only one person. So the sails and rig should be within the
strength capability of this abbreviated crew. The smallest, weakest
member of the crew, working alone, should be able to perform aby
evolution required to rescue another crewmember who's been silly enough
to fall overboard, in any weather likely to be encountered. In case of
medical emergency, he or she should also be able to detach the vessel
from the bottom (as such things usually wait until you're tucked away in
some remote anchorage) , get underway, sail to where help can be found,
and terminate the emergency run without terminating either the patient
or the boat.

And of course it's times like these that the engine and radio choose to
pack it in (Murphy has provided a natural law to cover these situations).

Up to a point, mechanical aids such as winches and windlasses, and to a
greater extent, the the knowledge and experience of each crew member,
will permit larger, heavier, more cumbersome boats and gear. But
ultimately, a flogging headsail that must be muzzled and changed, a
spinnaker doused, or an anchor heaved on board or buoyed and slipped,
become the limiting factors.

She should be directionally stable, yet have authoritative rudder
control and a small turning circle. When the helmsman looks up from the
chart, she should not have wandered wildly off course. In fact it is
especially important that a cruising boat can be made to steer herself
for long periods. You should be able to leave the helm untended to trim,
set or shorten sail, make a sndwich, answer nature's call, study a
chart, or for any number of reasons without having to awaken a snoozing
spouse or trust a lubberly passenger.

On the other hand, to be able to negotiate a narrow harbor entrancem
twitch reliably and safely through an anchored fleet, and come to
anchor, wholly under sail, with a minimum of fuss, is a joy and a
satisfaction.

2. She must be comfortable.
Comfort on a boat is really a function of two things: her behavior at
sea, and the quality of her accomodation. Gadgets and luxuries will not
make you comfortable if your boat has a violent motion or drenches you
with spray. A cruising boat should have easy graceful motion and be dry.

As for accomodation, no small boat can be spacious, but proper planning
can make her truly comfortable to live aboard. The demand for quart
accomodations and large yacht appearance in pint pot dimensions will
usually yield discomfort. At the very least, there should be places in
the cabin where the whole crew can sit comfortably for hours. Almost
without exception, places designed to be slept upon cannot do this.

3. She must be seaworthy.
We suppose that seaworthiness should be at the top of the list. We place
it here because it is partly a function of ease of handling and comfort.
Put simply, you are less likely to get into trouble in a boat which
doesn't tire you, and whose hull, rig, and other gear are calculated to
perform handily even in extreme weather.

Seaworthiness really means just keeping the sea on the outside of your
boat. A lot of factors contribute to making a boat seaworthy. She must
be strong. A weak hull, deck, place where the two join, steering gear,
or rig, is inexcusable but not unusual!

She must be weatherly; that is, she must be able to beat to windward in
even the most trying conditions.

She must be bouyant, unless you're willing to live with a submarine.

She must be maneuverable. If she takes a country mile to turn, you'll
constantly find yourself in threatening situations.

She must be sure in stays. Inability to tack has put more boats ashore
than perhaps any other single fault.

She must be within the capability of her crew.

4. She must be fast.
Speed, surprisingly, is not usually considered of great importance by
many cruising sailors. Yet if you have become accustomed to good sailing
performance in a small boat, you are likely to be unhappy with a slow
cruiser.

Beyond the satisfaction of making a fast passage, the ability to beat
nighfall, or a weather change, into a safe haven is more than comforting.

A fast cruising boat should be able to maintain a high average speed on
all courses in any reasonable weather, without needing the special
attention to keep her "in the groove" demanded by a racing boat. Blazing
speed is not essential, but she must be able to get you to the next port
with expedition.

5. She must be beautiful.
This is an entirely subjective matter, so we don't have much to say
about it. It nevertheless is one of our principal concerns.

A sailboat can be a work of art. We pity the poor fellow who sails a
monstrosity. Can he ever really love her?

But can Chanteuse sail right now? Is she even in the water?

As for mauve, LP admitted she had a mauve sofa. So there!

CN




"katysails" wrote in message ...
Excuse me, but Chanteuse beats Cut the Mustard hands down....and our
interior is not some hyped up designer mauve but a strict nautical blue...

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...
"Cut the Mustard" meets or exceeds all requirements.

1) She is very easy to handle and very easy to maneuver plus
she turns on a dime. Her sails are manageable and in top
shape. She goes upwind all day with a simple bungee cord
on the tiller to weather. She controls easily with a tiller
pilot off the wind. She tacks like a cowboy, she is very
buoyant because of her hull design. Her ground tackle
is in tip-top shape and relatively light for a man of
even modest strength. Her tiller is superior to a wheel
in every conceivable way.

2) She is more comfortable than many boats twice her size.
She is narrow by today's standards and does not
pound in a seaway or steep chop like most of the
newer, wide and shallow boats.

3) She is more seaworthy than any boat on this group with
the possible exception of Joe's and Mooron's. She is the
ONLY one with positive flotation.

4) She's extremely fast, easily knocking off 150 mile days.

5) She is more beautiful than any other sailboat owned by
anyone, bar none, here in this group. Even that fine
yacht Ella Vuella pales in comparison.

CN



"DSK" wrote in message
news
This is one of the best summaries of what a cruising boat should be
like. I first read this about thirty years ago, and still enjoy it. I
hope you do too.

Regards
Doug King

** ** begin ** **

Taken from "The Stone Horse" booklet by Mait Edey and Peter Duff, 1968

We believe that there are five essential characteristics which any
cruising sailboat ought to have, regardless of her type or size.

1. She must be easy to handle.
Cruising sailboats are almost invariably short-handed. The watch on deck
is frequently only one person. So the sails and rig should be within the
strength capability of this abbreviated crew. The smallest, weakest
member of the crew, working alone, should be able to perform aby
evolution required to rescue another crewmember who's been silly enough
to fall overboard, in any weather likely to be encountered. In case of
medical emergency, he or she should also be able to detach the vessel
from the bottom (as such things usually wait until you're tucked away in
some remote anchorage) , get underway, sail to where help can be found,
and terminate the emergency run without terminating either the patient
or the boat.

And of course it's times like these that the engine and radio choose to
pack it in (Murphy has provided a natural law to cover these situations).

Up to a point, mechanical aids such as winches and windlasses, and to a
greater extent, the the knowledge and experience of each crew member,
will permit larger, heavier, more cumbersome boats and gear. But
ultimately, a flogging headsail that must be muzzled and changed, a
spinnaker doused, or an anchor heaved on board or buoyed and slipped,
become the limiting factors.

She should be directionally stable, yet have authoritative rudder
control and a small turning circle. When the helmsman looks up from the
chart, she should not have wandered wildly off course. In fact it is
especially important that a cruising boat can be made to steer herself
for long periods. You should be able to leave the helm untended to trim,
set or shorten sail, make a sndwich, answer nature's call, study a
chart, or for any number of reasons without having to awaken a snoozing
spouse or trust a lubberly passenger.

On the other hand, to be able to negotiate a narrow harbor entrancem
twitch reliably and safely through an anchored fleet, and come to
anchor, wholly under sail, with a minimum of fuss, is a joy and a
satisfaction.

2. She must be comfortable.
Comfort on a boat is really a function of two things: her behavior at
sea, and the quality of her accomodation. Gadgets and luxuries will not
make you comfortable if your boat has a violent motion or drenches you
with spray. A cruising boat should have easy graceful motion and be dry.

As for accomodation, no small boat can be spacious, but proper planning
can make her truly comfortable to live aboard. The demand for quart
accomodations and large yacht appearance in pint pot dimensions will
usually yield discomfort. At the very least, there should be places in
the cabin where the whole crew can sit comfortably for hours. Almost
without exception, places designed to be slept upon cannot do this.

3. She must be seaworthy.
We suppose that seaworthiness should be at the top of the list. We place
it here because it is partly a function of ease of handling and comfort.
Put simply, you are less likely to get into trouble in a boat which
doesn't tire you, and whose hull, rig, and other gear are calculated to
perform handily even in extreme weather.

Seaworthiness really means just keeping the sea on the outside of your
boat. A lot of factors contribute to making a boat seaworthy. She must
be strong. A weak hull, deck, place where the two join, steering gear,
or rig, is inexcusable but not unusual!

She must be weatherly; that is, she must be able to beat to windward in
even the most trying conditions.

She must be bouyant, unless you're willing to live with a submarine.

She must be maneuverable. If she takes a country mile to turn, you'll
constantly find yourself in threatening situations.

She must be sure in stays. Inability to tack has put more boats ashore
than perhaps any other single fault.

She must be within the capability of her crew.

4. She must be fast.
Speed, surprisingly, is not usually considered of great importance by
many cruising sailors. Yet if you have become accustomed to good sailing
performance in a small boat, you are likely to be unhappy with a slow
cruiser.

Beyond the satisfaction of making a fast passage, the ability to beat
nighfall, or a weather change, into a safe haven is more than comforting.

A fast cruising boat should be able to maintain a high average speed on
all courses in any reasonable weather, without needing the special
attention to keep her "in the groove" demanded by a racing boat. Blazing
speed is not essential, but she must be able to get you to the next port
with expedition.

5. She must be beautiful.
This is an entirely subjective matter, so we don't have much to say
about it. It nevertheless is one of our principal concerns.

A sailboat can be a work of art. We pity the poor fellow who sails a
monstrosity. Can he ever really love her?

Well, I have a mauve and raspberry kitchen but niot on the boat, for Pete's
sake....and even you ahve to pull sometimes to de-calcify your bottom and
with your weather patterns, there are times when you also cannot sail...so
there : P double...

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...
But can Chanteuse sail right now? Is she even in the water?

As for mauve, LP admitted she had a mauve sofa. So there!

CN




"katysails" wrote in message
...
Excuse me, but Chanteuse beats Cut the Mustard hands down....and our
interior is not some hyped up designer mauve but a strict nautical
blue...

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...
"Cut the Mustard" meets or exceeds all requirements.

1) She is very easy to handle and very easy to maneuver plus
she turns on a dime. Her sails are manageable and in top
shape. She goes upwind all day with a simple bungee cord
on the tiller to weather. She controls easily with a tiller
pilot off the wind. She tacks like a cowboy, she is very
buoyant because of her hull design. Her ground tackle
is in tip-top shape and relatively light for a man of
even modest strength. Her tiller is superior to a wheel
in every conceivable way.

2) She is more comfortable than many boats twice her size.
She is narrow by today's standards and does not
pound in a seaway or steep chop like most of the
newer, wide and shallow boats.

3) She is more seaworthy than any boat on this group with
the possible exception of Joe's and Mooron's. She is the
ONLY one with positive flotation.

4) She's extremely fast, easily knocking off 150 mile days.

5) She is more beautiful than any other sailboat owned by
anyone, bar none, here in this group. Even that fine
yacht Ella Vuella pales in comparison.

CN



"DSK" wrote in message
news This is one of the best summaries of what a cruising boat should be
like. I first read this about thirty years ago, and still enjoy it. I
hope you do too.

Regards
Doug King

** ** begin ** **

Taken from "The Stone Horse" booklet by Mait Edey and Peter Duff, 1968

We believe that there are five essential characteristics which any
cruising sailboat ought to have, regardless of her type or size.

1. She must be easy to handle.
Cruising sailboats are almost invariably short-handed. The watch on
deck
is frequently only one person. So the sails and rig should be within
the
strength capability of this abbreviated crew. The smallest, weakest
member of the crew, working alone, should be able to perform aby
evolution required to rescue another crewmember who's been silly
enough
to fall overboard, in any weather likely to be encountered. In case of
medical emergency, he or she should also be able to detach the vessel
from the bottom (as such things usually wait until you're tucked away
in
some remote anchorage) , get underway, sail to where help can be
found,
and terminate the emergency run without terminating either the patient
or the boat.

And of course it's times like these that the engine and radio choose
to
pack it in (Murphy has provided a natural law to cover these
situations).

Up to a point, mechanical aids such as winches and windlasses, and to
a
greater extent, the the knowledge and experience of each crew member,
will permit larger, heavier, more cumbersome boats and gear. But
ultimately, a flogging headsail that must be muzzled and changed, a
spinnaker doused, or an anchor heaved on board or buoyed and slipped,
become the limiting factors.

She should be directionally stable, yet have authoritative rudder
control and a small turning circle. When the helmsman looks up from
the
chart, she should not have wandered wildly off course. In fact it is
especially important that a cruising boat can be made to steer herself
for long periods. You should be able to leave the helm untended to
trim,
set or shorten sail, make a sndwich, answer nature's call, study a
chart, or for any number of reasons without having to awaken a
snoozing
spouse or trust a lubberly passenger.

On the other hand, to be able to negotiate a narrow harbor entrancem
twitch reliably and safely through an anchored fleet, and come to
anchor, wholly under sail, with a minimum of fuss, is a joy and a
satisfaction.

2. She must be comfortable.
Comfort on a boat is really a function of two things: her behavior at
sea, and the quality of her accomodation. Gadgets and luxuries will
not
make you comfortable if your boat has a violent motion or drenches you
with spray. A cruising boat should have easy graceful motion and be
dry.

As for accomodation, no small boat can be spacious, but proper
planning
can make her truly comfortable to live aboard. The demand for quart
accomodations and large yacht appearance in pint pot dimensions will
usually yield discomfort. At the very least, there should be places in
the cabin where the whole crew can sit comfortably for hours. Almost
without exception, places designed to be slept upon cannot do this.

3. She must be seaworthy.
We suppose that seaworthiness should be at the top of the list. We
place
it here because it is partly a function of ease of handling and
comfort.
Put simply, you are less likely to get into trouble in a boat which
doesn't tire you, and whose hull, rig, and other gear are calculated
to
perform handily even in extreme weather.

Seaworthiness really means just keeping the sea on the outside of your
boat. A lot of factors contribute to making a boat seaworthy. She must
be strong. A weak hull, deck, place where the two join, steering
gear,
or rig, is inexcusable but not unusual!

She must be weatherly; that is, she must be able to beat to windward
in
even the most trying conditions.

She must be bouyant, unless you're willing to live with a submarine.

She must be maneuverable. If she takes a country mile to turn, you'll
constantly find yourself in threatening situations.

She must be sure in stays. Inability to tack has put more boats ashore
than perhaps any other single fault.

She must be within the capability of her crew.

4. She must be fast.
Speed, surprisingly, is not usually considered of great importance by
many cruising sailors. Yet if you have become accustomed to good
sailing
performance in a small boat, you are likely to be unhappy with a slow
cruiser.

Beyond the satisfaction of making a fast passage, the ability to beat
nighfall, or a weather change, into a safe haven is more than
comforting.

A fast cruising boat should be able to maintain a high average speed
on
all courses in any reasonable weather, without needing the special
attention to keep her "in the groove" demanded by a racing boat.
Blazing
speed is not essential, but she must be able to get you to the next
port
with expedition.

5. She must be beautiful.
This is an entirely subjective matter, so we don't have much to say
about it. It nevertheless is one of our principal concerns.

A sailboat can be a work of art. We pity the poor fellow who sails a
monstrosity. Can he ever really love her?