I think the disagreement comes down to why we sail and we all have
different reasons. For me, there is some thrill to sailing but not
that much. Mostly I like cruising and being "out there". Navigation
is like magic for me, the thrill of using basic trigonometry to find
position is my thrill and every time I plot my position it makes an odd
connection with something . I do not expect anyone else to understand
or appreciate this but thats ok. I'd be shocked if my boat impressed
anybody by her looks as I care little for looks. She is old, her
topsides are chalky and her black anodized mast has many dings, but her
rigging is all new and she sails very well.
My impression is that while I sail for antisocial reasons, Cap'n Rob
sails for social reasons. His boat seems ideal for why he sails but
his mistake is that he thinks others sail for his reasons.
This difference in perspective was made clear to me yesterday. Six
months ago I joined the local "Yat" club (and have felt out of place
since). I happen to have a slip right in front of the clubhouse and a
lot of people have asked about my homebuilt nesting dinghy that rests
on my foredeck. I always thouhgt they were admiring it so I would go
into of how well she works etc. Yesterday, I overheard someone saying
how tacky it looks there covering my deck, especially right in front of
the clubhouse. All along, these people were not admiring my great
functional dinghy, they were wondering when I would remove it. As I
have made a NEw Years resolution to try to get along better with
others, I'll offer to move to a more distant slip.
So, Rob, ya got a nice boat .....for you, but wouldnt be my choice. So
tell me, are the toe rails riveted? They always looked to me like a
sudden gust would rip em right off.

"Ragtime" with Neil Youngs "Thrashers" on the MP3