New Conservative wrote in
:

First of all, what's a "survey" - when is it necessary and how much
does it cost?

A so-called "expert", who's actually a guy in a funny hat that has hung
around the docks for a few years and can't find reasonable work, charges
you to beat and bang on it, look in all the crannies he can get to without
doing manual labor, and tries to tear the current owners up nit picking
everything that he can stumble onto that's wrong with the boat. He has
vague computer knowledge and word processes up a boiler plate report on
what he stumbled upon to take to the negotiations on price......unless, of
course, he's on somebody's payroll you don't know about.

Think "Used Lorry Salesman"....(c;

Search the UK search engines for "Yacht Surveyor" to find prices. They
vary widely.

Here's the extensive webpages of an experienced surveyor the dealers must
just HATE to see walking through the marina gate:
http://www.yachtsurvey.com
His name is David Pascoe and he's a first class SOB...just ask any boat
manufacturer trying to pull a fast one....


Next: How long would it take to sail single-handedly from S/England to
the Windward Islands given average weather conditions at a reasonably
favorable time of year in a Contessa 32 or Nic 32?

Makes no difference. You get there when you get there, if you get there at
all. You are at the total mercy of wind and waves and storm fronts and
your own incompetence.....

You have two problems. Single handed isn't really legal by international
law as you must "Maintain a Sharp Lookout" so you don't run into anything.
Around The World Alone races are simply overlooked because they move lots
of expensive products with the gunwale-to-gunwale advertising, so they get
away with it. NEVER SAIL TO SEA ALONE is good advise. I don't care if
you're a world class triathelon champion, the sea will wear your ass down
in no time at all and you'll think you just can't lift another arm or take
another turn on a winch, having given up hours ago because your arms feel
like lead and you can't keep your eyes open.....This is why we stand 2 hour
watches with the OTHER CREW MEMBERS who've been tossing and turning in
their almost sleep trying to get some sleep before it's their turn, again.

By day 6, noone talks to anyone any more. They're all too tired from being
thrown about, 24/7 for 6 days to talk. If it's calm and everyone gets to
rest, we don't GET ANYWHERE just sitting there with all the dirty laundry
flapping restlessly NOT pulling the boat through the water. If it's windy,
it's rough and sleep is hard, even though you're exhausted.

TIME......

Time does not exist on a sailboat, whether it's a big slug of a cruising
ketch or an ocean racer it takes 24 people to sail without flipping upside
down. If anyone aboard HAS to be there on Wednesday Night....DON'T TAKE
HIM ALONG! Everyone aboard must have nothing to do and no schedule for the
next 8 weeks, even though we're sailing from S England to Ireland
overnight. A sailboat is NOT A GOOD MODE OF TRANSPORT for modern people in
a HURRY. Never hurry anyplace....unless, of course, you're racing other
sailboats for the big trophy and braggin' rights. If you can't go, neither
can they so it evens it up.

RELAX and watch the waves....We'll get there when we get there.....


Next: If one ends up in some distant safe harbor somewhere abroad;
what right (if any) does one have to simply tie-up at a convenient
mooring and go to sleep for say 24hrs? I'm thinking here about an
analogy with a deckchair dude; do you just 'park-up' and wait for
someone to charge you for your stay? And what prospect of getting a
space in such a harbor?

Pfat Chance. Imagine being confined to a pig sty. 3rd world countries
have laws, but, if you have money and they want it, you're screwed. Do it
all BY THE BOOK or there's gonna be serious trouble. That officer-in-
charge of the gunboat off this little island fifedom doesn't give a ****
that you're Her Majesty's nephew and CEO of Harrod's Department Store. He
hates you. He makes less than your grocery store checkout girl back in
Liverpool.


Finally, what's the difference between a "berth" and a "cabin"?

What's the difference between a "bed" and a "bedroom"? Same idea.


I realize these are stupid questions, but beg your indulgence.
-

I see someone called you a troll. If you are, I've wasted 20 minutes. If
you're not, everyone on here wondered the same things back before they
could tell the main from the mizzen.

Now, here's what you do. First, stow any idea about buying the Contessa,
no matter how smooth the sales delivery was. If you don't know any more
than you profess to, here, you need to CREW on a boat around England with a
knowledgeable owner, like I do. Every yachtsman at your local marina needs
a helping hand to fix his big monster, and an able hand to sail it.
BEFRIEND THEM....None has ever bitten me, at least not yet. Once you learn
the basics and they find out how nice a guy you are, not complaining and
being so helpful by fixing whatever you can fix, your demand quotient goes
WAY up. I'd rather crew on a boat I could never afford with a friendly
captain and his family, than buy the boat I can really afford that's too
small to go anywhere. I'm quite fortunate to be an electronics technician
(demand is high) with marine experience (US Navy) and a fair seaman who
doesn't like to drink the captain into the poorhouse. I'm his "Chief
Engineer". He calls me and wants a new water pump for the fresh water.
"I've left it in the V-berth. Do you think you could install it so we can
go sailing when I come down next Thursday?", he'll hint. Of course I can!
When do we leave?! My captain is "well off", he doesn't need more money.
He's was forever trying to give me money for working on his boat. "I don't
want your money, captain." (MUSIC TO THEIR EARS!) "Well, what do you
want?", he asked me. "Simply take me with you.", was my answer. I've been
going ever since....standing my watches, fixing and installing all the
toys, rewiring what needs rewiring. Last week we moved from our old marina
that's been bought out by some condo shysters to the City Marina which has
free cable TV. So, I had to install a new LCD TV and wire the boat for
cable TV. Now, the neighbor's wife, friends who moved en masse with us to
the new marina to maintain the little community of dock family, has me
scheduled to wire HER boat with cable TV, as soon as she's got the new LCD
TV out of hubby...(c;

Can you:
** Fix diesel engines...or at least troubleshoot one for simple problems?
Change filters? Do dirty things to it? YOU'RE IN!

** Wire electrical DC and AC toys up in the boat? YOU'RE IN!

** Fix fresh water pumps, water heaters, simple plumbing, repair and
refinish wood, fix mechanical things as simple as a pulley on a pin?
YOU'RE IN!

If my captain is coming on Thursday, I go down Wednesday night and clean up
the boat, making sure it looks presentable so he can relax when he gets
here. If I can be aboard, I'll beat him to it, as he comes 380 miles from
Atlanta, GA, to Charleston. One of my favorite tricks to play on him is to
be standing with a fresh-poured glass (specially engraved boat glass, of
course) of his favorite English Ale, which I hand to him just after he
clears the dock coming aboard. I don't think anything I do makes him smile
wider...(c; He's not my boss...he's my friend....has been for 4 years,
now. The boat's clean, the hot water heater's hot, ready for his shower in
the little head. I just know I'm going to end up, tonight, fed in a fancy
restaurant and too drunk to go home as the dockside party ensues. He
worked like a dog all week refilling the boat's VISA card so we can buy
more toys.

You can learn to sail and have a helluva great time while you're doing
it....in exchange for a little labor, your personal expertise and make a
friend for life in the process. Do that before buying anything or just
going blindly into the Contessa with no experience. Hell, if you're lucky,
you'll be on some 55' cruiser headed for the Windward Islands at virtually
no expense to you. My last month-long Florida vacation cost me $90...(c;

Oh, by the way, the adrenaline rush of a big ketch 200 miles offshore with
its toerail in the water just haulin' ass through the ocean in the 12'
swells in a 35 knot "crosswind" is just fantastic! Go for it!