"Don White" wrote in message
...

My memory is weak... what do you sail these days?
My mini-cruiser.. http://sailquest.com/market/models/spipe.htm

Here is a sister ship in the PNW http://fog-northamerica.org/puffin.html

Leanne

"Leanne" wrote in message
...

"Don White" wrote in message
...

My memory is weak... what do you sail these days?
My mini-cruiser.. http://sailquest.com/market/models/spipe.htm

Here is a sister ship in the PNW http://fog-northamerica.org/puffin.html

Leanne

Very nice...and practical for our cool damp climate on the North Atlantic.

wrote:

I have been drawn to the idea of buying a boat, because of the
independant lifestyle it brings. Here are some rather ignorant
questions, and I would be very grateful to anyone who takes a few
minutes to answer one or all of them:

a) How big a boat is required to go from New York to England (about
3750nm)?

As big as you can afford and small enough that you can single hand it.
The kind of boat (how well built and how well equipped) is more
important than the size, and the person sailing it is the most
important thing in the equation

b) If I wanted to learn more about boating, is there a book available
by someone who captures what it is like to be at sea, and describes
the pros and cons of boat life?

I think the best book I've read on this is "Voyaging On A Small
Income" by Annie Hill. It is in paperback. The danger with this
book is that you will immediately want a junk rigged boat.

Lin Pardey has written a lot of books on the pros and cons of boat
life, but the disadvantage of those books is that they advocate a
wooden boat with no engine, and that isn't really what most people can
deal with.

You could also read these logs
http://www.thetwocaptains.com/logbook.htm These logs give a really
good idea of how it is to sail to tropical places. However, I should
add that both of these people have their captains licenses (that's why
it is called "The Two Captains", so they are more than ordinarily
competent sailors. Don was a pilot (airplane), and Gwen chartered her
own boat in the USVI for a number of years and also is a SCUBA
instructor. She's also writing a column for several magazines ATM
which are also on her website.

c) Do any of you live on your boats?

Yes

d) Why does the value of boats fall off so fast? Some new boats seem
to loose half their value in five years.

Because people are stupid enough to buy a new boat which costs a lot
of money. Same as with cars.

d) Why does the value of boats fall off so fast? Some new boats seem
to loose half their value in five years.

Because people are stupid enough to buy a new boat which costs a lot
of money. Same as with cars.

Not all boats lose that much. In 1989, an Island Packet 31 listed at
under $78,000. Today there is a 1989 on Yacht World for $74,000 and this
is typical for IPs. Of course if you count inflation--
Still not bad for an 18 year old boat.
Gordon

"Gordon" wrote in message
...

d) Why does the value of boats fall off so fast? Some new boats
seem
to loose half their value in five years.

Because people are stupid enough to buy a new boat which costs a lot
of money. Same as with cars.

Not all boats lose that much. In 1989, an Island Packet 31 listed
at under $78,000. Today there is a 1989 on Yacht World for $74,000 and
this is typical for IPs. Of course if you count inflation--
Still not bad for an 18 year old boat.
Gordon

Island Packet = the most overpriced boat in the industry. It's a good
thing they have high resale value because you don't get your money's
worth as far as quality of construction goes.

Wilbur Hubbard

Peter Hendra wrote in
news
Personally, what I like
most about owning my own boat is the wonderful sense of freedom it
affords me. I can go where I want to, when I want to; dollars and
weather and the the bloody pirates and such scum aside.


I'm not quite so optimistic about it. Boating on a sailboat over 10'
long is very burdensome. There's always something wrong with them,
something that needs immediate attention...and immediate money. BOAT =
Bring Out Another Thousand (pounds, dollars, rupees, etc.). Those that
can afford them that I know, are all saddled with chasing the dollars to
keep them. Oh, there are a few true hermits who don't seem to need
money. Their boats look it. More power to them.

A boat is a LOT of WORK!...especially YOUR boat, the one with the clogged
injector, stopped up head, leaky (pick anything that can leak here),
broken (pick anything that can break here). I don't think it's a lot of
freedom, at all.

Doing it my way has a great advantage, the freedom to walk away without
worry. Some times I don't go to the docks for weeks, sometimes months.
I don't HAVE to check on boats I don't own. THAT's freedom!

Larry
--
Message for Comcrap Internet Customers:
http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c
Unlimited Service my ass.....(d^

Oh, there are a few true hermits who don't seem to need
money. Their boats look it. More power to them.

A boat is a LOT of WORK!...especially YOUR boat, the one with the clogged
injector, stopped up head, leaky (pick anything that can leak here),
broken (pick anything that can break here). I don't think it's a lot of
freedom, at all.

Doing it my way has a great advantage, the freedom to walk away without
worry. Some times I don't go to the docks for weeks, sometimes months.
I don't HAVE to check on boats I don't own. THAT's freedom!

Larry

I agree with that; however i would wonder how it is with sailboats as
compaired with power boats.
I have owned, leased, or been in charge of, a fishing boat,
exploration boat, research vessel, for a really big part of my adult
life. ya ive learned how to fix almost everything with duct tape and
wire. but then i have abused the boats ive been on to get the job at
hand done. are sail boats really that much more work than an old
30'-50' salmon troller or a 100' king crabber?

In article ,
Peter Hendra wrote:

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:56:07 +0000, Larry wrote:


Peter, you don't need a boat. There are PLENTY of boats to play
with/on/out of sitting on docks all over. Unless you just HAVE to have a
family cruiser to take the kids out on, something none of the yachties
want on their boats I know, spending all that cash on boats and upkeep is
unnecessary. If you want to cruise around in some really nice yachts,
you need a pleasant captain who, like my friend, would love to have
someone he can trust to get her ready-for-sea...and pilot her most of the
time...so he can enjoy his guests and family...rather than being strapped
to the wheel all the time. I don't have that kind of money. I like my
position aboard.....

NOTHING beats taking the CAPTAIN'S VISA card to West Marine on a Saturday
morning for a "few parts and replenishment spares".....(c;

Larry

Hi Larry,
Agreed if going sailing is all you wish to do. Personally, what I like
most about owning my own boat is the wonderful sense of freedom it
affords me. I can go where I want to, when I want to; dollars and
weather and the the bloody pirates and such scum aside.

After years of working to pay mortgages, raising children etc, I love
the freedom of looking out of my office window on a difficult day
(when I work) and thinking. Well, if I don't want to do this there is
simply nothing to stop me just raising the anchor and going somewhere
else. I am not answerable to anyone apart from wife (for the time
being anyway) friends and the obligation to the current work
contract/sense of professional responsibility.

I do a lot of my "regular" work from my boat.. good, fast
connection. Sometimes, I just stow all the crap and have a sail for a
couple. Works wonders.
--
Capt. JG @@
www.sailnow.com

On Wed, 21 Mar 2007 12:14:13 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

Island Packet = the most overpriced boat in the industry. It's a good
thing they have high resale value because you don't get your money's
worth as far as quality of construction goes.

Usually, in fact always, high resale value equates to high demand?

Why is that? There must be something about them that people like.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 21 Mar 2007 12:14:13 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

Island Packet = the most overpriced boat in the industry. It's a good
thing they have high resale value because you don't get your money's
worth as far as quality of construction goes.

Usually, in fact always, high resale value equates to high demand?

Why is that? There must be something about them that people like.

It's the same thing that drives the sale of MacGregor 26s. Ignorance!
People buy into the hype. People who buy them aren't really sailors.
They are campers. They enjoy going to rallys where they make giant
raft-ups. (Who does than with a real boat, anyway? That's the very last
thing I'd ever do with my boat. It's just plain stupid, dangerous and
dumb!) They motor up and down the Intracoastal Waterway. The polish and
shine and add every gadget in the catalog. Those Island Packets are poor
performers empty. Load them down and they can't get out of their own
way. There are better boats out there at less than half the cost.

Wilbur Hubbard