He bragged about the fact that he installed an outside-the-mast, wind-up
mainsail.

Everybody knows this is the worst of all systems. Any real sailor would
have a conventional mainsail that was hauled aloft on track or groove
sliding slugs.

A roll-up loses efficiency because of the distance between the mast and
the luff of the sail. More efficiency is lost because the sail has added
sag-off. Battens can't be used because they don't roll up therefore the
sail has little or no roach and is less efficient than it could be.

The more Bruce reveals about himself and his boat the more I come to
realize he has fallen prey to and is a victim of too many, so-called,
modern developments which do nothing but hinder simple, safe and
enjoyable cruising. Further proof is the fact he's stuck at a dock
constantly fixing up his complicated and inefficient systems and goes
nowhere any more.

But, in a way, I guess this is good. I'm sure Bruce considers himself
and others like him to be the typical modern-day cruising sailor.
Because of this, there are way fewer such people actually cruising.
Instead they provide a good living for marinas. That means I'm not
bothered by them, their problems and their lowering of the cruising bar
whilst I'm out cruising the proper, tried and true way myself.

Wilbur Hubbard