Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

It's a fake smoke stack and it's decidedly tacky. Thousand of boats
have propane without needing a fake smoke stack.

BB

Propane, being heavier than air, must be allowed to find an unobstructed path
down and overboard if there should be any leakage. On a boat with high gunwales
and deck drains rather than conventional scuppers (I would have been happier
with conventional scuppers, btw,) that about eliminates almost any location
except a cabin top. Nothing below the top of the gunwale will do.

Under ABYC regs, a propane locker must have a top that can be "blown off" in
the unlikely event of an explosion.

The fake smokestack/propane locker, with a vent at the base, meets all the
essential standards.

Is there anything on your sailboat that is modified to look a little better
than the plain, functional, minimalist appliance might? Any portion of a system
that is cosmetically concealed? My best guess would be, "of course."

You are entitled to your opinion about "tacky" by the way. People disagree on
what's good looking, vs. not. Ever have a buddy who raved on, non-stop, about
the gorgeous new gal he was dating......
and then when you finally got to meet this
purported "10" you personally figured her for about a 5 1/2? Seems like it's
always that way with boats. You don't have to like mine. It merely shows our
tastes are different, rather than objectively defining those tastes as superior
or inferior.

(Human nature, of course, will dictate that we each consider our own taste
superior).

Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

If I'm a "failure" then I guess it's a good
thing he didn't listen anyway!

DSK


and, so it goes.

Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

The fake smoke stack is akin to those phony "Va-room" motors that kids
put on their bicycles so they could pretend they have a motorcycle.

BB


I am *so* wounded........ :-)

Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

I've poured more salt water out of my shoe than you've sailed over. In
fact, more than you and Jax together....

they got a lot of salt water in rest stop parking lots on Interstate 95?

Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 13:44:54 -0500, DSK wrote:

What I really like about the smokestack is the way it attracts the attention of
all the envious cretins who will never be able to afford a boat with one.

My $.02, I like the fake smoke stack. Great storage area, and it
makes the boat look salty to boot. It's sorta like the utility shed
out back that looks like a horse barn. Sure, you coulda just put up a
shed with four walls, a roof and a door, and it would have done the
same thing, but a shed with some character, imo, is a little better.
Do I have horses in my back yard? No. Do I prefer a utility shed
that looks like a barn rather than a utility shed? Yes.

bb

Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

Best 34 foot blue water cruiser
 

Frank Maier wrote:

I'm a big fan of the Freedom line; so, my recommendation
would be an early 80s Freedom 32, with a sugarscoop added
to make it a 34.

Hello Frank,

Thanks for the input. What are the features you like most about them?
Is it their sailing characteristics? Is it your familiarity with them
and loyalty to your first love? (a perfectly valid reason :o) Is it
their strength? Workmanship? Have you been caught in nasty weather in
one? How did it handle? I know that this is a question without a
single answer. There's probably as many answers to this question as
there are 34 foot models out there. But it would be fun compiling a
list of the top 10, and the reasons why their owners felt that way. I
may try to post another thread one of these days, seeing as the
original post quickly turned to a mud-slinging festival.

Thanks,

Bob Whitaker
"Free Spirit"