In my recent thread concerning it being too cold to build boats, the
discussion with Harry caused me to realize that people have widely
varying ideas on boating. Some people want a boat that always looks
show room pretty for various reasons. I assume the reasons could be
because they think this gives safety and reliability or because they
like the look and feel of new.
My personal philosophy on boats and vehicles in general is to not
worry too much about looking good but to emphasize functionality. In
fact, sometimes looking good can be bad. A very good looking boat can
invite unwanted attention from people who want to mess with it while a
drab looking boat will not be worth anyone messing with. I've always
felt this way about my vehicles and owning really bad looking beaters
has always given me peace of mind because I do not obsess over someone
scratching them and I rarely lock them because who would have anything
valueable in such a thing.
I do not like feeling like my boats are a financial ball and chain on
me so I try not to have anything so nice that its loss would cause me
to lose any sleep. With this attitude, I can carry only liability
insurance, anchor my 28' sailboat in some odd place and simply not
worry about her. If something happens to her, its no biggie. I could
always make another sailboat.
My two small MiniCup sailboats were my first experiment in
boatbuilding so I tried a lot off things and if one gets trashed,
well, she'll make good firewood.For my nesting dinghy, I knew that
safety was a concern as was ease of use so I gave this some thought.
THEN, I painted her an awful puke green to discourage much attention
from would be thieves. My Tolman was my first powerboat and I wanted
her to look good and be functional and because I knew so little about
powerboats I did follow the directions well. Still, if she was
wrecked, it would not break my heart, I'd look forward to building the
next one.