When we shouldn't encourage people to "just go"

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Mr42

You need a good pair of spoons. It's amazing what can be achieved with a good pair of spoons.


Peace.

NOTICE TO MARINERS: Humor Forecasted

Well, that may be..

But from what material would you choose to make your spoon?

Wood spoons?
Metal spoons? Steel spoon or aluminum spoon?
Plastic spoons?

Each is a compromise.

And would it be a hand-crafted one off? Or a production spoon?

I happen to like Sporks, the "motor sailor" of spoons.

The latest are made of high tech materials like titanium, so they would be the ULDS (Ultra Light Displacement Spoons).

And, you mentioned a "pair of spoons." That means you prefer a "multi." I can live with a "mono" spoon.

[goat]

Originally Posted by mglonnro

Seems like a nicer version of humanity, where people encourage each other. And smile and say thank you. Are humble and sincere.

You'll have to forgive Deepfrz, he's from Winnipeg. First day of spring and last day of fall are on the same day. Kidding. I love Winnipeg. Well, the bypass around it anyway.

goat

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Sailingcouple13

On a forum like this, tell all dreamers to go for it. 95% are just that dreamers, 75% of the non dreamers will only get a small day sailer, leaving one that might get a boat large enough to go off shore, and 75% of those will actually even do an over night anchorage. So you are actually influencing a fraction of 1% and if they do not prepare properly.....Remember...."You Can't Fix Stupid"

Sent from my SM-G900P using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

But you can try.

[TrentePieds]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

I've never seen the ocean and have no idea how sails work. We found a lovely engineless ferrocement boat in guatamala on the internet. They say it's cruise ready. Our plan is to take a couple suit cases and head out on a round the world trip.


Is this a good idea?


T

It seems to me that quite recently an antipodean lady approached us with words not unlike those.

Many us put before her a version of: "What you propose can be seriously injurious to your financial, your emotional, and your physical welfare, but no-one will try to stop you, so proceed with the utmost caution!"

What could be more apposite, let alone necessary?

Ultimately, Darwinism rules. And that may be just as well :-)!

TrentePieds

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by jdaltonpe

a) 2 years of reading and absorbing every relevant book, manual, article, etc. that I could get my hands on including cover to cover reads of Chapmans, Heavy Weather Sailing, Sail Power, Cruising Routes of the World, books about yacht design and construction, weather analysis, actual voyages, etc. This allowed me to chose a suitable vessel and perceive in my own mind how I could handle it.

Yours was a superb discussion, thanks.

Just on your item #1, my experience, on this and most other boating forums, is that many people who ask these kinds of questions (and many other, to boot!) are just plain lazy.

There are many more resources out there for research than ever before, while many of us learned about a lot of boating stuff before the internet was even invented by that AL guy.

Doing research, and doing YOUR OWN homework is almost a lost art for altogether too many.

Recently, I have heard derisive mentions of replies that suggest using Google. I disagree, 'cuz in most cases if the OP used a Google search he'd find the answers many of us can find in nanoseconds using Google. And do, and post "The Answers" for them. Maybe that's why there's that LMGTFY.

Books are great. Folks who think books are dinosaurs now have another option, the internet.

Would help them a lot if they learned to use it.

Then there are those who may say: "But all thee questions have been asked & answered."

Nope, there are always good questions. And that's why these forums are so useful, helpful and fun.

But when someone asks: "What position should I put my transmission in when sailing?" or "What fluid should I use in my transmission?" (without mentioning the engine & transmission), or "What are the bridge height restrictions in Western Florida?", it starts getting real old real quick.

These are the very kinds of things an internet search engine was designed for. Why ask someone else to do your homework for you? Unless you got away with it all through high school...

I applaud jdaltonpe for doing his own homework.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by Sailingcouple13

On a forum like this, tell all dreamers to go for it. 95% are just that dreamers, 75% of the non dreamers will only get a small day sailer, leaving one that might get a boat large enough to go off shore, and 75% of those will actually even do an over night anchorage. So you are actually influencing a fraction of 1% and if they do not prepare properly.....Remember...."You Can't Fix Stupid"

Sent from my SM-G900P using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I disagree.. I personally know 4 people who started here and are now out living the dream. If you include me, then that is 5 people. Add the 4 Youtube series with people just like that (Delos, Catchin Rays, La Vagabond, Untie the Lines) and I'm pretty sure the numbers are bigger than %1.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by mglonnro

Seems like a nicer version of humanity, where people encourage each other. And smile and say thank you. Are humble and sincere.

Maybe constructive criticism or hard love is the nicer version of humanity.

[davefromoregon]

To be fair, lots of advice involves the following:

Go make friends at the marina and sail with them to see if you like it( many variations on this)

Join a club and see if you like that.

Take a few classes to see if you like that and get some real knowledge. Also, read a lot on the topic for the same reasons.

Buy a cheap boat and get used to maintenance and see if you can deal with that.

However, is it any surprise that if one come to a sailing forum looking for encouragement to go cruise that one might find that encouragement?

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Maybe constructive criticism or hard love is the nicer version of humanity.

Maybe they all can coexist peacefully? Or maybe be the same thing?

No, scratch that. I forgot where we are.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

I've never seen the ocean and have no idea how sails work. We found a lovely engineless ferrocement boat in guatamala on the internet. They say it's cruise ready. Our plan is to take a couple suit cases and head out on a round the world trip.


Is this a good idea?


There are the stray couples where this works out but you hear about them because it's so unusual for it to work out.


Blanket "go for it" responses are irresponsible. Providing guidance on a better course of action or an action that show the potential errors is the better option. A simple recommendation to have the boat surveyed and have the surveyor come up with a cost to bring it up to snuff could be enough to save them thousands and much grief.

Your first paragraph was quoted and I took it as wry humor which would be taking it out of text without your full post.

Your right but the dollars aren't my concern. It is, never have been seen again. I'm sure we have all lost dollars but being lost at sea after being encouraged to do something stupid is another story.

[sailpower]

It seems to me that most coming to a forum to ask what type of boat to buy never buy one much less go anywhere in it.

With all of the thousands of threads available on these topics, I wonder why anyone serious would come to a forum to ask the question without having read at least some of them? It can cause one to question what the real story is.

BUT, it is a great way to spend the next X years of the “plan” discussing yachting/cruising with their friends and anyone else who will listen as in; “Why, yes, we are in the market for a yacht to sail around the world”. Who at the club can top that?

Also, on these forums it is difficult to gauge the knowledge and experience of those posting advice and so therefore even more difficult to determine the value of it. It might be the perfect response or be perfectly useless. How does one know?

But, it is the internet. Has there ever been a more marvelous place? Anyone can be whoever they want to be whenever they want to be.

Great fun.

And of course some people actually do it.

[dw5055]

We Americans have no issue with sending 18 yr old childern off to war. Why should we be giving advice to adults not to "Go for it"? I say Go for it, you only live once. I did it for 3 three years and lived. I didn't want to be 80 yrs old one day sitting on a porch wishing I had done it. You can just as easily get hit by a car walking across the street.

[Schooner Chandlery]

Folks will do what they do regardless of your advice. On a large forum it is easy for experienced sailors to point newbie in the direction of good reference materials, sailing opportunities, and so forth--as well as give reasonable encouragement. There are sufficient numbers of old salts that this need not ever be a chore for just a few and it need not be unkind or derisive on the forum. There's no reason to discourage another soul from taking off and living their dream -- which may be very different from yours or mine.

As an aside, any old salt who really thinks that what that old salt may say is so important to a newbie cruiser's actions that they have some responsibility in what that cruiser eventually does...that old salt needs to get off the ego trip and realize we're none of us so important as all that.

Even what appear on the surface to be the most clueless of people without a bit of knowledge, money, or any other tools to get started actually do manage to make it happen -- sometimes doing amazing things and cruising thousands of miles and/or for years. OTOH, people who seem to have it all together with the "right" boat, years of local experience, USCG capt'n ticket, all the safety gear, thousands of posts where they're giving advice to others in the online sailing forums...sometimes those very ones go off and do exactly the opposite of what they advise others to do and they lose their boat at sea in much the way the old salts would wag their heads (if it were a newbie) and say "I knew that newbie was gonna fail..."

And there's the thing -- nobody's perfect. The forums are a great place to pick up resources, knowledge, ideas of what to do. If some newbie asks questions you've answered too many times for other newbies, just pass by the opportunity to make some unkind remark--suggest they read the forums and learn.

Fair winds, Brenda

[sailorboy1]

One of the problems on CF advise on the subject is that too many people think that cruising on a sail boat is about sailing. This misplaced thought process results in a large group of members just not seeing how it could be possible to do it by getting a 40'+ boat and heading off from a starting point of being older and never sailed.

That group just can not accept that sailing is basically pretty frekin easy!

[laika]

Originally Posted by goat

You sound like you're ready. One thing you should carry with you at all times is a rock tied to a string. You can always tell up from down. Just go for it!!

goat

A rock and string has too many fail points. You need one of these..