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Old 31-12-2008, 19:32   #16
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I'm an old guy. I like some old stuff for nostalgic purposes. I appreciate small radar units, GPS, watermakers and fiberglass (that's all new). I like my 39mpg Saturn car made of plastic but if I had my druthers would still be driving my old 50 Chevy 2dr hardtop or my '37 Ford. I sold my '67 Mustang because it didn't handle very well and my wife didn't like it. She liked the 66 Triumph TR4A better and we still have it. My Toyota Tacoma 4WD will outlast me. My John Deere tractor with a Yanmar engine will outlast me but I like the old Poppin Johnnies and would own one if it were affordable. I drove my cousin's once and considered it a privilege. I drove a '58 Edsel once too but wasn't too impressed. My brother rode an Indian motorbike when they were still called motorbikes. My other brother rode Harleys. I bought nothing but Hondas because they started and ran when I wanted them to.
This is a great thread and I would hope that those who thought a lot would determine that what is good for me in my mental state might not be good for you in yours.
Boats? Old thick fiberglass monohulls with sloop or cutter rigs and diesel engines are for me. I like aft cockpits and slab reefing. Go figure?
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Old 01-01-2009, 05:14   #17
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I certainly agree with those here who have expressed the value of mixing old and new. I have a 30-year-old fiberglass boat. She is right for me, well built and (importantly) affordable. Had I bought her new, she would have cost a prohibitive 6x as much. End of story.

Electronics fail at precisely the wrong time. That's not just something people say -- I have seen it happen with my own eyes. It has reinforced my belief that a "low-tech" backup should be around for every high-tech gadget. Depth sounder = lead line; paper charts for electronic ones, etc. And there's nothing to replace the human ear. Many a sailor has saved himself by listening, for breakers, a distant buoy gong, the cavitation of a ship's prop.

All those electronics are great, when they work. The key is not to miss a beat when they fail.
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Old 01-01-2009, 05:54   #18
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I got an old GRP boat simply because it was affordable. A new one built to the same specs would be god knows how much (£150k?) - certainly way more than I would ever be willing to pay simply for a boat. It's heavy and "slower than some" because that's what I wanted. Nothing wrong with lighter or faster or newer, if that is what you want or are willing to pay for.

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My other brother rode Harleys. I bought nothing but Hondas because they started and ran when I wanted them to.
The motorbikes is a good analogy of "progress". I started on Jap bikes in the mid 80's and for me they are "normal". Well designed and well built and with exceptional performance that comes as standard. Reliability is simply not an issue. That's why I bought a new Suzuki (SV650 - V Twin) in March 08 without even thinking much.

I now also have a Triumph Legend which although not ancient in build (year 2000) is 25 years behind in design and being a whole package (leaving aside it was designed with a retro look)......I love the Triumph for very different reasons to the Suzuki, but it ain't a better bike by a long way......but the Suzuki is the one that is being sold - but hopefully in a p/x for another Suzuki, maybe a 1000cc V Twin trail bike


gratuitous motorbike photo


But a 125 Scooter was the Bike I owned the longest and by a long way.....because it was so practical for carrying stuff (I still miss it for that). And that was Italian with the build quality to match Even the Plastic Chrome rusted .....and the engine was based on the original from the 50's.

Mmmmm, not sure how all that translates into boats?
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Old 01-01-2009, 09:36   #19
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Is boat you are considering for real sailing ,or just a floating apartment?,as many newer boats are designed around.Low maintenance,good upwind ability are what I look for.
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Old 01-01-2009, 10:30   #20
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I think age plays a role in regard to the original post. What seems "old" these days is what many of us grew up with. At the same time, as you get older you can usually make a unrestricted choice one way or the other, one which is not primarily financially driven.

I love the classic lines of my boat, and those of my car. Added together, the three of us have a combined age of 114 years, and still going strong.

BWS
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Old 01-01-2009, 11:09   #21
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IMHO - The best one, old or new, is the one you have and the one that makes you happy sailing...
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Old 01-01-2009, 13:42   #22
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Aloha Moonrsn,
Well put!
regards,
JohnL
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Old 01-01-2009, 14:59   #23
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Talking about new. I am posting this from 6.46nm's off the coast just with a cell phone moodem.

We have to keep the ability to look at whats new and sort out the good from the chaff... and then be able to learn to use the new fangeled gadget!




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Old 01-01-2009, 15:13   #24
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Talking about new. I am posting this from 6.46nm's off the coast just with a cell phone moodem.


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Old 02-01-2009, 08:34   #25
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Good reading so far. I was reading another sailing forum yesturday, and was bothered by something I read. Which made me realize the reason for my original post. It was someone giving a fellow sailor advice on a "Tacker" and Spinnaker sock for easier single handing while flying a chute. The person stated how dangerous it was and that "in his experience" it was not a good system. It turned out that the sailor had never seen or used this system, but rather his experience was based on what he had heard and read. I wanted to be clear that when taking advice on certain things we should be cautious and ask ourselves. Is the advisor speaking from true unbias opinion, or are the trying to reinforce the chioces they have made with what they are using? After all, my chiropractor is the best. You should use him. (we all have the best chiropractor, dentist etc.) Nobody has ever told me "You shouldn't go to my mechanic, he's not very good and he charges too much."

I am certainly not trying discourage advice, so please don't take it that way. After all, I am in my mid thirties and am wise enough to know that there is an endless supply of invaluable information at my fingertips from people who have done and seen much more than me.
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Old 02-01-2009, 10:34   #26
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Nobody has ever told me "You shouldn't go to my mechanic, he's not very good and he charges too much."

I guess you havent read all my posts....
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Old 02-01-2009, 15:36   #27
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The best boats are those with a blend of old and new, chosen not because of an era, but soly on its own merits. Many new ideas are huge improvements , others are just fads that will quickly pass. Some older ways of doing things are as valid today as they ever were . For others we have learned better ways of doing things.
Clinging dogmaticaly to either traditon or modern will have us rejecting many really good ideas , not on the basis of their merits, but soly on the basis of their era, reducing the quality and function of our boats, and making sailing more difficult and less enjoyable than it could be. . Roller furling jibs are a huge improvement over having to go on the foredeck to change sails. My slab reffing , re-invented in the 70's and called "California Reefing" was the same reefing that Drake used in the 1500's . I can reef in under a minute and have seen nothing new that has been an improvement. Witness the mast going for and aft in ten year cycles , from big mains and tiny foretriangles , to tiny mains and big fore triangles, then back again, with us being told each time that it's a modern breakthru and nothing else willl work.
Witness people being told that only bendy masts will win races , and boats showing up for races with several masts on trailers,as they expected to break some. Then the Kiwis won the Americas cup with a mast as stif as a brick. Instantly those bendys, the only ones that could possibly win races were instantly outdated.
Sit back , take everything with a grain of salt , and judge ideas soly by how well they work. Don't be shy about going against the grain when the truth seems to clearly be separated from fact, or promotion seems to be about separating you from your freedom chips.
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