So Many Beautiful Boats Rotting Away in Their Slips . . . Why ?

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by Hotel L

Awesome story...can you post pictures of your boat?

Oh I wish I could, but we have very few and they are snaps in an album and would need to be scanned. We don't have her anymore.

The boat we have now is a little plastic classic sailboat. Made the same year now that I think about it, they are both 1967's! But the Sara was a Chris Craft Caviler, excellent for the delta and gunkholing in the sloughs of California.

[captainKJ]

for future knowledge you can take photos of the photos and transfer them to your computer with out the aid of a scanner. I do all my document this way along with old photos

[sarafina]

great tip, thanks!

[Svsilvergirl]

If I didn't already love you sara ......almost got teary eyed reading that . ALMOST !

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by sarafina

Oh I wish I could, but we have very few and they are snaps in an album and would need to be scanned.

Sara,
Just snap a photo of the photo, nobody's looking for professional results.

[bangkaboat]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

I'm skeptical of concept that many people use their boat once in 10 years...
Regardless, using it often and ensuring it is properly maintained are mutually exclusive things.
What is interesting here is how some people make suppositions about why people don't use their boat as often as others might think appropriate.
It may seem a strange concept but some people may have better things to do.

Blasphemer! LOL! I agree. I think that people use their boat to the degree that they want to, plain & simple.

[Therapy]

Yep.

Some find they can't slow down working like they thought they could.

Some develop pains that are disabling at times.

Some develop balance problems.

Lots of reasons.

[callmecrazy]

These are all boats that are being listed by a brokerage for 30x their actual value. the owners are still just dreaming...

[Bash]

I've been a tenant in three marinas where the boat next door was owned by an octogenarian who no longer took her out but who couldn't bring himself to part with the love of his life.

Sad.

[VirtualVagabond]

With all these CF members surrounded by idle, deteriorating hulks, I'd be an idiot not to seize the moment to ask the question...

Would any of them happen to be Vagabond 47s, Formosa 51s, or Hudson Force 50s?

[imagine2frolic]

Damn Sara that's two warm fuzzy feeling days in a row isn't it? I would have loved to see grandpa's big smiling face. Maybe he was thinking of all those dock walks with you?..........i2f

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by ausaviator

I don't see that leaving your yacht in the marina taking up a spot and not using it for 5-10 years is selfish if you are paying for it. Each person has their own circumstances. Often people look at yachts and think that they are never used when often they are - you just aren't at the marina when the owners are there.

Emotionally it can be very hard to give up a boat even though it's the only logical thing to do. I've been there even in my short sailing life. Also, if these people give up their slip (keeping their dream alive) -- what DO they do with their boats?

[lorenzo b]

All boats require a lot of maintenance as the elements are harsh, but sailboats and plastic pleasure boats are almost impossible to keep up with and very expensive to keep looking good. Everything has to be shiny, bright, clean and spiffy all the time. Bump into a dock or neglect the boat for a month and you will notice it.
Compare that to the local crab boat the actually works on the water 7 days a week 12 hours a day. Does the owner get less pleasure from being out on the water? Is his boat less safe? Is it less reliable?
Pleasure boaters and weekend sailors pay an insane premium for all that useless brightwork and spotless shiny plastic. After a while they tire of wasting all that money and time and the boat shows it.
If they treated their boat like a working boat and used the toughest most economical surfaces and materials to weather the harsh elements, they would get a lot more use and pleasure from their boats.

[Jimbo485]

Very well put, Lorenzo! You have to be a masochistic idiot to enslave yourself to such ridiculous, useless finery as varnished external timber.

[zeehag]

external timber need not be varnished nor make the owner enslaved in order to be pretty and functional. those who believe in varnish NEVER leave dockside with a formosa or other boat with such beautiful wood.... i use sea water and oil and SAIL mine. as it should be, nothing masochistic involved.