I heard this a week of so ago from someone who had just bought a
boat but never spent much time on that particular
boat, or that model...
And I read the
forums as to "which boat should I buy to go cruising" and I wonder how much experance with different rigs, and boat conditions the person has..
As to this person I'm refering to, He and His Wife had done their homework, so to speak, on brands of boats, the
hull design, the
depth of
keel and had saved for years to buy the boat.. went through all the
inspection, got the loan, and then went out where the
water gets deep and found it didnt handle like They expected..
So here they set, with a life invested in the boat, and they cant handle what they have.. Their dreams are gone..
And its not due to Non-Experance... Myself, is a good example..
I've raced for years, I've crewed on more boats than I can count.. Delivered a good number up and down the
West Coast and had my share of "Blue Water" experance... But I bought my boat, a FIRST 42 based of reputation and design....
4 hours out of Coos Bay on the way to bring her home to SF, I was ready to throw in the towel.. She was like sailing a slick bannana.. all over the place and I couldnt keep her in a streight line.. Thinking I had really screwed up and blown 100k on a boat I couldnt handle.. And I had even mentioned it to the wife and decided to drop the
sails and
motor for awhile.. Now I'm running wing on Wing so as I started to round the boat up to drop the
sails, turning off a few degrees, and pulling the boom to the other side, and all of a sudden I knew what the referance was to the FIRST 42 being a true Thoroughbred.. She laid over about 10 to 12 degrees and took off... and running like she was on tracks.. at 14 knots...
What I found was that with the "pinched" stern, she wont sail DDW in following seas..
Now I'm ok with that, as my life is full of tacks and jibes... But for the average person, They would have just found a nightmare...
There are so many people
buying boats thinking they are like cars.. get in, put it in
gear and stay between the lines, but there are as many different characteristics about the way a boat handles as there are boats..
And handling is another item..Can you handle it when the s**t gets nasty.. All the
safety gear, and
hull designs wont keep you alive when something bad happens.. and it does, and Damn fast..
So Pick the design, and then imagine yourself crawling out on the
deck at 3 am in the morning to put a reef in the sail or to grab that lose
halyard. Now add 40 knots of
winds, and breaking waves and for good measure, the waves are breaking to the west with the
wind, the swells are rolling East....
For many, you've just entered Hell..
But for some of us with the right boat and skills to handle the boat and the knowledge of how it reacts.. Its Just Cruising 101..