Wealth ! . . . How Yacht Owners Are Perceived

[Dick Pluta]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Only in the English language. "Yacht" is used versus "sailboat" as it translates into other languages and maintains the meaning of a private vessel. Some of the translations of "sailboats" are downright hilarious.

I'm not sure if this slightly off topic or not. I thought about the joke thread, but it's true, so it's not a joke.

As I said in my earlier post, we have a small apartment in Paris. The only way we can afford it is to rent it when we're not there. My French is only servicable and our cleaning lady's English doesn't exist, so I often have to write things down and translate them using an on line translation program.

We had an ongoing problem with the shower curtain. After a while it gets a little funky and she wasn't real good about noticing this. I sent her a note saying the liner in the shower needed to be cleaned or replaced when needed. I ran the note through the translation program and, for some reason, it didn't look 100%, so I started looking up words. It turned out I would have told her that there was an ocean liner in the tub that needed to be cleaned or replaced from time to time.

Not only is my yacht bigger than yours, my bathtub is so big I can keep a ship in it. Maybe I am wealthy.

Dick Pluta
AEGEA

[smurphny]

Originally Posted by oldcal46skipper

*** Okay, It is Sunday morning, you want to take the family sailing, but you need some fasteners to re-attach a loose whatever...
Choice 1- Go to your local West Marine store, open 363 days each year and staffed by friendly locals who are most likely boat owners, get the fasteners you need and take the family out for a SAFE day doing what we all love.
Choice 2-Tell the family we cannot go sailing today since I want to save
$0.02

Competition may be defined by the consumers desires and expedenciency

I am also a "Frugal Sailor", a West Marine part time Associate, (16 years), stock holder and a "Realist", i.e. I trim my sails when the wind changes.

Tom

I appreciate having stores like West Marine around harbors where you can pick up an emergency item. I bought a new water fresh water pump in the New Bedford store last year when the old one crapped out. It was wicked expensive because they only had a top-of-the-line item in stock so I paid the price, having no alternative. That's not the way to win repeat customers. When shopping around for a non-emergency item, I always check their price and know that they have a higher overhead than discount houses. I don't mind paying a little more BUT many things are SO much higher in price that I feel like I'm being gouged. This, in turn, gives me a bad taste in my mouth about buying anything there. The stores are great, the staffs are usually somewhat knowledgeable and helpful. I'm certainly no accountant or retail economist but it would seem they'd increase their volume of sales and get more folks into the stores on a regular basis if they would filter out the things that are obviously priced significantly above what others sell the same item for. If people think that any kind of store is generally overpriced, they may go there in an emergency but may just write that store off for future purchases. If people think a store is doing their best to provide the best value, they will go there again.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Only in the English language. "Yacht" is used versus "sailboat" as it translates into other languages and maintains the meaning of a private vessel. Some of the translations of "sailboats" are downright hilarious.

English is probably the most misunderstood language on the planet, usually by other countries who claim to speak it.

Until I started looking on the net and discovered a few forums, I'd never heard of 'sailboats'. I'd heard of sailing boats, but even that term wasn't used very often.

Growing up, in S. Africa, if a boat had a sail, it was a yacht. Didn't matter if it was 16ft or 60ft. People who messed around with, or lived on yachts were called 'yachties'. I'd never heard the term 'cruisers' for yachties either. I suspect it was the same for the UK, Aus, and NZ.

But I've learned to talk the American lingo because the natives are friendlier if they see you are trying to make the effort

A great big gin palace or MegaYacht was called a 'motor yacht', and the 'motor' was necessary to distinguish it from a sailing yacht, which is always the true yacht so the word sailing isn't necessary.

So, life was simple, and having a yacht meant nothing because it was probably cluttering up the driveway.

Imagine telling an American your yacht is parked in the driveway!!! Some bloody driveway that would be

[oldcal46skipper]

West Marine matches prices with other brick & mortar stores.

How can you get any more competitive?

Whenever Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops, Sports Academy etc. publish a sale bulletin our sales go up as we match their prices and you do not have to leave the waterfront.

Tom

[MarkJ]

Rich people contribute more to society than poor people.

Look at all those rich people that get slagged off in threads like this. They are the ones divesting money and employing people.

My boat is a constant employment force around the world.

Not only did she employ people being built but now employs people every week in maintenance, provisioning, upgrades and socially.

Vastly more than poor people richer people who have actually worked in their lives and are now sailing their yachts (sail boats like the English language says) putting cash foreign currency into local communities thus employing people and families.

Yes, cruisers are wealthier than poor people in our own countries. Yes we have a vastly better lifestyle. But also: Yes, we help our own countries and the world MORE than poor people.


Mark

[Kettlewell]

The funny thing about West Marine is that they got to be so big by underpricing everyone. Can anyone remember when BoatUS and West Marine were battling each other head to head with pricing? Boat shows were really fun back then because between the two big ones, and then some other players like Defender and E&B Marine you could buy stuff really cheap. Then West gradually gobbled up most of the competition and got their near monopoly in major marine markets. Luckily, for those in the know, there are still smaller outfits like Hamilton Marine and Defender, and there are also many specialty places that can be found on the Internet, that almost always have lower prices than WM if you can plan ahead a bit. I've even found that the mom & pop marina stores along the water are often better on a lot of stuff you might need. My little boatyard gives me decent pricing on most things, certainly lower than standard WM pricing, and if I need something they don't have they will often order it for me and give me a good price.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by smurphny

I appreciate having stores like West Marine around harbors where you can pick up an emergency item. I bought a new water fresh water pump in the New Bedford store last year when the old one crapped out. It was wicked expensive because they only had a top-of-the-line item in stock so I paid the price, having no alternative. That's not the way to win repeat customers. When shopping around for a non-emergency item, I always check their price and know that they have a higher overhead than discount houses. I don't mind paying a little more BUT many things are SO much higher in price that I feel like I'm being gouged. This, in turn, gives me a bad taste in my mouth about buying anything there. The stores are great, the staffs are usually somewhat knowledgeable and helpful. I'm certainly no accountant or retail economist but it would seem they'd increase their volume of sales and get more folks into the stores on a regular basis if they would filter out the things that are obviously priced significantly above what others sell the same item for. If people think that any kind of store is generally overpriced, they may go there in an emergency but may just write that store off for future purchases. If people think a store is doing their best to provide the best value, they will go there again.

Make no mistake about it..they know what they are doing and they have got to do it to keep the doors open.I just go there when what I need cant be gotten some where else...like sail guides, I cant find those at Walmart .DVC Its called free interprise...you gotta love it!

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Rich people contribute more to society than poor people.

Look at all those rich people that get slagged off in threads like this. They are the ones divesting money and employing people.

My boat is a constant employment force around the world.

Not only did she employ people being built but now employs people every week in maintenance, provisioning, upgrades and socially.

Vastly more than poor people richer people who have actually worked in their lives and are now sailing their yachts (sail boats like the English language says) putting cash foreign currency into local communities thus employing people and families.

Yes, cruisers are wealthier than poor people in our own countries. Yes we have a vastly better lifestyle. But also: Yes, we help our own countries and the world MORE than poor people.


Mark

Well, that's taken care of any chance of joining the Caribbean Communist Party...

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

Well, that's taken care of any chance of joining the Caribbean Communist Party...

There's no Reds under the Beds here. Beacuse its too damn hot.

[Rob Toronto]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Rich people contribute more to society than poor people.

Look at all those rich people that get slagged off in threads like this. They are the ones divesting money and employing people.

My boat is a constant employment force around the world.

Not only did she employ people being built but now employs people every week in maintenance, provisioning, upgrades and socially.

Vastly more than poor people richer people who have actually worked in their lives and are now sailing their yachts (sail boats like the English language says) putting cash foreign currency into local communities thus employing people and families.

Yes, cruisers are wealthier than poor people in our own countries. Yes we have a vastly better lifestyle. But also: Yes, we help our own countries and the world MORE than poor people.


Mark

Respectfully, I think you are being a bit myopic here.
The "rich" pay less in taxes, on a dollar for dollar basis than the poor. And as far as saying you "help our own countries and the world MORE than poor people." I'm not convinced, although I am sure you are.
Think of it this way; A poor carpenter contributes MORE on a daily basis to help their community and country than a rich person by far. They produce a product (hopefully) at a living wage. Something that can be touched, and that actually can improve the life of their client in a real way. The rich (again on a dollar to dollar basis) put much less into the community. By definition, they have to or they wouldn't be rich in the first place!
And as far as the monetary system goes, supplying $ through indebtedness, and compounded interest isn't doing anyone any favours in the long run. If the banker, businessman, and oil baron made the same sort of margin on their $ as the carpenter, I wouldn't have a problem. My issue is with a system that thrives on predatory lending, monopolization of everything from industry to insurance, and the overall system of wage slavery that has become the norm. Most people seem to be quite happy paying 20%- 30% on credit-card debit while the rich pay prime plus 1 to 3% for their credit needs. But hey, maybe it's just me being unreasonable.

[osirissail]

I fear we are straying a little too far into politics or social politics which is greatly discouraged on CF.
- - But as capitalistic practices directly affect cruisers and cruising boats, West Marine is a fine example. Like Kettlewell pointed out it is a fine and traditional capitalistic technique to adhere to the "law of supply and demand." If you can control the "supply" by eliminating most competition you can then "demand" prices that reward your efforts.
- - However, on the another front, West Marine is a little too responsive to their business model of "if you cannot sell a million of an item, don't sell the item." The West Marine Stores in Puerto Rico (2 of them) have virtually nothing of use to sailboats, the stocking is almost exclusively to power boats. This is quite frustrating to me and others who need a block or shackle uniquely relevant to sailboat rigging. We are forced to go to St Thomas and Budget Marine to find sailboat hardware or have the stuff mailed down from the States.
- - Besides the alternative suppliers mentioned by Kettlewell don't forget Jamestown Distributors - http://www.jamestowndistributors.com
They have a great variety of marine stuff along with stainless and bronze fasteners.
- - And for some categories like propane equipment and assorted water system pumps the RV stores usually have the exact same stuff for quite a bit less than even West Marine.
- - If yacht owners are considered wealthy then aircraft owners are the super-rich. It seems the low to high of pricing on the same or similar item starts with general public type suppliers like Home Depot and local plumbing/electrical stores then to RV parts stores and then to Marine parts supply stores and finally up in the stratosphere with aviation parts houses.

[hummingway]

If you have more to discuss on the original topic now is the time to return to it.

[tropicalescape]

Speaking of wealth...wheres Zeehag?Havent heard from her as of late must be down in Mexico spreading the wealth!Must be nice!I cant wait to get out of here!DVC

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Lol… Perception is reality

I do that all the time and it is one of my happiest, inspiring moments of the day, which is why I love the name of my boat… “Star Gazer”!

Having worked for those yacht owners who have the very highest level of budget, I can tell you they are just as passionate of their boat as we are with ours, which makes it a great leveler at any anchorage.

The fact that their multi-national corporations and developing projects keep them engaged and active, does not detract from the same wonderful feeling they have when stretched out and relaxed on their Super-Yacht, with the family happy and nearby…

All is then right with their world and they can stare out at the horizon, past the onboard perfection and seek inspiration.

A few have told me, that is when they seem to be able to sleep best, meditate and listen to their inner voice, without the distraction of corporate volume.

Not unlike what we do ourselves, but just with different distractions.

They get to the point where being involved in developing projects, is not because they need the income, but because they have this realistic feeling that if they do not do it.... it wont get done!

Creating something where there was nothing before, keeps them young.

Well, I agree there are looks of contentment and there are looks of shear exhaustion. This fellow had the latter. But, I agree that for many being on a boat and staring does bring out some good ideas and solutions to things no matter what your income. At least it does for me. I'm just grateful I can spend more time on board than most people. Over ten years ago I was living on board in New York when Rupert Murdoch pulled up in his 150 foot plus yacht Morning Glory. Pretty impressive when you need to have aircraft warning lights on the top of the mast. Though it did block my sunset view for a few days. The reason the boat was docked there was because he was getting married on board. I was impressed that he made all the wedding guests take off their shoes before they came on board. Now there's a guy who really loves his boat.

[atoll]

now have 3 yachts,so in reality my disposable income has just been further reduced,making me now extremly poor by western standards........

but next year(2012) when the **** hits the fan,and the rioting is not only limited to london and spreads throughout the whole of this little island i will sell at a premium to one of the fleeing rich...........as has happend countless times in the history of the"civilised world"!!!!!