Hi Delmar;
Thank you and God bless you for your
service to our country. Thank you especially for fighting in the
Vietnam War; we were not only right to fight in that one but we would've been wrong not to. I have
lost sleep many times in my life; BUT I NEVER
LOST ANY SLEEP BECAUSE I THOUGHT OUR COUNTRY WASN'T PROTECTED BY OUR ARMED FORCES.
It all takes
money to sail, doesn't it? You know what I think about though when I think about the cost? When in
history was it ever possible for the average person to sail recreationally around the world? Never. Democracy and freedom give us that; and then only recently. We always pay a
price for freedom. It's worth every penny.
As a cook in Bullhead City I'll never save the
money to
cruise. In a few months God willing I will be
fishing in
Alaska. On a factory
trawler is safer than the
fishing boats or crabbers; the pay is good enough. Thank God too that God created two
cheap, penny pinching people when He created my wife and me; we can live off of nothing given the
hardware.
I am blessed and cursed with the ability to learn anything exceptionally well and quickly anything I set my mind to. I know about boat building and
repair; I am sure I can build my first boat as a professional would. It isn't like we are islands unto ourselves; someone is always there to help. And if you can't learn something new everyday what is the point of getting out of
bed?
That said you are absolutely right. For instance, finding a place to build a sailboat is incredibly costly. If I were to build a
steel hull here in the desert land to rent to do so is dirt cheap; it might even offset the cost of transport to the cost. I might go that
route.
Wood, though, has to be done by the sea. I fear the wood boat bug has not only me but my wife. I will
work for free if I love my work. The cost of wood......insane. But wood is beautiful isn't it. It loves you back like
fiberglass never will.
And thank God my wife has the same dream and understands the realities. She loved your reply, too. She nodded her
head the whole time. To dream is free; to live the dream is another story.
I can't help but appreciate your kind words of experience from someone who has obviously learned the hard way. Thank you.
PAUL