Prepare For LOTS of Questions....

[ElBeethoven]

Seeing as how my offer has been accepted on hull #120, the current "Dulcimer."

But I protest too much. I haven't been this excited since I got into Columbia Univ. I think the best part about this, aside from planning my route to Bora Bora, will be putting ACTION behind the hundreds of hours of research I've done while waiting for My Perfect Boat to materialize. I figure among you guys, Lin and Larry Pardey, Don Casey, Bill Seifert, Bernard Moitessier, Hal Roth, Emiliano Marino and Brian Toss, I've collected enough info to turn her into a fine vessel indeed.

Anyway, just wanted to pass along the news.

:)

Fair winds,

Jeremy

[frank durant]

Congrats to the official new boat owner.Keep dreamin and planning...they can come true

[mbd]

From one new owner to another!

Mike
A-414

[ebb]

Jeremy, Of course you choose the right boat, but why an Ariel to go cruising with I'll never know!

You'll be adding Calder and Vigor to your list. But it's more than interesting to see Bill Seifert here. This guy REALLY knows his stuff. You trust this guy's TIPS, every one has his hands, his experience, and his brain on it. His book is a real treasure. And unlike the rediculously proportioned Calder tome, the concise, no bs, hard bound (International Martine) will find a place on the shelf in our small boat.

[ElBeethoven]

Sorry Ebb! I neglected to mention Calder and Vigor in my original list! I have the former's Cruising Handbook and I read Vigor's books almost two years ago when I originally started feeling cabin fever at my job. Out of everything Vigor has written, the renaming ceremony is probably my favorite. :D

Interesting that you speak of Seiffert so highly. I have his Offshore Sailing Tips, and while there is A LOT of great information, his "style" of sailing, if you will, is very, very different from what I'll be doing. His knowledge (and advice) stems from racing very well-outfitted, high-dollar yachts with unlimited budgets. I'm certainly all for eating well, but I don't think that I'll ever be able to make any of the recipes he includes in the last chapter! Beef wellington? On a sailboat?! When all is said and done, the Pardeys are my gurus: seamanlike, practical, cheap. What else do you need?

As for the choice of an Ariel, that's easy. I am one person only, and one that is 5'5" and 125 lbs, so size and handling capability were premium considerations. Also, I learned from my Paceship 26 what a cruising boat should NOT be. So I swore that my next boat would be heavy displacement, full keel, decent chain locker, low freeboard, built like a tank, and PRETTY. Never to be forgotten is that big boats cost more to buy and a LOT more to maintain. In fact, maintenance costs increase at the cube rate of the waterline length.

So with those parameters, the list got pretty short pretty fast: Pearson Ariel, Bristol 24, Cape Dory 25, Seafarer Meridian, Contessa 26. There are others that fit the bill(Bristol Channel Cutter, Allied Seawind, Cape Dory 25D), but they're just a TAD out of my budget. Don't strike me dead, but the Contessa was my first choice, but ONLY because of the outboard rudder, a feature that makes repair and windvane installation a breeze. But when all was said and done, an Ariel came to me for the right price at the right time, and I would have been a real bonehead to pass it up. :)

The hardest part I'm finding is coming up with a name!!! I made the mistake of soliciting suggestions, and my friends are mighty creative. So now I have 120 really good names!! Oh the pain! :)

Fair winds!

J.

[commanderpete]

"Dulcimer" isn't bad, but the name should please you. My boat had been called "Off Duty" at one point---that's bad.

And if I see another boat called "ExtaSea" I'll puke

Congrats on the new boat. She'll treat you right.

Where are you gonna keep her?

[ElBeethoven]

She and I will be headed back to the Outer Banks of NC for summer work and outfitting before heading farther south as the weather dictates.

The Top Picks So Far (in no real order):

1. Jezebel – 1938 Bette Davis film
2. Ms. Johnson – My Granny (small, tough as nails and took care of me)
3. Maverick – Just my generally contrary personality
4. Tarantella – A fast Italian dance in 6/8 time (very NOT Ariel-like)
5. Too Tweaky – Also my high-strung self. "Tweaky" is also my cat's name.
6. Sprezzatura – “effortless mastery”
7. Fidelio – Beethoven’s opera about mankind’s triumph over tyranny
8. Momus - God of laughter, adverse criticism, faultfinding, mockery and pleasantry.
9. Brizo – Protectress of mariners, sailors and fishermen.
10. Terpsichore – Muse of Music and Dance
11. Astraeus – Keeper of the Winds, a Titan

Your vote counts! :)

[Mike Goodwin]

7 come 11 ! my choices , leaning to 11!

[ebb]

It's the word or sound you first hear when you haven't been thinking about the boat. The name that first came when you first thought about naming.

It's the word at the end of the sentence, "I think I'll go down to ........... today."
It's the name you've already whispered quietly to her when you were alone.


[I think it's Vigor (who oughta know) who cautions against the audaciousness of naming boats after the gods and tweeking their patience with fools, citing the 'unsinkable' Titanic, for one.]

[walberts]

I like "Ergo." But I agree that Dulcimer isn't bad at all. I would give the name change a little time. Give everything a little time except any major problems. I had a long list of changes that I was going to make to Haabet when I bought her. The name was one ... I've since decided not to change that. Also, many of the other changes I had planned turned out not to be necessary or even desirable.

Live with the boat a while. She'll tell you what's what. (Also, buy the manual.)

Bill (Haabet Hull #133)

[commanderpete]

Good advice there.

On the name, keep in mind that the stern is not very big. The longer the name, the smaller the letters have to be. It might not look as pleasing as you hope.

This is almost pushing it.