BIGGER BOAT SYNDROME

[iceman]

HELP..I am getting the bigger is better mindset
My Commander is fine so why do I need a bigger boat??

Iceman

[cpast]

alright, look- i know all about big boats- i have a big boat-
i own a 2 year old Wylie 39- it's the most amazing boat i've ever been on- up to 19 knots so far, sexy, easy and fun to drive-

but before you go nuts and buy a big boat?

consider that your commander is probably paid off- that's a very cool thing-

your dock fee? light weight as well.

insurance- my replacement policy with Lloyds is about 2800 dollars a year.

Systems- big boats have systems- i have junk like an fridge, a propane system, a watermaking system, enough electronics to go to the moon and back. Autohelm systems, communications systems---and they all work fine...for now...

another thing to consider is this- i needed a part for my Cal 20? into the boat store and out of the boat store for under 10 bux...it could happen---now? you can't get out of the store for under 50 bux- that kind of sucks- everything is bigger- everything.

when it starts blowing 35 and 40 and things start to get spooky? someone has to go forward and wrestle down that jib- and then there's the reefing issue- more hands and bigger muscles...big ass winches and huge lines...double handed winch handles and on and on and on

if your engine cooks? 8k or more. if your outboard goes to the bottom? considerably less.

big sails? big dollars...

think about the minor stuff- i have a teak toe rail and teak grab rails-that's about 110 feet of sanding and coating- front and back- ick

my wylie is king however, we had it built so we could go places in relative security and comfort- like from SFO to LA- or from Texas to the BVI and back to Florida- Now in Germany and have just gotten into an old Ariel in Maryland.

The ICW is the idea- my dog. my wife and i...will write a 'dropout guide' for those wanting to escape the modern world on a shoestring- I'm a paraplegic in a wheelchair- so i figure- if i can pull it off - hell, anyone can do it. can't take the Wylie in the ICW as it's too deep, and the mast is too tall. And if you don't want to spend the night on the hook? High season in FLA can get pretty expensive quick- and it's all about "how long is the boats?"

It's my personal view that you don't need more boat than you actually NEED. Anything more is like paying for tail fins on a car...

[iceman]

THANKS
Let me throw this out into the ring..my wife and I lived aboard a Tartan 30 1974 vintage..Did the intercoastal from VT to NC..appx 5 years worth of living aboard
Then lived on a mooring on same boat on Block Island Rhode Island for a summer..
I am an electrician by trade and always had work
We sold the Tartan to live on land again..But now the draw of the waterway life is pulling again..
Is it a case of being to the otherside of life, bigger boats, living on the water, enduriing storms, and spending hard earned money on the infamous hole in the water, that I (we), have to go again
I often times consider myself a little mental, (could be long VT winters, and working past three years down in Antarctica, during that planets summer season),
Are we, (me and the wife and the dog), hopelessly entrenched in a different way of life..

I feel the need for a steel boat to visit Antarctica on my own terms and boat.
I was stationed at Palmer Station, Anvers Island for 2 years, (6 months at a time), then last year at Ross Island, Mcmurdo, for 4 months with the wife Diane..hence the name BLUE PENQUIN for the Commander, #264..We were employed by Raytheon Polar Service..I was an electrician, she worked in the galley feeding the masses..

I could pay for professional help, but hell the ARIEL/COMMANDER group of fun loving professionals, seems as good a place as any for advice..after all one of the members is spending 30k on a restoration..


Iceman

[cpast]

Holymoly iceman- you're talking about a whole new game- i don't know anything about that- the arctic circle? steel hulls? wow- a big sweater and welder? i don't know 'jack' about that stuff!

But you're right about these guys- i've been reading for a month- they are heavy on the good groove scale and light on the butthead scale. That's a really good thing.

We do the same thing sometimes- get 'the longing', move on the boat...after six months with sore backs in cramped bunks we move back ashore. Then the cycle starts over for us.

The real issue to address for this sort of thing, I think, would be an effective 12 step program. "Hi, I'm Chris and I have a boating problem..." :-)

[ebb]

Capt iceman!
Sail in the ice?
Are you looking to build or buy?
Graham Radford has one of the smallest steel boats I can Imagine for such a task (me, knowing nothing) the GR 350. Nice and tidy, looks quick to build. But you may be looking for a full keel design.
One of the most versatile designers is the South African, Dudley Dix, who seems to be able to do it all. Dix, being close to your cruising grounds might be your man - you might even find a pre-cruised on his site. If I had the bucks and the time I'ld look real close at his talent. Both are on the net, google their names.

[iceman]

Hey Ebb, Im looking to buy..Something small indeed..Maybe something like David Lewis/Icebird
The quest continues..As well as my therapy sessions with the association..
Any recent newsletters..Last one i got was Winter edition
Keep any and all Steel boat finds coming my way
Capt. Iceman..

[ebb]

Seems yr more likely full keel because you like the Commander so much.
Man. If you are looking for an older steel boat, that's a whole other kettle of fish! You can bang out yr dents - but the rust and all the RUST! Maybe find one built out of Core 10. Wonder if there's a forum for rust buckets.

Icebird was one lousey boat. Hope you find one with ballast to weight ratio of an Alberg. Best of luck.

[iceman]

I here ya Ebb
I guess what I need to do is bite the bullet and do some cruising with the Commander..As suggested by others..
Maybe I can stay in 4 star 4 diamond marinas along the way,
Hell we will be frozen in Vermont before too long
Foliage is upon us as well as hunting season

Ice

[ebb]

Check out FairMetal Boats (N.Z.)
for Ganley designs - he has a 25' Colin Archer double ender
at a little less than double the Commander displacement.
in steel.
If yer into the design limitations we have in this class,
this boat is a gas, has an alternative junk rig, too! Draws 3' 9".
Evidently a bunch were built, maybe find one used.


www.fairmetalboats.com

"site index
hitch hiker"
to take a look at the lines drawings.

[ebb]

Hello Capt Checkered,
An amazing situation requiring amazing courage.
Please keep posting here.
Sailing, retiring on a shoestring, is what I'm faced with. Very interested in your book!!!