Sailboats are evil...

[Thunderhead19]

I liken powerboat people to shoppers who go to a store, buy what they came for then leave. I liken sailboat people to a shopper who wants to buy a screwdriver, and visits every shop in town on the way to the hardware store (which is closed by the time he gets there).

I came by a healthy dislike of sailboats as a youth. I worked down on the fuel dock in my home town. When a sailboat would pull in, they'd take up about 30' of dock space, buy 5 litres of diesel and take on 300 litres of "free" water. Their malodourous crews/owners would then buy a shower for $2 and spend an hour in there with people waiting. Inevitably, they would then amble into town to do some shopping and leave their boat moored (for free) at the fuel dock (with fresh drinking water from the hose running down their gunnels). The last time that happened, the owner came back and was actually surprised to see me looming over his mooring likes with a fire axe. He just couldn't understand what the big deal was, as he had only been gone about three hours. I guess sailboat people have a "thing" about taking their own sweet time. I have held a long standing grudge because of this, and I grumble under my breath every time someone wants me to do sailboat design work. A good friend of mine, who learned the art of sailmaiking in New Zealand, set up shop in Vancouver several years ago. He was in a prime location near several marinas heavily populated with sailboats, and there was little competition. His business was slow. No sails came in from damage due to regular use and weathering. The vast majority of repairs were due to rot when fresh water got into the sail bags (that the sails virtually never came out of). The sailboat crowd baffles me. Can anyone here shed some light on the nature of the disease that these people have?

does this have any relevance to a design forum at all? or are you just being deliberatly provocative?

[SailDesign]

The sailboat crowd baffles me.

That's because you're a stinkpotter....

Originally Posted by Thunderhead19

Can anyone here shed some light on the nature of the disease that these people have?

Yes, its called forethought.
when the stinkboat man has long run out of money to power his beast,
and legislation has long ended the unsustainable and polluting nature of his endeavours, the blowboat man will continue on his way, costing nothing and leaving nothing but wake.

Rob

Having said that, of course, I am involved in design and construction of said stink boats.

[mistral]

Thunderhead, you're a clearly overstressed guy, so let me give you an advice: take a one-week (at least) holyday.....rent a sailboat and relax sailing for the whole week

bye bye
Mistral

[Chris Krumm]

I've met rude people riding bikes and really considerate drivers in Ford F150 4 x 4 crew cabs. It ain't the vehicle, it's the driver (though I'll admit to being of a political bent who would much prefer seeing our roads filled with considerate bikers as oposed to considerate Hummer drivers).

Chris Krumm

[Kevin H.]

Originally Posted by Chris Krumm

considerate Hummer drivers.

Oxy-moron.

[Thunderhead19]

Did you ever have a morbid curiosity about what would happen if you took a broom handle to a hornet's nest? heh heh heh! I sure did.

[sharpii2]

Hi thunder:

The biggest thing to remember about us blowbote crowd is our concern for economy. When we are under way, we try to get the best boats peed for given amount of sail (I guess you powerbote people jus' add more engine and bigger tanks). This, I feel, is laudable. It gives us a firm appreciation of nature (and its limits) and wise use of such.

Unfortunately, these very same vertues (or our adherence to them) may some times give us swelled heads. And with these swelled heads we may sometimes feel the right to impose on others for our own convenience.

I am not at all surprised by the incident you mentioned. Might I suggest that the marina could have had a time limit at he fuel/water/pump out dock and, there after, a hourly fee. The fee could be costly per hour but cheaper than renting a slip for the whole day. That could make up for water usage and small fuel purchase.

Sailboats are not evil. They are just different. Different needs. And different(no tidal wave wakes) ways of making a nuisance of themselves.

Bob

P.S. I do believe we blowboters are the wave of the future (along with displacement power boaters). And marinas may have to restructure their operations to meet this reality. (long periods underway/short peiods at dock. Instead of the other way around.)

[jefferson458]

It is a sailboat thing you would not understand. I quietly reside, on my sailboat on the Ohio River and work third shift. The cigarette boats, one with three, yes three engines in it has 750 hp each. I admit it is a fun boat but who really needs 2250 hp not to mention them waking me and my sailboat every time they invade the docks where they park and use the electricity free all weekend and party obnoxiously. By the way I pay a yearly slip fee and a water and electric fee that supports them and their noisey invasions. So you see it isn't just sailboaters. We may not get there fast but we get there............it isn't about boating.

You will understand us sailboater about the same way a Democrat understands a Republican!

By the way of all the deaths on the River, and there are several yearly, none involved or were caused by sailboats! Boat safely and respect everyones differences. Remember sailboats were around way before power baots! I could go on but enough said for now.

[yipster]

2250 hp jefferson? that surely sets it apart from those bathtubs
offcourse power is dangerous and good behavior is personal.
last question: do sailboaters drink pepsi or coca cola?

[DanWard]

Ok Thunderhead, That was pretty good! Since you like to stir thing up lets see you go over to the powerboat forum and stir that pot.

[MikeJohns]

There is an oft used quote which goes something like:

"Of all mans creations surely the sailboat is the most beautiful"

not sure who said it

I have to admit to owning a sailboat,

Now lets leave the fuel dock with its free fresh water and move to a remote unspoiled location somewhere in B.C. We are anchored watching the bears ashore drooling over our barbecued fish...listening to the bird calls, then 650 HP roars into the bay starts its generator, turns on the air conditioner......... a loud stereo with bass boosters. It sits there polluting every way you can think........ the people don't even show on deck until they come up to piss over the side cause the que got too long for the bathroom. 2AM they were still going.

In the morning about lunch time from the hilltop we walked to, we watched a solitary bedraggled hang-over appear, in delayed time there was a puff of smoke from the exhaust followed slowly by arriving roar of the engine.

A rattle of chain and I watched them foul our anchor ......... Then suddenly theres 2 no 7 no 9! people on deck having a commitee meeting, it takes them half an hour to raise the whole mess then they chuck our anchor back into a pile of our chain..................Then they gun the engine ......the motor stops with a horribly expensive noise and ever so gently in the shore breeze in the middle of another committee meeting ( couldn't find the pump for the inflatable ) they drifted onto the beach .

When we got back They want you to use your HF radio cause the VHF is blocked in the bay.

There is a GOD !!

Then a ruddy helicopter appeared with a mechanic, No wonder you moan that theres no money in sailboats.

[jefferson458]

Originally Posted by yipster

2250 hp jefferson? that surely sets it apart from those bathtubs
offcourse power is dangerous and good behavior is personal.
last question: do sailboaters drink pepsi or coca cola?

yes 3 engines times 750 hp = 2250 hp yep I did the math correctly, 2250 hp.
Personally I don't drink either.

[Matt Lingley]

Doing 20knots plus on a sailboat is a hell of alot more fun than doing 20 knots plus on a powerboat. Nothing pisses of a stinkpotter more than being overtaken by somthing with rags!