Looking for new boatyard for spring work

[dhill]

Hi everyone,

The boatyard where I am keeping my boat this winter is severely understaffed and I only recently found out that my prop strut is loose (I discovered this myself after taking a road trip to visit the boat). They won't be able to start fixing it until late July at the earliest after launching season, which means I probably will not have use of the boat, or at least the diesel, until mid to late August at best. I am not allowed to do the work myself onsite.

I'm looking to see if anyone knows of a boatyard who might be able to tackle this repair this spring. I realize the timing is far from ideal, but I'm trying to save at least a some portion of this summer. Any ideas or leads would be great!

Thanks!
Dave

 

[Pete the Cat]

I sympathize with your problem. I have worked in a couple of Maine boatyards in the spring launch and fall haul time and it can be chaos to get anything done during that period. I am 75 years old and still get calls each Spring. And getting and keeping competent boatyard help is a big problem for most yards these days--finding folks with the mechanical skill and interest and willingness to endure the elements is tough. As you have indicated, there generally is no time in any of the Northeast yards for any complex work when launch time starts until after July 4 when most of the boats are in. Most yards jealously guard their Travel lift time and would not take in an outside job during that period--they have to move a lot of boats in a short period and they have weather and tide setbacks that make scheduling a nightmare. Trucking to another yard is complicated, expensive and is also a high demand in the Spring. I would not think that a loose prop strut is a big deal for most yards if they know about it now. Tightening one is much less of a job that replacing one--even if it is one buried in the hull as Ericson apparently did in some constructions. Seems unlikely this job would require moving the boat off the stands if it could be done after the thaw and before the launch period.
My suggestion is to talk to the yard manager right now about the problem and ask for his help. If you can get into his agenda now, my guess is that he will have an idea of how to get the work done. Most yard managers are used to working projects into their difficult schedules--but they do not like surprises at rush time. And they do not want to handle a boat twice. They also want to be known as competent. I would not take on a problem you cannot solve.
As you probably know, securing the strut (if does not need to be replaced) will likely mean checking the engine alignment. I have found that respecting the expertise of the yard managers and their role goes a long way to making things smooth. They have a very tough job but most want to please customers.

 

[dhill]

I sympathize with your problem. I have worked in a couple of Maine boatyards in the spring launch and fall haul time and it can be chaos to get anything done during that period. I am 75 years old and still get calls each Spring. And getting and keeping competent boatyard help is a big problem for most yards these days--finding folks with the mechanical skill and interest and willingness to endure the elements is tough. As you have indicated, there generally is no time in any of the Northeast yards for any complex work when launch time starts until after July 4 when most of the boats are in. Most yards jealously guard their Travel lift time and would not take in an outside job during that period--they have to move a lot of boats in a short period and they have weather and tide setbacks that make scheduling a nightmare. Trucking to another yard is complicated, expensive and is also a high demand in the Spring. I would not think that a loose prop strut is a big deal for most yards if they know about it now. Tightening one is much less of a job that replacing one--even if it is one buried in the hull as Ericson apparently did in some constructions. Seems unlikely this job would require moving the boat off the stands if it could be done after the thaw and before the launch period.
My suggestion is to talk to the yard manager right now about the problem and ask for his help. If you can get into his agenda now, my guess is that he will have an idea of how to get the work done. Most yard managers are used to working projects into their difficult schedules--but they do not like surprises at rush time. And they do not want to handle a boat twice. They also want to be known as competent. I would not take on a problem you cannot solve.
As you probably know, securing the strut (if does not need to be replaced) will likely mean checking the engine alignment. I have found that respecting the expertise of the yard managers and their role goes a long way to making things smooth. They have a very tough job but most want to please customers.

Thanks @Pete the Cat - great advice! No doubt, the boatyards have a tough job and staffing seems to be a widespread issue.

I have spoken with the yard manager and he reiterated that he would not be able to get to my boat until late July at the earliest. He said he would allow someone to come onsite and do the job provided they have insurance, respect the property, and check in with the boatyard every morning. Other boat yards also seem to be booked until at least July 4th, which was certainly expected. One boatyard in Portland did say that there are mobile boat repair crews around, so I have asked for recommendations. If you know of any mobile crews that might be able to do this work, please let me know!

Thanks!
Dave

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Dave,
Tons of empathy from me. Ray's advice and insights are great. You might try asking at The Landing School in Arundel. They should be well plugged into the regional boat building community. My son graduated from their cruising boat program about 15 years ago and it was a pretty good outfit then. No idea about recent years. Specific faculty and administration contacts are listed on pages of their website.
Years ago I heard some advice about seeking help. They said, "Don't ask, 'Do you know someone who . . .?'" It's easiest for people to respond, "No." Since hearing that I've used that person's alternative, "Who do you know that . . . ?" It's opened doors.
FWIW,
Jeff

 

[Pete the Cat]

Thanks @Pete the Cat - great advice! No doubt, the boatyards have a tough job and staffing seems to be a widespread issue.

I have spoken with the yard manager and he reiterated that he would not be able to get to my boat until late July at the earliest. He said he would allow someone to come onsite and do the job provided they have insurance, respect the property, and check in with the boatyard every morning. Other boat yards also seem to be booked until at least July 4th, which was certainly expected. One boatyard in Portland did say that there are mobile boat repair crews around, so I have asked for recommendations. If you know of any mobile crews that might be able to do this work, please let me know!

Thanks!
Dave

I understand. I would be looking for a different boatyard for all future services. I think this is an unreasonable way to treat a customer--there is a lot of time between now and July 4--and, unless I am missing something--this is not a huge project. I have worked in several yards and fixing a problem like yours in a rush for the season is part of the business of retaining customers. I understand why other boatyards would be unwilling to take you in at this point, but you might shop for a new yard for the future storage and service. I am Downeast in Penobscot Bay and know several yards that are good and would likely have taken care of you if you were a regular customer. Unfortunately, most independents do not have the type of insurance your yard is demanding--workers Comp is the big one. It is getting tougher for boatyards to allow owners and outside folks to work in the yards with some of the OSHA, environmental rules and insurance auditors. The yard I work in is very aware and patrols its own employees aggressively: I once left my face mask (OSHA approved) laying out on my tool box--the yard manager said he could get a $2500 fine because they need to be stowed away from the work area when not on your face. That is how tough things have become.
I actually think there is a business opportunity for an entrepreneurial and competent set of mobile mechanics who are willing to travel and work in yards. It would take someone with some financial backing and ability to vet the folks who are working for the enterprise. But many yards simply do not have the competent mechanical staff to properly resolve rather simple mechanical issues for their customers and find it too expensive to keep the needed talent in a small yard. It would take some dialogue with the yard owners, but I think they would welcome the help--there could be a training component for the local yard folks. This is a business opportunity I would explore if I was younger. Perhaps someone is already doing this.

 

[Christian Williams]

I doubt anybody is doing it, Pete (re last sentence). Around here at least, and Maine is probably worse, the established institutions would not be, ah, supportive. For reasons you mention (regs, liability) and also political and class issues it's better not to go into.

Re Dave's challenges--I wonder if it isn't better here in California , with 12-month slips? Sure there's a sailing season, but weather permits year round work and there is no haul-out and launch reservation stuff, mast rigging, and so on, as in the frozen-water latitudes. What do you think?

I see the future of older boats more and more as DIY being the only solution. I asked the local blue chip engine service here ( CC Marine Services) for help with my mid-80s Universal diesel a few years ago, and the boss said his guys were not "trained" to work on old engines. Apparently it is not a good business model to employ mechanics who like to solve problems they're not "trained" for. Or maybe it is that owners of "old" engines don't want to pay for the hassle. New engines are the low hanging fruit, whereas I am an old high-hanging fruit (not the sort of thing people say to your face).

And anyhow, old boats don't make sense unless the owner is interested, curious, collects tools, expertise and experience and goes to school pretty much all the time. But it's easier than ever, as we all know, with YouTube and forums. It is a renaissance, maybe, in DIY for boats.

The newish 30-foot motorboat next to me? Every month a mechanic arrives, unpacks his tools, starts the engine, checks the fluids. Takes him two hours. I said, huh? "It's a service contract, people don't want to do it themselves." I had to stop calling the dockmaster every time his alarms went off for hours at a time, because a professional mechanic would show up in a service barge just to turn it off. "It's a service, sir, they don't want to do it themselves." Maybe the owner lives two hours away. But I happen to know he doesn't.

Bah. The implication is that you have to be rich. But in the olden days, our boatyard (Raritan Yacht Club, Perth Amboy), members did everything. They were doctors and lawyers and they scraped their own bottoms, so to speak. There was a marine railway that members used to haul 40-foot sailboats out, transfer them to greased planks, and winch them across the yard into spaces, and jack them up. I was 10 and it looked dangerous and it was. And I swallowed more copper bottom paint that dripped off my hair than I like remembering. The boats were wood. The sailing season was summer only. It all seems impossible, looking back. You raced in handicap races, went on a two-week family cruise, then then it was suddenly back to school and haul-out and frozen tarpaulins.

I probably am misled by memory or technicolor nostalgia or something, but it sure was different than fiberglass and Dacron. How they did it all themselves I don't know. It wasn't considered "DIY," it was considered owning a sailboat.

Things are better now, no matter how I remember it. That is true across the board, whenever I bother to think it through, although younger observers rarely agree. They don't remember polio and the draft and the assassinations. "It's a service, sir, people don't want to do that themselves."

Where was I ? Oh yeah, I conclude we pretty much have to do it ourselves, and I don't think that's new. Would anybody carry the mast of a 30-foot ketch on top of the family car today? I was about 18 at the time. It looks crazy.

(even crazier when I enlarged the photo to discover both main and mizzen are on there. Herreshoff Design No. 30, each mast had one spreader)

 

[dhill]

I doubt anybody is doing it, Pete (re last sentence). Around here at least, and Maine is probably worse, the established institutions would not be, ah, supportive. For reasons you mention (regs, liability) and also political and class issues it's better not to go into.

Re Dave's challenges--I wonder if it isn't better here in California , with 12-month slips? Sure there's a sailing season, but weather permits year round work and there is no haul-out and launch reservation stuff, mast rigging, and so on, as in the frozen-water latitudes. What do you think?

I see the future of older boats more and more as DIY being the only solution. I asked the local blue chip engine service here ( CC Marine Services) for help with my mid-80s Universal diesel a few years ago, and the boss said his guys were not "trained" to work on old engines. Apparently it is not a good business model to employ mechanics who like to solve problems they're not "trained" for. Or maybe it is that owners of "old" engines don't want to pay for the hassle. New engines are the low hanging fruit, whereas I am an old high-hanging fruit (not the sort of thing people say to your face).

And anyhow, old boats don't make sense unless the owner is interested, curious, collects tools, expertise and experience and goes to school pretty much all the time. But it's easier than ever, as we all know, with YouTube and forums. It is a renaissance, maybe, in DIY for boats.

The newish 30-foot motorboat next to me? Every month a mechanic arrives, unpacks his tools, starts the engine, checks the fluids. Takes him two hours. I said, huh? "It's a service contract, people don't want to do it themselves." I had to stop calling the dockmaster every time his alarms went off for hours at a time, because a professional mechanic would show up in a service barge just to turn it off. "It's a service, sir, they don't want to do it themselves." Maybe the owner lives two hours away. But I happen to know he doesn't.

Bah. The implication is that you have to be rich. But in the olden days, our boatyard (Raritan Yacht Club, Perth Amboy), members did everything. They were doctors and lawyers and they scraped their own bottoms, so to speak. There was a marine railway that members used to haul 40-foot sailboats out, transfer them to greased planks, and winch them across the yard into spaces, and jack them up. I was 10 and it looked dangerous and it was. And I swallowed more copper bottom paint that dripped off my hair than I like remembering. The boats were wood. The sailing season was summer only. It all seems impossible, looking back. You raced in handicap races, went on a two-week family cruise, then then it was suddenly back to school and haul-out and frozen tarpaulins.

I probably am misled by memory or technicolor nostalgia or something, but it sure was different than fiberglass and Dacron. How they did it all themselves I don't know. It wasn't considered "DIY," it was considered owning a sailboat.

Things are better now, no matter how I remember it. That is true across the board, whenever I bother to think it through, although younger observers rarely agree. They don't remember polio and the draft and the assassinations. "It's a service, sir, people don't want to do that themselves."

Where was I ? Oh yeah, I conclude we pretty much have to do it ourselves, and I don't think that's new. Would anybody carry the mast of a 30-foot ketch on top of the family car today? I was about 18 at the time. It looks crazy.

(even crazier when I enlarged the photo to discover both main and mizzen are on there. Herreshoff Design No. 30, each mast had one spreader)

View attachment 46025

I definitely saw and see the purchase of this boat as a learning opportunity. I have done several DIY projects already and have a whole list of things I need/want to do on the boat (I have a Trello board full of stuff). Part of the problem is that many boatyards in Maine don't allow owners to work on boat projects on-site and more are heading that way each year. I could accomplish a lot on the boat during the winter.

@Prairie Schooner and @trickdhat have provided much inspiration and information on this particular prop strut issue, and for that I am very grateful. Such a repair myself would definitely stretch my skills and no doubt be a tremendous learning opportunity. I have thought about buying cheap land nearby and having the boat spend winter there and doing the work myself.

In my case, the interest is definitely there and I now have a far more complete set of tools on board than at my house. YouTube has definitely been great as well. I just need to find space where I can work on the boat during the off-season (a definite priority).

Thanks for all of the inspiration and guidance from this community!

Dave

 

[Prairie Schooner]

I doubt anybody is doing it, Pete (re last sentence). Around here at least, and Maine is probably worse, the established institutions would not be, ah, supportive. For reasons you mention (regs, liability) and also political and class issues it's better not to go into.

Re Dave's challenges--I wonder if it isn't better here in California , with 12-month slips? Sure there's a sailing season, but weather permits year round work and there is no haul-out and launch reservation stuff, mast rigging, and so on, as in the frozen-water latitudes. What do you think?

I see the future of older boats more and more as DIY being the only solution. I asked the local blue chip engine service here ( CC Marine Services) for help with my mid-80s Universal diesel a few years ago, and the boss said his guys were not "trained" to work on old engines. Apparently it is not a good business model to employ mechanics who like to solve problems they're not "trained" for. Or maybe it is that owners of "old" engines don't want to pay for the hassle. New engines are the low hanging fruit, whereas I am an old high-hanging fruit (not the sort of thing people say to your face).

And anyhow, old boats don't make sense unless the owner is interested, curious, collects tools, expertise and experience and goes to school pretty much all the time. But it's easier than ever, as we all know, with YouTube and forums. It is a renaissance, maybe, in DIY for boats.

The newish 30-foot motorboat next to me? Every month a mechanic arrives, unpacks his tools, starts the engine, checks the fluids. Takes him two hours. I said, huh? "It's a service contract, people don't want to do it themselves." I had to stop calling the dockmaster every time his alarms went off for hours at a time, because a professional mechanic would show up in a service barge just to turn it off. "It's a service, sir, they don't want to do it themselves." Maybe the owner lives two hours away. But I happen to know he doesn't.

Bah. The implication is that you have to be rich. But in the olden days, our boatyard (Raritan Yacht Club, Perth Amboy), members did everything. They were doctors and lawyers and they scraped their own bottoms, so to speak. There was a marine railway that members used to haul 40-foot sailboats out, transfer them to greased planks, and winch them across the yard into spaces, and jack them up. I was 10 and it looked dangerous and it was. And I swallowed more copper bottom paint that dripped off my hair than I like remembering. The boats were wood. The sailing season was summer only. It all seems impossible, looking back. You raced in handicap races, went on a two-week family cruise, then then it was suddenly back to school and haul-out and frozen tarpaulins.

I probably am misled by memory or technicolor nostalgia or something, but it sure was different than fiberglass and Dacron. How they did it all themselves I don't know. It wasn't considered "DIY," it was considered owning a sailboat.

Things are better now, no matter how I remember it. That is true across the board, whenever I bother to think it through, although younger observers rarely agree. They don't remember polio and the draft and the assassinations. "It's a service, sir, people don't want to do that themselves."

Where was I ? Oh yeah, I conclude we pretty much have to do it ourselves, and I don't think that's new. Would anybody carry the mast of a 30-foot ketch on top of the family car today? I was about 18 at the time. It looks crazy.

(even crazier when I enlarged the photo to discover both main and mizzen are on there. Herreshoff Design No. 30, each mast had one spreader)

View attachment 46025

Christian, thanks so much for this. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and discouraged about all the work I’ve got to do on the boat and feeling like I’ve been doing something wrong. I haven’t been enjoying the prospect of sailing as much because of the workload. I have two close friends who have sold their boats because of the work involved. Is it possible the idea of relatively carefree boat ownership was a fluke of the 70’s-90’s when middle-income folks could more easily afford a new or nearly-new boat? I wasn’t boating then so I don’t know. Perhaps it never existed. What you’ve written here has helped me reframe how I see our pastime/hobby/avocation/whatever. As I think about it, far more of the posts at EYo are about maintenance than sailing and cruising. I’m going to try to embrace the work more as part of the experience rather than an aberration. And hopefully as we get our good old boat fixed up, the list of big projects won’t be so long. Again, thanks.
Jeff

 

[Loren Beach]

And hopefully as we get our good old boat fixed up, the list of big projects won’t be so long.

While our own recent re-fit makes us a statistical outlier, I can offer that since then, no problems with mystery water inside.
My assessment is that a vanishingly small percentage of owners of boats ever do the preventative maintenance that a complex vessel requires every 10, 20, 30 (++) years, and more. If they did, each subsequent owner would never be near-overwhelmed by deferred maintenance. You'd just purchase it, review the maintenance logs, and instantly see what you must do to stay on top of the process each year, while enjoying your boat, right from the git go.

And, in that imaginary world, a properly-maintained vessel would always have a much higher $ value, unlike reality, where all of the poorly maintained ones are on a slow and permanent value decline to scrap value.

One could argue, on such a basis, for always buying new or near new. But soooo many new boats have QC problems that take several years of warranty battles to work thru, and I have friends that have been thru that hassle. It took them up to a year, and they lost sailing time due to it. And that's after writing the huge check for the new boat.

It would be way better if there were a robust restoration industry to help us all out, but skilled marine professionals are getting rarer, and there were never too many people in this niche industry in the first place. I am lucky to know several, and when they retire, there are very few candidates to replace them.

Mostly, we have to become our own 'experts'.... and then find a network of friends like the folks here. (We are not the only source; I can trust about 5 people on SailNet and 5 more on Sailboat Owners for sound input; but out of a whole nation of boaters that's not very damned many people!)

Oh well. Time for my walk. On to the Day!

 

[Christian Williams]

the 70’s-90’s when middle-income folks could more easily afford a new or nearly-new boat?

In my youth, all doctors took Wednesday afternoon off. They played golf or worked on their sailboats. I covered a strike at the GM assembly line in 1966, LInden NJ. The workers on the Iron Horse, as they called the line, all had an RV or a motorboat on a trailer, or both, and the parking lot was full of new GM cars heavily discounted for them. The strike was about overtime: too much of it, at double pay, which made them rich but detracted from quality of life. They were high school graduates firmly in the Middle Class.

Things have, er, changed.

 

[Kenneth K]

In my youth, all doctors took Wednesday afternoon off. They played golf or worked on their sailboats. I covered a strike at the GM assembly line in 1966, LInden NJ. The workers on the Iron Horse, as they called the line, all had an RV or a motorboat on a trailer, or both, and the parking lot was full of new GM cars heavily discounted for them. The strike was about overtime: too much of it, at double pay, which made them rich but detracted from quality of life. They were high school graduates firmly in the Middle Class.

Interesting post. I'm guessing that many in the middle-class had the expectation of full retirement pensions at the time, as well. Imagine today if most of your retirement savings suddenly became disposable income.

I don't blame it all on "big corporations" though. Increases in life expectancy, broader global competition, and a job market where most people change employers many times over their careers, all chipped away at the viability of the old pension system.

 

[bigd14]

I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and discouraged about all the work I’ve got to do on the boat and feeling like I’ve been doing something wrong

Jeff, I feel your pain. After we bought our boat I spent nearly a year in dry dock fixing way more than I ever thought would be needed. This was about 9 months longer than I thought it would take. Eventually the boat was all fixed up and trouble free and I thought I was home free for the foreseeable future. But, time marches on- it’s been 5 years and the foreseeable future is now the immediate past. Boat entropy happens quickly! All sorts of leaks and minor problems along with the regular maintenance stuff is creeping up on me. I too, feel overwhelmed by all the spring work that will be needed. I also recently moved 3 hours away from the boat which is not helping the situation!

I’m not sure what the answer is to keeping motivated to work on the boat. It’s probably different for everyone. For me, spending the winter pursuing other hobbies and activities (XC skiing mostly) captures my attention and I rarely focus on the boat. Now that spring is near I am once again getting excited about working on the boat (in addition to being overwhelmed with all the work). The ratio of working on the boat vs sailing the boat is extremely upside down for me. But I find just being on the boat working on it is enjoyable too. It’s a different world when you are on a sailboat.

 

[Mark F]

"It’s a different world when you are on a sailboat".

Well put.

 

[Pete the Cat]

While our own recent re-fit makes us a statistical outlier, I can offer that since then, no problems with mystery water inside.
My assessment is that a vanishingly small percentage of owners of boats ever do the preventative maintenance that a complex vessel requires every 10, 20, 30 (++) years, and more. If they did, each subsequent owner would never be near-overwhelmed by deferred maintenance. You'd just purchase it, review the maintenance logs, and instantly see what you must do to stay on top of the process each year, while enjoying your boat, right from the git go.

And, in that imaginary world, a properly-maintained vessel would always have a much higher $ value, unlike reality, where all of the poorly maintained ones are on a slow and permanent value decline to scrap value.

One could argue, on such a basis, for always buying new or near new. But soooo many new boats have QC problems that take several years of warranty battles to work thru, and I have friends that have been thru that hassle. It took them up to a year, and they lost sailing time due to it. And that's after writing the huge check for the new boat.

It would be way better if there were a robust restoration industry to help us all out, but skilled marine professionals are getting rarer, and there were never too many people in this niche industry in the first place. I am lucky to know several, and when they retire, there are very few candidates to replace them.

Mostly, we have to become our own 'experts'.... and then find a network of friends like the folks here. (We are not the only source; I can trust about 5 people on SailNet and 5 more on Sailboat Owners for sound input; but out of a whole nation of boaters that's not very damned many people!)

Oh well. Time for my walk. On to the Day!

I have talked to my boatyard owner/manager about the idea of buying good used boats and restoring them in the winter as a way to keep the guys working through the winter and saving boats with good pedigrees and bones from dying. He was not excited and explained why. He says there are not enough boat owners or potential boat owners who understand the value of a well maintained or renovated boat and very few are willing to pay the actual premium for a renovated or well maintained boat. On reflection, I agree with him. He has a market of wealthy folks who pay his staff to keep a small stable of superiorly designed and constructed vessels (he refuses to store or service junk boats) in top shape and there is very little financial risk in this for him. Being in Maine, he has the regular winter project of a boat or two from his yard that has had an unfortunate contact with some of the many rocks hidden in the Maine waters.

I have renovated a number of good old boats and sold them over the last 40 years, never with a significant profit, but sometimes breaking even if I pick the right boat and am lucky with what you cannot see in any survey. I have never been able to recover my time.

I am a pilot and former aircraft owner and it would be nice if there was some sort of reliable certification and respect for older boats the way the market has worked for older aircraft. Aircraft have to be certified by a licensed mechanic annually to be "airworthy" and the prices of the aircraft I fly (most are 40 to 70 years old-- have steadily increased over the recent decades. The problem is that there is no common standards for "seaworthiness" and I have previously commented on the general poor quality of marine surveyors available--some of the local ones seem to have read a book by Don Casey and think they are qualified to pass judgement on a vessel. Their surveys generally take no responsibility for the quality of their reports--unlike the licensed aircraft mechanic who puts his name on the line in the aircraft log book.
So--few knowledgeable customers, no real metrics of quality, few meaningful experts to judge quality results in there not being an economic model for this good idea. I wish there was. I see some great boats going to hell and it grieves me. I try to resist fixing them up, but sometimes I cannot help myself.

 

[Christian Williams]

I always admired Maine and New England in general for pride in older or historic sailboats, and maybe Port Townsend, too, from what I can see on YouTube. Very little restoration down here, perhaps because tradition here is early fiberglass.

Current buyers don't have the same eye. They don't expect a sheerline, or a handsome stern, or overhangs at all.

Now a boat is judged first from the inside, the GoPro view of owner's cabin and deep freeze, then from the cockpit, the table and twin wheels and massive dinghy platform and the cloud of shade, not sails, overhead..

People who like older sailboat designs, as they rest at home in bed, have a picture in mind of a yacht coursing on a reach with all sail drawing, an image in which the curves of the boat match the curve of the stern wave. .

Today's new owners, as they rest in bed at home, have a mental picture of resting in bed on their yacht.

Comfortable, and you can't blame them, but of course I do. What a bunch of sissies.

 

[Sean Engle]

What a bunch of sissies.