Women - Should We Have a Section?

[msFootrope]

This thread is for you women out there, and possibly some of you men. As I go through the threads in the various section here, there is an emphasis on maintenance, design, and the various rendezvous across the country. All good topics, but it doesn't attrack a lot of discussion from the women whom I know must use this site as much as I do. My husband gets into these discussions and I find I don't have much to add - he represents both of our opinions quite well.

What I don't see in the discussions are places to share galley recipes, hints on finding places to store things, general discussion on the non-technical side of sailing. So, I was wondering if, in the new website that Sean is currently developing, there would be an interest in having a section devoted to women. Topics could range from some of those I mentioned above to whatever (suggestions?). Men would be welcome to join in, but I'm hoping to have a place where women feel more comfortable having discussions (I only see a few women who actively participate in this site and I think we need more representation!!!).

What do you think?

 

[Guy Stevens]

Sexual Discrimination is rarely the answer

Start some threads about those topics, they don't necessarily need their own sections.

There was a thread a while back on Pressure cookers, and Galley stoves came up just the other day. I have tried a couple of times to get some recipes moving on the board, but it didn't take off.

Some of the issues that you may be running into deal with how different people use their boats, and the focus that they have when on them. There are a lot of smaller boat sailors here. Do they stay on board often? Cook aboard? Store anything aboard?

M and I live aboard, cook for a hobby, and have done and will do a lot of offshore passages. So galleys storage and the like are all of interest to both of us. We are writing a book about cooking and cruising. Bouncing idea off people and answering questions about life afloat would be great.

There are a lot more men in the Marina that we live in than there are women. There are almost NO people of color in our marina, and the socio-economic level of the folks in the marina has a floor. This is all bad in my opinion, and seeing some posts that are out of the normal technical how do I fix this discussions would be welcomed.

Most of the women in the marina seem to be along for the ride, putting up with a hobby that they don't really like for the sake of their male partners. I think that there are a lot of reasons for this, and I think that we can take on all of those reasons and make it so that women like sailing a lot more than my dock data indicates they do now. The changes have to happen on both sides male and female. Talking about something that makes a difference in the way that people view the world, their relationships, and work together would be awesome!

I would like to see a thread that men and women talk about what makes a good trip, what makes it fun, everyones perspective about a day or a week or 5 years on the water.

I would be willing to start several galley related posts that were more usage related than installation etc. I am more than willing to participate in any posts on the board, as most of you know.

M finds the EYO board mostly boring. Being an introvert she doesn't feel the need to share her knowledge of how fix things. However I think we might be able to tease her out with some subjects about galleys, relationships, living and dreaming of cruising. (Note: We don't have pink and blue jobs aboard Aiki.) Most projects here including rebuilding the whole boat were joint projects. M can tell you about laying fiberglass with the best of them.

Guy and M.

 

[msFootrope]

No Sexual Discrimination Intended...

Which is why I included the comment that there might be some guys interest in this idea. This post came up as a result of some of conversations I had at the recent Pacific Northwest Ericson Rendezvous. Some of the women were stating how it would be nice to have some sections that would interest them more. By all means, I'm not suggesting that we limit these sections to women only. I often help Craig with many of the boat repairs and I find reading threads fairly interesting. I just don't have a lot to add to them because Craig is much better at explaining what we're doing and what problems we're having with our repair issues than I am (you'll notice this will only be my fifth post).

Maybe a better idea than having separate pages would be to have a separate information exchange section. Right now, we have three sections: General Ericson Forums, Regional Ericson Forums, and Regional Ericson Forums. How about another section that focuses on the non-technical aspects of sailing, such as those I mentioned above. The Raft-up section is good, but still it doesn't typically contain information that grabs my attention. I guess I'm just looking for ideas to expand this site and make it even better than it already is. And getting more women involved is something I'd like to see. btw, I know a lot of women who are not just around for the ride, as you put it. I, for one, love the sailing life - but I do have Craig to thank for introducing me to it. Unfortunately, most of my girlfriends who love boating as much as I do are not Ericson owners and thus not a part of this site. I'm sure there must be a lot of Ericson women out there who would participate if there were some more exchanges designed to pique there interest.

You mentioned you tried to get some recipe exchanges going, but it didn't take off. Perhaps a separate exchange in which Recipes existed as a main header would encourage more posting. It would always be at the top, so to speak. Storage issues could be another header. I like the idea of an on-board relationships headers - a spot where we can discuss the pros and cons that come with being in tight quarters for extended periods of time with your partners. You have some good ideas in your post and I'd like to see those ideas have a place of their own. This is exactly the type of activity I'm trying to spur and I do agree, men would add a lot to it.

I guess I'm just trying to get a section where we get away from all the technical discussions and get more into the practical discussions of how to making boating more fun and comfortable.

 

[Frank Langer]

Although I really value the technical expertise and advice to help us maintain our boat, I would also be interested in the areas you mention to make boating/cruising more enjoyable--efficient storage, products that work well on a boat, simple/quick recipes, beautiful anchorages in the pacific northwest, etc.

Frank
1984 E30+

 

[Loren Beach]

Although I really value the technical expertise and advice to help us maintain our boat, I would also be interested in the areas you mention to make boating/cruising more enjoyable--efficient storage, products that work well on a boat, simple/quick recipes, beautiful anchorages in the pacific northwest, etc.

Frank
1984 E30+

The part about NW anchorages might be addressed in the geographic region forums, IMHO.
Reading this thread causes me to wonder if a "Galley Forum" devoted to Cooking, food storage and prep hints, and allied storage solutions might be well received. FWIW, I also liked the pressure cooker thread and learned quite a bit from it.
For us Olson owners, in what you might call the "light brigade" design section, storage is a constant challenge. Every new option I add to our interior requires relocating something else. I know that the Ericsons, for the most part, have a lot more drawers and cabinets than we do, but even those owners that I know spend considerable thought on this when going anywhere beyond 3 or 4 days at a time. It seems like all of these boats end up with either the forepeak or a quarter berth being the "attic."


If we all get our forum parameters decided, then we could perhaps ask Sean to include this in the upcoming vers. 2 of this site. Whether this would overly impact his time limits or the software application limits, I really do not know.

Cheers,
Loren
Olson 34 #8

 

[msFootrope]

If we all get our forum parameters decided, then we could perhaps ask Sean to include this in the upcoming vers. 2 of this site. Whether this would overly impact his time limits or the software application limits, I really do not know.

I discussed this idea with Sean following the rendezvous and he suggested I post this thread to see what kind of interest I could generate. But he said he would be more than willing to either add a separate section to the information page or a separate section to the forum depending on the response. I'm now leaning toward a separate section on the Information Exchange just based on the few responses I've already had. But I sure would love to hear from some of you women out there too!! And we are talking about doing this in the upcoming version of the website, not this one.

 

[Sean Engle]

I discussed this idea with Sean following the rendezvous and he suggested I post this thread to see what kind of interest I could generate. But he said he would be more than willing to either add a separate section to the information page or a separate section to the forum depending on the response. I'm now leaning toward a separate section on the Information Exchange just based on the few responses I've already had. But I sure would love to hear from some of you women out there too!! And we are talking about doing this in the upcoming version of the website, not this one.

Actually, it would be in this site - the Information Exchange in the new site is the same as this - only the color scheme is different. You can have another forum if you like - you have lots of choices.

//sse

 

[clayton]

Women - section

I know this is from a male, ...there is a husband/wife team that reaces a J27 out of our marina with a mostly female crew, yesterday it was all the ladies coming in from a regatta, wednesday eves it's usually the hubby with the ladies as crew. I'm sure there are many women who enjoy racing as well as cruising topics. I know my wife is currently engaged in baby distraction, as in, keep the boy busy while daddy tries to sail, but she has enjoyed racing in the past couple of years as well as "going places". Lets keep it open.
Clayton

 

[Tom Metzger]

A women's section - A great idea

The thing I like best about a women's section is that it adds legitimacy to a "Men's Section" where we men could feel comfortable discussing things not at all appropriate in a civilized boating venue.

Isn't political correctness great?

 

[Guy Stevens]

Rotfl

We could talk about things like how to improve your aim.
Alternate uses for feminine hygiene products
How to screen potential spouses / dates for boat compatibility

Errrr... Ok I can't think of any more.......

 

[msFootrope]

We could talk about things like how to improve your aim.

Good topic from which we can all benefit.

Alternate uses for feminine hygiene products

Tampons make great fire starters!!! Always a part of my survival gear or when going camping.

How to screen potential spouses / dates for boat compatibility

This can't be in the Men's section - it's just as important a subject for the women.

Errrr... Ok I can't think of any more.......

Okay, let's get serious here for a moment. Taking everybody's comments so far, I think we agree that we should just add another general section on the Information Exchange pages - and not limited to men or women (although I am still hoping to hear from some women on this topic).

Next question - what should we call the section?

 

[Tom Metzger]

Let's see, a name.

Let's see:

For those hard to define topics we could have "The Raft up - An off-topic forum; for general chatter, great thoughts, mindless rambling, and frank exchanges of views on less-than-cosmic topics. A good place for new owners to introduce themselves, etc.

Or for those questions about storage spaces under the vee berth we could have "Design & Function - General discussions on design, model differences and the evolution of the modern Ericson Yacht."

And for recipes and outfits to wear in the galley on a cruise there is aways "Cruising & Racing - General discussions on Ericsons under sail, racing, cruising, day trips, etc."

Seriously though, I suspect most people just click on "New Posts" when they come here and read the posts in order without looking to see what forum they were posted on. The name of the thread resolves the "read- don't read" decision. Unless starting a thread the name of the forum isn't too important.

I do apologize Ellen for making light of your suggestion. :redface: I am just not sure there is really a need. You ladies are welcome to contribute on the existing forums.

 

[Guy Stevens]

Domesticity

Domesticity

Would seem to me to cover the subjects that we have for this section, and would clearly delineate it from the "technical" aspects.

Sub grouping for galley friendly recipes?

The art of living while afloat.

Or Just Living Afloat

Or....

Guy

 

[Sean Engle]

'Lifestyle'?

What about 'Lifestyle'? I've heard that term used so many times when referring to sailing - and much of it is usually aimed at issues other than operations (racing/cruising) or maintenance...stuff like, well, lifestyle stuff...

Actually, a number of women have asked me about 'where do we put posts about...' and they've always just been tossed in with the rest...it would actually make sense - and could include all the stuff on living aboard, tips for whatever (yeah, I know...), food recipes, drink-recipes and the other stuff you've been talking about...

When it comes to a womens-only section, I'm not sure there would be enough traffic to support it (I'm afraid the women are outnumbered here). I mean, you're always welcomed to it - it's easy to do, etc - I just don't think there is sufficient female traffic to support it... If you change the topic over to something broader, like that above, it should float...

What about that?

//sse

 

[Guy Stevens]

Good

I like that better than domesticity!

Guy

 

[timday5]

How about "Partners of Sailors" aimed at the less-obsessed half?

 

[msFootrope]

Forget the Women Only Section

Okay, I'm convinced. And I agree, there is not enough participation from women to justify a separate section. And I guess I didn't really want a separate section. I just wanted to separate out the technical aspects from the lifestyle aspects. And I think a section called Lifestyles would suit the section well. And I'd like to see at least a Recipe section as a regular topic in the Lifestyle section. Storage solutions might be another regular topic. I also like Guy's suggestion for a Living Afloat topic How about if we start with at least those three?

I'll even share my Scalloped Potatoes aux Keibasa recipe!! People seemed to like it at the Pacific Northwest Rendezvous in Port Townsend.

 

[Sean Engle]

Viola!

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/forumdisplay.php?f=29

How about a nice welcoming post from you there, Ellen? Be sure to choose 'stick it' when you post - so it stays up at the top of the list...

//sse

 

[lbertran]

Women On This Site

Hi all-
I use this site at least daily. My partner and I do a lot of our own repair and upgrade work on our E35-3 and I find this site very helpful. We're also obsessed sailors. It hadn't occurred to me that there was any division of outlook or interest between the men and the women sailors on this site. I've always felt free to post questions, to share knowledge and experience, etc. I like the idea of a "lifestyles" section for the living aboard type issues. I'm sure it's something that we would all find interesting and helpful. Thanks, Ellen for raising the subject.

Laura Bertran
Footloose- 1985 E35-3
Annapolis, MD

 

[Chris Miller]

How to screen potential spouses / dates for boat compatibility

Errrr... Ok I can't think of any more.......

That's how my wife picked me- I slept most of the way on an 8 hr delivery (had to work the night before, got home at 5am- left for the boat at 6:30) in typical Chesapeake July heat and chop. Her buddy Bob told her that if I could do that right out of the gate, she should keep me