[Stede]

Ahoy Big Red,
Thanks for your words of encouragement.I learned to sail in your waters,and you are a lucky pirate indeed to be there.I just returned from a trip single-handling my boat from Key West to the Marquesas and Dry Tortugas.It was a great trip which I enjoyed very much, but it also gave me the opportunity to learn some lessons about the cruising lifestyle. I talked with many sailors.Some that lived on small boats,others on BIG boats,and some that lived on boats that never went anywhere.I was curious as to why I saw so many boats both on the hard,and in the water that appeared to have just wasted away.One savvy fellow I met that had lived on a houseboat for 22 years in the same marina explained it to me.He said " people that have the dream of cruising will come along and buy an older "fixer upper" with the intention of straightening her out while living aboard.The boat costs for keeping her in the yard and repairs are always more than what they expect.Before long they can''t keep up with their payments,are bogged down with work,and end up having the boat seized by the yard for non-payment,or end up selling her.Before long,another buyer comes along with the same dream of cruising,and the cycle starts over again." He said he had seen the cycle repeated over and over again in the 22 years he had lived in the marina. What this information told me that pertained to my own plans is this: When looking for a boat to cruise with,don''t buy more boat than you can afford.You may be willing and able to do alot of the work yourself, but I believe putting together a realistic plan on how long it''ll take to put a boat in the drink,and an accurate estimate of repair costs is a vital one. Also, bigger may be better in some ways, but in costs bigger can be a killer to the average income sailor. It costs more to keep a bigger boat in a yard, maintenance costs seem to expand exponitially, and sometimes the reason for having the bigger boat is just a want,rather than a need.To sum it all up, I have changed my viewpoint to this : " A small boat sail, is better than a big boat stale." Cheers!