Thoughts on Newbie 1st boat purchase

[cardiacpaul]

I feel bad for them not because of the money or repairs, or a boat that they can't use. I feel bad for them because its been 3 yrs, and they're not sailing, its been 3 yrs and they have a sour taste in their mouths for all of the boating industry, its been 3 yrs and their dream has become a nightmare.

[pbpme]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

This is one reason I think the court system in the US needs to be reformed. The courts should be setup that the losers in a any lawsuit need to pay the legal fees for both parties–especially if the losers are the plaintiffs and should be forced to pay punitive fines if their lawsuit is dismissed or considered frivolous.... that would really help clear up the system and prevent a lot of the nuisance lawsuits.

Awesome thought! Not likely to happen in our lifetime since ALL the politicians are lawyers by profession. If the loser pays.... 60%+ of all civil litigation would evaporate. (an estimate I read somewhere analyzing loser pays). On the downside of loser pays, how does the small fish stand up to the big fish, when the big fish has all the teeth?

[sailingdog]

If the system is setup so that the loser pays... then all the little fish has to do is find a really smart and vicious lawyer willing to take the case on a spec or contingency basis... if the lawyer is that good, I guarantee they'll make out like a bandit...since the big fish would end up responsible for paying them. Also, if the lawyer charges a ridiculously high hourly rate, it would make up for the percentage of cases they actually do lose...

Trust me... if the system were setup that loser pays, there would some really smart and vicious attorneys out there working the spec/contingency basis market... and taking on some cases that would otherwise never see the inside of a courtroom.

Originally Posted by pbpme

Awesome thought! Not likely to happen in our lifetime since ALL the politicians are lawyers by profession. If the loser pays.... 60%+ of all civil litigation would evaporate. (an estimate I read somewhere analyzing loser pays). On the downside of loser pays, how does the small fish stand up to the big fish, when the big fish has all the teeth?

[JohnRPollard]

Cardiac Paul: That's quite a story. They obviously had more money than sense.

In defense of WF, he sounds like the exact opposite to me. And that's a preferable place to be in my book. Let's all give him a chance and I look forward to hearing reports as the project progresses.

That said, WF may well find as many have before him that comprehensive refits are very expensive: You can easily go through $20-30+K and a year or two of your free time pretty quickly. Whenever I've performed the calculus, I invariably conclude that I could go out and purchase a Dana 24, Orion 27, Mariah 31, or etc that is pretty well ready to go and more suited for the purpose. But everyone evaluates certain factors differently, so it's no surprise we come to different conclusions. And that was one of the points WF articulated.

[Sailormann]

Sailormann - As per my original post, sailed when I was a child and in my teens about ten years experience, and infrequently since, by no means do I feel ready, but I have a solid base and will spend the next year sailing her to determine if she's right and I'm ready. BTW - I could tell you some stories about winds and waves way over 50knts - but on land! The gulf coast during a major hurricane can show one the awesome power of nature! Oh, and watching planes run into buildings can show how a group of people can feel so threatened by others who believe in a different way of life. Neither of these things are pertinent to my original post, and honestly don't belong here, but do you get my point?

Uhmm - to be honest no - there are allusions to a couple of broad concepts there, but I think you need to flesh them out a bit more.

I guess the point I was trying to convey in my post was not as obvious as I should have made it. The huge difference between being out at sea and being on land is that there is NOWHERE else you can go. You can't sit there and marvel at the majesty of nature's force and then duck into the house until it blows over. You have yourself, your boat, and your survival is completely dependent on the results of any actions that you might take.

I think there is a lesson here that you might take away with you...

You made an intelligent post that generated various responses, some of which were not the reactions that you expected. I think it took you a fair amount of time to write it and there was some disapointment on your part that it did not have as much success as you had expected it would.

I don't think that you spent a lot of time considering your responses to some of the less encouraging replies that were posted by others and had you done so, you might have couched your replies in a slightly less abrasive manner.

So - when you're trying to accomplish something, be it generating positive responses from others, setting an anchor, charting a course or baking a cake... Look very carefully at things from all angles. Consider everything that could interfere with your desired outcome and alter your original concept to incorporate these factors. It takes a little more time and effort up front, but saves a lot of distress and frustration further down the road.

That said - it's not a good idea to put the phrase "opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one" and then proceed to spend a few hundred words spouting your own. Kind of undermines your credibility from the get go if you see what I mean.

Also - there are kids on here - it's fine to swear and use profanity when you're on the boat or amongst a group of like-minded adults, but on this site, I find it irritating that people can't develop a slightly boader vocabulary. There are always many ways of saying the same thing...
Maybe - "I'm not the first to have an opinion, but FWIW - here's mine..." ???

Good Luck and keep us posted !