09-05-2009
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Member
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Maryland
Posts: 97
Rep Power: 6
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To What Extent Should I Help?
I keep my boat - a one-off fiberglass perpetual project catamaran - in a free mooring ground on the Chesapeake. This is likely the cheapest way to have a boat in the area and so it comes as no surprise that most of the 20-odd boats in this anchorage are in various states of disrepair and neglect. I am there frequently to tend to my boat and, as a result, can say I've never seen anyone aboard half of that number for the last six years.
About a month ago a young guy arrived in a very decrepit 30' wooden sloop. It has what could be affectionately called a shark bite on the port quarter, missing planks along the sides of the deckhouse, rotten deck boards, etc etc. While it is certainly the saddest of them all, at least this guy is there and doing work.
I met John just a few days ago and learned a bit more. He had been in Annapolis but the harbormaster forced him to leave. He seems a decent person with good intentions yet his boat is more of a liability than an asset. While I was aboard yesterday to donate some plywood and spanish cedar to the cause, I learned the boat leaks and his generator is on the fritz; and so, it shouldn't be long before the pump runs down his battery. I do not have a spare battery, solar panel, or generator to loan him. He spoke of getting a new generator from Harbor Freight but from the looks of things I doubt he has the means. My suggestion was to buy a cheap solar panel to keep the battery fresh and the pump running.
Under these circumstances, what would you do?
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