Liveaboard Family Looking for a Miracle

[sailaway21]

I guess it was the, "best of luck to you and your family" that smacked of vitriol and sarcasm to you, Smacky.

As expressed above, there was no smackdown, either given or necessary, until your useless, tired, and tedious morality show on estrogen showed up.

Even your lidless eyes will have noticed that one of the moderators posted after the post of mine that you take such great offense to, apparently finding nothing within it to object to, and by the way.....I do seem to remember your little knickers getting all in a twist over inter-site conflicts in the past, so what's all this crap with you taking your dented and tarnished shield over to A-S to drum up more controversy? I guess we can add hypocrite to all your other less than noble titles here.

We can make the assumption without harm that Tiara's Wake made an honest, if perhaps misguided, request for a free boat on the forum most likely for her request to be answered. I, and probably "we", can make no similar judgments about your usual brand of postings seen herein. It's beyond my memory to recall a bigger horse's ass whom was not already walking around with two black eyes, than yourself as expressed in these forums.

Here's a suggestion for you, if you've got the balls for it. Go over to Off Topic and open a poll question thread. Title it, "Smacky is a Horse's Ass" or "Smacky in Nothing but a Troll" and limit the answers to a simple, "yes" or "no". That will explain to you who "we" comprises, albeit anonymously. Don't make it some long drawn out explanation of your jousts here; just a simple question with only two answers. Come on, Troll, show some balls.

[smackdaddy]

I've got no problem with inter-site banter about what's going on in one forum or the other as long as the people involved can see what's being said. I was having a conversation at A-S with another member of both sites here and there - moving back and forth between both sites. And most of the people involved here are over there. So I can't quite see the problem with this that you seem to.

As a matter of fact, I think it actually might have been my comment there that helped Chuckles put two and two together with his kind offer above. Serendipity baby!

Anyway, every general member and visitor here or there is welcome to go over the ASOT and see exactly what I said for themselves.

Now about that poll....

[sailaway21]

You prove yourself to be just the sleazy type I've branded you. You didn't have the balls to ask the question outright. Get rid of the "lovable" part and ask it straight up or be branded ball-less, you troll. Scared aren't you?

[smackdaddy]

Heh-heh. Did you vote?

Okay - back to sailing.

[smackdaddy]

Originally Posted by chucklesR

TiarasWake, if you are is really interested I know of a 1962 Dickerson Ketch on the Magothy River that is available for free.
It's in sailing shape, that's all I know.


Sometimes things just work out that way huh?
Yes, this is serious I'll watch this thread today. I've sent you a PM with the info.

Just to keep the most important thing at the top. Sailnet does have some very good people.

[denby]

smacky never ceases to amaze me, it must be tough going through life being the righter of perceived wrongs.

[SEMIJim]

Isn't it about time this thread was moved to OT, being as it's morphed into Yet Another Thread About Smackdaddy, thus having no relationship to sailing or sailing-related matters whatsoever?

Just sayin'...

Jim

[sailingdog]

Especially when he has to navigate via looking out his stomach window.

Originally Posted by denby

smacky never ceases to amaze me, it must be tough going through life being the righter of perceived wrongs.

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by denby

smacky never ceases to amaze me, it must be tough going through life being the righter of perceived wrongs.

Actually, what he appears to me to accomplish is to make rights wrong and wrongs even more wrong.

Why you guys continue to aid him in his quest for self-aggrandizement is beyond me.

Jim

[sailingmum]

As a former Dockmaster at high end marinas in the northeast, here's my experience on free vessels and a few thoughts about the OP of this thread.

Yes, I thought perhaps OP may be a scam. There was a scammer scent about it. But unsure, I responded anyway because there are good, free boats out there. If the poster was for real, she decided she had nothing to lose asking for help. Maybe she could have gotten help fixing what she had, maybe not, but that wasn't what she was asking for. Some posters brought that up and if she or any 'real' readers with the same needs read it, they got some insight on how to repair what she had.

More sailboats are donated than powerboats. Some are in great working order, sometimes not. Many of the ones in poor condition are donated to marine foundation- though the foundations are pretty fussy about which poor condition vessels they'll take. They rehab them as a teaching tool and then sell them (usually way under market to move them quickly) to raise money or keep them in their fleet. So they often want specific makes.
The ones that are outright gifted to individuals usually go by word of mouth or sometimes found under free on Craigslist.
You don't need a sad story to ask for a gifted vessel. You don't need any story at all. You just need desire, persistance and humility. Maybe you'll be successful, maybe you won't.

There are some great boats out there for free or for donation. Best time to get them is at the end of the summer season. You have to get out to the boat yards, marinas, boater's pubs, marine foundations, riggers, dock hands, surveyors, sailing clubs, yacht clubs and talk to people. Most are friendly, helpful folk. If they're not, NEXT. I recommend sticking to your local area, if at all possible. If not, go where there is the biggest concentration of sailboats, especially high end marinas.
In these areas, except for racers and sailors who are in love with the the sport, most owners hardly use their sailboats. Usually it's one of many toys. Sometimes, they can't find any crew or they're just not physically capable anymore. Other owners are just waiting for the perfect weather day.
Generally there are two different types who donate boats ~
1. Dedicated sailor who loves the 'sport' but finds themselves in ill health and can no longer sail. Or the widow of said sailor. They don't need the money, can't deal with a sale and the donation is often worth more to them than a sale. They either donate the boat to a sailing club, which will try to sell it for market value, or advertise on Craigslist under boats for free or start asking around among their sailor friends and the folks at the marina.
2. 'Fat cat' owner loses big paycheck or all their investments tank and now they can't afford to pay the pool guy let alone the yard or marina bills, and the impeding winter or summer slip or storage fees and insurance preminum are looming.
Maybe they've listed the boat with a broker or brokers but the boat market is swamped with boats. They have no idea how to use the internet to sell it on their own. Boat doesn't sell in time to pay the marina bills or insurance bills.
Now the owner just wants to get rid of this vessel and all the bills associated with it. I personally helped 4 owners in the last 2 years with giveaway boats from a 20 foot daysailer with an working outboard to a 30 foot Cape Dory. They were all in great shape, the owners just wanted out quickly and couldn't sell. Some couldn't even deal with the selling process and had many other pressing demands on their time. 2 of those boats found new owners who never could have afforded the purchase price even at firesale prices but could afford the ongoing maintenance. The other two were abandoned and the marinas are stuck with trying to obtain title so they can either broker a sale or donation.
One week last fall, I called over 20 people to come and get a 25 Catalina, 1980 something. They all declined. The ones that were serious, figured they'd pass til spring so they wouldn't have to pay the winter storage fees. They also were betting the economic climate would get worse and they'd be more boats to choose from come spring.
If you'd made it this far in the post, my point is that there are great free boats out there. You can do your own preliminary inspection to decide whether you want to spend the money on a survey. If you think it's worth it,
spend the money on the survey. Never take one these puppies without a survey unless you've got the wallet and/or the stomach for the consequences.
Good luck.