As the rainy season started in earnest, the flow of boats for sale was slowing. If I was in the market for a (give or take) twenty foot, white fiberglass sailboat that required at least $200 a month in moorage, plus the occasional expensive haul-out, I could get one for a pretty good deal. But then in a year or two I’d have paid more in moorage than the boat was worth, I’d be limited to sailing within a few miles of the dock, and it wouldn’t really be possible to stop on a distant shore or island, unless of course there was a marina there.
The more I thought about it, the boat would own me. With a bigger boat, came bigger, more expensive and complicated problems. A wise friend told me that “the man needs to own the boat.” Fortunately this became my mantra and many a boat fair (a wooden folkboat) and foul (a Cal 20) were passed up.
I started thinking more about getting a boat built for me, but the builders I talked to either seemed preoccupied with other projects, untrustworthy, or well beyond my price range. One day I called Andy up on the phone. “Say, Andy, how serious were you when you said you might be able to build me a boat?”
Agent Skate – as a longtime fan of your zines, I’m heartened to read your blogs on boating, life, and points north. Keep it up, we may not be very vocal, but we’re all reading and enjoying. SGH.