During discussions here a few months ago about Florida attempts to restrict anchoring, someone said that I would feel differently after I’d been down here. I’m afraid it’s true but I’m not sure yet how my feelings would translate into opinions I would stand up for.
I’m a great believer in personal freedom and an admirer of people getting by with pluck and ingenuity as a substitute for resources but, I have to say, a lot of what I have seen south of Norfolk, and especially in Florida, just makes my skin crawl. I never thought I could be a boating snob with my old and modest craft but I don’t enjoy finding boats like this in nearly every anchorage. I can’t fault municipalities for not wanting them there either.
If they were cruisers it would be different, at least for me. It’s clear from the growth on the hulls and anchor lines that few of these boats have moved in months or years. I spoke to a fellow in a boat even funkier than this one anchored nearby and he said the person has been living on it for five years without moving. He claims to be restoring his but that looks like a several decades project. He’s gotten as far as running a pipe for a wood stove through the side of the hull and up but not to masts.
Maybe it’s the seaman in me that gets the willies looking at this cockpit:
Although I do like the sense of humor and the cats (I lost count at about four):
Readers of my introductory post http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=128374&#post803193 will understand why I expect a lot of local people who may have a 2-3 year old Hunter or Morris for day sailing and occasional overnights might see Strider as being much closer to these craft on the spectrum than theirs. It’s probably true in hull value. I can’t hold it as strongly against people down here wanting to regulate anchoring as I did before experiencing this.
I’m still just at the stage of emotional reaction to this aspect of southern cruising and haven’t been able to come up with any useful thoughts or positions. I’m not proud of feeling this way about people who are clearly in unfortunate circumstances but it’s depressing to see derelict boats serving the role that large cardboard boxes serve in northern cities.
I’m a great believer in personal freedom and an admirer of people getting by with pluck and ingenuity as a substitute for resources but, I have to say, a lot of what I have seen south of Norfolk, and especially in Florida, just makes my skin crawl. I never thought I could be a boating snob with my old and modest craft but I don’t enjoy finding boats like this in nearly every anchorage. I can’t fault municipalities for not wanting them there either.
If they were cruisers it would be different, at least for me. It’s clear from the growth on the hulls and anchor lines that few of these boats have moved in months or years. I spoke to a fellow in a boat even funkier than this one anchored nearby and he said the person has been living on it for five years without moving. He claims to be restoring his but that looks like a several decades project. He’s gotten as far as running a pipe for a wood stove through the side of the hull and up but not to masts.
Maybe it’s the seaman in me that gets the willies looking at this cockpit:
Although I do like the sense of humor and the cats (I lost count at about four):
Readers of my introductory post http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=128374&#post803193 will understand why I expect a lot of local people who may have a 2-3 year old Hunter or Morris for day sailing and occasional overnights might see Strider as being much closer to these craft on the spectrum than theirs. It’s probably true in hull value. I can’t hold it as strongly against people down here wanting to regulate anchoring as I did before experiencing this.
I’m still just at the stage of emotional reaction to this aspect of southern cruising and haven’t been able to come up with any useful thoughts or positions. I’m not proud of feeling this way about people who are clearly in unfortunate circumstances but it’s depressing to see derelict boats serving the role that large cardboard boxes serve in northern cities.
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