I have a special interest in this article (originally appeared in the WSJ 1998). The 38 foot Hunter in the article "Nealix" can curently be seen in Wickford RI with the name "Allie Kat" proudly displayed. Seemed quiet today so I thought I'd stir the pot. Russell S/V Allie Kat Yacht Buyers Find New Boats To Be Just Plain Sickening Wall Street Journal Weekender Section 22 May 1998 by Sam Walker MYSTIC, CONN. -- Last year, Neal and Alix Van Rees spent $145,000 on the sailboat of their dreams, a glorious 38-footer with a queen-size bed and a microwave. They christened it "Nealix." They slipped on their topsiders and sailed it over to Block Island, off the easternmost tip of New York's Long Island. Then they got rid of it. "It made me a little queasy," says Mrs. Van Rees, citing the boat's tendency to rock and pound the waves "a lot more" than the couple's previous sailboat. Worse, the boat would careen too much in high winds. "I'd just stay down in the cabin gritting my teeth," says Mrs. Van Rees, a retiree. All over the country, some of the fastest, most elaborate and costliest sailboats ever built are being consigned to the boatyard with "for sale" signs taped to their prows. The problem: They're uncomfortable, frightening, and even a bit nauseating. "Prices are soaring, but the boats are only getting worse," says Peter Johnstone, president of Escape Sailboat Co., a Rhode Island firm that sells entry-level vessels. Adds Bill Padget, a used-yacht broker from Denver: "It's a lot of money for something that can scare you or make you sick." Despite the rollicking economy -- and rapid sales in the much larger power-boat market -- sailboat manufacturers produced just 1,094 boats over 36 feet last year, according to the Sailing Company of Newport, R.I. That's a 12% decline, and the smallest output in four years. Industry studies show that 70% of the large sailboats sold in America these days are used. Critics say too many sailboat manufacturers are concentrating on a new generation of high-performance luxury boats -- which start at $100,000 and run up to $2 million if customized. Lighter, sleeker and faster, these boats generate much higher profit margins than the heavy old crab crushers of yore. But owners say they're also nowhere near as steady. Even many boat makers agree something is terribly amiss here. "We've always been a business that sells what it makes rather than making what sells," says Arlene Sloan Baxter, executive director of the National Sailing Industry Association. "Boat manufacturers don't like to hear that, but it's time we started to change." Before the recent onset of lighter, carbon fiber materials and better sails, sailboats hadn't evolved much in decades. Older boats were made of wood or aluminum, with deep hulls that kept them steadier in rough seas. ("They were built like brick houses," says Mr. Johnstone, the boat maker.) Today's designs -- inspired by pure-bred international racing boats -- can attain speeds once unheard of in mom-and-pop sailing. But these faster, lighter yachts, experts say, require a lot more sailing prowess to prevent the kind of excessive rocking and wild leaning that makes people sick. With flatter bottoms, the new experience that makes novice skippers want to spend $200,000. "When these boats pick up speed, a lot of neophytes just basically roll around on deck," says Glenn Henderson, a performance-yacht builder from St. Petersburg, Fla. "They come home with bruises." Bay Sailor Jack Corcoran sure did. The 58-year-old Philadelphia accountant figured $100,000 would be enough to buy a new boat that he and his wife, Bonnie, could sail comfortably on the ocean. But he rarely got the nerve to leave the placid waters of Chesapeake Bay in his 36-footer, dubbed "C Breeze." On rare occasions when bay winds have reached 30 knots, Mr. Corcoran says, the sailing yacht has tipped, heeled over on its side, and taken on so much water that he has been forced to strap on a blue safety harness and lash himself to the life rail. "I wouldn't dream of taking this thing out on the Atlantic," he says of the yacht, which he plans to sell in favor of an older, heavier used boat. "That wouldn't be my idea of a good time." Chuck Bralver, a management consultant in his 40s from New York, recently traded his hot rod J-105 sailboat for a 34-foot Creelock cruiser with a teak cabin that looks as if it could have been built 50 years ago. The reason: He worried that his four young children would get tossed around like popcorn on the deck. Besides, he adds, "My wife said it wasn't for her." To be sure, there's still a market for today's advanced designs. Chip Shea, marketing director for Hunter Marine, a large Florida boat company, says its new sailboats "are not for everyone" but are one of the few brands gaining market share. (Sales of its large yachts are up about 10% in each of the last five years, he says.) Robbie Robinson, a Seattle boat dealer, has sold a handful of $300,000 yachts to twentysomething "Microsoft children" who have promptly vanished to the tropics. Built for Speed And Chuck Paine, a yachtsman from Camden, Maine, who designs custom boats for a clientele that, in his words, "likes to go fast," says it isn't the boats' fault. Some sailors, Mr. Paine says, particularly those who "recently came into money" lack the experience to control modern boats in heady winds. They blame the boat for being uncomfortable, he continues, when the real problem is "they don't know how to slow it down." Maybe so, but many boating experts worry about the long-term effects of sailing's obsession with speed. Unless manufacturers start building boats that don't jar their owners' chardonnay glasses, they say, they'll risk losing an entire generation of would-be customers to powerboats -- which already control more than 90% of the total boating market -- or (God forbid) to competing pastimes like golf. Already, the number of Americans who sail more than once a year has fallen 50% since 1988, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. "If the industry isn't frightened yet, it ought to be," says Jim Muldoon, president of the United States Sailing Association in Portsmouth, R.I. The Van Reeses couldn't agree more. On a recent morning, the silver-haired couple donned cabled sweaters and drove their Toyota Camry from their condominium in Stonington, Conn., to the Mystic Shipyard to have a look at the hulking bone-white yacht they discarded, now perched on metal stays in the marina's expansive parking lot. Mr. Van Rees, a retired New York lawyer, says he didn't mind the boat's waterborne manners so much, but he wasn't terribly fond of its tubby appearance. Meanwhile, his wife recounts stories about episodes of queasiness, staggering trips to the bathroom and abortive attempts to eat crackers at six knots. "I'm sure this boat appeals to some people," Mrs. Van Rees says, casting a charitable eye at the fiberglass ship with its tinted windows and flat-as-a-pancake hull. "But I'm not certain whom."
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Miles
That was funny!
Thanks for posting that, I thought it was pretty funny. I guess sailing just isn't for every one... I hope you got a nice discount on the price of your boat since it made the former owners seasick!
Thanks for posting that, I thought it was pretty funny. I guess sailing just isn't for every one... I hope you got a nice discount on the price of your boat since it made the former owners seasick!
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Keith K.
Oh no!! The boat tipped!!!
"...the sailing yacht has tipped, heeled over on its side, and taken on so much water that he has been forced to strap on a blue safety harness and lash himself to the life rail." We could a) take a sailing class, b) sheet out or reef the main c)hank on a storm jib, or d) all of the above. I wonder if people think that you can just pony up the cash for a sailboat and it'll sail itself? People like that are good, they provide new boats to us for used boat prices!! -Keith K. S/V Vesta
"...the sailing yacht has tipped, heeled over on its side, and taken on so much water that he has been forced to strap on a blue safety harness and lash himself to the life rail." We could a) take a sailing class, b) sheet out or reef the main c)hank on a storm jib, or d) all of the above. I wonder if people think that you can just pony up the cash for a sailboat and it'll sail itself? People like that are good, they provide new boats to us for used boat prices!! -Keith K. S/V Vesta
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Greg Sampson
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Peggie Hall/Headmistress
I remember reading this article...
It's unfortunate that the WSJ writer failed to understand that boats, like cars, snow skis, and many other things, come in "beginner," "intermediate" and "expert/high performance" models...'cuz it's obvious this couple did not have the sailing skills to control the boat. But, also like a lot of other things, it couldn't be THEIR fault they bought too much boat...it has to be the builder's fault for building a boat that requires more skill than they had. There was more to that article...if you have it all, would you mind e-mailing it to me?
It's unfortunate that the WSJ writer failed to understand that boats, like cars, snow skis, and many other things, come in "beginner," "intermediate" and "expert/high performance" models...'cuz it's obvious this couple did not have the sailing skills to control the boat. But, also like a lot of other things, it couldn't be THEIR fault they bought too much boat...it has to be the builder's fault for building a boat that requires more skill than they had. There was more to that article...if you have it all, would you mind e-mailing it to me?
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Scott Narum
Stunning Ignorance
That article could not have been written by a sailor. I've owned "older" and now have a new boat...I wouldn't take the old boats again! What concerned me is that report that fewer larger boats are being sold...I question that. I'll bet Hunter and Catalina would show different statistics.
That article could not have been written by a sailor. I've owned "older" and now have a new boat...I wouldn't take the old boats again! What concerned me is that report that fewer larger boats are being sold...I question that. I'll bet Hunter and Catalina would show different statistics.
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Todd Osborne
Stirring the pot!
The Article looks like a ratings-getter, reminiscent of the local radio station stunts. I'm shocked the WSJ would stoop so low... Just goes to show that many more folks in todays society expect "turn key" recreation, that requires no experience. Maybe those folks will be happier with a powerboat. Better yet, a PWC. Am waiting for the article about the upset couple that bought a $200K boat that didn't come with a self-cleaning feature....
The Article looks like a ratings-getter, reminiscent of the local radio station stunts. I'm shocked the WSJ would stoop so low... Just goes to show that many more folks in todays society expect "turn key" recreation, that requires no experience. Maybe those folks will be happier with a powerboat. Better yet, a PWC. Am waiting for the article about the upset couple that bought a $200K boat that didn't come with a self-cleaning feature....
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RREgge
Thats all I found Peggy
I found this at the following site http://www.rbbi.com/desks/pr/wsjyacht.htm
I found this at the following site http://www.rbbi.com/desks/pr/wsjyacht.htm
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Jamie
I know one of the guys in this
It's an interesting article and quite surprising that it's in the Wall Street Journal. I know Chip Shea who was qouted in the article. He's a good guy. I couldn't say how true or untrue the article is since I am only 20 and my boat is a 26 foot trailer sailor but I think articles like this are good for the industry. There aren't too many articles out there about sailing, especially in big publications outside of the boating industry.
It's an interesting article and quite surprising that it's in the Wall Street Journal. I know Chip Shea who was qouted in the article. He's a good guy. I couldn't say how true or untrue the article is since I am only 20 and my boat is a 26 foot trailer sailor but I think articles like this are good for the industry. There aren't too many articles out there about sailing, especially in big publications outside of the boating industry.
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
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Clyde
Sailing Condos….
The very first sentence of the article states the problem..."a glorious 38-footer with a queen-size bed and a microwave. The people quoted in the article who were dissatisfied with their big boats were people who wanted a floating Condominium with sails instead of sailboat. A sailboat is vessel that is propelled by the wind. A sailboat balances the forces of wind and converts it into forward motion. To optimize wind energy into forward motion a sailboat heels. Heeling has always been part of sailing ever since we went away from square sails. The statement in the article that said..."We've always been a business that sells what it makes rather than making what sells..." is not totally true. If the people in the article wanted want a sailboat that stays on her feet, they should have bought a Cat Rigged sailboat. The Hinterholler designed "Nonsuch" Cat boat was one of the largest Cat boats you can get, or the WylieCat boat. But a Cat boat design is archaic and to some people doesn't look regular a sailboat. The people in the article wanted a sloop rigged and fin keel boat. Why? Because that is what they think a modern sailboat should look like and that's why the fin keel boats are built in greater numbers than a "Graff" rigged or "Marconi" rigged or "Wish Bone" rigged Cat boat. The statement..." They blame the boat for being uncomfortable, he continues, when the real problem is they don't know how to slow it down..." it should be they do not know how to sail their boats correctly. Having the money to be able to buy a sailboat doesn't mean you are automatically a sailor. Sailing use to be a sport or a recreational activity. Sailboat racing has reached the point like car racing where you need sponsors to race. And sailing as a recreational activity has reached the level of where a sailboats sits at the dock and are used as seaside condominiums for wine tasting parties. A quote from the article..."Unless manufacturers start building boats that don't jar their owners chardonnay glasses, they say, they'll risk losing an entire generation of would-be customers to powerboats..." An entire generation of sailboat sailors has already been lost. Instead of asking the sailing performance of boat, we now ask if it comes with queen size beds, microwave ovens, stereos, TV, and regular size toilets. Nothing has changed since the article was written in 1998, the rich still buys the fancy big yachts for parties while the rest of us are sailing our small sailboats or day dreaming about sailing to Hawaii when we're not on the water. Fair Winds. Clyde
The very first sentence of the article states the problem..."a glorious 38-footer with a queen-size bed and a microwave. The people quoted in the article who were dissatisfied with their big boats were people who wanted a floating Condominium with sails instead of sailboat. A sailboat is vessel that is propelled by the wind. A sailboat balances the forces of wind and converts it into forward motion. To optimize wind energy into forward motion a sailboat heels. Heeling has always been part of sailing ever since we went away from square sails. The statement in the article that said..."We've always been a business that sells what it makes rather than making what sells..." is not totally true. If the people in the article wanted want a sailboat that stays on her feet, they should have bought a Cat Rigged sailboat. The Hinterholler designed "Nonsuch" Cat boat was one of the largest Cat boats you can get, or the WylieCat boat. But a Cat boat design is archaic and to some people doesn't look regular a sailboat. The people in the article wanted a sloop rigged and fin keel boat. Why? Because that is what they think a modern sailboat should look like and that's why the fin keel boats are built in greater numbers than a "Graff" rigged or "Marconi" rigged or "Wish Bone" rigged Cat boat. The statement..." They blame the boat for being uncomfortable, he continues, when the real problem is they don't know how to slow it down..." it should be they do not know how to sail their boats correctly. Having the money to be able to buy a sailboat doesn't mean you are automatically a sailor. Sailing use to be a sport or a recreational activity. Sailboat racing has reached the point like car racing where you need sponsors to race. And sailing as a recreational activity has reached the level of where a sailboats sits at the dock and are used as seaside condominiums for wine tasting parties. A quote from the article..."Unless manufacturers start building boats that don't jar their owners chardonnay glasses, they say, they'll risk losing an entire generation of would-be customers to powerboats..." An entire generation of sailboat sailors has already been lost. Instead of asking the sailing performance of boat, we now ask if it comes with queen size beds, microwave ovens, stereos, TV, and regular size toilets. Nothing has changed since the article was written in 1998, the rich still buys the fancy big yachts for parties while the rest of us are sailing our small sailboats or day dreaming about sailing to Hawaii when we're not on the water. Fair Winds. Clyde
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
I couldn't have said it any better, Clyde
There was a time when your comments would only have applied to people who buy big powerboats...when those who bought big sailboats were SAILORS who started in prams and dinks as kids and worked their way up to 35'+ boats...they'd learned the skills to sail just about anything. Not any more... Today, I'm convinced that, if you randomly selected any 10 powerboaters and any 10 owners of 35'+ sailboats...put them in Lasers or any other 10-15' one-design in 15-18k winds, the capsize rate for both groups would be the same. 'Cuz there wouldn't be any more sailboat owners than powerboat owners who have the the sailing skills required to sail a boat that size. At least half the sail fleet at my YC in Atlanta consider anything more than about 15k "too rough"--on an inland lake!--to take their 30'+ boats out! Sad...
There was a time when your comments would only have applied to people who buy big powerboats...when those who bought big sailboats were SAILORS who started in prams and dinks as kids and worked their way up to 35'+ boats...they'd learned the skills to sail just about anything. Not any more... Today, I'm convinced that, if you randomly selected any 10 powerboaters and any 10 owners of 35'+ sailboats...put them in Lasers or any other 10-15' one-design in 15-18k winds, the capsize rate for both groups would be the same. 'Cuz there wouldn't be any more sailboat owners than powerboat owners who have the the sailing skills required to sail a boat that size. At least half the sail fleet at my YC in Atlanta consider anything more than about 15k "too rough"--on an inland lake!--to take their 30'+ boats out! Sad...
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Jamie
From a younger generations perspective
I grew up in Florida and now I am in north eastern, PA. I am probably of the generation that lost more potential sailors than any other generation. I started with a Sunfish, then moved up to a 1970 Cal-21, and now I am sailing a MacGregor 26S. In college when i was looking for my next boat all my friends said I should go with a powerboat and a few of them thought I was crazy since I live so far from water (they may be right). But the truth is all the people who were saying I should get a powerboat or I was crazy has never really had a day sailing. The person that wrote the article was probably neive as to the world of sailing, and probably even boating for that matter. This can be seen in the way he talks about microwaves and queen size beds in the article. I don't know about the rest of you but those are not the things that come to mind when I think of a 6 figure boat. This coming weekend I am going to be taking 7 close friends out to show them just what sailing is all about. Four of them have never been sailing and the others have only been out on smaller boats such as Sunfish. If all goes well my friends will view the world of sailing with a sparkle in their eye. I can understand why people like powerboats since I am a trailer sailor. I can only dream of launching my boat in 10 minutes and be on my way with such little effort. But for me setting up the boat is worth it once you are out there sailing by the power nature provides. Searching for the "best" wind, adjusting the sails just so, and finding the most effective route to your destination is all part of the fun of sailing.
I grew up in Florida and now I am in north eastern, PA. I am probably of the generation that lost more potential sailors than any other generation. I started with a Sunfish, then moved up to a 1970 Cal-21, and now I am sailing a MacGregor 26S. In college when i was looking for my next boat all my friends said I should go with a powerboat and a few of them thought I was crazy since I live so far from water (they may be right). But the truth is all the people who were saying I should get a powerboat or I was crazy has never really had a day sailing. The person that wrote the article was probably neive as to the world of sailing, and probably even boating for that matter. This can be seen in the way he talks about microwaves and queen size beds in the article. I don't know about the rest of you but those are not the things that come to mind when I think of a 6 figure boat. This coming weekend I am going to be taking 7 close friends out to show them just what sailing is all about. Four of them have never been sailing and the others have only been out on smaller boats such as Sunfish. If all goes well my friends will view the world of sailing with a sparkle in their eye. I can understand why people like powerboats since I am a trailer sailor. I can only dream of launching my boat in 10 minutes and be on my way with such little effort. But for me setting up the boat is worth it once you are out there sailing by the power nature provides. Searching for the "best" wind, adjusting the sails just so, and finding the most effective route to your destination is all part of the fun of sailing.
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
Which only says, Jamie, that you're a SAILOR...
Half the people who own 30'+ sailboats today prob'ly don't even know what you mean by the "best" wind.
Half the people who own 30'+ sailboats today prob'ly don't even know what you mean by the "best" wind.
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Bob Todd
Oh dear, Oh dear, Oh dear!
Heavens to gimbals! My sailboat heeled to one side! Whatever shall I do! What a pickle! One has to learn the handling characteristics of each and every sailboat that they buy if they have any intention of enjoying it. Have would-be sailors of today never heard of a trial? Are these the same people who would buy a car without driving it or asking present owners if they are happy? Then there's the internet...bucketfuls of info there. Anyone who spends THIS kind of money without doing some research is too stupid to own a sailboat. No doubt one of these incidents will result in a lawsuit, I can see it now: "Your Honor...My client intends to sue this company for selling them something they knew nothing about, did not know how to use, and traumatized them for doing what it does by design." I tend to agree with Chuck Paine. It's like getting sick from drinking too much rum and blaming it on "bad ice." At any rate, people need to do a little research before they jump into something like this. Or perhaps they would just be better of going camping at the Marriott. Sailing is cramped life at an angle and not a 4-star hotel...well...at least not my boat. Just my two-cents (US) Cheers, Bob
Heavens to gimbals! My sailboat heeled to one side! Whatever shall I do! What a pickle! One has to learn the handling characteristics of each and every sailboat that they buy if they have any intention of enjoying it. Have would-be sailors of today never heard of a trial? Are these the same people who would buy a car without driving it or asking present owners if they are happy? Then there's the internet...bucketfuls of info there. Anyone who spends THIS kind of money without doing some research is too stupid to own a sailboat. No doubt one of these incidents will result in a lawsuit, I can see it now: "Your Honor...My client intends to sue this company for selling them something they knew nothing about, did not know how to use, and traumatized them for doing what it does by design." I tend to agree with Chuck Paine. It's like getting sick from drinking too much rum and blaming it on "bad ice." At any rate, people need to do a little research before they jump into something like this. Or perhaps they would just be better of going camping at the Marriott. Sailing is cramped life at an angle and not a 4-star hotel...well...at least not my boat. Just my two-cents (US) Cheers, Bob
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Jim Bailey
Well Said Folks!
I agree with you folks 100%. For years I thought "stink pots" were it. Then a good friend of mine took me sailing. I was and am hooked for life. Those folks in the Wall Street Journal article (as was mentioned) did'nt take the time to research anything about sailing and what to expect. Perhaps they should have considered spending their money on a motor home. Although that would be debateable too, if they drive like they sail. There's a scary thought. Not knocking motor homes, I have a 34 footer. Again research etc. before hauling out the check book. I have found that RVing is like sailing. You learn every time you go. And if that isn't their cup of tea, I would suggest that they try a cruise ship. They don't rock and roll like their sail boat did. They could take one heck of a cruise for that amount of money, and that would include ROOM SERVICE, as well as a host of other amenities.
I agree with you folks 100%. For years I thought "stink pots" were it. Then a good friend of mine took me sailing. I was and am hooked for life. Those folks in the Wall Street Journal article (as was mentioned) did'nt take the time to research anything about sailing and what to expect. Perhaps they should have considered spending their money on a motor home. Although that would be debateable too, if they drive like they sail. There's a scary thought. Not knocking motor homes, I have a 34 footer. Again research etc. before hauling out the check book. I have found that RVing is like sailing. You learn every time you go. And if that isn't their cup of tea, I would suggest that they try a cruise ship. They don't rock and roll like their sail boat did. They could take one heck of a cruise for that amount of money, and that would include ROOM SERVICE, as well as a host of other amenities.
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Pete
Not to belabor the point,
but there is a sticker placed by Catalina in the cockpit of my C320 - READ OWNER'S MANUAL BEFORE OPERATING, along with a little pictograph if you don't get it. This is obviously directed to the people in the article.
but there is a sticker placed by Catalina in the cockpit of my C320 - READ OWNER'S MANUAL BEFORE OPERATING, along with a little pictograph if you don't get it. This is obviously directed to the people in the article.
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