Strange this disease called footitis
It is enjoyable to read the responses so far--yes, no, go bigger, buy this, buy that. From a different perspective I suggest that we all have different needs and that these needs change as we grow older. I'm in my mid seventies so older I understand. But your question, Swampcreek, intrigues me. My wife and I have had nine boats and we're thinking of our tenth. Our first boat was a Cal 20 and we were young, just married and were still flexible and were not fazed by getting wet, either from rain or spray. We loved that boat and cruised it all over Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. Charts and a compass. The head so small you either sat or kneeled (I won't get into the particulars). But after five years, we traded it in on a Pearson 27 (the old design). It was not my favorite boat but we could stand up in it. But for us it did not sail well--but we were still young and broke and bought the Pearson without pulpits or winches. The latter made it hard to sail. After five years we traded the Pearson in on a Ranger 29 with an inboard Atomic Four and my education continued. Cruising was still our fun thing but I started racing too. It was a great boat but other boats were going faster--no way. So we traded the 29 in on a Ranger 32--a real racing boat with 9 winches and 11 sails. Were we having fun yet? Racing yes, cruising no. It had only four bunks--all singles and we were still young enough to see the problem. We broke the mast in the Swiftsure race, hit logs and broke the strut in another race and got hit by another boat in another race. Fun began to change. We missed the cruising so we went shopping and bought a Sceptre 36--we now had our BIG boat. And a diesel as well. We headed for Desolation Sound and we enjoyed cruising again--this time go further then we had before. But thing still were not just right. We had hull no. 1 and parts of the boat didn't quite fit. We saw the newer boats and they had storage areas we didn't have. We went shopping after five years. Hunter came out with a 40 footer in the mid eighties that was beautiful. You could walk around the stern beds--walk, not stoop. And it could be all ours if we chartered it. So we did. While we cruised a bit, our beloved boat was cruising more with others then with us. This was not good. And I was spending most of my weekends repairing parts of the boat I didn't know anyone could break. But there was another factor that began to raise its head--this boat was big and it took the two of us to sail and dock it. Middle age had advanced and it was harder to raise the big main or the heavy anchor. It was another learning lesson for the two of us. After five years (the chartering contract) we traded down to a more normal size for us or so we though--a Hunter Vision 32 practically a cat boat rig. A fun cruiser but I could not get it to sail well. My wife and i were not happy yet. We were still learning--must haves in our boats were a diesel and a sugar scoop stern. And rumble seats. Had to have. But this boat didn't leave the harbor as much--we realized we really like to sail---and we couldn't get this one to do much. When I raced her we'd get lapped. Being lapped is not fun. So we traded it in on a Hunter 35.5. My oh my what a great boat that was. A great sailer and fast and fun. We had great cruises, and great racing. We even won boat of the year in our local races for having the best percentage even with its bulb winged keel. We were hot. But things change and a favorite crew member had a stroke and died and CNG became hard to get. While looking another new Hunter to see how they did the propane I heard my wife say she liked this boat. I'm slow but not dumb. Anytime your best friend and partner says she likes a boat, you buy and we did. We bought our present Hunter 380 and the fiberglass arch. That was 1999. What a beautiful boat. I had quit racing and we went cruising. Back to old haunts and secret coves. All our favorite places. We were older now--close to retirement and this boat fit our needs. Sugar scoop stern, a beautiful and quiet diesel, roller furling main and jib, everything led back to the cockpit, a hot shower, a great galley and a large queen size for two (and two cats). I don't believe Hunter ever designed a better boat. It was perfect....just perfect. Except for one thing--we were getting older and our needs were changing. Now when we brought the 380 into the dock jumping down from the deck to the dock became a problem. Jumping is not my strong suit anymore. And when it came time to paint the bottom--oh my it was big. We had left our comfort zone. My wife couldn't wax or rub anymore and I fell off the ladder doing the bottom paint. Not good. And I wanted to go out more just for a day sail and taking the Hunter 380 out and just day sailing wasn't satisfying. It was a cruising boat and we weren't cruising anymore. So just this past week we put our Hunter 380 up for sail--our perfect boat. I'm emotional about it as it has been the best boat for us. But we've changed. So now I'm looking for a smaller boat but it HAS to have the following (note my education from all those other boats): sugar scoop stern to get into the dinghy. Roller furling main and jib, a Yanmar diesel with a MAX prop, a marine head (a necessity for us old guys), just one burner to make coffee, sleeping for two but not together (I've turned into a restless sleeper), everything led to the cockpit so that one person can sail the boat. A dodger, the three quarter rigged jib (easier for each of us to tack), --did I say a marine head. Oh, yeah. And it should be good looking but not old fashion. A few sailing instruments but no radar. I know my way around now. We've learned a lot over the years. I hope for the next few years we'll be able to day sail and maybe do an overnighter or two to some of our old favorite coves in the islands. We've achieved some of our dreams--now we want to enjoy some of our skills. Will this be our last boat? Who knows. I wish you all well, Les
. r.w.landau
