Hmmmmmmmm considering the intelligence of your responses and post, in
general, then I assume you overdosed on some illegal drug, years ago,
and either never quit, or destroyed too many brain cells, to be able to
maintain or express a rational thought. Related to Ozzie O ?

otn

Simple Simon wrote:

I'm the one-in-a-million man who doesn't take prescription pill one.

S.Simon - healthy as a horse

"otnmbrd" wrote in message k.net...

Run out of your "med's" again?

otn

Simple Simon wrote:


Title--The Three Basic Truths


This lesson will be a departure from the past three lessons that have
addressed the topic of basic navigation. While we all need to know how
to navigate from one place to another, it helps to have a vessel that is
built and maintained in such manner as makes navigation by sailing
possible. Many sailors become so mired in a Sargasso Sea of details,
complications and frivolities that they tend to forget the most basic
and important facts. These facts should never be forgotten. Therefore,
always remember the following truths about your vessel:

*First, she's a sailboat.

**Second, she's a home and a safe haven.

***Third, she's a friend.

What is the implication of the above three statements? What do they mean
to the savvy sailor? It means that EVERYTHING a sailor does with, to,
for, by and about his vessel should be done only after repeating to
himself, 'First, she's a sailboat; second, she's a home and a safe
haven; and third, she's a friend.' Let's examine a few common examples
of sailors who fail to cogitate before they act, ignore these basic
truths and end up actually sailing a vessel that is less of a sailboat
than she was prior to the modification, addition or omission. Even if
you are considering purchasing a vessel that was manufactured or
modified by a previous owner and includes any of the following horrors,
you should still apply the three basic truths. Perhaps you will be able
to see a way to set things right. Keep in mind that we are discussing
small boats (30 feet and under) the likes of which novices sail.

Never install wheel steering to replace the superior tiller just because
you think a wheel looks better or is more functional. It is neither.
'First she is a sailboat.' Sailboats are supposed to have tillers.
Tillers have one moving part and therefore are ultimately reliable.
Tillers are light, inexpensive, and have a better feel. Wheel steering
makes your sailboat less reliable. This is wrong. The sailor who does
this is thinking only about himself and not about his vessel. He thinks
he looks cool standing behind a giant wheel on a tiny ship. Everybody
else thinks he looks foolish. This makes his boat look foolish. Would
you do this to a friend? Would you do this to a home and safe haven? If
you would, you are no sailor.

Installing radar to replace your God-given senses and good sense goes
against the truth that first she is a sailboat. Why? That's easy enough
to answer. You don't need radar on a sailboat. A sailboat is better off
without it because radar is an energy hog and requires mechanical
generators and large battery banks, neither of which really has anything
to do with a sailboat. The weight aloft compromises a sailboat's
righting moment and puts unacceptable stress on the rigging and deck
fittings. Remember, first she is a sailboat. She is not a warship that
has an enemy to evade or a commercial vessel with a schedule to keep. If
a sailboat gets caught in a fog, heave her to or head her back out to
the safety of the sea and sound the proper fog signals. That is what a
sailboat is supposed to do. Would you load a friend down with
unnecessary weight to carry or would you pile so much junk in your attic
that your ceiling came down on your head? No? Well then, don't do it to
your boat.

Installing roll-up sails is not treating your vessel like the sailboat
she is. Roll-ups belong in your house ashore to block the sun from
glaring through the window and, even there, they have mostly been
replaced by venetian blinds. Rolling is a good way to store a condom in
a small package and a widespread method of packaging marijuana prior to
smoking it. Your vessel is not a house nor is she a brothel or an
illegal drug. 'First she is a sailboat.' Equip her with the proper set
of hank-on sails.

Large inboard diesels do not belong on a sailboat any more than wind-up
sails. The most horsepower you need for a 30-footer is ten. The smaller
your boat, the less motor it should have. Better yet, consider no motor
at all. If you have a motor, you should only use it when there is no
wind and, when there is no wind, a small motor is enough to move you
along at close to hull speed. First she is a sailboat. If you feel you
must have one of those monster, 500 pound, 50 horsepower diesels, then
get a trawler, you're not a sailor anyway. You would not require a
friend to carry around a 500 pound weight, would you? You would not put
a smelly, hot, and noisy engine and a tank full of flammable liquid in
your living room at home would you? You would not willingly bring a
source of smelly fumes, fire and explosion into a safe haven, would you?
Keep it out of your sailboat, then.

Don't buy a Hunter unless it has a back stay. The newer Hunters with
their three-point mast support are not proper sailboats. Somebody needs
to knock a few heads over there at the Hunter factory. How does a sailor
manage to run downwind when his mainsail hits the spreader when sheeted
out a mere 45 degrees? Hunter has clearly forgotten the truth that first
she is a sailboat. Hunter is thinking only of squeezing a little more
profit out of their ghastly products by shorting the consumer the proper
rigging. I realize that some of the smaller trailerable boats and Hobies
and such use three-point standing rigging and I would say that it is
acceptable for day sailors under 18 feet or so. Anything larger should
have at least four lowers, two uppers, a headstay and a backstay. Would
you make a friend walk a tight rope without a safety net below in case
he slipped and fell? Adequate standing rigging is your vessel's safety
net. Would you allow into your home and safe haven unshielded electrical
wiring? I think not because insulation is a safety net for your house.
Therefore, don't do it to a sailboat or don't buy one from somebody who
does.

Sugar scoop transoms with built-in steps and swim platforms are
unacceptable for at least two reasons: 1) They allow a manufacturer to
tack on three or four feet of swim platform and call a 25-footer a
29-footer. You are getting ripped-off royally. 2) These sugar scoop
transoms are dangerous in that they allow a following sea to board the
cockpit quite easily and, because they protrude the most at the
waterline, they can sustain damage that can quickly sink a vessel. First
she is a sailboat. If you want a swim platform, go to the local YMCA. At
least there you will have a diving platform, too. How can your vessel be
a safe haven when you allow a dangerous configuration like a sugar scoop
transom to compromise her safety?

Many vessels come with halyards that are run INSIDE the mast. This is
something you should always avoid. How can you easily replace an
internal halyard? How can you keep an eye on it for wear and possible
failure? How can you keep the damn things from slapping the inside of
the mast and disturbing the sleep of everyone in the anchorage? How can
you justify the large cutouts in the mast that weaken it so? How can
anyone be so stupid as to want internal halyards, let alone defend them?
The answer to all of the above is you cannot! So don't allow internal
halyards because, first she's a sailboat. Don't burden a friend with
unnecessary and dangerous frivolities. Don't let your home and safe
haven become less than that.

First she is a sailboat. I ask you, then, what is the justification for
motor sailors? I'm talking about those ugly vessels with the oversized
trunk cabins called pilot houses. No doubt, you have all seen
them--unsightly things with huge windows that are a hazard in and of
themselves. A boarding sea could easily break them out and flood the
interior. Not only that, but they also have windshield wipers!!! Who, in
their right mind, would allow windshield wipers on a sailboat? In order
to clear the tall pilot house the boom is way up above the deck so far
that one can easily see the adverse effects it will have when it comes
to sailing. The mast is usually short, squat, and the rigging
undersized. Why? Because the vessel is built and bought by folks who
really just want to motor around, burn lots of fossil fuel, try to keep
to a schedule, and wish for others to actually believe they are
sailors--a laughable situation! Motor sailers are not sailboats at all,
rather, they are motor boats with sails. A motor sailer is like one of
those kit cars they used to sell that looked like a Rolls or Mercedes
but had the running gear of a VW Beetle underneath. Motor sailers are
not something a true sailor would even consider. Are they a home and a
safe haven? A home maybe, but safe, Ha! They are inherently dangerous by
their very configuration. As for being a friend, they are nobody's
friend. They are ugly, they pollute the environment, they smell, they
waste resources, they are way overpriced, they are overly complicated
and cannot function for long periods of time without a fill up at the
pumps. Motor sailers are perhaps the worst thing that has ever striven
to be called a sailboat. They are to sailing what Jet Skis are to motor
boats; a gross irritation, waste, and demonstration of selfish
abandonment. As a novice you should rule them out immediately, if not
before, and sooner than that if possible as a choice of a future vessel.
If you are into big motors and schedules, then admit it and buy a
trawler. You will be much happier.

Here is a list of some other things that require your scrutiny. I ask
you to apply the three truths to these items so you can become familiar
with thinking like a true sailor.

Aluminum anchors
Anemic running lights
Boarding ladders(fixed)
Knee-high lifelines
No way to ascend to the masthead all by yourself
Mechanical generators
Non mechanical wire terminals(swages)
Propane stove(bomb)
Internal fuel tanks(bomb)
Anything heavy not strapped down or a locker that does not have a means
to secure it shut
A lack of charts

Now, see if you can think of some things on your own. I haven't listed
them all by any means.

After having read the above examples and pondered some of your own
choosing, I think you have a good idea of how to use the three basic
truths to ensure, first and foremost, that your sailboat is a sailboat,
remains a sailboat and, thus, is a home and safe haven as well as a
trusted friend. Using constant vigilance to make sure nothing creeps
aboard your vessel that makes her less of a sailboat will guarantee many
years of happy and trouble-free sailing.

I appreciate your support, patience, understanding, and willingness to
learn from a Master.


(Reprinted from the good Captain Neal's fine website)

http://captneal.homestead.com/lessonnew2.html


I wonder why it is that NOBODY else here at alt.sailing.asa has
such a wonderful and informative website as the good Captain?

I guess nobody else is intelligent and magnanimous enough to
even construct a website let alone have the expertise to write
so authoritatively

S.Simon - admits Captain Neal is a great, great man