I also found out something I find rather funny, here in South
Carolina......

DNR quietly changed the rules of late to INCLUDE all sailboats, even
ones that have no engine, in the titling/licensing/personal property
taxing scam on us. The only sailboats not titled and taxed are
"windsurfers" in the new regs.

So, if you buy the sailing rig for the Walker Bay 8, here in
Charleston, you have to register it with DNR so the county tax
bureaucrats can tax it, even though it has no motor.

How stupid can they get....(c; You can still ROW the WB8 without a
license here. Your state may not be as stupid as ours.....


Larry W4CSC

NNNN

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 22:41:48 +0000, Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 21:36:00 GMT, (Larry W4CSC) wrote:

Before you give West Marine some outrageous amount of money for this
cutesy milk bottle boat, how about do a little simulator testing on
the Hunter to see how it's gonna work out?


I can get one a lot of places cheaper than Waste Marine, Larry. Like
for $495 in one case, and $595 in several others - vs $748 list.


Wow - that's expensive! I got mine for $500 CDN at Steveston Marine
(had to assemble it myself - took all of 1/2 hr).

Lloyd Sumpter
"Near Cove" Walker Bay 8

A couple of years ago I saw theWalker Bay 8 advertized for $ 598.00 at
Crappy ...er..Canadian Tire.
Now they want $ 998.00. The price sure went up quick, which seems odd since
our dollar has improved against the 'merican
greenback for the last year.

Lloyd Sumpter wrote in message
news
Wow - that's expensive! I got mine for $500 CDN at Steveston Marine
(had to assemble it myself - took all of 1/2 hr).

Lloyd Sumpter
"Near Cove" Walker Bay 8

A couple of years ago I saw theWalker Bay 8 advertized for $ 598.00 at
Crappy ...er..Canadian Tire.
Now they want $ 998.00. The price sure went up quick, which seems odd since
our dollar has improved against the 'merican
greenback for the last year.

Lloyd Sumpter wrote in message
news
Wow - that's expensive! I got mine for $500 CDN at Steveston Marine
(had to assemble it myself - took all of 1/2 hr).

Lloyd Sumpter
"Near Cove" Walker Bay 8

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 22:41:48 +0000, Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:



One of the attractions of the Walker Bay 8 is an empty weight of 71lbs
vs 80 for a Midget. However, I think either will be tolerable for two
people with a simple 3-point line-harness to my spinnaker halyard.

I was interested to hear if anyone here had actual experience trying
to duplicate the Walker Bay marketeer's (posed) photo of the guy
apparently trying to life-test his life-lines by dragging one over
them onto his fore-deck.


Yup. I've even pulled it up over the stern rail by myself while underway.
As you implied, it's a bit of a strain on the lifelines, and since my
stancions are not in the best of shape, I prefer to use the main halyard
to get it onboard.

I have no problem towing it, but not if I run into heavy weather. I
have litle use for anything that plays sea-anchor, or can't be easily
rowed. Hence, my lack of interest in de-flatables. But, I'm only
interested in a hard-dink if I have a place to put it - if I want to.


It tows very well - no problems at all. It's so light it just skims over
the water.

If you're interested in a REALLY light hard dinghy, plywood prams such as
Bateau's D4 are easy to build, look good (depending on your building
skills!), easy to row or sail, take a small (electric?) motor, and since
the bow is flat, they have a lot of bouyancy for their length, especially
at the bow so it's easier to get in/out at the stern of the "mothership".
And they weigh less than 60 lb!

http://www.boatplans-online.com/proddetail.php?prod=D5

Lloyd Sumpter
"Near Cove" Walker Bay 8

Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:
... I
have litle use for anything that plays sea-anchor, or can't be easily
rowed. Hence, my lack of interest in de-flatables. But, I'm only
interested in a hard-dink if I have a place to put it - if I want to.

Albert,
Have you checked out the Porta- Botes? We love ours. Rows easily and
planes w/ a 3.5 hp outboard.

http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaCover.JPG
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaBote2.JPG
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/PortaBoteWake.JPG
--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG

I also found out something I find rather funny, here in South
Carolina......

DNR quietly changed the rules of late to INCLUDE all sailboats, even
ones that have no engine, in the titling/licensing/personal property
taxing scam on us. The only sailboats not titled and taxed are
"windsurfers" in the new regs.

So, if you buy the sailing rig for the Walker Bay 8, here in
Charleston, you have to register it with DNR so the county tax
bureaucrats can tax it, even though it has no motor.

How stupid can they get....(c; You can still ROW the WB8 without a
license here. Your state may not be as stupid as ours.....


Larry W4CSC

NNNN

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 22:41:48 +0000, Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 21:36:00 GMT, (Larry W4CSC) wrote:

Before you give West Marine some outrageous amount of money for this
cutesy milk bottle boat, how about do a little simulator testing on
the Hunter to see how it's gonna work out?


I can get one a lot of places cheaper than Waste Marine, Larry. Like
for $495 in one case, and $595 in several others - vs $748 list.


Wow - that's expensive! I got mine for $500 CDN at Steveston Marine
(had to assemble it myself - took all of 1/2 hr).

Lloyd Sumpter
"Near Cove" Walker Bay 8

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 22:41:48 +0000, Albert P. Belle Isle wrote:



One of the attractions of the Walker Bay 8 is an empty weight of 71lbs
vs 80 for a Midget. However, I think either will be tolerable for two
people with a simple 3-point line-harness to my spinnaker halyard.

I was interested to hear if anyone here had actual experience trying
to duplicate the Walker Bay marketeer's (posed) photo of the guy
apparently trying to life-test his life-lines by dragging one over
them onto his fore-deck.


Yup. I've even pulled it up over the stern rail by myself while underway.
As you implied, it's a bit of a strain on the lifelines, and since my
stancions are not in the best of shape, I prefer to use the main halyard
to get it onboard.

I have no problem towing it, but not if I run into heavy weather. I
have litle use for anything that plays sea-anchor, or can't be easily
rowed. Hence, my lack of interest in de-flatables. But, I'm only
interested in a hard-dink if I have a place to put it - if I want to.


It tows very well - no problems at all. It's so light it just skims over
the water.

If you're interested in a REALLY light hard dinghy, plywood prams such as
Bateau's D4 are easy to build, look good (depending on your building
skills!), easy to row or sail, take a small (electric?) motor, and since
the bow is flat, they have a lot of bouyancy for their length, especially
at the bow so it's easier to get in/out at the stern of the "mothership".
And they weigh less than 60 lb!

http://www.boatplans-online.com/proddetail.php?prod=D5

Lloyd Sumpter
"Near Cove" Walker Bay 8

Great for exploring the
little creeks, too......but not if you gotta haul it over the rail and
store it on deck....


Well said.

RB