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Thursday, October 13, 2005

You Wouldn't Believe It Unless...


wingssail-Fredrick Roswold

Blue Junk-Y Knot

You wouldn't believe it unless I showed it to you. This 65 footer is the latest rage among the liveaboard community at Discovery Bay; there are several of these here, and more coming!

I think it looks like a caricature of a ocean liner, a big version of a bath-tub toy for kids.

Most, maybe I could say virtually all, of the people who buy these things and think they are attractive are not experienced boaters, and these boats are never used as boats, just floating homes. They are never taken out of the marina unless it is to go to the boatyard for its annual haul-out, and then a professional crew is in charge. That's a good thing, because these boats don't look seaworthy to me anyhow. Plus, they are dependant on shore power, shore water, and have little, if any, equipment we'd normally think of as required for operation away from a dock. So nothing would work, no air-conditioning, no water, no TV. So they just sit here, the maid takes care of the inside and the kids, the boat boys wash it every week, and the owners think they are pretty cool to own and live aboard a boat...excuse me, Junk.

Fred Roswold