A couple of
very good points, a bit of
truth in advertising, and in the
"if you want a drill, drill em" department...
Deb and TJ (who have the most excellent
"The Retirement Project" blog ) sent me a copy of their new book
"How Not to Buy a Cruising Boat" which, as it happens, is also now available as a
KINDLE book.
Now, as a general rule, I'm not a big fan of what passes for "How-To" books of the sailing/cruising variety these days. The problem is they're either just rehashed clones of books that are already on my book shelf or a concoction of recipes of how to throw money at stuff and buy needless shit. So, I'll be honest and admit I wasn't exactly excited by the prospect of reading HNTBACB if it was the same old same.
So, here's the short form good news... It's a good book and if you are currently thinking about buying a sailboat to go cruising it's a must read.
The reason it's good is that they did all of the right stuff we're told is needful and still had problems. Which is not to say they did not make some mistakes along the way as well but they had the good sense to learn from them. A surprisingly rare trait in writers dispensing advice of a nautical nature.
Take their issues/problems with some marine tradesmen...
They don't like surveyors. Point of fact; this state of affairs is contrary to most everyone's advice on how to buy a boat. The current accepted carved in granite mindset is that whenever buying a boat you MUST GET A SURVEY! As it happens, I know quite a few surveyors but, then again, I have been known to travel in rather unsavory circles from time to time so hardly surprising. Fact of the matter is that all but one of the surveyors I know are either crooks, incompetent, or a mix of the two... Would I have a beer with them? Sure (though I'd keep my hand on my wallet while I'm doing it). Would I trust them to survey my own boat or a friends? Hell no! Well, actually, if I needed a survey that said my boat was in great shape and worth a shitload of money so I could defraud an insurance company I might (I hear the current going rate for this sort of service is 15% of the take).
Their input on other marine "experts" is also very good.
I have one niggle with the book (which had me throwing my virtual book against the virtual bulkhead several times) which is that some standard false comparisons that everbody uses crept in (the worst being their table comparing dinghies). I also took some issue with their measurement of needed HP for a given boat. That said, they are minor issues.
All in all, it is a very good additon to my book shelf and one I'll be recommending to folks right along with Fatty Goodlanders "Buy, Outfit, & Sail" and Geoff Pack's "Blue Water Countdown".
Listening to some
bottom line stuff
So it goes...
