[PUP] Suitable Boats

[Peter Sheppard]

Bob Austin said:

So come on guys, lets encourage all folks who are interested in
passagemaking,

and not make this the "Nordhavn club".


AND
Yes, there is a really fantastic business model and
advertising scheme going here! (Got to have the next size boat, or too
big a

boat--nonsense--this is all hype)



Bob,



Good on you for now having a power cat, and I certainly look forward to
hearing about its attributes and your experiences on it. However your
antipathy towards Nordhavn's intrigues me. The only postings I can see
on Nordhavn's to any extent come from our tireless list manager Scott.
Why don't you take it over from him, as if my memory serves me correctly
he has made the open offer before? Scott is a great contributor to our
Nordhavn owner's site and I'm sure his appetite for idea exchange is
well sated with fellow boaters all singing from the same hymn page about
going to sea in great boats.



On the issue of hype that you mention you have got this completely wrong
in my view. This implies that people purchase Nordhavn's on hype rather
than experience, hard cold research, and perspicacity. The profile I
have of a typical Nordhavn owner is someone who has an
engineering/quality type background. Commercial airline pilots certainly
stands out as one major background. I personally have no engineering,
but bought my Nordhavn based on advice from experts who have
collectively done many tough circumnavigations and are regarded as "old
sea dogs" One such fellow the late Meyer Page and I had 6 days at sea
together from Fiji to NZ on the last leg of a circumnavigation. This was
on his 68' custom built Motor/sailer, or Pilot house yachts as we call
them downunder. He said if he had his time over again he would buy a
Nordhavn for the safety, comfort, and resale aspect. Sadly he sold his
beautiful boat "Lady Catherine" for a song, and passed away through the
ravages of cancer.

I am only the 3rd Nordhavn owner hailing from Melbourne, the other two
are owned by Michael Lasky and Geoff McGeary who upgraded both their
time worn 57's to a 76 & a 78. These guys are not prone to hype - they
are astute businessmen which is probably why they can afford such big
suckers.

I detect a bitterness that maybe is born from another issue (did your
mother in law buy one?). Or maybe it's related to the answer "why does a
dog lick his balls", and that is "because he can"

Finally on catamarans, the Australian company Incat designed a wave
piercing high speed catamaran ferry to move people and cars across Bass
Strait between Melbourne and Tasmania. They have since sold 22 of these
upwards to Europe, three to the US Military, and others to the
Australian military. Guess what? The Australian Maritime Safety
Authority banned them running across Bass Strait as a passenger ferry -
too dangerous. Steve Dashew said that when a Kiwi does a
circumnavigation, the roughest sea he will encounter will be within 200
miles of NZ. Not sure about how the other Trawlers brands you mention,
and particularly power cats would fair down this way. Have you heard of
the "Queens Birthday tragedy", "1999 Sydney to Hobart Race, or which
country won the tragic Fastnet race a few years ago?"

Thank goodness I have a Nordhavn, and astute enough to reject buying
anything on hype - money is much too hard to come by.

Peter Sheppard