[PUP] PPM in general - what should it be ?

[Ken Williams]

Hannu: There is much I disagree with in your last posting. 

You said: "... Their target market is obviously older, wealthy,
inexperienced people who want to "try trawlering" and value seemingly
important things like sub-zero refrigerators and "apparent safety" and
"systems" - here, some irony is intended..."

I'm assuming you are referring to the production boats, such as Nordhavn. As
a Nordhavn owner, I will plead guilty to "older", and perhaps even
"wealthy", but greatly dispute that Nordhavn owners fit into any kind of
inexperienced category. Nordhavn recently captured some stats on Nordhavn
owners. The average miles run per boat was 14,394 nautical miles. Even the
littlest boats, the N35, averaged 9,800nm. There are certainly some newbie
owners, but they don't stay newbies very long. I would wager that the
percent of Nordhavns with captain's licenses is consistent with, or
outweighs, any other category. I would also think that the number of miles
run, with the small number of incidents, in virtually every major of body in
the world, gives statistical evidence that the safety systems are far more
than "apparent safety." 

You said: "... Just read a post from a gentleman who says would not go to
sea without some $$ gizmo (Iridium sat phone) Some have said the same for
radars. I disagree, so does the commercial world (most coastal trawlers do
not have radar), but let everyone buy whatever they want..."

Radar is not optional on a trawler. I understand that there are plenty of
people without it, but, were these people standing before me, I would argue
passionately that they are going to get into trouble sooner or later without
it. My recollection from Captain's class is that there is even a question on
the Master's exam asking "What is the most important safety item on a
boat?", and the answer is "radar". I would also argue that a sat phone is
not purely a "high bucks gizmo" on any serious passage maker. If something
ever goes wrong off shore, and you wind up in a raft, the sat phone will
look pretty good in your ditch bag. As nice as SSB is, it can't be counted
on for fast, clear, communications in a hurry when you need to get a message
out.

I still think the whole "perfect passagemaker discussion" is somewhat off
base. I contend that there is no one perfect passagemaker, and that the best
the group can do is to discuss the pros and cons of individual systems, and
recognize that there may be better systems at one price point than another.
I would contend that the "perfect passagemaker" for Bill Gates, might look
different than the "perfect passagemaker" for a retired postal worker. For
every system, there are multiple options available at different price
points. I would propose that there is a way to discuss the options
available, without disparaging either the people at the top of bottom of the
economic scale or those who ran successful businesses. I worry that the
discussion could become "What's the cheapest boat that can move from point A
to point B in relative safety?" Boat manufacturers would love it if it were
that easy, but they have to make multiple models, and then customize them,
because every buyer has a unique budget, and a unique set of needs.

-Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci
www.kensblog.com