When To Call In The Professionals

Mainsheet, November 2009

A recent exchange on the Yahoo list where one of our owners was venturing into unknown territory (for him) prompted me to raise this subject.  We sailors in general tend to be a pretty independent lot.  We also tend to be a bit “frugal,” so we look to get a lot of “bang” for the boating buck – especially versus our powerboat friends.  For the price of a small power cruiser with a single V-berth we get a luxurious 38 foot sail boat with two sleeping cabins, a nice galley and head.  Plus we benefit from free wind so our fuel bills are pretty minimal.

This frugalness tends to carry over into maintenance and upgrades to our boats.  As a result, we are largely do-it-yourselfers, and hate the thought of calling in someone from the boatyard to do work for us.