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Date Posted: 14:39:11 06/29/09 Mon
Author: Ari
Subject: Re: Keep Turning Left
In reply to: Vester 's message, "Keep Turning Left" on 18:31:21 06/28/09 Sun

That's cool; think of the local knowledge this guy is amassing. It's disappointing that he's got an inboard, but hey.

Another thing he said struck a chord: He started a sentence "My ugly little boat..." with obvious affection.

I'm a firm believer in the beauty of ugly boats. Macha is beautiful, and we try to keep her that way. But our Santana 22 is a great sailer AND an ugly little boat. (ULB) Which is great when we're fending off or coming in hot. Additional scratches on an ugly little boat just add character.

With good maneuverability and in this guy's case shoal draft, an ugly little boat will inspire you to try shit you'd never attempt on your "flagship" vessel. You sail a ULB alone or with friends. You keep it ready to push off the dock in 5 minutes or less; you sail it a lot and you get to know that boat intimately in all conditions.

When it comes time to mount deck hardware on a ULB, you pencil in the placement right on the deck. You drill, bed, fasten without spending hours scratching your head. If it turns out you were off by half an inch, you move the gear over and fill the old holes with epoxy.

You let your friends drive the ULB, or maybe a bunch of you share a ULB communally: an ancient dinghy or a thrashed out keelboat is a great shared marina project. You all keep your eyes open at swap meets and in dumpsters for parts and lines and sails that will improve the ULB. For bonus points, you stealthily improve the FUNCTION of the ugly little boat, but keep the cosmetics rough. So when you "race" an unsuspecting shiny new Hunter/Beneteau/MacGregor with twice your waterline in your home waters you thoroughly embarass them.

The cost of a ULB is perfect "tuition" to Engineless Sailing 101!

Aside from the leisure aspect of a ULB, I can fully imagine that in the post-peak world, a lot of us will live and voyage on nice big comfortable boats that show pride of ownership, etc. But a lot of coastal and river transport and commerce will take place by means of ULB's sailed by folks that live on other boats or the waterfront. I can totally imagine swarms of ugly little plying the traditional river routes to California's agricultural depots like Napa, Petaluma, Sacramento. I'd take our Santana up some of those rivers where I wouldn't dare to take Macha, just because the winds are always light, the water's thin, and the stakes are just so much lower with a small boat.

- Ari

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