Dilemma

[Stiletto]

I have an elderly Piver Trimaran.

Due to some health and personal issues, it has not received in the past couple of years, the care due to a lady of her age .

I am keenly aware that it is not a 19th century pilot cutter or similar, so doesnt rate in the sepia tinted world of classic boats that is, in my view, the aesthetic that prevails in the wooden boat forum.( I like those boats too).

Given this alienation that I feel, ( rightly or wrongly), I am wondering whether the forum has a view as to whether I should quit her for what I can get, or, marshall my resources and get her ashore and begin a programme of repair to bring her up to a useable condition.

Funds are limited.

I have asked myself this question in the past, but, in the past, a day's sailing has made me forget the hassles of boat ownership, and reminded me of the simple joy of being out on the water.
It has now been some months however, since I have taken her out, and my good mate and crewmember has moved away, so things have gone somewhat adrift. The forward decks now need replacing and the mainsail at least, needs renewing.

I am not a Gung ho sailor, even though I have had 20 Knots on the speedlog before the cable broke, I dunno whether anyone can relate to my position or not, should I just get out from under?

Any opinions?

[bamamick]

should be 'is this the boat that you want to own?'. If not, then let her go. If it is the boat that you want to own then do whatever it takes to make her right, because to replace her would cost much, much more than the repairs you have mentioned.

As far as whether or not you even want to own a boat right now, none of us can answer that. Unless you are a fisherman or some other kind of person who makes a living off of your boat then there is very little that you can do to justify ownership. It has to be something that you want for any number of reasons, but you are the best and only real judge of your boat's worth to you. I own nine different boats, and I can justify every one of them in my own mind. My wife, who at the very least appears to love me and understand me, thinks that I am crazy, but she has never complained or tried to stop me from buying another one.

My advice (FWIW)? Fix the boat. It doesn't sound like a tremendous expense, and if you want to sell her a little later on you can tack that on to the selling price. Odds are that if she needs obvious repairs that it will make it harder to sell her.

Mickey Lake

[Kim Whitmyre]

I agree with Mickey, Grant. Keep it seaworthy, and enjoy those sails when you can. My Tiki 26 hatches are atrocious, but a friend gave me a large piece of old fine-grained mahogany: all I need to do is cut it up for the frames! And buy a piece of 9mm Sapele for the tops. But they don't keep me from sailing the boat ;)

[Tom Hunter]

I have seen a lot of boats that needed some attention become wrecks because their owners would not/could not sell them or repair them.

Think about that before you decide what to do. If you can't keep up better to move the boat on to the next owner before it gets to the point where no new owner can be found.

[Wild Wassa]

"Given this alienation that I feel, ( rightly or wrongly), ... "

Stiletto are you serious? ... get real.

It is 'those' with their inefficient plod boats, 'they' who hardly have a fully battened main amongst them, and collectively they couldn't reach 20 knots even if they all fell off the same wave at once ... excluding Mickey Lake from that unfortunate group of course. It's 'they' who are allienated from the real boats ... it's they who should be helped and pittied.

The old saying goes, "life's not meant to be easy" ... well owning a wooden boat makes it doubly so. It's the masochist in the owner for sticking with wood, that I admire.

Stick with it Mate ... you and Mickey are the only reason why I'm here. If you leave or get a plod boat? ... the rest of the (advanced ) party will have no reason to stay.

Warren.

[outofthenorm]

Hey Grant, forget the alienation. In a sense, we all sail alone. In the end, you're making a simple decision - do you want to stay on the water? If you do, then do what you need to do to your Piver to keep the water out and the people safe and get out there. Fixing it doesn't have to be expensive and a good paint job can look as fine as it needs to.

But if you decide to turn away, I agree that the best thing to do is sell her ASAP before she gets to the scrap lumber stage.

As for "plod boats", them's fightin' words, Warren.:D Some of us get enough competition in everyday life to satisfy without spending weekends crashing around an arbitrary course getting artificially pumped up about beating some dude by a whole boat length. When I want to go fast, I drive my car. ;)

[cats..paw]

Follow your heart.
If your heart says sail it occasionally, keep her.
If not, consider giving her to the sea scouts or a high school wood-working class. Some young ones will learn something about fixing and something about sailing and something about following their hearts.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Familiarity breeds contempt.
Take a fresh look at her, is she the boat you want to keep?
If not, she is still someone elses dream, let her go.

[Wild Wassa]

"Some of us get enough competition in everyday life ..."

Outofthenorm, I'm very sorry to here that. That reminds me of another quote, "Reality is for those who can't handle drugs."

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not in favour of or endorsing under any circumstances that people use or accept ... reality as a part of life.

Warren.

[Stiletto]

Thanks for your replies,Food for thought, I will be making a decision in the new year. ( Ever the procrastinator.:rolleyes: )

Wassa, life's not meant to be easy.
I never thought I would see you quoting Malcolm Fraser, I was living in Oz when he said that, and clearly remember the fuss that ensued.

[BFR]

If ya still use it and enjoy it then keep it.... fore deck is a easy replace and as to the main.... theres sure to be a 2nd hand one round for cheap....
I'm working on a piver at the mo and have been offered another for a stupid price.... the guy wants out it's not my cup of tea but the owner of the one i'm working on might just take it if so there may be a spare main for cheap but no promises at the mo.... see what we can do A.

[Wild Wassa]

Not with the same meaning that the mean spirited Fascist Malcolm Fraser meant, Stiletto, just no way ... but how Salvador Dali meant it.

Dali always kept one suitcase stacked full of money and one suitcase packed with clothes ... the clothes were for an emergency.

Having a wooden boat in an age when time is in such short supply is as surrealistic as it gets.

Warren.

[Rick Starr]

It's tricky, finding the boat you can sail, and will make the time to sail, under the prevailing sailing conditions in your area and the life conditions that govern your sailing. Living where I do and as I do it should be a no-brainer for me, yet I find it surprisingly difficult.

I wish you luck--my crystal ball doesn't let me see your situation well enough to offer any useful advice.

BTW I don't think your gold-plater stereotype is the reality here, especially now vs 6 or 7 years ago.

[BFR]

Just a quick question Stiletto your piver is it moored at Monganui (sp) and has a low profile cabin???? from mem red in color???? rummored to be the lightest piver in NZ????

[Stiletto]

Yes, didnt know about the rumour though.

[BFR]

Well if you do decide to sell theres a guy floating round Auckland who might be intrested.

[Stiletto]

I have sent you a private message.