F16 ... Homebuilt??? Reasonably Cheaply???
You said it better than me. In hindsight, the
ice cream
analogy could be a bit condescending, but it was not ment that way.
Drive it like you stole it
is a popular NASCAR term for good reason.
If you built the boat, you also know how to fix it, so that argument can go both ways. Just look at the A-class worlds and what Steve did to his boat.
You are probably right though <img src=
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Yeah, well, nothing is absolute, there are the rare individuals who can do both. I think anyone who lives in a northern climate where it's pretty cold and dark most of the winter will be more inclined to build as a Winter Project, whereas we in the south can sail all year are not so inclined to spend the hours in the shop when we could be out sailing.
When I lived up north I used to spend the winters tying flys, waiting for the day the lakes and rivers opened up! It was quite relaxing. Now I just fish, I haven't tied a fly since I moved south 11 years ago, and now I'm even bored with fishing, so available is it, all year round.
I OWN a cabinet shop. I am more than an adequate woodworker. I don't see myself building a boat. I'd rather work that 250 hours doing essentially the same thing and get paid, then take that money and buy a boat. The other side of the coin is I could write off all the material. Sorta <img src=
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I've kicked around building too many things: Trimaran, F16, a mono slug, a sailplane, and an iceboat. When I win the lottery, (or finally meet my perfect woman with a 7 figure bank account), I might just get around to doing such things if I didn't have to do them on a day to day basis.

As an engineer who really enjoys designing, building, and testing new products, I agree with the statement that one should build a boat for the enjoyment of building it, and if one doesn't particularly enjoy building, buy the best used boat one can afford. In today's world, where most manufacturing processes are very efficient, the home builder can seldom compete against the pros except in special circumstances -- e.g. an innovative new design, or an especially good source of cheap used parts, or artificially inflated prices such as due to weird tax laws.
BTW, do folks outside the U.S. have to sales tax (or VAT, GST, etc.) again each time a used vessel is sold?
That having been said, there are those of us who really do build for the love of building. Who can actually enjoy finishing well behind those who spent more time building skills than boats. I guess we're pretty crazy, though.
driving her like she's stolen.
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Did you say you were coming over to visit your relatives sometime this summer?
That's 35 degrees <img src=
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I will be in Palo Alto for a wedding in July. Only staying a week, so a boat trip to Alcatraz is probably the only time I'll see the water <img src=
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I'm following Rolf's good advice at locating materials and technical knowledge first .... I'll keep you informed and ask lots of questions as we go along ....
Maybe the most important thing happened today ... I was offered a steady job w/ benefits ... I start Tuesday!
Now for the most difficult part ... clean out/straighten out the garage/workshop !!!!
HarryMurphey
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