Boating clique

[itsonlymoney]

Got too thinking what a wide spectrum of people there are on this forum. Small boats big boats cheap boats expensive boats some in uk some in fantastic med settings. Everyone seems to communicate on the same level here regardless to the size of there boat, however is there a clique regarding size and value of boat at your marina or cruising ground or can the same acceptance as is illustrated on our forum apply in REAL life. For the record apart from the odd 40'plus "gin palace" (mentioning no names jim44) here on Windermere most boats fall into a very similar category ie. 24' - 32' mostly Bayliner and Sealine, mostly people live in a similar area and background and most people get on fine. There are a few problems but thats mainly cos there Gits and has nothing to do with the size of there boat /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
Ian

<hr width=100% size=1>Play the best game you can with the cards you've been dealt ! ! !

 

[ccscott49]

I actually believe, that there will be arseholes in small boats and big boats, so in fact boat size doesnt matter. There will also be nice folks in all kinds of boats. Luckily I tend to meet nice folks. Here and in real life. But it also comes from yourself. You can always ignore the arseholes.

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[itsonlymoney]

Agreed.
See my final sentence, which if I have written it correctly should explain that my veiws are the same as yours..
Ian

<hr width=100% size=1>Play the best game you can with the cards you've been dealt ! ! !

 

[Alistairr]

I think the same would apply for our Marina in LL, I think the biggest boat we have must be around 35'.
And the biggest boat on the Loch is a newly delivered Sealine T51.

We have agreat bunch of people on our Pontoon, And every weekend we never eat or drink on our own.



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[itsonlymoney]

Al
Dont get me wrong there are some fabulous 40'+ boats in our neighboring marina, but few of them ever leave there so they dont count. I only count folk that actually go out on the lake and not the tax losses that sit there all year.
Ian

<hr width=100% size=1>Play the best game you can with the cards you've been dealt ! ! !

 

[Newbroom]

Theres also a reverse snobbery or a reluctance to talk to people on bigger boats.
We found it much harder to meet people on the Trader then we did on our previous 40 footer. Most people expected us to be reserved or snobby and where reluctant to talk.

Dave

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[sloshed]

Oddly, I was thinking the very same this morning.

I have a 21ft 'sports cruiser' with an outboard, and I love it. ( I should point out that it's not overly sporty or cruisy come to think of it ). Then I suddenly find myself reading Big Moose's thread this morning about doubling his budget and buying a seventy footer...........There might have been a moment where I was unsure if I was allowed to read on, and I did - enjoying the good humour.

I did wonder, however, does everybody get on because there are no visual reminders of status, success or wealth ( in either direction ) so we just forget and muddle on or is it that the love of being on the water is actually enough of a universal bond for people to respond with out prejudice ?

My experience, thus far, on the boat and here on forum is that the love of boats is pretty much enough.........I'll just try and keep my jealous streak at bay. ;o)

<hr width=100% size=1>Champagne aspirations - Beer money.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by sloshed on 03/11/2004 14:21 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[itsonlymoney]

Michael
You are wondering exactly the same as me. This is what I intend to get to the bottom of. I will make the quest for an answer my lifes work and will not rest untill I have a definitive answer. Well untill I leave my office for home anyway. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
Ian

<hr width=100% size=1>Play the best game you can with the cards you've been dealt ! ! !

 

[itsonlymoney]

Thats an interesting observation. Personally I don't have a problem dealing with anyone regardless of wealth or status. I think that some people may be intimidated by it, however I like to think that I treat everyone I meet the same........with contempt /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
Ian

<hr width=100% size=1>Play the best game you can with the cards you've been dealt ! ! !

 

[Planty]

My good lady commented the other day, that when I first mentioned the idea of buying a boat, her biggest fear was that "boaties" might be elitist and snobby, however as she said, everyone we have met have been an absolute delight. In fact I would go as far as to say, people we have met since coming into boating and the friends we have made are probably the most genuine in our whole experience. Large boat small boat, no matter; wealthy or just comfortable, not a problem.

Only thing I unfortunately have to report, there is definitely a difference between stinkies and raggies attitudes that seems to affect "overall pleasantness", can't put my finger on it. Perhaps they are generally more intense. Many are most sociable others simply will not pass time of day with a stinky. IMHO of course.

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[BarryH]

Yes, definately. The clique of diesel users and those who run petrols. I mean, when was the last time that you saw a oiler wave back at a petrol guzzler!
They think they're a level above for some reason!!!!

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[oldgit]

Re: Boating clucks.

Main thing gained from forum was that whatever size of boat you have someone will ALWAYS have something bigger that can surely only have been bought with drug/pimping/something in computors or white slavery money.
Never the less however big the boat,wherever the ill gotton gains appeared from,something had to be sacrificed in order for that lump of fibreglass to sit moored to dry land for 99% of the year./forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

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[jhr]

As a fellow petrolhead, my experience is that yer average oiler is always surrounded by a thick cloud of exhaust - which is why you never see 'em wave /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif.

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[PaulF]

Re: Boating clucks.

Hey Fred, there is another small thing that gives me pleasure, and that is knowing that it does not matter how much hard earned is spent, at some point in time the shiny new one WILL go wrong, in a very similar manner to our old uns, except the cost to rectify more like phone Nos!!!

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[reginaldon]

Just nosing around your forum - I am a recent recruit to the boating fraternity - with a small raggie. I had some misgivings about joining the local Y & M/B club, but pleased to discover a great down-to-earth gang with raggies and stinkies rubbing along together without distinction

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[Talbot]

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

Only thing I unfortunately have to report, there is definitely a difference between stinkies and raggies attitudes that seems to affect "overall pleasantness", can't put my finger on it. Perhaps they are generally more intense. Many are most sociable others simply will not pass time of day with a stinky.

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Yes there are some raggies who turn their nose up at stinkies (more fool them), but there are also stinkies who go out of their way to be obnoxious to raggies. IMHO it is their loss The majority of us are joined in our love of the water and will accept an afternoon on the water in whatever form of floating device in preference to a day at the office /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[enterprise]

We have found that boat size or type are unimportant.
We have made many friends both power & sail when we owned probably the cheapest boat in the marina.
The only thing IMHO where there is a larger or more expensive boat, the expectation of the person looking upto it is that of a more competant & experienced owner, this of course is not always true but the owner of the larger or more expensive boat would like to be thought of in that way, after all that is what money is supposed to buy, Status.
There is also a clique regarding some marinas, again it is a status thing.
We all dream of bigger & better things but most of us can recall our first boats, the ones we now own may be more comfortable but are no more fun than the first.
Owners who move up through sizes are far more sociable than you might think.
As with all on this board we are all in the same boat as the expression goes.

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[hardy]

I am a cheap 23 ft diesel smoker , I have had nothing but encouragement and feel part of the whole thing, big boat little boat we all suffer the same problems, a guy on this site Hgrid was very kind and encourageing to my missus and myself with just a simple crossing to the IOW (YARMOUTH ) for the first time .we did it in the end!! I have helped big boats berth in a wind and those guys have helped me . its a great fraternity.

<hr width=100% size=1>KISMET HARDY

 

[rich]

I totally agree with the other posts on this - have met some great people from all walks of life and allsorts of boats. One thing that makes me snigger quietly to myself though is when we're all rafted up and crammed into a very busy marina, such as Carteret on a bank holiday or Guernsey on a summer weekend, and it doesn't matter what size or how expensive your boat is, you'll still have the world and his wife clambering all over you to get ashore, and then stumbling back at night. People who would usually have a half-mile drive and acres of grounds separating them from their nearest neighbours must find it a bit of a shock to the system - in fact most marinas have no privacy whatsoever and everyone is on closer terms with those who they probably wouldn't usually pass the time of day with. In Binic this summer I spotted a crowd of French sailors happily brushing their teeth on deck and spitting energetically into the water just under the boarding platform of a 50 foot super cruiser!

<hr width=100% size=1>http://www.jersey-harbours.com<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by rich on 03/11/2004 21:59 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[BarryH]

Pah! Thats the French for you. They even pee at the side of the road!!

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