Women and the 35 foot problem

[Lakesailor]

Fiat 126 and an MG Midget.

Touche.

Do you also have back trouble now?

 

[chrisedwards]

Other threads have covered the fact that there are a lot more 35 footers around than there ever have been. many people have expressed the opinion that this is not a good thing.

I used to be a producer on Woman's Hour so my feminist credentials are impeccable.

However....deep breath

I blame the women.

Observation will tell you that more men than women sail.

Of the 350 subscribers to my website only two are women. Of the people who watch my youtube films 95 per vcent are men aged 45 to 65.

Yachts cost so much that the decision about whether or not to buy has to be made by both sides of any partnership.

Men dutifully take their wives along and getting them to focus on such important matters as sailing performance, ease of handling, cost of marina berths, shallow draft and all round external beauty when what really matters to most reluctant women sailors is the interior space, the separate sleeping accommodation, easy wipe down surfaces, impractical pale blue velour upholstery, separate showers, double sinks and four gas rings - four gas rings - B'nora!.

The priority seems to be to obtain a vessel with a pleasant, light and roomy interior with enough space for grandchildren or much loved family friends to come sailing - as opposed to a smallish, tough boat designed for one or two smelly men to exist for a week without washing much in the way of clothes, crockery or body parts.

As I sail around the UK I see lots of men sailing single handed in boats that are really far too big for them to handle with ease.

They have been persuaded to buy a bigger boat on the basis that if they buy a big one then their wives, their sons and daughters, their grandchildren and their best friends will come sailing with them. They often do - for the two hots weeks of the year - but that leaves all the other weekends between March and November to fill.

I am probably wrong though.

I wonder if the same argument applied to the early 70's. Men were happy messing around n their Caprices and Silhouettes yet the accommodation of the new revolutionary Centaur was so enticing to "others".

 

[Koeketiene]

Fiat 500 and MG Midget.
Do I get an award?

Pictures or it didn't happen

 

[Tidewaiter2]

Diplofenac, The randy mature sailors friend!

35ft boats and 8ft cars. Go figure?

Arthritis?

 

[KellysEye]

Marketing folks were responsible for the large aft cabiins etc. Sailig used to be a male preserve but some women were interested and the AWB was born. Same in the car industry which is why you now have mirrors behind the sun visors and places for handbags.

 

[Lakesailor]

Tsk. These women will get in everywhere if we are not careful.

Time for us to march in protest.

Have I got a clean shirt?

 

[Chrissie]

35ft

Strangely all the girls I know that have their own boats have small ones, I guess they know size isn't everything! The single men i know have the biggest boats and if I ever mention to any male friend that mr so and so has a boat, the imediate question is 'what length?'







I am probably wrong though.[/QUOTE]

 

[Lakesailor]

Oh. I daren't say it..........

 

[Chrissie]

35 ft

Oh. I daren't say it..........

Please do, we are all thinking it!

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Fiat 500 and MG Midget.
Do I get an award?

No - thats goes to the paramedic who removed the gear lever knob!

 

[zarathustra]

the imediate question is 'what length?'

Why do they all assume you know those personal details?

 

[Lakesailor]

No - thats goes to the paramedic who removed the gear lever knob!

I wondered where we'd lost that.

 

[DogWatch]

Whenever I see a 6' man at the helm when his petite wife heaves warps, fends off several tons of boat or even manhandles the anchor, I'm always tempted to take a photo for the ironic "Man of the Year" awards.

Maybe you could furnish us with your rules of sailing behaviours please, I would hate to infringe them through ignorance?

 

[BrendanS]

Don't you think you've missed the point you were responding to, if you go by that quote?

 

[ninky]

i have a small boat and it's my OH who keeps nagging for a bigger one. he moans about the lack of headroom, flushing loo, proper galley and shower, plus wants guest accomm. also he wants an inboard engine (preferably mega powerful). argh!

 

[Parsonsheath]

You have been speaking to my wife haven't you, that penultimate paragraph is the reason I did not buy the smaller boat I had been looking at, but went 6 foot larger, now I have more space to lounge round in, and no one to share it with!

 

[Silent Lady]

My SWMBO loves sailing, just as much as I do. She doesn't ever feel sick, she never complains when the boat heels, she's very happy to go down to the boat whatever the weather, she takes the helm, she takes the lines, we get on really well, aren't I the lucky one? Our boat is a 32.3 benny, which is perfect for a couple, not too big and not too small, and the heads are just right for SWMBO. The sofas are comfy for relaxing in the evening and the bed is big and comfortable. SWMBO cooks on board and produces some really lovely meals. I think if you want your SWMBO to come sailing you have to have a boat that suits both of you.

Our friends have a boat and he took the toilet out and replaced it with a porta potty. They don't go sailing anymore. I wonder why?

 

[ninky]

I think if you want your SWMBO to come sailing you have to have a boat that suits both of you.

wise words indeed. my HWMBO hates the portapotty. but i hate thru hulls. and we're both pigheaded!

 

[snooks]

"If a couple come to have a look at the boat, you've got to sell it to the woman. The man will be happy with the boat, any boat, as long as his wife lets him buy it, it's her who holds the purse strings at the end of the day, it's her who's letting the man buy the boat. But the man has also been clever because he's obviously told her a pack of lies in order for her to think getting a boat is a good idea!"

This something a (new boat) broker said, but I'm sure it works for estate agents, car dealers etc.

With regard to boat size, we (Kirsty and myself) have often been the smallest boat cruising around (Sadler 32) with the exception of local boats.

A lot of the extended cruisers we've met and seen have all been in bigger boats, now this isn't because a woman somewhere has said it's a good idea. It's because bigger boats are more seaworthy, have a faster cruising speed, so miles can be covered in less time. Only when we came back down towards the Caley did we start seeing smaller cruising yachts again.

We've talked about it and if we were to do this cruise again, we'd both want to do it in a bigger boat, just to give us a little more living space (bigger galley, and a cabin we could hide out cruising kit so we're not living in it every day) and also to give us better sailing. The sea looks smaller when your boat is bigger!