ONE OF THE STRANGEST of yachting's
many affectations is that of covering up varnished teak. It is surely some
kind of madness that causes people to spend hours rubbing down cockpit coamings
and rubrails, sealing them, diligently applying 10 coats of expensive varnish —
and then covering them up to protect them from the elements. All that work and
money to make the brightwork look absolutely gorgeous and stop passers-by in
their tracks — and then it's hidden from human view, concealed by expensive
canvas work, with special cutouts for shrouds and fancy stainless-steel buttons
to hold it in place.
I guess it's a question of looks
versus utility. Some people are definitley more concerned with looks and don't
really care about the finer points of sailing ability or efficiency. There is
an interesting comment in the May/June issue of Good Old Boat magazine, comparing an Alberg 35 with the Hinckley
Pilot 35.
The name Hinckley is associated with
superb quality, of course, but author Dan Spurr comments: "It was very
well built — probably no stronger than the Alberg but better finished. Much of
the higher cost of a boat from a company like Hinckley is in the man-hours
spent on the interior, not in the hull and deck layups. The company liked to
say it built a wooden boat inside a fiberglass shell. That's what you pay the
Rolls-Royce dollars for — the chassis is essentially Chevy."
So you can have a palace afloat, or
you can have an efficient machine that responds enthusiastically to the helm,
one that gallops upwind delightfully and flies downwind straight as a die. Every
bit of polished teak that adorns the interior of the Hinckley makes it heavier,
slower, and more cumbersome to handle. But if it's opulence that floats your
boat, there's little to surpass a Hinckley for making you feel like royalty
when you're safely at anchor and expecting dukes and duchesses for supper. Just
don't complain that an Alberg 35 costing half the price and providing twice the
sailing fun, overtook you on the way and pinched the best place to anchor.
Today's Thought
Common sense among men of fortune is rare.
— Juvenal, Satires.
Tailpiece
Two blondes walk into a
building . . .Hell, you'd think at least one of them would have seen it.
(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)
