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first my apologies  to all who read this, but i have a small problem with a 'lost contact' on this board.

my name is Chris Gibbs. i'm the crippled guy who, about this time last year had put back together 422 Katie Marie. Half way down to Florida i set my leg on fire. that was dumb. but, i had to go back to germany.

a fellow named kurt wanted to buy my boat. he lacked the funds but i cut him a really soft deal in which he could come up with the money in chunks. well, long story short, he came up with 'some' chunks but not all of them. my efforts to contact him have gotten me nothing but returned, 'no such user' emails. I thought maybe he was swept off by hurricanes or some such thing.

i returned to this board the other day to look for him, and lo and behold he was busy posting...and at some point complaining about me not sending title to the boat...man that hurts! anyhow, i tried to reach him in a discreet fashion by contacting the board op...but my request went unanswered. so here i am today pulling this low-ball stunt.

if anyone knows how to contact him, or if Kurt has lost my email (big fat benifit of the doubt!) he or you can contact me at Wylie39(at)frontiernet(dot)net

422. a great little boat with the world's worst sails. but still it was quite  a hoot. i apologize for this kind of post but i sort of ran out of patience. be well all, and, if you can? quit your job and go sailing.

Quick one- whisker pole...anyone have an idea to the stock length? Bought #442(?) and it has no pole- must have one...if someone were to know the length- that would be sweet- and should i build? buy? buy used? what do you folks think?

Chris

Holymoly iceman- you're talking about a whole new game- i don't know anything about that- the arctic circle? steel hulls? wow- a big sweater and welder? i don't know 'jack' about that stuff!

But you're right about these guys- i've been reading for a month- they are heavy on the good groove scale and light on the butthead scale. That's a really good thing.

We do the same thing sometimes- get 'the longing', move on the boat...after six months with  sore backs in cramped bunks we move back ashore. Then the cycle starts over for us.

The real issue to address for this sort of thing, I think, would be an effective 12 step program. "Hi, I'm Chris and I have a boating problem..." :-)

alright, look- i know all about big boats- i have a big boat-
i own a 2 year old Wylie 39- it's the most amazing boat i've ever been on- up to 19 knots so far, sexy, easy and fun to drive-

but before you go nuts and buy a big boat?

consider that your commander is probably paid off- that's a very cool thing-

your dock fee? light weight as well.

insurance- my replacement policy with Lloyds is about 2800 dollars a year.

Systems- big boats have systems- i have junk like an fridge, a propane system, a watermaking system, enough electronics to go to the moon and back. Autohelm systems, communications systems---and they all work fine...for now...

another thing to consider is this- i needed a part for my Cal 20? into the boat store and out of the boat store for under 10 bux...it could happen---now? you can't get out of the store for under 50 bux- that kind of sucks- everything is bigger- everything.

when it starts blowing 35 and 40 and things start to get spooky? someone has to go forward and wrestle down that jib- and then there's the reefing issue- more hands and bigger muscles...big ass winches and huge lines...double handed winch handles and on and on and on

if your engine cooks? 8k or more. if your outboard goes to the bottom? considerably less.

big sails? big dollars...

think about the minor stuff- i have a teak toe rail and teak grab rails-that's about 110 feet of sanding and coating- front and back- ick

my wylie is king however, we had it built so we could go places in relative security and comfort- like from SFO to LA- or from Texas to the BVI and back to Florida- Now in Germany and have just gotten into an old Ariel in Maryland.

The ICW is the idea- my dog. my wife and i...will write a 'dropout guide' for those wanting to escape the modern world on a shoestring- I'm a paraplegic in a wheelchair- so i figure- if i can pull it off - hell, anyone can do it. can't take the Wylie in the ICW as it's too deep, and the mast is too tall. And if you don't want to spend the night on the hook? High season in FLA can get pretty expensive quick- and it's all about "how long is the boats?"

It's my personal view that  you don't need more boat than you actually NEED. Anything more is like paying for tail fins on a car...

sorry for the dupe on the photo- i'm pretty new here- so i thought this might be the right forum...look before you leap eh?

i saw this on the cnn's home page- and for the life of me it looks like an Ariel...? anyone have an opionion as to what this might be?

chris