Mini-Rant
Library of
Charles Neville associates....
Min-Rant
081
PassageMaker
- July / August 2010
Judging
boats is... Less beauty pageant, and more dog show
Now I don't mean dog in the "only a mother could love" sense but in the cute, cuddly canine one. I would also caution that my dog show knowledge is limited to watching a few on TV. In doing so, however, you are quickly educated that entrants are not being judged against each other but at how well each measures up to the breed standard: that theoretical perfect example of a dog of the breed. The Basset Hound, therefore, is not penalized because it doesn't have the speedy chassis of the greyhound. The Sheepdog isn't favored because it can carry a bigger load than the Corgi.
With boats on the other hand we seem to have a habit of making such comparisons. Owners and prospective buyers do it. Heck I've seen boating professionals do it. You hear an older, middle price-range boat criticized because it is inferior in some sense to a newer top of the line one? And, they seem surprised. Truth is there are good reasons why some boats cost more than others. The mistake is not expecting it to be otherwise. There are differences that affect safety in some way. Some are systems related and should probably be addressed if possible. Often, however, it's more a case of just being different, and maybe less desirable.
Still the idea that an older (or even new) $500,000 boat can meet the "breed standard" of a similar sized $1,000,000 one is likely unrealistic. Our boat building knowledge is not linear. Boats have been built for decades by hundreds of artisanal builders. Each has developed in ways tied closely to the cost of their product. Safety notwithstanding that is not likely to change. While building all to equal the very best seems a worthy ideal, I suspect the unexpected consequence would be all candidates being more expensive than most can afford.
