Proud Owner of a Sailboat

[AirBoyzT]

So I posted in another post about my problems I had and how the project boat I thought I got for a good deal at $3,000 (1980 Oday 28), turned out to be a nightmare.

After searching for a new boat, my cousin who is a sailor went with me and couldn't find any that didn't need major work. I think he felt sorry for me, and he lives 250 miles from his boat, because he sold it to me! I am now the new owner of a 1975 Dufour 31. Pictures below, thanks for all the effort and advice you guys gave! He also left me everything on the boat, including the GPS. Only stipulation is I had to keep her name "Catharsis".

To not clutter the page with pictures, I posted them on my photo bucket and included the link.

Catharsis Photos by aaronthompson86 | Photobucket

[skipmac]

Congrats. Dufour is a nice boat. I think you came out well on the deal.

[Dr. Strangelove]

That's a good looking boat!

[haiqu]

Sweet!

[Rohan]

That's odd. Why would he insist on you keeping the name?

Is this a superstition? I'm not a boat owner yet, so maybe this is something I don't know, lol.

[Rock Knocker]

Originally Posted by Rohan

That's odd. Why would he insist on you keeping the name?

Is this a superstition? I'm not a boat owner yet, so maybe this is something I don't know, lol.

Some sailors believe it to be very unlucky to change a boats name. It is said to anger the sea Gods. There is even rituals to follow if you choose to tempt fate. Seriously.

Also, he may just like the name.

[AirBoyzT]

Originally Posted by Rohan

That's odd. Why would he insist on you keeping the name?

Is this a superstition? I'm not a boat owner yet, so maybe this is something I don't know, lol.

The superstition is there, however, the real reason he insisted I keep the name is I am family and he practically gave me the boat.

[robert sailor]

Dufour made a good boat back in those days with many of them successfully sailing offshore so if it has been well kept you have a nice boat there, good luck and happy sailing!

[AirBoyzT]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Dufour made a good boat back in those days with many of them successfully sailing offshore so if it has been well kept you have a nice boat there, good luck and happy sailing!

That's what I heard! Also, is the quality of their boats nowadays not that good, I've heard the 70s and early 80s were the best era for sail boats....why is that?

[lifeofreilly57]

Like a lot of the music you listen to the boats made back then had a lot of good ones and a lot of junk, people only remember the better ones favorably and forget the rest as time goes on.
Boats designed now benefit from years of engineering and materials science experience. There are many good boats made now for whatever purpose you have in mind, it just depends on how much you have to spend.
Many of the older better boats would have been out of your reach financially then, just like now, which is why many of us buy used boats of better quality than we could afford new.
Ever tried to use an RDF? I'd like to hear how people feel the instruments of that time were superior too.
I am also a motorcycle enthusiast too, I hear men of a certain age talk about how much better they were "in the old days", I'm not nostalgic, I still own an old classic, I know how much better they are built today. It's still fun to ride but the modern bike I own is so much better in all ways.
If you can't afford a new custom built, high quality yacht, your in the same boat as me and most of the people here, so buy an older model of higher quality and do the work required to bring it up to tip top condition. But please, don't disparage the newer boats, the builders are only producing what people want for a price they can afford, the truth is 99% of those people will never cross an ocean so why build every boat as if it would? If that were the case there would be far fewer people in the sport, very few relatively prosperous individuals would be able to afford it. Kind of like it was in the days before fiberglass production boats, you know, the "good old days".
Nostalgia ain't what it used to be. Gee, ever hear of the Archies?