Why should I build a boat?

(published Multihull World 1997)

People ring me here all the time to ask intelligent questions about the Easy 32 or the Easy 10.5 which ,with Peter down the shed banging away at his own 10.5, I try to answer in my own  humble way, but it slowly started to dawn on me that they don't really want to know the answers to a lot of these questions .

   What these people really want to know is , Should I build a boat?  Can I manage to do this without turning $30 000 worth of materials into a pile of poo and will my wife:

 a) let me do it, or 

 b) ever see me or speak to me again. 

Will I become like the guy that everyone called Noah for a decade, endlessly chipping away at a task that may never be finished?

    So lets have a good look at the reasons and see if this project is feasible or insanity for you

1.  COST; If you want a boat and you've got neither the cash  nor the access to sufficient funds to buy what you want. Check out the second hand market thoroughly but be warned that a 10 year old boat in good shape still has 10year old gear so don't compare it with new cost - you wouldn't do that with a car.

2. TIME: Do you have it? Is this the way you want to spend it? Can you earn vast sums of money doing something you would rather do? If you answered yes to this one, go to the bank.

3. PLACE: You have a suitable building site at hand , or you know of a place that you can use  If you answered no to this one then you can't pursue the subject any further until you resolve it

4. SPECIFIC NEEDS: You may have done a bit of cruising and you know just what you want and you've promised yourself you could have it as soon as you sold the other boat. If you answered yes to this one, don't bother reading on, go and sharpen your tools.

5: SATISFACTION: You always wanted to build a boat and sail away, it's a boyhood dream that's been chewing a hole in your head for ever and even though it seems too hard the thought won't go away in spite of the logical arguments of your friends and family. Again, if you answered yes to this one it's down to the shed for you, because you can't ride the ocean in your own baby any other way.

6: DISTANT VISION:  You have a long term plan and limited funds upfront but family , or other similar commitments  means you can't go sailing right away, but you'd be happy to put your spare time into the boat and gradually get it together. You're a clever boy. You can start simple and do all the hard work without spending too much and then buy all those expensive goodies as the funds become available . When you are ready to go you will have a nice new boat that will look to you like the most beautiful thing that ever met the ocean and will give you pleasure for years. When it's time to sell, she should even reward you for the effort. Don't die or get old before you finish!

How did you go? Have you got a yes or two? Well lets consider why you shouldn't go ahead.

1. You answered no to the site or time question. You are busy all the time and the cat has trouble finding room to lie down in the backyard. Forget it or change your situation

2. You suffer from allergies, hate being dusty and dirty or you are such a perfectionist you could never forgive yourself if the job was less than perfect. Do yourself a favour and do something else.

3 FAMILY:  The big F. If they don't support the idea of the job they will grow to hate you and your boat. The up side to this is if they get involved (kids and all, there's plenty of work for everyone) the boat will become like one of the family and some of the greatest adventures in life have started just this way.

Are you still keen?