Diversity Afloat

As the sailing season comes to an end on northern waters, I find myself pondering the modern sailing scene.

- Susan Gateley

Oddly, in this era of plastic boats that can be molded into any possible shape, we have less variety of new boat designs than ever in the history of yachting. At the last boat show I attended I found even the sailing dinghies had wide scoop transoms, narrow bows, and fat hulls. Thank goodness for fully depreciated boats of all sizes built of classic plastic.

I came home from the show and looked around the yard. Peeking out of an open shed was a forty-year-old Lightning, a slab-sided 19-foot daysailer originally designed for home builders of the Great Depression era, to make out of wood. Nearby under her winter cover was another vintage hull, a mid-‘60s full keel Seafarer 23. Then wandering around the yard I almost tripped over the trusty 14-foot Alcort Sunfish hibernating upside down in the hedgerow.