Have some fun with "Myths"

[Captain Smollett]

I want to compile a tongue-in-cheek list of "myths" associated with full time cruising and living aboard a sail boat.  Here are a few to start; feel free to add more.  Many of these will only be 'myths' for small, sailfar sized boats, but I still thought it'd be fun.  These might be the kinds of things we either see in For Sale ads or hear folks say about a boat in a "what boat should I buy" type thread online.

Here we go:

(1) "Enclosed Head"

On a boat, particularly a small boat, 'enclosed head' is a misnomer.  Sure, the head might have a door to give the APPEARANCE of privacy...but, uh, well, everyone on board knows (a) who's in there and (b) what they are doing.

Sailing partners that ask for a boat with an enclosed head are asking for an illusion.

(2) "She's a fast boat."

If she's a displacement monohull of ANY size, 'fast' is what she is NOT.  I've got friends that tootle around comfortably at 30 knots on their power boat - their idle speed is as fast, or faster, than my hull speed.  If we want to pick nits over 6.2 vs 6.3 knots hull speed, fine, but maybe "relatively fast" is the proper term. 

We should be honest with ourselves that we are comparing two SLOW boats to see which might be faster.

(3) "She's a DRY boat"

Unless she's the Caribbean Princess and you are on the main deck four stories off the sea surface, sailing is going to get you wet at least some of the time.  Dodgers and freeboard might help, and make it 'less likely,' but ...

(4) "She sleeps 4"

We all know this one...SLEEPING below is the least of your worries.  You have to put those four people somewhere when everyone is AWAKE, and THAT is the challenge.

(5) "Standing Headroom"

I'd like to see this formally defined somewhere.  We always see this reference without ANY indication of WHO we are talking about.  My 5 yo son has standing headroom on any boat I've been on (that has any kind of cabin).

And "standing" is not really the problem.  Underway, I don't typically "stand" below.  I do, however, WALK about below when I need to...which is NOT the same vertical clearance I need to STAND.  We never seen 'standing headroom' discussions that include an "amount of lift in my gait" parameter.

(6) "Full galley"

If a boat has the same "kitchen" as a modern house, there is a TON of wasted space aboard.  I've been on boats around 50 ft LOA and the galley was still a FAR cry from what you see in a house.  But, this term seems to be thrown out to lure in the fairer sex with the false hope of "just like home, but it floats."

(7) "Easy to Singlehand"

If a boat is "easy" to singlehand, the sailor has not had her in any kind of trying conditions.  10 knots on protected waters with wind on the quarter does not "easy singlehanding" make. 

Singlehanding in any kind of serious "stuff" or for any significant length of time (say more than a few hours of a pleasure sail) is a challenge that has little to do with the boat herself. 

Others ...