Dilemna I'm in (maybe I should rename the boat Dilemna) w/Bristol 24 vs 27

[Jim_ME]

Tom, You're very welcome.

Craig & Rose's voyage on Faith (in the People, Boats, and Stories -- SB/LD Cruisers section), and Charlie & Laura's currently on Tehani, show what you (or a couple) can do with a boat the size of your B24. Craig's quote "Satisfaction is wanting what you already have." sums it up pretty well.

Have you checked out the photos in the gallery of Charlie and Laura restoring their Meridian Tehani? After you view them, the work you need to do will probably seem less daunting than it does now.

As you could tell, I'm interested in design and the compromises that a sailboat designer chooses to make, and since you were looking at the B27, and comparing it to the CD27, it presented an opportunity to discuss that and the various features and compromises. Yet these differences pale in significance to you finding a way to get out there and sail in something.

Still I do think that ultimately--as Craig describes at the beginning of his thread, his appreciation for and a bonding to his Ariel when he first saw it there in the slip--it does help to have that feeling for your boat, and these differences (even subtle ones) come into play here. Having that connection to your boat emotionally, in addition to what you may know about its features and technical design, helps motivate us to care about the boat, its repair and maintenance. In one sense, sailboats are works of art and labors of love, and sailing and cruising are romantic arts. (I'm sure that others have already thought and written this.)

I hear you re the small pocketbook, and have read in another thread that the Small Boat - Sail Far philosophy also includes the KISS principle. I consider myself squarely in the Small Frugal Boat - Sail Near camp at the moment, but aspire to eventually get a sailboat down to some of these areas where others in this forum are sailing.

Looking forward to hearing in future posts how your work on the boat is going.

Jim

[tomwatt]

The funniest thing about reading through the evolution of Tehani (a great inspiration btw) is that for the longest time reading through that material, I presumed the boat was much larger than mine, and that there was no way I was going to be able to compete with that given what I was working with... until one day it dawned on me my boat was essentially the same size.
And if I can "love what I have" just a bit, the forward berthing area in the b24 is relatively large as a result of the pushed-up upswept prow on that design. Much less claustrophobic than the b27.
I anticipate a work session on Thursday, with photos along the way. Hopefully no critters have decided to nest among the goodies so far. At that point, I'll start a boat build thread on her.