xxiWe shook our heads in unison. One million
for a 50-footer (15.2 m)! It wasn’t that we
weren’t both proud of our custom creation. I
had designed in all the features my client had
asked for, and John’s crew had done a fine job
in building. Sea trials successfully completed,
we were sharing a beer and talking boats.
Complicated? You bet. Our new baby had
every convenience. A voyaging motor cruiser,
it was fitted not only with all the standard
propulsion equipment and controls, and with
hot-and-cold pressure water, but also with
air-conditioning; central heating; bow thruster;
autopilot; washer and dryer; gas range; micro-
wave; fridge and freezer; two head compart-
ments, each with shower and electric toilet; full
double navigation electronics (wheelhouse and
flybridge); and even a large heated Jacuzzi.
And those were just the highlights.
“You know,” I commented, “If it was my
own boat, I would build it with virtually no
systems beyond propulsion and navigation. I
would have pressure water, two small cabin
heaters, a few 12-volt fans—that would be it.
Bet you could build it for $700,000.”
“Probably less,” John replied. He had
just finished the construction, and the com-
plexity was fresh in his mind.
“Three hundred thousand plus in
savings!” I exclaimed. “Not to mention the
maintenance and upkeep over the years, and
for otherwise the same boat.”
We drifted off into a discussion of my
ideal cruiser... next year...
The fact is that boats are getting bigger
and more complicated. It’s not just size, of
course. Even small to medium-size vessels
carry far more in the way of systems than
they did thirty or forty years ago. I have in
front of me a brochure for the 35-foot
(10.5 m) Allied Seabreeze,designed in the
late 1960s by the first office I worked for—
MacLear and Harris, Inc. (before my time,
of course!). In those days, a 35-footer
(10.5 m) was a big, serious voyaging boat.
She sold for all of $20,000, back when. Sys-
tems? What systems? She came with—and
I quote:12-Volt with 2 heavy-duty batteries com-
plete with safety switch and fuse
panel, engine room exhaust blower,
navigation lights, 6 screw-type cabin
lights.
Fuel tank: 30 gallons [110 L] Monel,
under cockpit sole; Fresh water: 60
gallon [225 L] tank under cabin sole;
Propeller shaft:^7 / 8 ′′[22 mm] Tobin
bronze; Propeller: Type E two-bladed
13 ×8 R.H. [330 ×203 mm]; Rudder:
fiberglass-reinforced plastic; Rudder
stock: 1^1 / 2 ′′[38 mm] Tobin Bronze;
Engine: 25 hp Gray model SS 91,
direct drive.