Originally Posted by
ollo_ollo
1964 Naples Sabot (CL ad pic)
1982 300SD Turbo Diesel
Aside from bikes, and the expenses of living, this year saw these 2. I was looking for a small, car top row boat to fish our mountain lakes when I found this Sabot. Owner got it for her 12th birthday in 1964. She bought a new sail and restored it for her first retirement project, then sold it to me. It has a lee board, so no centerboard trunk. Rows easily as any dingy. Cost = one of my C&V finds. Used to sail a 14' scow, so thought it would be similar & appropriate for a geezer. It is, if sailed in light air, but more wind & chop makes her much easier to capsize and a lot more difficult to right than any scow!
I keep my cars in excellent mechanical shape, but recently, both had electronic problems. Dealer svc writer told me "you should just sell these "old" cars(2000 sedan & 2004 wagon) and buy a new one. I had a better idea, found a 1982 S class Turbo Diesel with new factory engine instead. Don
. I lived on a sail boat for more than a dozen years. My wife and I would spend our weekends at Santa Cruz Island and some of the other Channel Islands. When dockside I used to sail around the harbor in a Sidney Sabot . It had a center board and the hull was fiberglass with a foam core so it was quite a bit easier than yours to recover from capsize. I found that anything over 15-20kts of wind it would try to submarine itself! A lot of fun and yes it rowed really well. I later found an inflatable with an outboard motor much better for fishing and as a tender for the big boat. The good quality inflatables are very nice and once they plane out , they go quite fast. Bikes are a much cheaper hobby and the maintenance is less. I still miss those days on the open ocean, but I don’t miss the expense and work. As Jimmy Buffett said those days are well astern of me!