Maggie's Farm

"Judge Yachts"

Not to be critical, but that sure is a loose definition of the word "yacht". I didn't see one "yacht" on the page, just sportsfishermen, cruisers and skiffs. I gather they're using it generically because it sounds classy, but 'yacht' is actually a genre, so to boat people it comes across as placating or condescending.

30' to 39' is a 'cruiser' or 'weekender', good for dashing over to the Bahamas for the weekend with the family but not much else. No storage space, tiny galley, tiny head, small coffee table, half-height fridge.

40' is where 'yacht' starts, with 40' to 59' referred to as 'motoryachts'. These are true liveaboards, with plenty of storage, full-size galley and head, kitchen table and regular fridge. That's what I have.

60' is when it becomes an official 'yacht'. Around 100' feet is when it becomes a 'luxury yacht' and usually requires a crew. Then there's 'super-yacht' at 200', 'mega-yacht' at 300', and 'incredi-yacht' when it reaches the size of Barack Obama's ego.

"Southern boats ran rings around those Yankee blockades during the War of Northern Aggression*."

*Also referred to as "The Civil War" in some highly prejudiced Yankee textbooks.

"They don't have the high, flared bow like the Carolina style hulls of Buddy Davis, but have a nice wide transom so a following sea doesn't cause problems."

My Mainship has a high flared bow to keep the spray off the flybridge when hitting swells. Cuts through the water like a knife. And he's also right about the wide transom, which mine has, although with a top speed of 26 knots, I can 'catch' the waves and usually surf the swells when I have a following sea. Makes for a great ride. Costs me an arm and a leg in surfboard wax, though.