Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Wednesday, May 26. 2021

My idea of a boat




That's an olde New England Catboat, fully-refurbished with a small diesel engine, a hand-pump head, and three reefs in her sail. Not that I would sail when I needed 3 levels of reef. Watermen did in the old days, for sure, and anybody can be caught in a squall.


Like most boats, Catboats were designed as work boats. Recreational boating and yachting are recent developments.   


I kinda love this craft despite the fact that, right now in life, I'd rather drive the tractor.


Posted by Bird Dog in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 18:01 | Comments (9) | Trackbacks (0)

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Man, I'd love to disk a field with a tractor again, even though I didn't like it much when I was a kid.
#1 Christopher B on 2021-05-26 19:49 (Reply)
These make great day-sailers. Big cockpit, no jib sheets to handle, low profile rig and broad beam means the boat does not heel over excessively. Halyards can be handled from the cockpit to raise and lower the sail.
#2 Thucydides on 2021-05-26 20:27 (Reply)
I learned to sail in catboats and Sunfishes. Catboats are great, nimble and stable and easy to handle.
#3 Aggie on 2021-05-26 21:26 (Reply)
Catboats are great, and provide stimulation for beginners and old hands alike. Anyone who is interested and likes them should get hold of Stan Grayson's book "Catboats". There is also a Catboat Association. They are great boats, and the traditional Cape Cod Catboat is unique to America.
#4 tim ferrell on 2021-05-27 07:38 (Reply)
I've had 7 boats over my life. My favorite by far was a Compac SunCat. Comfortable, stable if not fast, great for teaching the kids how to sail.
#5 anthony (Link) on 2021-05-27 07:41 (Reply)
Thanks for the beautiful boat photo. Yes, I too now find contentment and enjoyment a tractor vice the sea. My Brother and his wonderful Mrs own some one hundred acres of park/forest/ farm that's in need of constant attention thankfully. God Bless, Capt. John
#6 Capt. John on 2021-05-27 07:59 (Reply)
I've always wanted to learn to sail, but out here in the Great American Desert there hasn't been much opportunity.

So, what kind of work was the catboat designed for?
#7 Thomas Doubting (Link) on 2021-05-27 13:33 (Reply)
Fishing in the shallow and treacherous waters around Cape Cod, Massachusetts, under sail. They were also raced extensively in many places in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the racing cats were more extreme designs than the one pictured here.
#7.1 tim ferrell on 2021-05-28 13:50 (Reply)
Cool. Thanks!
#7.1.1 Thomas Doubting (Link) on 2021-05-28 15:48 (Reply)

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