Date:         Fri, 9 Sep 2011 22:13:26 -0700
Reply-To:     Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG>
Subject:      Re: Westy Now, Boat Soon? (Friday)
In-Reply-To:  <20110909204317.802LQ.1683405.imail@eastrmwml35>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 05:43 PM 9/9/2011, Dave Mcneely wrote:
>Of course, you know that a boat is sometimes described (in parallel
>with a VW camper) as being "a hole in the water, into which you pour money."

Like a VW camper, and like my airplane, that's true only if you pay a
"professional" for every bit of work.

I do almost all the work on my plane, relying on friends who are
licensed repairmen to keep me safe and legal.  I do go to repair
stations often, but only those that let me do the work they'd
otherwise charge me $90 per hour to have one of their mechanics do.

And I work hard to understand more about my planes and cars every
day, so I can head off expensive work or do it myself.

There are a lot of rich people out there buying RVs, boats, and
airplanes.  People who just want to jump in, turn the key, drive to
the campsite, and plug in the hook-ups.  The shops naturally cater to
those rich people, and the rest of us get swept up in their labor rates.

But as DIY types, we can eliminate much of that expense.  That's what
I've found with airplanes and Westies.  And I'm sure I'll find the
same with boats.  At least, Steven K. Roberts encourages us that we can:

http://nomadness.com/