It came at us again this last weekend, the “why are you keeping your boat” question. The underlying one (“why aren’t you getting a bigger boat?”) generally is one of incredulity, of a doubting of sorts. People get stuck on what they think of as the small size (28’ on deck) of Calypso. After all, houses are getting larger and larger and so are boats. How could we possibly be happy on a boat smaller than some people’s bathrooms?

I’ve answered this question before, in practical terms anyway. It comes down to money, and familiarity. Ease of maintenance. Faith in the boat.

Jeremy fielded the question this time. He looked right at Jessica and said, “I love her.”

When he started to get into more details, Jess cut him off. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

Don Casey, in his bookshelf-space-required book “This Old Boat”, spends a bit of time in the opening chapter talking about his 10 criteria for a sailboat. He states firmly that all 10 of these are to be met before you actually BUY the boat, and then goes on to say that criteria number 1 is that the boat must make your heart sing when you look at her. That when you dinghy away, you turn around for one last look.

In other words, you need to love your boat.