make my eyes water! Between the restrictive DIY policies at some yards, the expensive slips and labour rates and increasing enviromental costs I don't know how you do it. The irony is that it's maybe the cheapest time to buy a sailboat that I've seen in the 40 years I've been looking at boat ads! A lot of fellow Canucks have been dragging bargain boats north of the border the last few years. Also, IMHO, except for Good Old Boat and the Brits Practical Sailor, it seems that most sailing magazines prefer to deny that you can have fun and be safe in a simple older smaller boat. That hardly encourages new participants.