Several folks have suggested that I post a message here that I originally put on the CLC Forum a week or so ago; it speaks to the durability of our wood and composite boats, in general, and might be food for thought .....

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The unthinkable happened yesterday. One of the two fittings securing the loops of two-inch seat belt material I use to hoist my coffee table --- er, North Bay --- to the ten foot ceiling in my garage failed as I was finishing getting it to the top. The downward trip for the stern was incredibly quick, and ended in a sickening thud.

Damage report: concrete floor of garage sustained surface scarring, and now boasts some white paint; North Bay suffered some cosmetic damage, including the removal of two inches of paint about two feet in on the keel and some compression of the extra fiberglass material laid on the bias (thanks, Lee [Gardner, who had recommended rub strips when I asked about them]!) for that generic reason. Rocks were the concern, not the garage floor, but I guess it doesn't really matter.

It's my first "door ding" and I'm keeping it. Now to get some varnish on the deck and get this hummer in the water.

Look out, big rocks, my boat and I are after you!

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Under similar circumstances, I don't think my 65# VCP "British Heavy" Pintail would have faired so well in a fall like that, and, at a $2700 replacement cost, I would have been far less happy with its performance under fire.

Jack Martin