Talk about tacky, funny how you don't hear that much about the homeless in the US media, and, uh yeah...
OddaSea joins the voices bemoaning the state of things in Tennessee for the home boatbuilder... He makes some good points!
The thing is, it is a much bigger problem than just some guy building a skiff for his son... For instance, if you own a cruising boat have you noticed just how hard it is these days to find a DIY friendly yard for a haul-out so you can do some basic maintenance and slap some bottom paint on?
Even if you do, can you believe some of the extra charges that are creeping in to the mix if you happen to have your own paint or epoxy?
Sadly, as a whole, boaters are looked upon by any number of people as cash cows. The folks who think that way are no longer content with extracting some money from us they want more...
It's not a big jump in logic to see how folks wanting to wring every single possible cent from the boating public are going to look at folks who build their own boats, do their own work, or refuse to pay silly expensive items when there are alternatives as warm and cuddly. Truth of the matter is, they want us gone because we are a bad influence and tend to inspire others to actually get involved with the needful upkeep of our boats while shining a light on just how silly most marine pricing is.
While we lived in France we belonged to a cooperative of boatbuilders by the name of the Unite Amateur. To be truthful, most all builders in France are members because of the UA group buying program and discounts on materials and gear which is no bad thing, but the other more important role of the organization was in education and the fact that it gave boatbuilders in France the political clout that enabled folks to build their boats, navigate the French bureaucratic spiderwebs, and keep out the sort of silliness that just happened in Tennessee.
"Don't agonize. Organize!" ... Florynce KennedyListening to Ryan Bingham
So it goes...
