TFH

This may make you sick to your stomach, a question of note, and it's hard being a clown these days...

Some time ago (20-30 years or so I suspect) I saw a clever idea in Practical Boat Owner for a boarding step that hooked over your toerail that you could make with some scrap plywood. It was a good idea, easy/quick to build, and wouldn't set you back much more than $10 in today's world.

So, it was with some interest I saw that in the new Cruising World they had a blurb about a "new" product that was a simple boarding step that hooked over your toerail and looked not a whole lot different than the PBO DIY sort...

Of course, the difference is that the one Cruising World is pimping costs $299. Think about that for a moment or two.

OK, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and admit that aluminum costs more than some plywood scrap you have laying around but looking at my favorite purveyor of metal for boat projects, Online Metal Supply, I find that the needful square tube, channel, and plate would cost me around $20... Throw in another $10 for fastenings, a couple of hours with a hacksaw/drill, and hey presto you have yourself a reasonable facsimile of a "$299 boarding step".

That said, I'd go with the cheaper plywood version... Wouldn't you?

I don't really need a boarding step but I mention this because it's just another example of people making products and pricing them, apparently, using the "People who buy stuff for their boats are stupid and we can jack the price sky high" equation. So, today's mantra is...



"Too Fucking High"

Listening to Gene Jr and the Family

So it goes...