David Crosby

[David Satter]

The Mayan - David Crosby's legendary schooner - YouTube

[SchoonerRat]

Mayan's current custodian is a member here. I was hoping he'd become a regular contributor, but he just came in, started a great thread, then sailed off into the sunset. It seemed that he has great plans for a great boat.

[Ted Hoppe]

Custodian. Love that term. Hides the millionaire/billionaire that owns her. She is a lovely boat but not as you have thought as a legacy boat of Crosby should be, when he was a master mariner and a real part of the boat itself.
It is an invitation only boat usually sailed often but not always entitled, pompous folks who are not part of the community. Pays crew and professional help to race her in local charity events. It is far better to look at her from a distance as they prefer.

[Bobcat]

Of course, it's not surprising that a millionaire owns a 60 foot schooner--- who else could afford it?

[Ted Hoppe]

^ no doubt it takes a deep wallet, more so since they used the best craftsman and laborers to keep her in fine shape. There are some grateful super artisans getting their bread and pork from her.
I was thinking about the time, just a half generation ago when we knew who owners were, they were active in promotion and made for great camaraderie. As the former leading member of the Master Mariners board, someone who helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for our organization and sought to promote and preserve wooden boats and their local heritage, it saddened me deeply that those days were past and lost. I saw it as part of reason why there was a decline in wooden boat interest and felt a sense of loss in our community.

[Rich Jones]

The narrator mentioned that the boat has been re-built with "2008" technology. He seemed to imply that it's no longer just carvel planked. Cold-molded on top of the planking or is it still strictly carvel?

[SchoonerRat]

The narrator mentioned that the boat has been re-built with "2008" technology. He seemed to imply that it's no longer just carvel planked. Cold-molded on top of the planking or is it still strictly carvel?

She is still trad. Mayan was re-fit by Wayne "Boatswain" Ettles.

https://medium.com/schoonermayan/cat...n-6cba2794e0f1

Wayne's shop is a 5 minute bike ride down the street. He is "The Guy" in SoCal. Boats like Mayan are regular visitors. I tried to revisit the place a few years ago; but I got lost, stuck behind a train for 20 minutes, and yelled at in very strong language by a very large angry security guard. I'm not sure I could survive the experience again...but I'll probably try.

[SchoonerRat]

Custodian. Love that term. Hides the millionaire/billionaire that owns her. She is a lovely boat but not as you have thought as a legacy boat of Crosby should be, when he was a master mariner and a real part of the boat itself.
It is an invitation only boat usually sailed often but not always entitled, pompous folks who are not part of the community. Pays crew and professional help to race her in local charity events. It is far better to look at her from a distance as they prefer.

So much of this post is contradictory to my entire life experience. The millionaire/billionaire that you hold such disdain for isn't gonna buy an old wooden boat, he's gonna get a plastic fantastic floating palace. Only a real sailor is idiot enough to go old wood. He does it for the love of the boat.

Does anybody here on the forum have a boat that is not invitation only? Do you include the paid crew among the pompous folks who are not part of the community? They're the ones who are sailing the boat. I believe it was Jim Kilroy, who when asked by a reporter to comment on the fact that yacht racing was a rich man's sport replied "There's one rich guy and 22 poor slobs on this boat. Who do you suppose is having more fun?" I believe that I've paraphrased the quote, and I'm not really sure how this quote applies to this discussion, but I really like those words, and it seemed like good place to work them in.

When I worked on Kelpie, the owners would often crew for me on charters. I was their boss. They listened and did what I said. Happily. I never had to tell one of them to unclog the head though. That may have ended the relationship. They loved their boat. They were part of the community.

When I worked on Ranger, when the owner was aboard, he was my cook. It was rare that he actually sailed his boats, it wasn't legal for him to be aboard during a charter. He seemed to spend his time searching for another 65' derelict to give new life to. He had 3 of 'em. Whatever else can be said about "Captain Eddie", he loved his boats. He was part of the community.

There were enough of these members of the community that once I made the transition from boat builder to boat sailor, I never spent more than an afternoon with a millionaire/billionaire who wasn't part of the community. I was never interested in sailing a plastic fantastic floating palace.

And better to look at from a distance??? They don't prefer it. Along with the cash, they have their blood, sweat, and tears in the boat (and I'm not referring to a lost LP). They love watching other sailors wiping the drool off their chins. For the owners I've worked for, it's better than walking into the prom with the prettiest girl in the room on your arm. Their boat is the prettiest girl at the dance because they made her that way not because she was born that way.