For the Love of the List (and the Life)
Currently between boats, Cruising World editor Andrew Parkinson borrowed a little magic aboard his friend’s Pegasus 50. It was a timely reminder that all that sweat equity really is worth it.
Jon Whittle
Somewhere, someone is about to fall in love. It might happen this fall, walking the docks at a boat show. Or online, browsing listings deep down a brokerage rabbit hole. Or aboard a friend’s boat, when the genoa pops, the water turns to mercury, and that little voice inside says, More please.
If that someone is you, I won’t talk you out of it. But I will say this: Boat ownership is not all smooth sailing and sunset anchorages. It’s a floating to-do list. It’s a crash course in troubleshooting, a master class in delayed gratification. It’s 90 percent chaos and 10 percent magic, and somehow, that math works.
You’ll encounter new tools, new smells and new words. Most of them will be expensive. But somewhere along the way, you’ll also discover a part of yourself that thrives on challenge, adapts under pressure, and finds meaning in every hard-won nautical mile.
Full disclosure: Boats are demanding. They break. They leak. They never ask how your day is going before they throw something new at you. And we love them all the more for it.
When my family bought our first boat, I didn’t fully appreciate what we had signed up for. I just knew I wanted to go sailing. What I didn’t expect was how attached we, as a family, would get to all of it: the clatter of halyards in the yard, the smell of wet teak, the pride of knowing the boat inside and out because we’d rebuilt or rewired half of it ourselves. Our first cruise wasn’t flawless, but it was unforgettable, and that’s the currency of boat ownership.
Sure, as a boat owner, you might question your decision more than once. But then comes the moment—maybe on a perfect beam reach, or alone on the hook with coffee at sunrise—when the chaos subsides, the boat steadies, and you feel it: This is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Boats also connect us to one another. How many dockside friendships have started with, “Hey, I noticed your solar panel setup,” or “Mind if I borrow your heat gun?” This is a community that rallies, whether to share knowledge, lend a hand, or swap stories over sundowners. Owning a boat brings you into that fold.
If you’re heading into boat-show season and hearing a little voice—Am I ready? Is it worth it?—the experts who contribute to Cruising World have your back. In our Hands-On Sailor department, Behan Gifford of Sailing Totem pulls back the curtain on marketing lingo like “turnkey” and “ready to cruise.” She also explains how to separate dream from delusion. On the other side of the coin, Avocet’s Marissa Neely unpacks what it really takes to prep a boat for sale, both emotionally and practically. She offers insights for sellers and future buyers alike. You’ll also find a pair of boat owners’ stories that remind us what this lifestyle is all about—seen through a purpose-built passagemaker and an Atlantic crossing that tested not just the systems but also the soul of the journey, and from a solo sailor who wrestles with 3,000 miles of ocean and finds clarity on the other side. These stories matter because the boat-ownership experience isn’t just about the boat. It’s about what the boat makes possible. Boating is a platform for self-reliance, growth, escape and return, and everything in between.
If you’re staring down your first haulout, chasing that elusive “perfect boat,” or trying to make sense of what “needs a little love” really means, we welcome you. No, you’re not crazy. You’re embarking on a journey that can be extraordinary.
In my experience, there’s always been that moment—after the bilge has been cleaned, the leaks hunted down and sealed, the errant halyard finally led fair—that you step back, wipe the grime from your hands, and catch a glimpse of your boat at rest. Maybe the sun is just beginning to arc low across the anchorage. Maybe you hear the soft clink of rigging in a light breeze. In that quiet instant, you remember why you fell in love with this life in the first place.
Is boat ownership worth it?
You already know the answer.
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