What
got me thinking this morning, is reading (in the excellent Marine
Quarterly) about Eric and Susan Hiscock’s first
circumnavigation, in Wanderer
III.
The boat cost them £3,300,
which seems a risible sum these days. However, I recalled that
in 1952, boats were considered to be extremely expensive –
compared with a house for example, the average price of which was
£1,891,
as I discovered when I did a bit of homework.
In
today's prices, the hand-built, ‘one-off’ Wanderer III cost
£80,322 – quite a bit of money by anybody’s standards, to be
raised without a loan. However, the Hiscocks had no children
and, being the organised sort of people they were, had probably
planned all this for a long time and carefully saved for the voyage
around the world and the vessel that they needed to do it. They
knew they would be living on board for 3 years and in those days, not
only was it a problem taking money out of the country, it would also
have been a problem reprovisioning in a lot of places. Tinned
food would have been an expensive luxury in islands like the West
Indies and the Pacific Islands. Thus their decision to buy a larger
boat than their beloved Wanderer II.
The
Second World War was not long over: rationing still existed in Great
Britain and there was still a dearth of good materials available for
boat building. However, 60 years on, this great boat is still
going strong. True, Thies Matzen has replaced all the iron
floors, knees, etc with bronze, but he writes of her: “Of course,
she had to be well built, and she is. Wanderer
III
is traditionally planked and caulked and is well kept.” And
after nearly 300,000 sea miles, she is still crossing oceans – and
not
just in the Trade Winds: Thies and Kicki have spent many years
sailing south of 40°.
So
how much would a new 30ft boat cost today, I wondered. Well,
apparently if I were to buy a 31ft Benéteau, it would cost me
£83,000 ‘on the water’. I gather that one needs to spend
some £24,000 over and above the basic cost of the vessel to equip
her for ordinary weekend sailing. However, that probably
includes a heap of electronics that we could do without; on the other
hand, I suspect a lot more ‘real’ gear would be required to
circumnavigate, so let’s take the £83,000 to be what it would cost
– about half the price of an average house in the UK (I checked).
And we are talking about a cheap and cheerful production boat, here,
not something designed for crossing oceans. (I’m not sure if
any production boat builders would build a 31ft boat for crossing an
ocean, because most people appear to think that 40ft is the minimum
one could take offshore. I’m way out of touch with production
boats, so had to make do with my Beneteau as an example.)
However, in real terms, this somewhat indifferent cruising boat would
cost more than Wanderer III. It makes you think, doesn’t
it?
But
what makes me think even more, is the thought that for all our
technological improvements: will our Benéteau 31 still be tramping
over the world's oceans in 60 years, having been a floating home to
two couples for most of that time, and with only one major refit
along the way? Somehow, I very much doubt it. There are
still a large number of good, honest wooden boats alive and well and
going about their business, particularly in Great Britain, where the
climate is kind to carvel boats. However, the modern sailor’s
demands for space, comfort and large diesel engines will probably
spell their demise long before the little ships themselves are no
longer fit for duty. Every now and then you read about them or
see one up for sale: what a reflection they are on the honesty and
integrity of their builders. May they long be loved and
cherished.
