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ometimes it seems as if I actually spend more time in chandleries dur¬ ing the winter months than during the sum¬ mer. What else is there to do on a rainy Sat¬ urday afternoon in December? Not that there’s going to be enough wind to lift the half-ounce when the weather does finally clear . . . But after all, remember that one of the reasons for buying a boat in the first place was to have a good excuse to spend large quantities of money in a yacht chandlery. 1 was enjoying just such a rainy Saturday afternoon in my local chandlery recently, when I overhead a conversation that re¬ minded me that there are other excuses to spend money in a chandlery, especially this time of year. 1 was examining the end of a spool of kevlar rope, pondering whether to buy eighth-inch or three-sixteenths for my new light air spinnaker sheets, when a woman’s voice coming from the other side of a bank of display shelves distracted me. “No, no, no! Don’t buy that!” admonished
Safety equipment is always a good gift.
the stern female voice. I looked back, and was relieved to see that the voice was not directed at me, but at an other unseen shopper. “But it seems like such a cute idea,” an¬ swered a younger sounding woman. “I think he’d just love these little swiveling beer can holders. Or maybe these salt and pepper shakers shaped like little red and black chan¬ nel buoys.” “Look, honey,” advised the older woman
in a slightly condescending tone, “he really doesn’t want anything ‘cute’ for his boat. Trust me — we’ve been receiving gifts for our various boats for over 25 years ...” “What about this serving tray and plate set with matching tumblers? Look — each one has instruction for tying a different kind of knot, and the plates have sockets to hold the
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I I er young friend was just the opposite. Judging by the make-up, fingernails, and — would you believe — high-heeled shoes, she was more than a little out of her element. I sifted through a bin full of wing nuts . . . “Here’s something every sailboat owner appreciates,” said the older woman as she
A good sailing gift has to be
high qu glasses upright!”
It must have been her very first time in the store. “We have a closet full of junk like that,” sighed the older woman. “Remember that space on a boat is very limited. Anything you buy will have to compete with a lot of other expensive, carefully selected items for a place onboard. So a good sailing gift has to be practical, high quality, and no more than just a little bit superfluous. In other words, something'he really wants and will use, but something that he considered just a little too low a priority, or possibly just a little too overpriced, to have bought it for himself.” “You’re right,” admitted the younger voice. “These little things aren’t really expen¬ sive enough to be anything but stocking stuffers.” I thought of my own garage full of well in¬ tended junk. If only my stockings had been stuffed with things like rolls of duct tape or cans of WD-40 over the years. “This is our first Christmas since we’ve been married,” she continued, “and I really want to get him something for the boat that he’ll appreciate. You have to help.” “Let’s go over to hardware,” suggested her friend. This was going to be too good to miss. I dropped the kevlar sheets and set a course for the nuts and bolts department, across the aisle from hardware. On the way we crossed tacks, and I got a glimpse of the pair. The older woman was a sweet-looking older lady, but I had heard enough to conjecture that she was a rather forceful personality, and probably an active and experienced sailor.
held up a winch handle. “Especially if you lost one overboard last season!” “Uh — that was on the only race I sailed on. How did you find out about it?” “Just a good guess, dear.” I moved over to the hiking sticks for a bet¬ ter vantage point. “Now look at this one — it has ball bear¬ ings in the grip! Or how about one of these big doubles? And here’s a real luxury item — it ratchets in either direction, depending on how this little lever is set . . .” I could hear them ratcheting the handle in the winche^ while I studied an ingenious little fitting — a plastic socket that gets installed on the inboard face of the cockpit coaming, ap¬ parently designed to hold the end of a hiking stick for instant tiller locking. “My God! I never realized these handles were so expensive!” said the young shopper. “You see what I mean? He probably wouldn’t buy one of those ratcheting handles for himself. But I guarantee he’d love to have one!” “I’d be afraid to use a handle that expen¬ sive, though. Imagine if I lost this one over¬ board! Do you have any more ideas?” “How about a winch-chair!” suggested the older woman. “Everybody loves them, but few people buy them for themselves. It’s one of those low priority, superfluous items.” “Hmmm . . . That has some possibilities.” “You should see my grandson on the one we have. We practically have to pry him out of it. And look — this year they have two economy models!”
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1 he younger woman sat down in a winch-chair that was mounted in a display winch, which in turn was securely bolted to a heavy, low table. page 156
