Outstanding new Whitby/Brewer web resource....

The Whitby Brewer sailboat site has finally been revamped. Congratulations and a huge Bravo Zulu (flag code for "well done") to all involved. It looks like a fabulous layout and once we get some information migrated over or contribute it should be a huge resource for owners and potential owners. Hopefully the "censorship issue" on the previous board has been cleared up and I look forward to contributing (see my previous post on the subject of censorship).

Whitby Brewer Sailboat Site

DIY Boat Owner magazine.......

DIY Boat Owner

If you are working on a boat get this publication. These guys must be reading my blog. This months articles;

# Patching Plumbing Holes
# Barrier Coat Blues
# Lessons Learned in Bottom Painting

Next months;

# Projects: Teak & Holly Floors
# Sailboat Rigging: Rudder Repair

Now, if they would only come and work on the boat????

Excellent Whitby and Brewer Sailors web resources BUT….......

Whitby and Brewer Sailors have three major resources on the web;

1. The sailboat association at;

http://www.bcpl.net/~bcboykin/whitby_home2.htm

This first was established by Bernie Boykin in the early 90’s and is a great source of information for Whitby/Brewer owners and more importantly potential owners. Bernie is also the driving force behind the Newsletter. Unfortunately the site has not been updated for some time and the newsletters have never been put in digital form.

2. Doug Stephenson Brokerage Website (Doug is a broker and recognized expert on Whitby/Brewer vessels). http://www.yachtsls.com/

3. And a somewhat disorganized discussion group on Yahoo.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhitbyBrewerSailboats/

This would be an excellent resource if some attempt was made to structure the information and transfer it to Bernie’s site (I am informed that some sort of restructuring is in hand). Unfortunately, it appears to be controlled by a small number of self appointed moderators. One in particular does not limit himself to preventing spam and unacceptable posts, he chooses to censor posts that he does not agree with. Two of my posts were singled out, one offering to assist in structuring the web site and second contained my opinion of the rudder. The first earned a reasonably civil rebuke for the self appointed gatekeeper (even if the reasoning was somewhat unconvincing), the second post he simply refused to publish as it did not agree with his opinion.

Not being a big fan of censorship, I will give this site a miss for the moment if the hope that wiser heads will prevail.

"I disagree strongly with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Voltaire