Originally Posted by
jamottep
So far all builders I spoke to advised against using their boats for this trip.
No surprise. If you succeed, not many people will even be aware of what you accomplished in their boat. A relatively small segment of the sailing community, at best. If you fail, the mainstream media picks it up and all the world gets to learn that their boat killed you, or nearly did so. And then word gets out that they encouraged you to use their boat for this? By contrast, if you fail but they can say "we told him not to use our boat", then the bad PR is all yours, not theirs.
Even if they know their boat is up to the challenge, and that you are perfectly capable of pulling it off, I suspect they are not going to say either of those things to you. Given no real upside to them if you succeed, and major downside to them if you don't, my guess is they really do wish you would do this in someone else's boat.
I could be very wrong on this, in which case I hope someone here jumps in and says so. This opinion is based on my experiences with how decisions are made by entrepreneurs, investors, banks, home builders, politicians, etc., etc., etc. Maybe designers/builders of sail boats value outcomes differently, and put a high enough intrinsic value on bold achievement that they would happily lose the PR war for a chance at a kind of glory only they and a handful recognize. Perhaps.
But if not I think their disapproval counts for very little.
Last edited by AZ Sailor; 01-12-2019 at 08:05 PM.
Lee
s/v Morning Star
Valiant 32