Shredded sails . . .

That doesn't even look like it had sunbrella on it!  I see folks who don't cover their sails at our marina each summer and just shake my head.  I can't imagine how much quicker the sails die in SoCal than they do in Oregon.

While I'm not a stickler for 100% ship shape all the time, I do believe in doing as much as you can afford to maintain your boat/gear and I just don't understand how people who can afford to keep their boat in a marina can't at least do the basics. Why wouldn't you remove the jib from the furler if the boat's on the hard?

Our Capri 16.5 had red/white/blue sails and you couldn't remove the jib if the mast was up.  The prior owner didn't cover them and there was significant fading, especially of the blue.  It costs $100 for a genoa sleeve kit from Sailrite and $126 for a mainsail cover kit.  If you're going fork out over $8K for a new boat why wouldn't you spend another $250 to protect your investment?  I only spent $4K for it 4 years after it was new and the first thing we did before we started mooring with the mast up was order those 2 kits!  I know those covers were a big part of the reason I got more for the boat than we paid for it!

Last year we replaced mainsail and tiller covers on our Capri 22, plus we added a cover for the main hatch/companionway.  It cost less than $250 for the whole thing!  Not peanuts, but certainly less than a new sail and we even get to keep the @#$@ wasps out of the cabin!

This year I'll be rebedding the tabernacle and other deck hardware.  I doubt I'll spend more than $250 including the tools.

I just don't get it.