Agreed !

James,

Many of us were wood boat guys before we moved over to glass. Some of us still have wood boats, I have two (well, I actually have two-and-a-half).

I owned a beautiful 35' Sea Skiff at the time I saw my first fiberglass 38 Express, and I was just stunned. I saw so much that was familiar, but so much that was improved, and the detailing with the fiberglass work was just nothing short of jaw dropping. The stylized flutes on the port and starboard sides that hold up the roof, the foil, pointed transom, detailing around the side scuppers, change of texture on the decks, sun visor front windshield, overall flair of the hull, everything just made me want to stand there and stare.

We ended up buying one before we got rid of the Sea Skiff, so I had the fun of taking one out, and then the other, for a period of time.

The one thing that really sold us on the Commander, was the 1966 interior has as much mahogany inside as the all wood Sea Skiff did, and the Commander looked better. So..........a wood boat guy moved over to a classic glass boat, and was instantly happy.

I was discussing this with Matt OBrien the other day, and he had a similar experience when he saw his first 38 Express too. That wood interior is stunning, and I still can't believe people actually paint over mahogany to give their boat the sort of "make-over" you see on TV for homes and apartments.

That boat, by the way, in the Photo of the Day, belongs to Sandy (seated) and her husband, Tony. She was in the cabin and I called to her and asked if I could get a photo. She was kind enough to pose for this one, and it has been around the world hundreds of times since then on the internet. The woodwork on that boat, inside and out, was (is) really nice.

Regards,

Paul