Ahhh, how cute... and, look, it wants to follow us home.

Etchells USA 438 is the latest addition to our little flotilla. It's a good boat, although in need of some TLC. The topsides need some serious sanding and then they and the deck need repainting with marine epoxy paint. Hardware needs to be replaced/installed, and the mast is due for replacement due to some past damage. The bow received an "owie" resulting in a chunk being removed from just a few inches below deck level. Here USA 438 is shown on the side of the Franklin Mountains State Park in Texas, at Dino and Sister Rosebia's mountainside aerie. How they got the thirty-foot-six-inch boat up their steep, twisting, James-Bond-style driveway is a bit of a minor mystery that probably involved a strange mixture of towing competence and fearlessness.

Eventually, we hope to have Intrepid looking good and ready to go. We can use it as a training boat and tuning partner for Black Magic, Constellation, and White Lightnin'. And, if Carol Anne is training hard with women this spring, it can be the guys' boat. We may also be bringing it up to Heron Lake this summer to help revive the New Mexico Sailing Club's racing program. And, maybe someday we'll find the exact right someone to give Intrepid a new home.

In the meantime, would-be boat owners are advised that we might be able to set them up with a nice MacGregor 26, a Sunfish dinghy, or even a rare piece of styrofoam history, a Snark.

View forward under the cuddy top.

Side-mounted manual bilge pump.

View showing a portion of the cockpit at the helm position. Lines above right are part of the traveler control system.

Topsides, the decks of an Etchells are nice and clean, free of the obstacles that plague the decks of most racing boats and lurk to snag the unwary crew. But, belowdecks, life can resemble the aftermath of a spaghetti-factory explosion, especially in this view of mostly unconnected cordage.

A few control lines are positioned on the cockpit console (Barney post) within quick reach for the helmswoman or tactician.