folks were alluding to with their, “How did you stand being so confined?” question. I think the bigger challenge of our adventure was time and


not space. If there had been more time, we would have kept going. We only made it to Provincetown at the top of Cape Cod before we had used up our time and had to turn to home with obligations that called us back. Knowing that, we had parsed out our time and our daily destinations in a way that would maximize our experience. Tere were some compromises along the way, like stopping too-briefly by the Timble Islands on the way back, versus on our outbound voyage to the Cape. We also made a plan to pull into Barnegat Bay on the return trip instead of facing another 30-hour-long haul off the coast of New Jersey. The boyfriend thinks I should mention that smaller also


means access to more protected anchorages because we got very close to shore with our small boat and shallow draſt. It also meant we could tuck into places so the dinghy row to shore was shorter, which for me was a bonus (I’m not the greatest rower). Squeezing into small, more affordable slips also has its advan-


tages, the best of which is being able to pay for summer-long sailing adventures earlier in life. In the case of Small is Better Tan You Tink, the last point


I’ll make is about trailering. Our 2018 adventure ended with an emergency pull-out in New Jersey due to a potential hurricane strike while experiencing engine trouble (yep, that New Bedford repair did not solve the problem). Te ease of being able to run home, grab the trailer, come back, and haul out while the awe- some folks at Brant Beach Yacht Club looked aſter our floating home was all due her small size. We were able to solve a huge problem with minimal extra help or expense required. Hopefully I’ve made the case and proven my point, that small


is mighty without too much axe grinding. Just remember, it’s not how big you are, it’s how big you play! •SCA•


Kate Reckner took up sailing late in life. Coming to the sport in her 30s as voice-activated ballast, and moving up to trimmer on racing boats, she smartly decided she preferred cruising adventures as a boat owner. ELF is her first boat purchase.


NEPTUNE 24: ELF In 1977 the now defunct Capital Yachts manufactured


our Neptune 24, which was designed to be a fiberglass pocket cruiser. As a shoal-draſt trailerable, drawing 24" with center- board up, it’s the smaller cousin of the Newport 28. Adver- tised with a sleeping capacity of seven, (two in the V-Berth, one in starboard settee, two in port expandable berth, and two in the double berth under port quarter -beneath the cock- pit seats), it’s really better suited for a couple, or small family. Te Neptune has a pop-top allowing for standing headroom when deployed. Te cockpit is roomy at 7-feet long, and easily accommodates 4 adults with little interference of the tiller. And though our Elf uses a 9.8 Nissan outboard, Neptunes had the option of an inboard engine. Co-owner, Steve Layden has made many improvements to


Elf over the last 4 years. One performance improvement was a new shoal-draſt rudder with an endplate, which does not stall-out in a gust whereas the original would allow the boat to round-up. Te new rudder also draws less than the original and therefore won’t hit bottom before the keel. Additional upgrades include a roller furling jib, solar trickle charger, and a transom-mounted boarding ladder for safety. Elf is hull #1 and shows the interior design thought process


via wood, before Capital Yachts finalized some of the design elements as an interior fiberglass mold. Tus, we were able to make modifications that might not be as easy on later models, such as: hinging the companionway stairs to create stowage for the deck cushions and hatch boards under the cockpit, or turning the galley ice cooler into a shelved kitchen storage bin. Other improvements include removing the cushions in the V-berth to create sail and perishable cooler stowage, converting the hanging locker into shelving and swapping out the porta-potty for composting toilet. The combined effect of all these improvements is the increased livability and enjoyment of our small boat. —KR


38 SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR


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