LETTERS
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CERAMIC IGNITION SYSTEM • Heat output 17,200 btu/hr (5kw) • Fuel Consumption .18 gal/hr • Power Consumption 32 w • Weight 6.4 lbs
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1150 BRICKYARD COVE RD., SUITE B6 PT. RICHMOND, CA 94801 (510) 234-9566 Page 54 •
Latitude 38
• February, 2012
Kurt — Thanks for the headsup. And thanks again for your 60-ft charter cat design, which was the basis for Profligate. It's 'Cat 2 Fold' was an eye-catcher been the all-but-perfect cat for us. during the last Baja Ha-Ha.
(209) 327-9870
4.1
⇑⇓A WORD FROM THE DESIGNER Thanks for the wonderful December Sightings on the Cat 2 Fold 36 design. While I did the 3D modeling and drafting of plans, Rafi Franke created the innovative concept(s) and design improvements after the plans. Kurt Hughes Seattle, WA
⇑⇓THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF LATITUDE 38 I recently attempted to learn something about the history of Latitude 38, but couldn't find anything on your website. It might have been because I had a few beers in me. But I think you've been around long enough that you need to talk about it. Rob Boyle Planet Earth
www.CanvasAndUpholstery.com
Be comfortable all year round with a quiet, reliable Webasto hot water heating system. Can be linked to pre-heat an engine and provide all the hot water you'll need in the galley or for showers.
Yachting World has always done the most extensive boat tests and/or comparisons, but we're still not crazy about them, which is why we've never done them. Sorry.
LATITUDE / ANDY
OXBOW CANVAS AND UPHOLSTERY
Rob — We think we've told this story enough, but since the next issue will mark the 35th anniversary of the founding of Latitude 38, we guess we can retell it one last time. The idea for Latitude came from a dreadful boating magazine in Southern California whose publisher said he worked two days a week in shorts and flip-flops and made $2,000 a month — a very decent amount of money back then. We made the mental commitment to go ahead with the magazine while watching the Bicentennial fireworks explode over San Francisco while sailing home from the Delta in '76 on our 41-ft Bounty II Flying Scud. The magazine was an ultra-low budget operation from the get-go, funded with $2,000 — which was all we had to our name. We believe that starting with so little money, along with assiduously avoiding debt, have been two of the keys to long-term success. The original staff consisted of the current publisher, then 29, and Kathleen McCarthy, our then-wife, who sold advertising and quickly became a mainstay of the magazine. Flying Scud, berthed in Sausalito's Clipper Yacht Harbor, served as our home, office and photo boat. Actual production was done in the middle of the night using The Montclarion production facilities in the Montclair District of the Oakland Hills. We drove over the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges countless times at 3 a.m. Immediately after starting the magazine, we were transformed from a happy-go-lucky, carefree — and probably very lazy — person into the workaholic we remain today. We can't believe we still haven't kicked the disease. The first issue of Latitude, 40 pages, appeared in the spring of '77, and featured Bill Lee's revolutionary 67-ft ultralight Merlin. By sheer luck, sailing was mushrooming. In addition to Merlin acclerating the Santa Cruz ultralight revolution, Dave Allen's Imp soon took the international racing world by storm, singlehanded sailing exploded, the Pacific Cup was founded, and sailing became more about individuals and less about