Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for June 27, 2012

Can’t help but think of the old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

arlo-there is a reason people employ boat inspectors. get one!!!

Man, you guys are crazy. It’s ten bucks! Arlo isn’t worried that the boat is a rip off, he’s worried that 1) Gus thinks he needs charity, and 2) that this put his in Gus’s debt, relationship-wise. He needs to get over it, of course, and I think he will.

A boat surveyor is worth every dollar you pay him. The hidden costs of owning an old wooden schooner could be substancial. Maintaining the bright work (varnished teak) could be a full time job. If it has teak decks, finding and fixing leaks can be a nightmare. I think Arlo would be better off to go into a partnership with Gus on this boat. Sharing the costs of maintenance would not be so bad, if the boat is used as a floating guesthouse and occational coastal cruiser. Having a seaworthy open ocean vessel could cost a lot more. I have a “classic plastic” 41’ Morgan Out Island ketch docked in Los Alamitos Bay in the south end of Long Beach. This is my earthquake insurance, as my house sits on the New Port – Inglewood fault. Right now I am only doing some costal cruising, but I hope to sail to the South Pacific someday.

I’m with solarrhino…well, not literally.. but on this issue.Sure, Gus could sell the boat to someone else…. but he’s never done it, so he must have some attachment.

And he’d be selling the work that Gene did… which he probably did for his parents.AS far as I know, we’re not talking about some modern aluminum or fiberglass boat in racing condition…but an older boat, probably with a wooden hull….not so easy to sell…we don’t know the condition of the sails, how long since it’s been out in open sea….and if Gus keeps it, he also keeps paying every year for hauling out and maintaining a boat he doesn’t use.Makes much more sense to me to give it to his daughter’s in-laws and promote future family togetherness.

As for being suspicious and calling a boat inspector….. it’s ten bucks! Much cheaper to fix a $10 boat than pay what it’s worth first!

Larry posted while I was typing…. so I want to add…I agree an inspection is a good idea…but just to see what it needs, not because they’re suspicious.

If they can’t handle the repairs, they shouldn’t dream of a boat….cos ANY boat is going to require maintenance.

What a deal, a real sale boat!

You all know that this is a comic strip?

+1 for bbarton214. Sail on, yawl.

in some cultures to refuse a offer made in good faith is a serious insult. you question not only the givers hospitality but his honesty. if you are getting an item for free and if it turns out you can’t afford it you sell the thing or donate it and you have lost nothing. Arlo is being a jerk. i don’t hear him asking about the farm he gave to Mary Lou and Gene. maybe Gus gave it to them cause it’s a toxic waste dump. he couldn’t just be doing a nice thing. Gus should just tell Arlo he held out his hand and it was slapped away so the deal is off. Arlo won’t have to worry about the motivation of his future daughter in law’s father any more.

Gus might think he is at the end of his life and is giving his valuables away.

Ya know,the IRS would count that boat as income.$36,000 tax on$100,000 gift

Definition of BOAT: A hole in the water you throw money into.

@bbarton214Thank you for saying one of the things I was thinking. The other was this: “Man, this story line is really being dragged out….”

Something no one has mentioned here. It seems the strips I love most have retired and now I’m reading re-runs. There’s a nagging little “fear” in a dark corner of my mind that Jimmy is wrapping everything up. Arlo gets his dream of owning a boat. Gene grows up and gets a family of his own with a lovely house and he’s complete with finishing his education and promising future. Janis has an adorable grandkid to dote upon… This is the kind of strip that could go on forever and I hope it does…so I sit and try to still that little voice that nags at me.

Larry: “Bright work” usually refers to brass cleats, cadmium plated windlesses, and similar metal fittings which require almost constant polishing to prevent corrosion.

Arol!!! Shake his hand, give him a hug, say THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!Gus is a great guy

hippogriff: You’re wrong. Brightwork refers principally to varnished or oiled wood and only tangentially to metal fittings. Look it up in Wikepedia. Unfortunately some dictionaries have it wrong.

Gus is a good guy, and likes the idea of Arlo and Janis visiting often. Especially Janis, especially during swimsuit season.

Poor Gus.. works his life, has a few bucks to spare, likes to share his luck and wealth, and what does he get? “Comments” from ill-sorts that have never been to “The Gulf”Mainly around Pascagoula… but then……

Hmm! looks like a ‘back door’ dowry to me.

bbarton214, belcherman, Ellymae2011, I get the biggest kick out of the discussions! I even heard the author remind readers “You all, this is a comic strip.” :-)

Truly amazing what people read into comics!! LOL

Ahhhhh! Arlo, take the d*** boat already! Put us out of our missery. We are living the boat owner life through you. This is exhausting……….

If in doubt, DON’T!

The next wit who repeats that “hole in the water” gag should be keelhauled. It was funny the first time I heard it, 30 years ago.

I think you are missing the point.

I think the point is the artist, via Arlo, is saying, as I do, that things are frequently worth what you pay for them, as a maximum.

water moon: A tax guru you are not. The annual exemption for gift tax is $13,000, not the $ 100,000 you postulate. But that old tub of a sailboat probably isn’t worth more than that or double that, if A&J split that Trojan Horse of a gift.

Jo Phan: Thanks. I will disagree one one point, as late as WW-II, minesweepers were wood (to prevent setting off magnetic mines). Costeau’s Calipso was a surplus minesweeper.