I sold the sailboat as sort of a gradual acknowledgement of the coefficient of work over ... satisfaction.  As that ratio diminishes ... gradually, you say to yourself, "It’s time to hang it up.”

- William F. Buckley, Jr.

How do you know when it's time to sell your boat?  When questioned in a radio interview on July 12, 2004 as to why he sold his boat, William F. Buckley, Jr. gave this very astute answer:

“I sold the sailboat as sort of a gradual acknowledgement of the coefficient of work over—uh—against satisfaction.  The kind of work you need to do in order to maintain a sailboat to sail it confidently, as I did three times across the Atlantic, one time across the Pacific, is an investment of certain ergs of energy.  And—uh—those ergs of energy give you—uh—classically, ergs PLUS pleasure.  As that ratio diminishes, an aspect of—oh—age and an aspect of—uh—fatigue with the kind of work that goes into nourishing a sport, gradually, you say to yourself, ‘It’s time to hang it up.’”

-- William F. Buckley, Jr.