sailing through school...

There are a few good things that likely happen in college. You demonstrate your character and intelligence in ways that can be measured. When you make it to class on time, it won't be due to your parents waking you up, feeding you and pushing you out the door. You may make connections that last a lifetime and find a pathway to your successful future, which in some cases means lots more school. But Graham Watt describes how you can get the same benefits by building a boat. In Sailing Through School, Watt describes his own experience in what might for many be a much more interesting option than slogging the books from class to class and paying top dollar for the experience. Build a boat and what you learn may have value equal to what you might get in a university education. And what you are left with is something you can sail or sell, making those questionable late teen and early twenties learning and maturing years more productive than boozing it up aimlessly at your local public university. I first read Watt's article in Good Old Boat Magazine. Watt says:

"A 36 year old university degree has very little power to impress. But the boat--that today is sitting pretty in tiny Luperon Harbour in the Dominican Republic under Dutch registry--still turns heads. And, while I don't own it anymore, I'm still learning from it. I've found that something you build yourself remains yours no matter where it goes."