You said it better than me. In hindsight, the "ice cream" analogy could be a bit condescending, but it was not ment that way.
But I think some of the builders might not want to their baby too hard either. A race car driver will run it into another car or the wall, trying to pas to win, and not worry too much about repairing it, whereas a mechanic might drive a bit more cautiously, knowing he will spend hours in the shop fixing it. "Drive it like you stole it" is a popular NASCAR term for good reason.
If you built the boat, you also know how to fix it, so that argument can go both ways. Just look at the A-class worlds and what Steve did to his boat.
You are probably right though <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
