x 312 yacht

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• Sailboat Guide

X-312 is a 30 ′ 3 ″ / 9.2 m monohull sailboat designed by Niels Jeppesen and built by X-Yachts between 1989 and 1994.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Originally intended to replace the X-95. Available with mast head rig: I: 38.84’/11.84m J: 11.32’/3.45m P: 33.46’/10.20m E: 11.48’/ 3.50m

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X 312 - X Yachts / STW003863

Available in the arm version in the mast head:

Technical data

cabin cruiser

cruising/regatta

Volvo penta 18 hp

overall length

hull length

waterline length

standard draft

minimum draft

displacement

diesel tank

mast height

DOCUMENTS: X 312

Sales brochure of the shipyard

Pdf in high resolution with the original brochure of the shipyard

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Review of X-312

Basic specs..

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta engine at 9.0 hp (6 kW), which gives a max speed about 4.0 knots.

The transmission is a saildrive.

The fuel tank which is made of stainless steel has a capacity of 40 liters (10 US gallons, 8 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for X-312 is 2.01, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.6 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for X-312 is about 150 kg/cm, alternatively 844 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 150 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 844 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

Maintenance

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section is reserved boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for X-312 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

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X-yachts X-312

General Data

Shipbuilder:, see also: boats for sale.

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Overall length:

Waterline length:, maximum beam:, displacement:, straightening:, construction materials:, sail details mq, equipments:, transmission:, interior materials:, water tank:.

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• Monohull sailboats
• Cruising-racing sailboat
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Cruising-racing sailboat X-302 2-cabin with bowsprit

Characteristics

9.4 m (30'10" )

3 m (9'10" )

1.7 m (5'06" )

3,600 kg (7,936.64 lb)

9 ch (9 hp)

Description

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Sailboat specifications

• Last update: 3rd April 2020

X-302 MkII's main features

X-302 mkii's main dimensions, x-302 mkii's rig and sails, x-302 mkii's performances, x-302 mkii's auxiliary engine, x-302 mkii's accommodations and layout, x-302 mkii's saloon, x-302 mkii's aft cabin.

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X-302 8 Pages

Catalog excerpts

THE ULTIMATE 30’ CRUISER/RACER FROM X-YACHTS OF DENMARK

VER THE -YACHTS have had many years of experience in building boats ir the 30'size range.The first generation 30 footer was the X-95. Launched in 1982 the X-95 was developed as a production IOR 1/2 tonner She had ai excellent sailing performance for her day, yet offered a practical interior in

relation to her more racing oriented counterparts. In 1987 X-Yachts introduced the X-312 which represented a move away from the restricted IOR hull forms as the early eighties.The X-312 offered a longer waterline length together with a more moderate beam, and was the first of the "easily driven" performance cruisers to be produced by X-YACHT. Seven years on, and the X-302 is launched to replace the X-312.The all new X-302 incorporates all the latest X-Yachts' features, and represents one of the most ambitious development projects in this size range to date.

BELOW DECKS herever you look you will find that there is ample space for storage of personal gear and equipment Deep shelves below the deck and hanging lockers in the forepeak and aft cabin, a practical "wet locker" for oilskins and boots in the head compartment, plenty of locker space in the roomy gallery, good provision for installation of electronics and storage og books etc. at the chart table, and an enormous cockpit locker for the inflatable dinghy, fenders, mooring lines etc.The enterior has been designed with the cruising family in mind.Top grade Khaya mahogany has been used in...

THE KEY FEATURES hich help to make the X-302 a truly outstanding 30 footer include: Sandwich hull and deck construction, steel bottom frame for keel and rig loads, tapered rudder shaft and low friction needle rudder bearings, powerful engine with S-drive installation, discontinuous rod rigging, extra stiff mast section and forestay furling drum (optional) installed below decks. Maximum sailing waterline lenght combined with maximum stability from the composite lead/iron bulb keel and a very clean undistorted hull form. An extremely comfortable, high volume interior finished with a GRP head...

NIELS JEPPESEN TALKS eing a family man myself I set out to design a 30 footer that would accommodate my own needs.To provide a safe yet fun yacht that could take two adults and four children sailing for a couple of weeks in comfort and at the same time have such a sailing performance that I could race her succesfully at small or even big regattas. Such a boat should have plenty of storage space for all the essentials that accompany a family on holiday (toys, clothes, books etc.) It must have good ventilation and comfortable sleeping and cooking arrangements. However such a boat must not...

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Lake Palestine residents begin to asses boat damage ahead of Memorial Day

HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - With Memorial Day Weekend underway, many Lake Palestine residents are picking up the pieces of their boats instead of driving them.

“There were very few injuries; that was the main thing. We were really happy to hear about that,” said Lance Blackwood.

The National Weather Service says the EF-1 Tornado that tore through the area Thursday evening had winds of up to 105 miles an hour. Dozens of boats are trapped or destroyed under the wreckage of the Lake Palestine Resort Marina.

Boat owners are now wondering what their next steps are. Some neighbors who were unaffected by the storm used their boats to take pictures of those stuck in the wreckage.

“We’re going to take a look at some boats. If anyone has any questions, we’ll try to give them some photos because no one can get to their boats to take photos or anything,” said Robert Ousley. “I’m sure they had plans for a big celebration, Memorial Weekend. This came through Thursday night and caused a lot of grief for a lot of people.”

Copyright 2024 KLTV. All rights reserved.

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From gas tanks to nails: Boat wreckage scattered across Nimitz Beach

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Look out for debris in waters off West Oahu from a grounded boat.

A viewer sent in photos to Hawaii News Now and said the grounded boat broke apart as it washed ashore on Nimitz Beach Thursday.

The wreckage seemed to stretch to Nimitz Cove, and includes gas tanks and planks of wood with nails.

HNN has reached out to the state DLNR for more information and are awaiting a response.

This story will be updated.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

Hawaii Island psychologist who sexually assaulted young patient handed hefty prison sentence

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Tommy’s Boats Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Amidst $105 Million Debt Default to M&T Bank

I n the world of watercraft sales, bankruptcies are making waves more frequently than industry experts would expect. A significant case has emerged from Fort Worth, Texas, where Tommy’s Boats, a well-known ski and wake boat dealer, along with its 16 affiliates operating under the Tommy’s Boats dealership banner, has recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This drastic step was taken after the company defaulted on approximately $105 million in secured debt to M&T Bank. The situation reflects not just a local issue but a global trend affecting the boat manufacturing and retail sectors.

The bankruptcy filings by boat dealers and manufacturers are not a common occurrence, yet several recent cases indicate a growing pattern. For instance, the Canadian boat manufacturer Limestone Boat Co., and its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in the U.S. Additionally, European boat builders are not left out of this downturn; Swedish company Ryds Boats declared bankruptcy in November 2023 and was subsequently acquired by Norwegian manufacturer Cormate. Shortly thereafter, in January 2024, German builder SAY Carbon Yachts also filed for insolvency.

A Deep Dive into Tommy’s Boats’ Financial Struggles

Tommy’s Fort Worth’s financial disclosures reveal assets ranging from $1 million to $10 million against debts staggering between $100 million to $500 million. The filing also listed over $123 million in combined secured and unsecured debts, underscoring the severe financial duress under which the company is operating.

The implications of the bankruptcy extend beyond the corporate offices and into the lives of customers and other stakeholders. In a letter dated May 20 to customers, Tommy Boats highlighted the receivership status initiated on April 22 by the Circuit Court for Kent County, Michigan.

The letter soberly noted that since all of Tommy Boats’ assets were encumbered by M&T Bank’s security interests, and with the bank possibly being under-secured, there was no guarantee that creditors, including customers with deposits on undelivered boats, would recover their funds. This situation has led to palpable distress among consumers, with reports emerging of customers, like one in Colorado, who are unable to reclaim significant deposits for boats that have never been delivered.

Since all of Tommy Boats’ assets were encumbered by security interests of M&T Bank, and the bank was likely to be under-secured and owed millions after disposition of all the debtor’s assets, no assurance could be made that creditors would recover any outstanding claims.

The Broader Impact and Industry Reactions

This string of bankruptcies in the boat selling industry signals potential instability and prompts a reevaluation of financial strategies within the sector. It also raises questions about the broader economic factors at play, including shifts in consumer confidence and spending in luxury goods like boats.Amidst these challenging times, other players in the industry have been quick to distance themselves from troubled companies.

Malibu Boats, a former dealer partner of Tommy’s, has publicly stated their intention to vigorously defend against claims made by Tommy’s following their severed business relationship. This legal stance not only highlights the strains within industry partnerships but also reflects the contentious environment as businesses strive to mitigate risks associated with financial instability.

Tommy’s was formerly a longtime dealer partner of ours, and we ended our relationship due to concerns about Tommy’s own conduct and its financial soundness.

Navigating Uncertain Waters

As the legal proceedings continue, with Tommy’s Boats’ Chapter 11 filing providing an automatic stay on all current legal proceedings, there remains a glimmer of hope for some creditors. However, the broader implications of these bankruptcies resonate through the industry, indicating a turbulent period ahead for boat dealers and manufacturers alike.

This series of financial failures within the boating industry underscores the need for robust financial strategies and perhaps a more cautious approach to expansion and debt management. As the industry navigates these choppy waters, stakeholders from manufacturers to customers will be watching closely, hoping for a stabilization that will allow them to once again set sail toward growth and profitability.

No injuries after boat catches fire on Douglas Lake, Dandridge fire says

Officials said the fire happened saturday around 2 p.m..

DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Dandridge Fire Department said it responded to a boat fire Saturday afternoon on Douglas Lake.

Officials said the fire happened around 2 p.m. and involved a boat on the lake near Sunbeam Lane.

While there was a “possible explosion” on the boat that made it catch fire, officials said there weren’t any injuries reported.

Copyright 2024 WVLT. All rights reserved.

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The X-312 is no longer in production. To see an overview of the current range please visit the Yachts page. You can also visit the overview of Previous X-Yachts Models .

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8 taken to hospital after airboat crash in Central Florida

• Caroline Catherman Orlando Sentinel (TNS)

Eight people were taken to a hospital Friday morning after an airboat crashed in Kissimmee.

There were 11 people on the boat and all were in stable condition, Osceola County Fire Rescue spokesperson Joshua Holder said.

The crash took place in Lake Tohopekaliga when the boat struck a sandbar in a canal by Neptune Road near Partin Triangle Park, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said there were only two people with minor injuries from the impact and everyone on board had lifesaving devices but did not elaborate further.

The Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are investigating the incident.

©2024 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.

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Michael McDonald, Silken-Voiced Yacht-Rock Icon, Talks About Writing His Life Story With Paul Reiser (Yes, That Paul Reiser)

By Jason Diamond

Everybody is always a little late to a Zoom interview, so I’m shocked when I log on five minutes early to make sure everything is kosher and see Michael McDonald sitting there patiently, white beard matching his slicked-back head of white hair. He’s 72 and wears it well. He sounds good, too—like it hasn’t been decades since he sang “Takin’ It to the Streets” with the Doobie Brothers, or the floating-down-from-a-cloud backing vocals on Steely Dan’s “Peg.” Once you hear his voice, it’s in your head forever. To steal one from an old Saturday Night Live sketch, it’s like buttah . Blue-eyed soul that melts your inner core, undoubtedly the soundtrack to the conception of thousands of babies over the years. You have to be confident to have a voice like that, but McDonald is polite and soft-spoken when I thank him for dialling in before I did.

“I always figure it’s best to start early,” he says, “because I never know how to figure out these things, getting on Zoom and all that.”

McDonald is here to talk about his new memoir, What a Fool Believes , named for the 1979 Doobie Brothers hit. The book, which he co-wrote with Paul Reiser—yes, the Paul Reiser , more on this in a moment—isn’t your typical Yeah, we trashed a few hotel rooms and banged some groupies, but then things changed… kind of rock-star autobiography. It’s deeper than that, more honest, light on the bravado. It begins way back when, long before the Doobies and Steely Dan, with McDonald recounting his early days as a rock and soul-obsessed kid from the St. Louis suburbs. It was the early 1960s; regional garage-band scenes were popping up all over the country. Guys who’d watched how Brits like the Beatles and the Stones made girls scream and cry and decided they wanted to do that . Usually that was their first reference: John and Paul and Mick and Keef , not the blues and soul the Brits were borrowing from. But McDonald was a little different. He was an explorer. He got so deep into music that there was no getting out, and that’s what we were starting to talk about when his coauthor logged on.

Paul Reiser : How are you doing, Michael?

Michael McDonald : Good. I was doing better until I saw the full screen. I’m like the poster boy for liver spots.

Reiser : No. You look remarkably healthy.

GQ: Yeah, your hair is perfect. So tell me how you guys met.

Reiser : I’ve got a picture of Mike with my kids, so it's got to be 15 years maybe. Mike was performing at this private event that I was invited to and I walked in and went, Holy shit. Michael McDonald is the entertainment? That's pretty cool . And then I went over and said hello and told him what a big fan I was. Then, in a jolt of moxie that I don't always have, I told him I live 40 feet from here, and I have a music studio with two pianos just in case something like this ever occurred. You want to come over and play? And, God bless him…

McDonald : …I said, yeah, sure . So we sat and played and that was where it all started. I was very familiar with Paul's work and I was pleasantly surprised that he was a fan of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, and so we hit it off right away just talking about music. Then we literally walked across the driveway to his house, and there are these two grand pianos. We were sitting there playing our favorite Beatles songs and our discussions were fun because I don't normally get to talk to people about things like all the great bridges from Beatles songs. There was an era of Beatles songs, like from the Something New album to Beatles VI , where all their songs had these great bridges , and I was always amazed by that. So we were sitting around picking out the bridges from different Beatles songs and just really having fun the way that only two people who are that neurotic about Beatles songs can have, I guess.

I’ll be honest and say maybe eight times out of ten, I hate music memoirs because they feel like they’re just there to sort of boost the faded legacy of a musician. But you guys did such a great job with this. One thing that stood out is how honest you were, Michael, about what you say was a “subconscious resentment towards women” when you were younger. That struck me, because a lot of male musicians from your era tend to revel in the macho antics of their younger years. What made you want to discuss that?

McDonald : I don't know what I thought it would explain, to be honest with you, but I thought it was somehow a bit of insight. We threw a lot of stuff against the wall. Paul interviewed me for a month before we even did this and we then transcribed all these interviews. So he's worked a lot harder on this book than I have, but we talked about the certain things that should stay and shouldn't stay and that was one of 'em. And I think we both felt it was important. It was some kind of insight into all that would take place later in my life, it has been an issue for me in relationships throughout my growing up period and my adulthood. So I didn't have to dig too deep. It was not like a shrink session.

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Reiser : Mike has done so much exploration and understanding of his life, which is why it's great that he decided to do this book now as opposed to 10 or 20 years ago. I think there's a vantage point that he has of who he is and how he got here, which is really what the book is about. But if there's one thing I can say about Michael McDonald it’s that he's remarkably honest and humble, but also forthcoming. He owns every piece of his life that he can. So it didn't take a lot of excavation. It was two of us talking on Zoom and he was just sharing this stuff. I was a big fan of Mike’s, and the reason I first said “You should write a book” to him was because I really wanted to read it. I didn’t know his story. I love his music, but I really know very little about him, and now I do.

Paul, people know you from your standup career, from Mad About You, or as the author of a few best-selling books of your own, but two of my favorite things you’ve done as an actor are Barry Levinson’s 1982 film Diner and the Amazon series Red Oaks . And a thing about those projects was you were interpreting another person’s nostalgia as an actor. Here, you’re doing something similar by taking Michael’s memories and shaping them into a story. How did you approach doing this project?

Reiser : We approached it thinking, This might be the dumbest idea in the world or it might be fun . I would periodically ask Mike questions, about Steely Dan or the Doobies and how he went from one thing to the other. And at one point I jokingly said You should write a book, so I didn’t have to ask you all the questions . He said people had mentioned that to him, but he didn’t know if there was a story there or how to do it. And that's when I said, well, let's just do this .

I had no approach and I had no tone that I was going for; I was just asking genuine questions that I was curious about, and Mike was sharing everything that came up. A lot of the stories ended up not being used because they weren’t really about Mike. He’d go, I'll tell you a funny thing that happened to my friend . I’d say, Well, that's great. That goes in his book . That's not your book . This is Mike's story. I didn't write it. These are all verbatim Mike's stories. Mike's laying himself bare, and all I did was sometimes pull it out of him a little more or ask him to go deeper or explain and then just sort of help organize the material. But it's not a book I wrote— it's just Mike's book that I was honored to and flattered that he let me help him walk through it.

McDonald shakes hands with Peter Frampton onstage at the Oakland Coliseum, 1977

The book shows Michael’s rise from local garage bands playing parties to a band like the Del-Rays who put out a single on Stax, then session work, and eventually bands like the Doobies and later the solo success. It made me think of the old-school rock journeyman thing other guys of your generation like Bob Seger or Glenn Frey did before they found success. I haven’t seen many books that really focus on that part of a career as much as you did. Why was it so important to focus so much on that era?

McDonald : I think it was what Paul was saying, how a lot of the times I would say, Oh, I think this is a great story to tell , and I was fortunate to have Paul, with his ability as a writer, to look at something and go, Here's your story right here . All this other stuff, you're repeating yourself because you think this is important. And you keep repeating it like you think that reader is an idiot . It was really in the organization and editing that we did along the way that the story came together. That was the expertise I was able to tap into with Paul.

Reiser : One of the reasons I think this book is resonating with people and one of the reasons I think we're both proud of it is it works on a couple of levels. There are not a lot of artists who have the scale and the scope of Mike's career, from playing church basements in St. Louis to rock festivals and then to all his success to arenas and then his solo career. So there is a story there, and that, as the French would say, dayenu —that would've been enough just to have this chronology of rock and roll and rock and the L.A. music scene in the seventies that nobody knows better than Mike McDonald. But along the way, out of excavating these stories is this arc of Mike the person and his very unique, distinctive childhood and musical influences. His dad and his family, the St. Louis music scene, his journey through alcohol and drugs; Mike finding himself and finding Amy and finding his center in light. So they kind of work in dovetail together. You're getting all the nuts and bolts. I think anybody who wants a really accurate and detailed telling of pop history from the ‘70s to now, it's in this book. But what really carries it is this guy and how his personality really comes out. I think that's a testament to how honest and open Mike was with sharing everything.

McDonald : I think the message is a universal one; it’s about the randomness of life and how miraculously sometimes we just skirt the disaster right and left. You don't realize that life is really not made up of our choices; it’s made up of random events and the amount of providence that we're blessed with along the way. And many times it flies in the face of our own actions.

Reiser : If you trace Mike's trajectory, it's like, okay, the Doobie Brothers came because of Steely Dan, and Steely Dan came because of how a guy that he played with once called him a year later and said, Hey, can you come down right now and try out ? And Mike just jumped in his Pinto and had no time to prepare, and after five hours of what became a rehearsal period, Mike was never told he was in the band. Okay, well now you're in Steely Dan. So to me, that checks both boxes. It's like that's how rock history happens. The guy says, can you come down and put your Wurlitzer in the Pinto and get over here? The next thing you know, you're in Europe backing up Steely Dan, and then you're back in Glendale playing a bar to 12 people. And then you get another call, and now you're in the Doobie Brothers. Is that how it happens? Yeah, that's how it happens. There was no curriculum that you could sign on to join the Doobies: You got a phone call and then because you have Mike's skills and unique talent, you’re in.

McDonald with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines on the set of McDonald's “Sweet Freedom" video, 1986

Something that might get overlooked is how much comedy and music have in common. The endless touring, the small clubs, the hecklers. Were there times where you guys were discussing your paths and you realized your stories have a lot in common?

Reiser : Yeah. It was like we had hecklers and we both had a couple of stories about terrible audiences we were sharing, and out of that came some of the stories in the book about opening for Cher in France, then hearing a whistle and going, I think they like us. No, they're telling us to get the fuck off the stage . So we all have our nightmare stories and to me those are the most fun parts. And as a comedian, I remember whenever there was a horrendous night—and there were nights that were just terrible—in the back of your head, you're thinking This will be a good story . It's a terrible night, but this will be a funny story later.

McDonald : Microcosm of life right there. I think comedians have it worse, though, because they have to have the audience’s attention. Musicians can get away with it because people largely ignore them in lounges and places like that.

And people tend to be drunk at comedy shows; they’re usually on more drugs at concerts. Paul, I know you’ve talked in the past about how comedy records were so important to you growing up, but you were also a musician, so you appreciate both forms. Michael, were there any comedy records you liked back in the day?

McDonald: I remember one record we used to get stoned and listen to. It wasn't a comedy record, but it was Jack Webb reciting poetry and it was so great. The cover was him, those little thin ties, the real stern look on his face, just like Dragnet . And pretty much his delivery of the poems was not too different from the way his dialogue was on TV.

McDonald with Danielle Spencer and the Doobie Brothers' Tiran Porter on the set of What's Happening!! , 1978

Was there a lot of overlap with comedy in your early days? Albert Brooks and Richard Pryor and George Carlin were playing in some of the same clubs. Maybe Cheech and Chong ?

McDonald : We didn't play with those guys, but we went to their club. We were kind of scheduled to do the second Up in Smoke movie with them. They had a club up in Vancouver where they would try out new material, and they were both loaded that night, and it ended up being one of those nights that went on and on. It was fun to watch. I remember when we did Saturday Night Live once, we went to a party after at this warehouse in Manhattan, maybe Lower Manhattan, where the guys rented the place out, always had a fully-stocked bar, and after every episode, they would go and hang there.

The Blues Bar? Aykroyd and Belushi’s place?

McDonald : Yeah. That was a riot. Seeing comics after the show, that can be a really interesting character study, especially if there's a little alcohol involved. It gets pretty crazy. I remember Bill Murray trying to moon us while we were leaving. He fell down and started rolling down the street.

Did you open for a lot of bands, Paul?

Reiser: Not a lot. My first real gig was at the Bottom Line where I opened for Buddy Rich—which was not a particularly salient pairing, but it was fine. But I did a couple of short tours with the Pointer Sisters, and opened for Melissa Manchester. That was a more civil crowd. I can't remember too many more than that. But yeah, you open for bands, a local band sometimes. It was usually tough. It's like you just couldn't wait to get the check and get out of there.

Since we talked about early bands, Paul, is there an old garage band of yours that will have an old single dug up and reissued at some point?

Reiser: Oh, I hope not. I had a band—the Upper Deck was the name. We were very big in my building, and we were 12, 13, 14. And then about five years ago, we decided to all get together again. Everybody came out to L.A. and we played in the room where Mike and I first played, and I was very tickled to see that in 50 years time we had gotten no better and actually got a little bit worse. We played “Gloria,” and a couple of Traffic songs. We were just really bad. Luckily, there were no recordings made.

Michael, you worked with Steely Dan’s Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, two of the most famously obsessive musicians of the modern era. How does working with Paul Reiser compare? Who cracks the whip more?

McDonald : [laughing] Paul’s much nicer to me.