Any "sailors" out there?

[dakk1]

Where are you guys? I sail a 18' Sunburst, even turned it over in Perdido Bay during the Shrimp festival once. Boy was that cold! Had to get a Samaritan with a Motor to tow me back to the launch. Yes, I have an Iron Beast (Merc 150) on a Fish and Ski, but sailing is my first love. Any "sailors" out there? If so, what do you sail and where?

 

[Swannie]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Hi, I am reasonably new to sailing (22 months). I bought a Catalina 250 then and absolutely love it. I was a complete novice but have learned a lot reading books, and recently took an intermediate course to ensure I was doing everything correctly. I live in Melbourne, Australia and sail on Port Philip Bay, an area of approx. 1000 square miles with a narrow entrance to the ocean.<br />In March a group of 5 of us took a flight to the Whitsunday Islands where we rented a 47' Beneteau. That was great. My wife and I now plan that we will retire up there when the time comes.<br />Happy Sailing!

 

[carman]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Okay, I'll bite. I sail San Francisco Bay and have done some trans-Pac. Small boats are what I can afford and like to sail. Currently own and am restoring a Balboa 16. I'm available for chat-back but one of the better forums for that is puddleducks.com if you're a small boat sailor. The folks there are all about building and fixing things on their own so there's lots of how-to shop talk there. Most of them are lake sailors but they still give good advice to each other.<br />Anything special you wanted to talk about?

 

[dakk1]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Hey Swannie<br /><br />I learned sailing pretty much the same way you have. Read a lot of books, bought a small sail boat and took off. Made a lot of mistakes but nothing serious. Just looked foolish a few times. At least you are from an area where there are a lot of sailors. Alabama doesn't have that many.<br /><br />Carman, Didn't want to talk about anything special. I know there are forums specifically for small boat sailors. I spend a lot of time on the Outboard Engine forum. I am restoring a boat and motor. I noticed this sailing forum wasn't getting many hits and just wondered if there were people like me who have both a motor boat and a sail boat.

 

[flashback]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

I asked the same question when I first found this forum. Bout all I can say is no, it is not very active for sailor's. but I find it very active for power.............

 

[Brewer Marine Electric]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Went sailing today on Lake Martin (Windcreek State Park) Alabama. Not much wind but had a great time on my 12' Oday Super Swift.Also have a 15'Glastron W/65 Johnson but is being sold this week. I'm in the power boat business (Remanufacturing starters, trim motors & misc. marine elec. motors) but sailing is what I would rather be doing. <br />I'm still learning and have many questions, and as you already know, not many sailors in this neighborhood. I live in Sylacauga, Alabama by the way !

 

[dakk1]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Hey Mark<br /><br />Great to hear from you. Yeah, the lakes around here are not ideal for sailing. Winds are kinda flukey and not much room in most of them. Logan Martin is OK. Couple of wide spots there. Smith seems too narrow. Man, I haven't been to Windcreek in a long time. Camped in the State Park there a couple of times with an old girl friend and her family. Nice.<br />I usually take the sail boat to Gulf Shores every summer but will be taking the power boat this year, I hope. List of things to do is long and plan on going for July 4th. Happy sailing!

 

[sloopy]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

I sail sloops (NAME!) I sail every day in the summer and enjoy refurbishing my boat

 

[dakk1]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

That's cool Sloopy! What could be better than spending the summer sailing every day? I think if my wife gets just one more raise maybe I can go sailing everyday. NOT!

 

[pmueller]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

I'd like to get back into it. We (the bride and I) had a Hobie 16 prior to kids. Sold it due to lack of use. We now have a place on a large, shallow inland lake. Haven't been too agressive looking, but thinking about a 14' cat. Something that we can easily lift over a sea wall and sail alone...used 14' Hobies are hard to find around here...anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Beginning sailor. Just bought a Columbia 26. In Southern California. <br /><br />Been around boats since I was a kid. Used to have an old runabout on the Hudson.<br /><br />Worked on a real Sternwheeler back in the college days. Won a national collegiate rowing title.<br /><br />Love being around most boaters, and the water in general.<br /><br />I hate boaters that don't understand "no wake zones", and lack common sense and courtesy.

 

[dakk1]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Hey Pj57. Those Hobies are really fast. I watch 'em fly down on Little Lagoon in Gulf Shores. They can run circles around me. I saw a Hobie 14 on E-bay today. The location was Grosse Ile, Michigan. Don't know how far you are from there. Good Luck.<br /><br />Kilgore. Starting out with a Columbia 26. Nice first sail boat. You must be living right!

 

[Doug Watson]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

I bought an RK20. I just received a knee injury thats going to keep me down for 2+ months. Going to sail on Cave Run Lake in Kentucky

 

[dakk1]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Wacky<br /><br />I did a Webferret search on RK20 and couldn't find anything. Just wanted to see what one looked like. I assume it's a 20' something? Post a link or something if you know of one.

 

[vaccfam]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

I guess there are not many sailors on this site. I have a 1983 MacGregor 25 that I sail on a small lake in PA. First boat of any kind I've owned.<br /><br />Learned alot by trial and error this summer and alot from the forums.<br /><br />Mike<br /><br />Ps: finally got a picture uploaded of "Acushla"<br /><br />

 

[plywoody]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

I learned to sail when my roomate in college needed a crew to sail competitively at Western Wash University in Bellingham, Wa. We sailed Sea Larks in Lake Whatcom, and just had a blast. Got to compete all over the west coast. Lake Whatcom was my favorite, and we did best there, as we learned the wind patterns on the lake. It is a lake in the foothills of the Cascade mountains, and the winds would swirl around and the direction could change 20-30 degrees or more depending on where you were on the lake.<br />If you can sail a small boat in that environment, with winds changing so much so quickly, you can sail anything anywhere.<br /><br />Competitive sailing is lots of fun, but if you are serious it is very intense, and not very relaxing.<br /><br />Sailed a 16' Tanzer for a long time on a small lake in Northern Ontario, and it was fun, but had to sell it when I moved, and would like to replace it when I can with another small boat--in addition, of course, to my power boat.

 

[Columbia]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Been sailing for over 35 years. Just sold my Freedom 25. I've had a sailboat with some kind of accomodation almost all my adult life. That's been somewhat due to insecurity and being a bit of a ne'er do well. I always figured it was better to be a Yachtsman than be homeless. Fine line there at best... I've owned several boats in the 20-30 foot range, built or finished out a few boats...see pic of my old Benford 22 in better days and Freedom 25 I just sold last week.

 

[Curzon]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

The only stink boats I drive are those owned by the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association. My first love is sailing! Always has been ... since I was a toddler. Now own a Hartley TS16 trailer sailer which I bought almost as a basket case. I've spent the past 2 years restoring her and have recently put her back in the water under sail. Have had a minor glitch (last weekend) ... beating back up the Tweed River in a fairly stiff NNE and suddenly the starboard shroud let go and the mast went by the board. That'll teach me for cutting a corner and reusing an old fitting 'cos I was getting impatient to go sailing!Oh well ... now I have to lose a couple of inches from the torn mast base and refit everything! What is it they say? ... "Owning a boat is like standing under a cold shower whilst tearing up $100 bills"<br />I don't care ... all I know is that I am hooked on the feeling I get when I put my hand on the helm and feel the energy and life of my yacht coming through her hull and tiller. She lives, she breathes, and I know I never want to lose that feeling as long as I live.

 

[Columbia]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

I had a Hartley TS 16 for a couple of years. We sailed it all around and it was a sweet boat. We bought a bigger boat due to family size but I always remember the Hartley's big boat feel.

 

[About Time]

Re: Any "sailors" out there?

Hello Sailors, I just found this site and am glad to see that it's not just motor boaters that use it. Nothing against them, I just like the peace and quiet of nothing but the wind in the sails and water lapping against the hull. I've currently upgraded from my first sailboat ( a Venture/Newport 23 ) to a Hunter 27. I sail on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, primarily in the sounds and occasionally in the ocean when I feel brave. I hope to do that more often since I now have a larger boat. I look forward to hearing from any of you out there. Dean