never sailed before.

[jcordine]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

I think you need to do your own due diligence. Go to the lake. Find out for yourself where the marina is located. Get some sailing lessons and read about the different boats you're sailing before you rush out to buy your first boat.

Good advice, thanks. I went and looked at the 25 ft Mcgreger. It wasn't in good shape and the trailer was scary. I went over to Pa. and bought a 22 foot that is fully equipped, new rigging, good sails.
On to another question. The boat has a storm and regular gib.
It also has a spinnaker and a genoa.
I am going to raise the sails in the back yard today but it appears that a genoa is
going to be quite large. (I laid them out on the ground for inspection before I bought). How and when is a sail like this useful? It looks to me that tacking with this will be a problem.

[Paul Annapolis]

Dear Hoosier You have gotten generally excellent advice on here--except for the "My water ballast is bigger than your water ballast" type of comments so often found here..unfortunately. I was going to suggest you not a boat right away unless you have a lot of time and are not worried about all that might be involved. However, if you do or did (which it appears to be) just take good care of it and enjoy it as much as possible. You can get into sailing in a half serious sort of way or go for it 100%--like anything else. Lake sailing io small boats can be a great way to start. I sailed on Eagle Reservoir near Indianapolis and a massive squall blew in quickly--so even on a lake on a summer day far inland things can "happen." But don't fret over this make or that model and all you'll end up getting here are mainly a bunch of hffy puffyopinions about why this boat sucks or that one sucks or this one is great. Read online reviews--especially those in Practical Sailor or from the late naval architect Jack Hornor. But just get the basics down, have fun and be cautious but unlike one member who suggested you don't need lessons and should just go for it...I say no way. Get lessons. Pay for quality instruction. It will save you money, hassle and disappointment in the long run and keep you safer. But beware of spurious and haughty commenters who offer little but close-minded opinions with the attitude that they know it all. Basic sailing skills are fairly easy to attain. Basic sailing books will help a lot but then the learning curve rises sharply. Have fun and be safe and be cool.

[Horror Hotel]

No lessons, go for it!
Paul that's the best advice I've seen you give someone here on CF. If only you would stop trashing on the Macgreror line of boats, super safe and sail like a Catalina 30.

[jcordine]

The boat I have is a swing keel. No water ballast. I am cleaning it up this morning and
plan to float it this afternoon to check for leaks. This is just going to be my practice boat to get my feet wet. I will be checking on lessons because there is a lot more to boating than just making the boat go. I have a 5 horse outboard that came with the boat but I really don't want the noise or hassle with dealing with a gas motor. I have an electric trolling motor (45pound thrust). I will see if this will push the boat for docking purposes. A bigger boat after I am comfortable with this endeavor.

[Paul Annapolis]

Hey Horror--if you really looked you'd see that I have tried many times to offer helpful advice here but I have not said a word about a Catalina or McGregor--you have me confused. As for jcordine--just take it slow and easy. have fun. Don't push things. The outboard is not too important. Take an oar and learn to scull a small boat if all else fails. Nowadays with ethanol, so many outboards have problems. Being mechanically inclined is half the battle of boat ownership. Water ballast is quiterare-don't even bother thinking about such things. And just use this boat before you think about a larger one. There are so many out there. The key will be deciding what you want to do with your boat and where--not what kind of boat at this point.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by jcordine

...I have a 5 horse outboard that came with the boat but I really don't want the noise or hassle with dealing with a gas motor. I have an electric trolling motor (45pound thrust). I will see if this will push the boat for docking purposes...

Forgetaboutit.

[DSDman]

For what you want to do after you retire the sailing part is the easy part. Learn navigation, route planning, boat repair, systems maintenance and most importantly life style modification. I just sold my boat and only owned it for a couple of years but my learning curve was steep. My experience was this and I will probably do this again on my next boat. I will get the biggest boat I can afford and handle and go from there. To the tune of baby got back from sir mix a lot.
I like big boats, and I can not lie... All you other sailors can't deny... That when a ship sails in with a long tall mast and sticks that full keel in your face..you get sprung!

Sent from my XT1030 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Raider Curt]

Originally Posted by DSDman

For what you want to do after you retire the sailing part is the easy part. Learn navigation, route planning, boat repair, systems maintenance and most importantly life style modification. I just sold my boat and only owned it for a couple of years but my learning curve was steep. My experience was this and I will probably do this again on my next boat. I will get the biggest boat I can afford and handle and go from there. To the tune of baby got back from sir mix a lot.
I like big boats, and I can not lie... All you other sailors can't deny... That when a ship sails in with a long tall mast and sticks that full keel in your face..you get sprung!

Sent from my XT1030 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Word, My Homey, lol