Recommended boats (research for a fiction story)

[Snore]

Originally Posted by Bash

I'm sorry, that's not possible. When there are two boats on the water, it's a race, even when they claim to be cruisers who don't care how fast they're going.

Trust me on this one. It's a race. If it's not a race, they're not sailors.

+1 be it kayaking or sailing... But two boats in sight of each other, add testosterone and they will be racing. Make it a multi-day event and they will figure out ways to get ahead in the darkness.....

Like Bash said.... Trust me

[Bash]

Originally Posted by downunder

They just might be cruisers.

I'm having a hard time picturing it. Communists, maybe? Ballet dancers? Hobbits? Aliens from another planet?

[mimstrel]

Well, sure, if you want to look at it that way... it's a race. But if you're not going into it thinking about the fact that you're going to be racing, (or even if you are!) other things are going to determine what boat each individual buys. Money and availability, in particular. Or if one person just happens upon a boat that they just fall irrationally in love with.
My thought is that my male main character, Rob, will wind up with the faster boat... and the female main character, Gemma, will fall in love with something. But she's bolder and more skilled.

[hellosailor]

Either your characters are really rich, or their choices will all be budget constrained.

James Patterson co-authored a book "SAIL" a couple of years ago, badly embarassed himself on wrong details.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by mimstrel

Or if one person just happens upon a boat that they just fall irrationally in love with.
.

Okay. I get it. If you want one of the characters to fall irrationally in love with an affordable boat, it would probably be with a Cal 40.

[mimstrel]

Originally Posted by Snore

... add testosterone...

Ah, well... testosterone. Impairing the judgment of males everywhere.

I don't have that problem. I can be competitive, sure... and kayaking is one of the few times that I can hold my own against my Brotherling. Which is why he won't race me: who wants to be beat by a girl?


hellosailor - this book isn't one that I intend to attempt to publish. It's practice for me to write a different type of story than I usually do, and practice arcing a story. I've got two novel-length drafts right now that I'm trying to beat into "submit for publication" shape (and I try to keep hopeful but realistic about the chances of actual publication), and that's enough for now. So, while I do intend to get as many details right as possible (and some of what I learn may work its way into other stories, or be useful later in life)... screwing up some details won't be an embarrassment.

[Wanderlust]

How about a Sparkman and Stephens (S&S 34) for at least one of them?

This particular design was chosen by both Jesse Martin and Jessica Watson for their solo trips around the world.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by mimstrel

Ah, well... testosterone. Impairing the judgment of males everywhere.

I don't have that problem. I can be competitive, sure... and kayaking is one of the few times that I can hold my own

.

Having done more than a few WaterTribe races, including the circumnavigation of Florida race, I firmly feel there are some women with higher T levels than some males I've met!!!

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by mimstrel

Lake Davenport is about a 45 minute drive from me, and that's the closest place with sailing. Money is short, there isn't any at the moment to throw at learning to sail.

Well, that's better than "Iowa is not a big sailing region," but it's still just an excuse.

Again, I learned to sail in Nebraska, and it didn't cost me anything. Discovered that I had a friend who sailed Lasers. Went with him to the sailing club where they had weekly races. First visit, found that there were several people with larger boats who needed someone to crew for them. Et voila! With no experience at all, and not a penny spent, I was out sailing.

Sure, I was just a winch-monkey at first. Still, I was out sailing. And pretty soon I started learning the lingo, and figuring out what was going on, and before too long someone let me take the helm, and the rest--as they say--is history.

Now, if you don't really WANT to learn to sail right now, that's fine. I understand. Not everyone has to be a sailor. In fact, I thank God that not everyone wants to, or can be, a sailor. But if you really do want to learn, then it is neither difficult, nor expensive, nor are you in the wrong place for it. You just have to make the effort. It's up to you.

And good luck with your novel. I've made a bit of money over the years writing and selling non-fiction. I've always been tempted to try fiction, but just never got around to it. Excuses, excuses.

[mimstrel]

It's hard to imagine this summer, when I will theoretically have both free time and enough money to pay for gas to drive to the quad cities. The fact is that no matter how much I WANT to go to the QC (and most of my friends live there, so I'd prefer to spend a lot more time up there), right now there are things that I HAVE to spend my time and money on.

Fortunately, right now, it's freaking cold out. I don't mind cold weather, but I try to stay out of the icy-cold water unless I have good reason.


Anyways... back to my original question on this thread. I'm kind of narrowing things down slowly. I don't want to deal with a centerboard on either boat, though I have an academic understanding of how they function. I'm sticking to sloops only.
I kind of like the Cal 40 for Rob. I like the design of the Hinckley 41 for Gemma but I feel like those are a little outside her price range.

[Khagan1227]

I'm with Bash on this one, even if one is out-classed (by boat or skills)they will end up racing, even if the prize is a free beer.

There are plenty of websites, blogs and videos on youtube to help you get the finer points correct.

If your characters aren't well heeled, making money to pay for the trip could be an adventure all in itself. Additionally, many people on limited budgets who cruise are very inventive on making repairs to their boats.

You characters sound like my girlfriend and myself in college, except she had the sailing skills and love of sailing, I only learned to sail to be around her.

[sww914]

Truly, nobody ever saw another boat sailing nearby and said to themselves "I wanna go SLOWER than them".

[robert sailor]

Ah very true but some of you have no choice!

[nolandinsight]

Originally Posted by mimstrel

I like the design of the Hinckley 41 for Gemma but I feel like those are a little outside her price range.

If Gemma would work well in the Hinckley, give her the Hinckley. You're a writer. Make it interesting enough and no one will care how believable it is.

[mimstrel]

Well, I decided to give Rob a surplus of money in the form of a trust (I currently work at a law office that deals with a lot of estates and trusts... in Rob's case his parents set up a general "until our kids reach the age of X" trust in their wills so Rob gets final distribution at 25). Gemma has been living frugally and making decent money at her current job (she does computer stuff similar to my brother - logistical programing) but she's still going to come up short on funding. Rob would buy her the boat, but I can't see her accepting without a fight... and she's a LOT more stubborn than he is. Eh, I'll figure something out.

In college I took up rock climbing and SCUBA diving, spent a summer working as a cave guide in Alaska... sadly most of my friends are not terribly adventurous. Gemma and Rob stem from a running joke with my one adventurous friend (who lives too far away for us to get together regularly), that "if we don't land our dream jobs, we'll just start an eco-tourism business." We first came up with that plan after he learned to sail, and I'd just learned to SCUBA dive, and it was a good diversion from the reality of "holy crap, I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up... and now I'm grown up..." even if it wasn't very realistic.