Hello from Minnesota

[MalawiMD]

Hi everyone,

I am new to sailing. In fact, I have only sailed once on a sunfish, and that time I had to be fished out of the water. So I just bought a small 9' hobie holder hawk. I was planning on taking it out in the next few days.

I have a couple of questions too. I want to replace my lines since they are a bit worn. Can I just use rope from walmart (nylon or polypro utility rope)? Also, is there a forum section for small sail boats?

Thanks

[Charlie]

Hello MalaiMD:

Welcome to the forum. There are a copule of answers to your question. One is yes you can replace with polypro or walmart line but they are going to be very stretchy and this will harm your sailing performance.

two is no you can't do it. You don't pay the extra cost that we all have to pay when you put marine in the name.

three If it were me I would tend to use an inexpensive line like Samson LS or any other generic double braid lines preferably color coded so that when you have guests on board you can say grab the red line or let go of the green line.

[Sunspot Baby]

With a 9' Holder, you're not going to have guests aboard. Nylon is stretchy Dacron is not. Dacron is a brand name for polyester. Do not buy polypropylene. It stretches a LOT, is hard on the hands and breaks down from UV too quickly.

I had a Holder 12. Cheap line is OK if you’re just dinking around the lake.

Get out on the water and have fun. The stretchiness of your lines is low on your list of things to learn. If you become a competitive dinghy racer, than go with the high price stuff.

George

[Pblais]

So where in MN are you located. I lived in the Twin Cities for 28 years. Started sailing there too. Lots of good die hard MN sailors.

Also, is there a forum section for small sail boats?

Well we thought about it and in the end there is always a boat bigger than any one here owns. So in relative terms we all sail small boats. Some are just bigger than others. Having a small boat is no less sailing than a bigger boat. Even those with large boats still recall the fun of a small one. I sure do. You should know we all would like to do it again.

As far as line goes you may find that thin good line isn't much more than thick Walmart rope. You don't need that much. It's the Ultra Violet light that destroys line. Salt water isn't a friendly but you won't be seeing much salt in your water. Enjoy yourself! Sailing season in MN is about to begin!

Welcome to the forum and if you look around the forum sections and try to find the right category you'll be fine. We will help you get things right. we can move messages to where they belong. We have magic tools for such things. We can not perform marriages or restore hair - so don't ask. Other than that most sailing topics are fair game.

[swagman]

G'day and welcome to the site,
Hope you find it as useful as we do!
Cheers
JOHN

[Steve Rust]

Hello MalawiMD and fellow Minnesotan
Where are you at? I sail Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis with my daysailor quite a bit. If you are in the neighborhood look for the boat with the black hull/white deck. There is only one.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Malawi,
Welcome aboard!! Hope you enjoy the forum. I was going to tell you that Steve was from MN but he's already introduced himself. Happy summer sailing.
Kind Regards,
JohnL