Low hours sailor

[TurninTurtle]

Intermittent sailing mostly on Sunfish and similar with a few times on up to appx 21 ft sloop/fractional sloop boats and once on a 28 ft (mostly spectating on the last one)

Just getting back into sailing and knowing I have to work my way back up in skills. My few outings on a MiniFish (almost a Sunfish) this year have gone well and I've purchased a Vagabond 14 in great condition.

First thing I'm doing to the Vagabond is rigging a set of preventer lines.

Lots of experience with fiberglassing, woodwork and general mechanical stuff, plus a creative streak for solving problems. I tend to look for the least expensive solutions first.

Local lakes are a bit small for boats larger than 18 ft, but there are quite a few live-aboard sailboats that have been tied up at the piers for 10+ years and never move.

I'll be self-instructing due to budget... and I'm pretty well aware of my current skill level, so I'll stick to light winds for a while.

I'm a firm believer that if its under 40 ft and not tied to the pier, EVERYONE wears a life jacket.

I have a friend who was on the "Dive Rescue Team" and it was never a rescue. They just can't have divers suited up and stationed every half mile along the lake shore, which is what it would take for them to actually have a good chance of bringing you up alive.

I may be paranoid, but that doesn't mean that wet stuff isn't trying to kill me.

[captjcook]

I think for gaining sailing experience, you are doing fine. I do not see a solid question to be answered though.



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[TurninTurtle]

Meets & Greets

Just saying hi.

[captjcook]

Welcome to CF!

Sorry, hard to see the category on my iPad!


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[John_Trusty]

Welcome to the forum "Turnin" - Hope you don't live up to your user handle! Where are you physically, more or less (we do not need your address!). You talk about small lakes in the US, but that could be cold weather or all year sailing. The more you post on your profile, the more specific your answers or offers to help.

[TurninTurtle]

Flipping the Sunfish used to be my favorite part of sailing

[StuM]

Nice to see you've put your location in your profile. But this is an international forum. "Lake Belton" isn't much help to us furriners who don't even know what country you are in.

[TurninTurtle]

only people within 100 miles will know where it is.

Still editing

[TurninTurtle]

Got the Vagabond on the lake today. Seems I didn't forget how to operate a fractional sloop.

Fiddled around for 1 hour stepping the mast and preparing for launch.

Didn't get the preventer rigged yet. I need to drill for the foredeck connecting points.

Almost 2 hours of sailing in appx 5 to 7 mph variable direction winds. Tried to do a wing on wing run and got an accidental jibe for my troubles. Caught the boom and stopped it by hand (winds that light)

I practiced lowering and raising the sails out in the middle of the lake a couple of times & found that I want a way to haul the jib down for approaching the dock. It is annoying to need to climb on the foredeck to get it down.
I think paracord and a light block will do the job. Run the line back to a cleat beside the daggerboard.

And it needs a vang. It didn't even have a downhaul on the gooseneck.