New Sailor, some Questions for you

[JPA Cate]

PhaseSpace,

If you want proper copies of Mike's blueprints, I'd suggest you pay for him to have them copied for you in an architects' office that has a big copier, and ship them to you. And send him a nice gift, if he's willing to do all that.

Ann

[PhaseSpace]

Hi Ann, you read my mind! I was just thinking about that this morning.

Mike, is there a print shop near you? They normally have high resolution cameras that can take pictures of the blueprints and then print out at high quality. It will be good for you too as the blueprints will be protected forever this way. I would be more than willing to cover costs. If so, send me a PM and we can exchange contact info.

Thanks!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by PhaseSpace

Hi Ann, you read my mind! I was just thinking about that this morning.

Mike, is there a print shop near you? They normally have high resolution cameras that can take pictures of the blueprints and then print out at high quality. It will be good for you too as the blueprints will be protected forever this way. I would be more than willing to cover costs. If so, send me a PM and we can exchange contact info.

Thanks!

I'll look into it. I live outside the city, so don't have easy access to print shops. But the next time I'm in town I'll check it out. What I'd really like to do is get them scanned so I can keep a digital copy. I'll look into that as well.

[PhaseSpace]

Great! Please let me know how it pans out.

Normally the HQ photos are off digital cameras, so same idea as a scan. I had some HQ photos a of painting taken which were then printed out on canvas by a shop here. Looks fantastic.

[Jim Cate]

So, for you wannabe Rafiki racers, here's a story for you:

MANY years ago, a friend bought a brand new Rafiki 37 and began sailing it in SF bay. After a couple of years, the original sails, never very good to start with, really crapped out, so he bought some new, well designed ones from a local sailmaker... and the boat sailed way better!

About that time, he became aware of an annual event on the Bay, the "Colin Archer" race. This contest was limited to double ended cruising boats of the "heavier is better" persuasion... Westsails, Hans Crustaceans and so on. At the time, I was a pretty serious racer with my Yankee 30, so the owner shanghied me and most of my racing crew for the event. On the day, the wind blew as usual and with the good sails, some good crew work, some good tactics and some good fortune we finished first and corrected out first on handicap as well. The owner was ecstatic! What a great boat he had!

Well, he put a lot of miles on those sails that year, and the following year he entered again, but without the full racing crew, and possibly with some growth on the bottom. The results were predictable, and he was rather disappointed. For the next several years he continued his quest, but without renewing the sails or learning much about racing for that matter, and never again managed a podium finish. Eventually he went off cruising, and disappeared from the local scene.

So, the moral of my story is: if you want to race your Rafiki, and you want to do well at it you will need to do what the other racers do: good sails, good crew and good boat maintenance. With those in your favour, you just might surprise the hell out of your local clubmembers! And you might learn some useful things about sailing your boat up to its potential... things that will stand you in good stead when cruising as well.

Cheers, and enjoy!

Jim

[PhaseSpace]

Neat story Jim, thanks for that. I'm not really planning on any actual racing with it but if the opportunity pops up, why not? I'm thinking I might join up with some kind of sailing team in Hawaii to learn the ropes, so to speak.

[Mike OReilly]

Yes, thanks Jim. I've been pleasantly surprised at the speed and efficiency our boat can sail at, especially with wind anywhere on the beam. But I've never been a racer. I like to tweak when we're underway, and I enjoy the feel of an efficiently-moving boat, but I've also been known to put off a trimming the sails until after lunch, or after dinner, or ofter I'm finishing reading this chapter, or.... well, you get the idea. I'm a cruiser after all.

My signature says it all .

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by PhaseSpace

Neat story Jim, thanks for that. I'm not really planning on any actual racing with it but if the opportunity pops up, why not? I'm thinking I might join up with some kind of sailing team in Hawaii to learn the ropes, so to speak.

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Congratulations on your new boat.
There is a Friday night series at the Ala Wai every week so if you have the inclination to learn to race and learn more about sail trim that's the place to go. Don't take your own boat just take a cooler full of beer and walk the docks to find a boat's captain that will take you aboard as a new crew member that knows nothing. There are plenty of captains that will do that but expect to work at it.
You haven't said where you are located so I can only guess that you are in and around Honolulu.
Aloha Sailing is in Kona. Kaneohe has a great sailing club. If you are in the military than the MWR at Pearl Harbor has a good basic sailing class. The Coast Guard Auxiliary has boating classes.
Good luck in your quest to be a good safe sailor.

[PhaseSpace]

Thanks for that. I was thinking about joining a race team to learn. I'm in Ko Olina, so should be able to go to one of them. Hoping there is a team in my marina, that would make it lots easier.

[SkiprJohn]

I've only visited Ko Olina once several years ago and it seems like a great place to keep a boat. I almost bought a house up the hill from you between you and H-1 highway there in the late 80s. Certainly would have been a great investment. Senator Hiram Fong was the owner. Hindsight is 20/20. That was before all the building out that way started and all that was there was the tug harbor and a ship repair facility.
I'll bet you'll find some helpful folks there to get you started on all the things you want to learn.
The forum has lots of helpful folks too if you have questions. Also the search function helps get you started.

[SkiprJohn]

Steering vanes.
It is much better (efficiency wise) and easier to pick one up used through craigslist or at a marine swap meet. Monitor and Aries are the two I'd consider. Wait until you need one. Going interisland with a couple folks along to steer is a way of gettting started without the need of windvane steering.
Good luck.

[dan mckay]

i mostly taught myself how to sail, my advice would be to join a small cheep yacht club and go out with some of the yacht owners, maybe in a race or something, pay attention, and dont get to anxious. i learned alot about what not to do from an old sailor who said he had 40 years experiance. he almost got us killed since 39 years and 11 months of the claimed knowledge was no doubt spent tied to a pier.