So me and my dad went and bought our first boat with no sailing experience

[Apocalyptism]

And here is our first attempt at sailing, absolute chaos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzG4QP-_qzE

[JPA Cate]

Apocalyptism,

Welcome Aboard CF. Loved your Dad's smile when he finally got the boat going!

How's about you tell us what you'll do differently next time, if you're up for a critique? Any landing you walk away from is not a disaster. You guys had a learning experience, if you're open to that.

Ann

[Rucksta]

Really enjoyed your video.

One of the challenges of sailing is dealing with the unexpected.

Experience allows improved planning and creates a toolbox for dealing with new unexpecteds.

The number of unexpecteds is infinite.

[Knotical]

Enjoyed the video thoroughly.

You may or may not have realized but you (along with your father) learned a lot of things that day and did some things right, like
-launch and haul a keel boat
-see what the current and wind are doing to the boat
-your father docked the boat the first time
-a motor does not have infinite power
-when the motor died you thought of putting the sails up, you have no idea but a lot of people would nearly have a heart attack when their motor/engine dies in a sailboat - it’s a sailboat after all, use it
-tied the correct jib sheet while sailing
-called for help when you were stuck
-managed not to hit any other boats

The biggest thing was your attitude when you weren’t scared of the conditions as it’s a sailboat after all. Kudos to you and your father, I think it was a rather successful first day. 👍

[tanngrisnir]

loved the video, Thanks for capturing your experience. Made my day stuck in a 5km lockdown, best chuckle for ages.



priceless "I think it's a bit windy to be learning". Good on you both for just diving in. Look forward to your next sail.

[landsend]

Had a good laugh.
Currents in a lake?
And I thought power boaters were clueless!
Carry on.

[RaymondR]

Looked like a fairly successful first sail to me. Nothing broke and no blood.

[Chuckie]

This was awesome, well done. I started in similar circumstances, run aground, lost stuff overboard etc. Keep up the good work you now have a starting point. Onward

[sailormed]

Remember that you have a brake if going somewhere dangerous without control.
Throw out your ANCHOR!!!!
Your video is really a winner!

[Adelie]

Welcome.
I would suggest adding you boat make and model and your approximate location to your profile. Many questions have answers that are boat or location dependent and these tidbits display under you UserName in the web view which saves being asked repeatedly.

If you need help setting up you profile, let me know.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Apocalyptism

And here is our first attempt at sailing, absolute chaos

Actually making the boat go where you want it to go is the easy part. Takes a couple hours to learn the absolute basics. The two things that you really need to concentrate on is safety, and Rules of the Road. You need to know what safety equipment is required for your boat, and how to best use it. You need to know what to do when the boat is mysteriously filling up with water, or when your batteries are dead, or there is a fire, etc etc. Rules of the Road is the system of signaling and maneuvering that when followed precisely by all parties, pretty much eliminates collisions. This is EXTREMELY important to know, ALL of it, before you ever cast off and depart. I cannot stress this enough. This is one area where your knowledge must be absolutely complete. Lives depend on this.

But back to your adventure. Now you know to check all of your running rigging before you splash the boat. Raise that mainsail! You have very little control over your boat with only your jib up. Sails do not just propel the boat... they also can control it. Go on Amazon and order "Sailing for Dummies". It's a pretty good primer for learning to sail small boats. But remember, learning the Rules and safety is more important. Take classes! You will enjoy it and meet others who at least figuratively are in the same boat.

Also I think you could use a more powerful trolling motor. Even better, buy a long shaft Tohatsu or similar 4 stroke outboard and a suitable bracket for it. 4 horsepower is plenty, 6 is bordering on overkill. You can putter around for hours on a gallon of gasoline. Learn how to operate, maintain, and store it, so your investment lasts 20 years instead of 20 weeks.Horsepower of gas engines and pounds of thrust of electric trolling motors are like apples and oranges, and do not directly correlate. However for practical purposes you probably had 1/4 HP or less. It calm protected waters with no wind or current it would serve to maneuver to/from dock or boat trailer. As you found out, it is inadequate for more real-world conditions even for a 20 footer.

Just a few more things to ask yourself. Do you have a fire extinguisher onboard, preferably of adequate rating for your size boat? A whistle or norn? Bell? Day shapes? Flares? Smoke? Required navigation lights and redundant power source? First aid kit? Life jackets and at least one throwable device? Boarding ladder? Handheld VHF? Bilge pump and backup? Anchor and rode? Are your batteries secured agains shifting in event of a knockdown? Yeah, I know, it's just a small lake, right? Stuff still happens. And you need to be set for bigger water and think in terms of bigger water from the start.

If the coast guard boarded your boat, would they find anything amiss, as far as your equipment goes? You may be able to arrange for a courtesy inspection, I don't know.

Consider joining a local sailing club. Network with others. Sail with others. Meet people and crew on their boats. You will learn a lot of stuff that way.

[carraigdog]

Great Vid, really enjoyed this, but maybe see if you can get someone with experience on board, and if theres a training school near you do the RYA competent crew for starters!

[Cheechako]

Yep, a normal sailing day!

[Jamme]

Absolutely loved the video and your ability to laugh at yourself and yet learn something wonderful!Thanks for sharing your first experience, here’s to many more to come!
Fair winds.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Apocalyptism

And here is our first attempt at sailing, absolute chaos

Without a doubt, the best sailing video I have seen on YouTube. Thank you. You are an inspiration. I’m sharing this one for sure.