My boat's too big... I hear it all the time.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by TJ D

I do have to admit that the electric winch feels quite decadent at times. Everything for the main leads to this winch, and it really does turn what should be a decent workout into child's play.

I've never had one before. It's glorious.

We did a little late winter cruise of your part of the world this year, by the way. Falmouth was a great place for a visit. All of western England, for that matter.

If only the weather were a little better!

sorry to have missed you!
falmouth and surrounds are about the best place to live in the uk......plus we never get hurricanes.. ..or snow..er well almost never

[SV Siren]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

Oh, My, God, Becky. Look at his boat. It's soooo big.

This is a re-write of baby Got Back, from sailnet...for the big boat people:
"Baby got Boat" - SailNet Community

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by atoll

...falmouth and surrounds are about the best place to live in the uk......plus we never get hurricanes.. ..or snow..er well almost never

...except during Fastnet season! Tiny bit of snow and everything grinds to a halt on those hills too. Yea, Penryn and St Mawes sure are beautiful - say hello to Dave Cox for us on Velsia, a real gentleman.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by NevisDog

...except during Fastnet season! Tiny bit of snow and everything grinds to a halt on those hills too. Yea, Penryn and St Mawes sure are beautiful - say hello to Dave Cox for us on Velsia, a real gentleman.

he was my neighbour on the pontoon for a few years

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by TJ D

Yeah, if you've ever seen the part in 'Captain Ron' where he comes flying into the dock, making a perfect hockey stop in a big cloud of smoke while horrified onlookers flee... That's pretty much us.

Well, not really, but we do have to come into a berth pretty hot to have any control. We've gotten used to it. Sort of. Jenny prides herself on being very relaxed and casual on the bow while everyone expects an impending disaster. I suspect that deep down, she's also horrified, but she won't admit it.

Good woman, that one.

Thats us.
We very rarely come into a berth/fuel dock but when we do it at our "in gear" speed of 5.5knots with a big belt of reverse to to pull us up at the end, all is good.

Come in slow, steady and seemingly in control , clicking in and out of gear to stay at the 4 knot speed limit and we make a complete balls up of it.

[sazarac]

Originally Posted by TJ D

It's late here in Alaska, and I was just reflecting on our interactions with our fellow sailors during our latest cruise. Now, we were in Europe, where even 30 footers are commonly seen with 4-5 crew, so perhaps this explains it.

Ok, I know this has been beat to death, but I've had a heck of a run of people over the summer who have passed by our boat stop and tell us, with great certainty, that our boat is simply too big for 2 people. Maybe even dangerous!!

I'm really having a hard time getting my head around this kind of thinking. Now, I understand that back in the time of say, the Hiscocks, when sails were made of cotton, winches were crap or absent, and everything was done by brute force-things were different.

Back then, maybe a 300 square foot main was the limit.

Fast forward to 2017-the gear is SO good, SO reliable, that I find dealing with the main (nearly 900 square feet, slab reefing) on our boat no more demanding than it was on my first boat, a 36' ketch with a tiny rig. I reef off the wind with zero drama. (Hint-external tracks and lots of McLube are your friend)

This is done with all manual gear, save a single electric winch which we can live without.

I just don't get it. What the heck is the problem? Guys are singlehanding IMOCA 60's solo around the world in the southern ocean, for Pete's sake. Surely a skilled couple sailing conservatively are not reckless in a far more modest boat.

But still, they keep coming... 'Too big'-'Just a matter of time before you're overwhelmed'-'It would be like going into battle-I'd want a platoon of strong men'. Things like this.

I'm wondering if some of you on the bigger end of the spectrum hear this a lot too? I find it quite odd.

Anyway, rant over. I hope nobody thinks I'm being boastful-it's really a source of genuine curiosity for me, this theoretical size limit that so many of us seem to take as an absolute.

Just agree that the boat is too big for some people .

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by sazarac

Just agree that the boat is too big for some people .

And that she certainly is. Putting someone aboard who had little or no experience would surely end in tears.

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by TJ D

... Putting someone aboard who had little or no experience would surely end in tears.

Just admit it - without your competent teammate, you'd be toast too.

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by NevisDog

Just admit it - without your competent teammate, you'd be toast too.

Yes, it helps a lot. But, I do everything on the boat solo, with the exception of spinnaker douses. That's the only time I'll wake up the off watch if I'm up sailing by myself.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by TJ D

Yes, it helps a lot. But, I do everything on the boat solo, with the exception of spinnaker douses. That's the only time I'll wake up the off watch if I'm up sailing by myself.

And if you had a squeezer sock you could do that single handed as well.

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

And if you had a squeezer sock you could do that single handed as well.

Well, I do, but it really helps to have somebody at the wheel to make sure the thing stays well blanketed. It's a bit of a clown show to try to do it alone.

If I had a wifi control for the autopilot... Now THAT would do the trick!

[44'cruisingcat]

There are all kinds of "experts" around. We had a guy in Lake Macquarie tell us we were too wide to get out through the bridge.

I said " Yeah, we couldn't get in either.". He wandered off looking confused.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

There are all kinds of "experts" around. We had a guy in Lake Macquarie tell us we were too wide to get out through the bridge.

I said " Yeah, we couldn't get in either.". He wandered off looking confused.

Hee, hee!

We had a guy tell us we were too deep to get over the dropoff into the Lake.


He was right... as we kept finding out.

I hate it when that happens!

Jim

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by TJ D

... Jenny prides herself on being very relaxed and casual on the bow ...

then:

But, I do everything on the boat solo, with the exception of spinnaker douses.

I don't believe you're soloing into those berths, with expert crew standing idly by... you're fooling nobody here (Darn, even those Volvo solo yachts must need shore help when berthing.)

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by NevisDog

then:

But, I do everything on the boat solo, with the exception of spinnaker douses.

I don't believe you're soloing into those berths, with expert crew standing idly by... you're fooling nobody here (Darn, even those Volvo solo yachts must need shore help when berthing.)

Ah, I see what you mean. Yes, docking is a family activity. Although, I have done it solo a bunch of times, too. Certainly not when I have the option of some help, however.