Glad to be Part of the Family!

[OneLeggedParrot]

Hi all.


Well I’ve been reading for a few months or more and finally needed to ask some questions (couldn’t find something I was trying to learn about) so I made an account. Had some issues setting it up initially, and was just coming here for research, and then I began to see it’s QUITE a community of people, and it’s not just about boats and gear, but people talking about events, etc…


I’m a long-time boat person, retired, wife and I have some kids, I grew up on boats traveling with the family, lived on them in my youth, made all the usual mistakes, eventually wife and I got landlocked for a while. However, we’re now getting ready to get another boat and head off into the great blue yonder again.


It’s amazing to me that there’s so much ability to learn now than when I was younger -we didn’t have internet or forums- you learned by walking around to other people’s boats and striking up a conversation, helping someone do something, and generally what we still do, but WITHOUT all this research and 10,000x increased ability to LEARN and FIND OUT about “stuff” -just amazing what forums like this can offer.


I love it!


Thank you all, and
I’m glad to be part of the family!!!




-‘Parrot

[Steadman Uhlich]

Welcome Aboard CF!

Quick Suggestion: Copy the text you wrote above, edit if you want (to include more or less or more about your own experience with boats, photos, etc.), and then add that to the CF User Profile "About" tab (or page) so people who click on your user name (or avatar) in the future will see something about you.

I hope you enjoy your time in CF.

[Waterway Guide]

Welcome aboard, ‘Parrot!

[Steadman Uhlich]

Your top comments about finding a forum to be a wealth of information (and so different from the old way of learning about boats) is something I felt too, when I first came across this forum a few years ago. I had not used or read online sailing forums much prior to this one and I was very happy to find it. I consider it a great resource, and a nice community of sailors (with many very experienced Old Salts) willing to help and share. This one also has the best moderation of any forum I have seen, as they keep most of the threads civil and without the kind of hostility seen in some other popular sailing forums.

Since you are new to this forum, let me mention a few things you might miss but that could help you more enjoy your time here:

There is an amazing amount of shared knowledge found in the thousands of threads on this forum. If one has a common question, the answers are usually there, often with different possible solutions. The trick is finding those threads and answers as they can be "lost" in the many threads, which are often not titled well.

Here are my favorite Tips for newcomers to this forum:

WIKI
Take a look at the Cruising WIKI that is found via the tab up on the top menu bar of the forum. It has a LOT of information in it you might find fun, interesting, or helpful.
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Looking for Quick Answers?

This is the best and fastest method I have found to the answers I seek here.
Since you are relatively new to the forum, here is my favorite friendly forum search tip: Look at the menu bar on the forum pages for the drop down "Search" menu. Click on that to drop down a list of search functions. From that drop down menu select the GOOGLE CUSTOM search feature (the second box down) and then enter several different descriptive or key terms for your topic of interest. That will do a Custom google search of ONLY this site and it is likely to find answers to your questions or results for you. Note: this is VERY different from using the regular forum search box or field (which I never use because of poor search results). Also note, this is NOT found if you use the CF mobile app. It IS found if you use a web browser such as Safari, IE, Firefox, etc.

Note: The ordinary "search" field on this forum has yielded less helpful results for me when I perform searches. That is why I prefer and suggest the use of the alternative "Google Custom Search" instead. I see a very clear and big difference and find the Google Custom Search much easier for scanning (with my eyes) threads for relevant comments and information.

I am confident if you spend some time trying different search terms (key words) using this method, you will find much advice and many tips.
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There are also some "social groups" within the forum that are more focused on special interests.

Here are a couple you might find interesting:

Cruisers & Sailing Forums - All Groups

[OneLeggedParrot]

Thank you! I just started using the search button and love it. I found more than I can read in a week. I'll check out the links to the special groups- already noticed some the other day.

Thanks for the help and advice- I appreciate it!

[siamese]

You're right, Parrot. I tend to view my decades of sailing and boat ownership as pre-internet and internet. Makes everything easier.