Hello From Blake in Toronto

[blakeonline]

Hello Everyone!

I have come here to educate myself about sailing as I have many questions.

I'm hoping to find someone, at some point, that will allow me to help with working on their boat so I can see up close how things are set up.

I'm very mechanically inclined and this past year sold our cruiser motorcycle so nothing to wrench on. Our cars are new and need no repairs
(knock on wood) House is finished, yards are maintenance free, lots of spare time.

I'm located in Ajax, have every tool known to man. I'm a gas fitter, have worked in a performance race shop & in a car dealership on large trucks.
I have also been working for the school board for the past 17 years with children with disabilities.

Please feel free to say hello & if you are out these ways and have anything planned for the winter, project wise, let me know if I could lend a hand!

I've never set foot on a boat with sails....
We have traveled a fair amount & it has stoked my interest in sail boats seeing them moored at some of the destinations we have traveled to, like Thai-Land.
I eventually will buy one to travel I'm sure, but at this point have no clue at all about them.

Blake

[Vasco]

Blake,

Your best bet is to join a club as a crew or associate member. You'll get to sail on other people's boats and if you're handy they'd really welcome you. It is not too expensive, a few hundred bucks. I belong to ABYC check out their website. There are lots of clubs in the east end of Toronto. ABYC also has an adult learn to sail program on keel boats and you can use the club boats once you're qualified.

[JPA Cate]

Welcome aboard CF, Blake.

If you do as Vasco suggested above, you will soon have made some friends. Do spend some time sailing on other people's boats (OPBs). Soon you will be getting an idea of what you like, and then you're away. It can turn into an addiction. You have been warned.

Ann

[DavidSaunders]

Welcome Blake,
I've sent you a PM. You'll find a lot of excellent people and information here.
Cheers!
Dave

[30yearslater]

Hello neighbor. There is a meetup.com group in Toronto that might be of interest to you. https://www.meetup.com/Sailing-Fanatics/ Might be a good way to network and get some exposure to sailing. Toronto has some excellent sailing opportunities both in harbor and on the lake. I forgot what the one along the waterfront was but it is a sailing school just north/west of the music garden. They are using new Beneteaus.

[blakeonline]

I'm not even sure if I'm ready for sailing school yet.... I would like to chat and one day just see a boat in action. I've watched so many YouTube videos but cant get my head around the fact a large boat will even go towards wind. "Tacking" is what I have been trying to understand...

[newhaul]

Welcome aboard
As others have suggested find a local sailing club and volunteer as crew . Best way to wrap your head around how a sailboat works is to just do it . I'm sure you will love it .

[30yearslater]

It really isn't that difficult to understand Blake. At the risk of oversimplification, first think of an airplane wing. A sailboat doesn't get blown it gets sucked by the wind moving over its' wings (Sails). They typically stall at about 45 degrees of the wind direction. This is similar to an airplane wing stalling when you raise the nose too high without enough power. We don't careen sideways by huge amounts due to the keel or underwater wing providing resistance. Sailing works in two mediums, water and air. Yet we are using fluid dynamics in both. Think Bernoulli. The dead guy who discovered a fluid in motion creates less pressure than a fluid at rest or better yet a faster moving fluid exerts less pressure than a slower moving fluid. There are a lot of guys on here that can go into great detail on the subject but as sailors we just do it. Take their advise and get with some sailors and in no time you will be enjoying the magic like the rest of us.

[Diesel Bill]

Hi Blake in Toronto. Welcome to the forum.

[blakeonline]

I totally get the airplane wing. I actually had said to my wife, "I wonder if the curve of the sail makes it like an airplane wing....but I can't factor in the lift?!?!"

So I'm guessing its a lot more then just being blown around on the water. I thought the keel was to keep from blowing over!

Interesting. Yes, I'll look into a local club. There are 2 marinas right by me. Whitby and Frenchman's Bay. I may check into those two places.

[30yearslater]

Pretty good intuition Blake. The keel part needs some clarification. It does 2 things. It provides lateral resistance (side slip resistance) and ballast (lead, iron, concrete) to keep the boat upright. There are a variety of combinations to achieving this but we can keep it simple for now. A search of Youtube can provide some information on the lift sails produce. I have had this conversation with other folks who had the same questions so don't feel unique. History tidbit. Admiral Andrea Doria had his ships rigged similar to today's sailboats. He was well connected so it prevented him being charged with witchcraft as it was a time of myth and superstition. It is indeed still a bit magical if you don't delve to deeply into the physics of it.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Blake.