Intermittent sailing mostly on Sunfish and similar with a few times on up to appx 21 ft sloop/fractional
sloop boats and once on a 28 ft (mostly spectating on the last one)
Just getting back into sailing and knowing I have to
work my way back up in skills. My few outings on a MiniFish (almost a Sunfish) this year have gone well and I've purchased a Vagabond 14 in great condition.
First thing I'm doing to the Vagabond is
rigging a set of preventer lines.
Lots of experience with fiberglassing, woodwork and general mechanical stuff, plus a creative streak for solving problems. I tend to look for the least expensive solutions first.
Local lakes are a bit small for
boats larger than 18 ft, but there are quite a few
live-aboard sailboats that have been tied up at the piers for 10+ years and never move.
I'll be self-instructing due to
budget... and I'm pretty well aware of my
current skill level, so I'll stick to light winds for a while.
I'm a firm believer that if its under 40 ft and not tied to the pier, EVERYONE wears a life jacket.
I have a friend who was on the "Dive
Rescue Team" and it was never a
rescue. They just can't have divers suited up and stationed every half mile along the lake shore, which is what it would take for them to actually have a good chance of bringing you up alive.
I may be paranoid, but that doesn't mean that wet stuff isn't trying to kill me.