Well, Shiver Me Timbers, Sailing is Not So Bad!

P

Pat Anderson

New member
When we go to Poulsbo next weekend, it will be the first time we will have had Daydream out since September...but I did have a chance to get out on the water today. My neighbor invited me to go sailing with him! He belongs to Seattle Sailing Club, and sails club boats while he is figuring out what he wants to get. So neighbor Greg, his son Andy, and Austin and I went out on a 26' J80 out of Shilshole. We sailed in moderate breezes from Shilshole to Blakely Harbor and back, about 20 NM. Most of the time we were doing about 6 knots, which to my surprise is NOT painfully slow in a sailboat! When we got up to 7 knots, it felt like we were just flying! Almost all sailboats out today, too - outnumbered power boats probably 20 to 1. All in all, a pretty good day.
 
It's all perspective, huh? When visiting with powerboaters who have never sailed, the question of "why do those sailboats swerve back and forth all the time?" always comes up. 8) Understanding how a boat sails, makes it easier for powerboat folks to predict what that sailboat is going to do (can't always say the reverse :wink: ).

I poked around a bit on our sailboat today. Also helped a neighbor get his flats fishing boat in the water. Also finished getting Wild Blue all cleaned up and ready to go on her next adventure. Spending a day sailing is good for the soul. Now, I hope you will show your sailing neighbor how much fun it is to be out playing on your C-Dory. :lol: :thup

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
El and I had three years living aboard our 20' Flicka sailboat -- cruised the Great Loop back east and put 13,000 miles under her hull -- marvelous good times from Canada to Florida. Had to be more weather/wind/current savy on the sailboat -- but that understanding transfers well to power-boating. Glad you had such a great time, P&P
 
I lived on and cruised my Jeanneau Tonic, Spirit, (23'11") for two years and my sailing friends now refer to me as "the guy who went over to the dark side", but I'll always consider myself a sailor.

Years ago, some of the powerboat/fishing guys at my marina couldn't go out on Lake Erie because it was running 4-6 footers and 25 knots +, so I took two of them out to see what it was like. With a double-reefed main and only half of the genny out we were hitting 9+ surfing and they loved it. One guy said, "We may have more speed, but you have real power here!"

They never called me a blow-boater again after that.

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
I love to sail. Just don't want to own a sailboat. That may change in a few years if I can get the Admiral to agree to an expansion of the fleet to include a decent-size daysailer. But my primary boat will always be powered.

Warren
 
Thanks for sharing your sailboat adventure, Pat. That sounds like great big fun; a different but equally delicious dish.
:rose
 
I had been sailing for 18 years and Loved it we started off on a Catalina 22 and after 3 years we sold it and bought a beautiful Tayana 37 Mk-ll. I Loved that boat. It weighed about 25,000 lbs and it loved 18 to 20 knots of wind. We sailed up and down the north east from Norfolk to Marthas Vineyard. It was a cutter rig and had a cutaway full keel. a very forgiving boat. We spent 24 hours off shore in 8-10-foot seas and 35 knots of wind and it was like being on a Ship, she loves wind and waves and rides beautiful. Yes 7 to 8 knots on a sail boat feels like 25 knots on a power boat, except "No Noise" but the wind and the rigging. Unfortunately, due to health problems I wasn't able to handle the sails and with all the teak to keep up with every year it became hard for me to maintain it . I reluctantly sold her in 2005. I still see her and have been asked to sail with the new owners but it's not the same. Before I sold it I even thought of taking off the mast and cutting some off the keel and using her as a canal boat but that would be a sin to have done that. I'm happy with Plan-"B" and get to take her down to Florida in the winter, but I do miss "Sirena"
 
If you want to re-visit the real, wet, screaming scene of small boat sailing, try the Hobie Adventure Island, a sailing, tri-hull sea kayak. The center hull weighs 72 pounds and the whole thing all together with akas is about 110 lbs. The mast furls the battened sail like a window shade as it is seated in a ball bearing step seat.

The Water Tribe races in Florida had two or three Adventure Islands in it and they were at sea for 3-5 days!!

I got one for a tender for the TomCat... and to re-visit the fun of sailing.

John
 
drjohn71a":21t5m71d said:
...
I got one for a tender for the TomCat... and to re-visit the fun of sailing.

John
Click to expand...

Tell us more about where you're putting the Hobie while underway. How much set up time? Inquiring minds want to know!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Well, Jim. I was afraid someone would ask that before I got it figured out. Basically you have a 16 foot sea kayak with easilly removable akas (arms). They are held in place with four simple pins. The Amas are held in place with bungie cords holding the aluminum poles in blind holes. The Akas can be folded in while you're sitting on the kayak. The mast sits in a recessed, ball bearing step and is Carbon Fiber - very light. It has a quick release clip and no shrouds, so you can easily remove and place it while on the kayak.

Opened up, it is about 10 feet wide. The main hull is only 28" wide. With akas folded in it's about 4 feet wide.

I am planning to use the removable beach dolly wheels in rod holders to roll the main hull up atop the TomCat cabin. The side hulls are light and have suitcase like handles , so they could be bungied anywhere.

I don't have the kayak and the boat together yet, but I 'm looking at the Yakima "Holy Rollers" type roof mount to roll it up over the bow and onto the roof easily, That would mean only lifting about 36 pounds.


John
 
Additionally.... there are some "Adventure Island" video clips on U-Tube. Some are pretty exciting. Also, lots of neat Kayak fishing videos there.

Set-up is very very fast - the mast and sail are wrapped as one and the reefing spool is on the bottom of the 2 1/2 inch diameter carbon mast. The main sheet has a simple hook into the clew. You just set the mast into the hole. It is very light and can be held in one hand easily. So, set mast into hole, hook up main sheet and reef roller, plug in keel board and go. The rudder flips up and out of the water with a right hand control and is steered with a left hand control which holds course fairly well.

The outside hulls have blind hole in them into which you put the aluminum outrigger ends and pull a bungie cord atop to a button to hold in place. The arms pivot off removable pins to the driver's.

You pull on the reefing cord and the whole sail unfurls and you are off!

John
 
drjohn-

Aren't the "Yakima Holy Rollers" the new expansion team in the NHL?

We raced small dingy sailboats (less than 18 feet) in the S.F. Bay Area for 33 years before retiring and moving to Redding.

I figure I've raced over 6000 races over the years, and still love to sail, but powerboating suits my fleeting youth better these days.

We are, however, along with another family, renting a Beneteau 50 from Bellingham to sail the San Juans this coming June.

Joe.
 
Sea Wolf":74agaj8n said:
drjohn-

Aren't the "Yakima Holy Rollers" the new expansion team in the NHL?
<stuff clipped>

Joe.
Click to expand...

Actually that sounds more like a WHL team to me. Here's a list of the colorful teams in that league - Brandon Wheat Kings, Regina Pats, Swift Current Broncos, Prince Albert Raiders, Moose Jaw Warriors, Saskatoon Blades, Medicine Hat Tigers, Kootenay Ice, Calgary Hitmen, Red Deer Rebels, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Vancouver Giants, Kamloops Blazers, Prince George Cougars, Chilliwack Bruins, Kelowna Rockets, Everett Silvertips, Tri-City Americans, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs and the Portland Winter Hawks (or weinerhawks as we call them in Seattle). For those who have never been, the WHL is one of many minor leagues for the NHL. Unlike baseball where each team is a farm team for one of the majors, the WHL has players one each team who are signed with many NHL teams. Most of the guys are 18-22 and they're really trying to look "big" for the scouts. Given that 18-22 corresponds to the peak of testosterone expression AND the first peak of male stupidity (the second happens later in life), there's a lot of fights and other antics. The fan base is a rowdy middle america group and the games are quite fun to watch.
 
I forgot to mention that the key factor in my decision to get the Hobie Mirage Adventure Island tri-hull was the "Mirage" drive system. It is a pedaling system that moves two Penguin-like" flippers. That is more efficient than paddling and you can use the standard flippers or the "turbo" flippers for more speed.

I was looking at inflatables, etc, and outboards and just thought none of that seemed like much fun. Originally, I was looking for two Mirage drive kayaks, but settled on just one for now. I've got some homework to do when it warms up here a bit in order to get the kayak on the roof.

John
 
I guess the attachment is that I learned to sail as a kid when I bought an old, beatup, broken Sunfish sail board with some holes in it. I glued and taped and got knocked down a couple hundred times at the local, windy lakes, until I figured out by the seat of the pant how to sail.

You feel like you're going so fast when you're so close to the water. Even though I've enjoyed the larger and larger sailboats I bought over time, nothing has excited me quite as much as that first learning experience so low on the water!

John
 
I presently own two Sunfish sailboats, which I keep at the ramp of the campground on L. Ontario where we have a small cottage. If a good wind comes up, I can push off in a matter of minutes, for an hour's sail. What fun!

I also own a 13.5 foot Peep Hen, which I usually keep "at home" and use on the finger Lakes of western NY. The Peep Hen is to a (real) sailboat what a C-Dory is to a (real) yacht: very functional, stable, economical and easy to handle.

I love the C-Dory, but I love sailing too!
 
Most of my life has been sail--although I owned power boats at the same time. Actually once you get used to 6 knots--you can go 150 miles in 24 hours, or at 8 knots 200 miles in 25 hours. We went 2700 miles across the Atlantic in 17 days--but I have also sailed some fast sailboats--an Aussie 18 skiff--in the 20 knot range--and a 50 foot ultra light which we hit 22 knots in--I realize for some of the multihulls this is not fast--but for monohulls 20 knots is "rippinng"

Lots of fun--but all we have left in sail is a "Fatty Knees" Lyle Hess designed dinghy. Its for the grand kids....
 
I obviously hit a topic that stirred a lot of fond memories for a lot of folks! I will be going out as much as I can with my neighbor, he sails his club boats weekly more or less...stay tuned for the adventures of Sailor Pat! We'll see about Patty, she says she is game. Austin is a sailor at heart, he has done two YMCA Camp Orkila summer sailing adventures, and he enjoyed our day out a lot. I looked up Flickas for sale, just out of curiousity - whew! Fear not, Daydream is still our main deal, but maybe a few new vistas are opening up here!
 
Nice surprise to find so many sailers / sailors among C-Dory folk. Sailing has always come first for me and still does. My latest (and maybe at last, really the keeper) is a Triton TS (backbayboatworks.com/triton), at 14' a bit bigger than the Hobie Adventure Island and a sit-in for two, with swing-folding outriggers and free-footed jib-like sail that furls around a bendy mast. No motor, just lift the rudder and centerboard and kayak-paddle it.

HOWEVER, many, many days are not for sailing, especially on the lakes here. When it's too hot, too wet, too gusty, too muggy, too cold, too still, too whatever is when the C-D shines. Get on the water most any time you have time, even take lunch and more than one passenger, even sit "normal," nap, and stay aboard a while. I guess I'm over my snit and the 16 Cruiser will be a keeper, too.

That said, by law I may have to sell it if given the price I offered it for. If so, OK, mail me the money and I'll mail you the title.
 
Well Pat, Patty....and others... We too can enjoy a good day of sailing on our boats. Let's face it... if the wind is blowing in the 15+ knots range, and we have some type of canvas camper top on the aft cockpits of our C-Dory boats with their minimal draft.... we are sailing..

Just toss out a fishing drift sock or sea anchor..... either from the bow or attached to a sling between the aft cleats....depending if you want to be facing into the wind as if to give your a back cocpit the view of where you are heading while the wind blows thru your boat if the windows and hatches are open.... or... if you want to be heading bow forward..all snapped down tight, dry and warm..

Really makes for a very peaceful day, without having to worry with all the sails...or getting wet, or getting cold....and you can enjoy a nice book, the binoculars to see things you have missed when motoring buy....or some good on the water cooking!!! :thup :thup
 
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