First Sailboat and first post

[Bryan L Collins]

Wanted to post and say thanks to all of the previous posts and posters that have helped me in getting my new to me 1995 26c up to snuff so that it is a safe and fun boat. A little background on me, I have been around boats literally all of my life in the form of bassboats and other freshwater type boats up to 27 feet.

Until a year ago I had never even considered a sailboat, but since have seen the light so to speak. Found my 26c by chance in Norman, Ok with little modifications and in overall good shape for a super deal. Then me and the wife attended an ASA 101 course a couple of weeks later.

Still finishing up some stuff on it and will begin posting in the what I did today thread. But one of the final things that I have to do is replace lines and wanted to ask has anyone used the online retailers with any success. This is the one area that solid answers are tough to get but you get alot of overwhelming subjective information. The boat will be used 99% of the time on the lakes around the Dallas FT Worth area. With no plans to race just recreational use as a weekend getaway. The 2 sites that i was looking at are onlineropes.com and onlineropestore.com. I am open to other retailers but I am looking for budget as a starting point. Any and all advice on this subject is appreciat

Now for a little showing off. Pic

 

[justsomeguy]

I'll bet if you purchase your new running rigging here, you'll have an actual person backing up the product...

 

[kloudie1]

Welcome to the gang, Bryan; I agree with justsome guy.. Phil H and the guys do a fine job keeping this forum going and buying through the store helps keep it going..
These guys are worth a look/see as well:
http://www.cajunrope.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
http://www.mauripro.com/us/category/2-Lines-Ropes.html
The Mauri Pro folks are in Carrollton, a bit north of you across town.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Welcome Brian. The Mac is a good first boat. I had one for 10 years.
My $.02 on your question: buy wisely, but don't buy cheap. Inferior line will get stiffer, harder on the hands, and wear out sooner than the good stuff.

 

[Joe]

Bryan... there are 3 West Marines stores in your area.. Denison, Lewisville and Garland. I don't care for the online retailers you listed. I checked both them out... one is based in Canada and sells proprietary, generic line. The other sells major brands but their prices are way higher than West Marine.

If you insist on online.... do your due diligence to learn the differences between rope products... I will tell you that the guys at Annapolis Performance Sailing are fantastic. Call them on the phone for advice and to order... they are very, very helpful.

 

[Ron20324]

Not sure about Texas, but a lot of states require the registration on the bow to be in block letters, niot harder to read script. It does look nice, though.

 

[Ron20324]

Not sure about Texas, but a lot of states require the registration on the bow to be in block letters, not harder to read script. It does look nice, though.

 

[Justin_NSA]

I used script on our registration letters too. Later I found out they were supposed to be block letters. I was never challenged on it though.

 

[Bryan L Collins]

Thanks for all the input on this. I now have some more looking and comparisons to make. Think I have decided on the Samson XLS for my purposes. Is there something I maybe am not thinking about? Unfortunately it will have to be done online with whatever retailer I use as I live in the desert of West Texas. Working in the oilfields of West Texas makes hands on a little tough.

Not sure about Texas, but a lot of states require the registration on the bow to be in block letters, not harder to read script. It does look nice, though.

Yes you are correct but I will wait and see how bored the game wardens are and change as needed.

 

[vizwhiz]

Great! Congrats and happy sailing!
I made the mistake of buying a "prepackaged" rope set from an online retailer that was supposedly custom sized for our boat. (They had a list of lots of boats by name, so it appeared that they knew what they were doing.) Well, most of it was good quality rope, yes, and it was well packaged and marked and such. However, i wish this one was a little shorter, and those two were a little longer, and maybe this one could have had an eye spliced into the end...if you get my drift.

 

[HMT2]

Bryan, I have good luck with Samson and Defender.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

I have no doubt that you will love sailing. Boating for specialty purposes like waterskiing/wakeboarding or fishing is great as far as the activity goes. But a sailboat is much preferred for the pure pursuit of boating itself. You will probably love the transition. You'll find that sailing at 5 or 6 knots under wind-power alone is far more interesting and satisfying than cruising along a shoreline at 20 mph under engine power. I can't explain it, I just know it to be true.
I urge you to use SBO for all of your running rigging. First & foremost, I find the combination of price and service the best of all the on-line services. Just check out the selection and you will find that they have anything you might desire. You can tailor the lines to the way you want them with regard to length, splicing, whipping the ends and other specialty needs. If you have any questions, just call. Delivery is very prompt. As far as I'm concerned, there is no need to shop around, but if you do, it would be foolish to ignore the service that is provided on this web site.
BTW, I have prepared an elaborate spreadsheet to compare a variety of lines that I would use on my boat. The variables I consider are product selection, weight, strength, stretch, and price per foot. I've done this for a range of line diameters from 1/4" to 7/16" because the product and diameter I select may be influenced by grip comfort, use, and the factors considered above. When it comes right down to it, the selection of a line for each purpose can be a very complicated decision, and I wanted a spreadsheet to sort out all the variables. I also used the spreadsheet to provide a cost comparison among about 8 to 10 of the more popular sources. Of course, it frequently needs to be updated for price when I am shopping for lines. It didn't surprise me to find that SBO was frequently the lowest price per foot, and when they weren't, they were very close to the most competitive price. My conclusion is that based on line selection, service and price, SBO is easily among the best.

 

[Ward H]

Joe has pointed me towards APS a few times and I've bought most of my running rigging from them. Mostly Samson line and sometimes they (or Joe) would recommend another brand for a specific reason/use. The phone staff are very knowledgable and I have always been satisfied with their service. I also use Defender as a price check but with both sites I think you need to know what lengths you need for your boat/purpose.
If you want your lines ready to use then I doubt you can go wrong using this site's store and rigging calculator.

 

[Freedom77]

Samson and Defender is a good choice. In what part of West Texas are you. Ever heard of Muleshoe. 90 miles from Lubbock. Sits between slow down and resume speed. Have to drive 30 miles to Clovis NM for fun. Main products are cotton and Baptists. Nice lookin' yatch.

 

[Bryan L Collins]

Samson and Defender is a good choice. In what part of West Texas are you. Ever heard of Muleshoe. 90 miles from Lubbock. Sits between slow down and resume speed. Have to drive 30 miles to Clovis NM for fun. Main products are cotton and Baptists. Nice lookin' yatch.

Yes I know of Muleshoe, lived in Lubbock for about 4 years. I work and stay in the little town of Rankin about 60 miles south of Midland, which is where the only fun exists but affordable groceries. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[Freedom77]

Been to Rankin. Spent a week there one night. Hook 'em Horns