Newbie question: First Boat - Am I in the right place?

[ScottBHome]

I'm noticing MANY of these used boats are VERY old - like 40 years old.
Is there a point where these "age out"? I mean I realize tech, sails, gear, can be updated, but does the actual fiberglass shell get brittle, or paint become unmanageable at some point?

 

[jssailem]

MANY of these used boats are VERY old - like 40 years old.
Is there a point where these "age out"?

I hope not. My boat is fiberglass and turned 50 this year. There are wooden boats still going more than 80 years of age. It depends on how the boats were cared for. If the boat design was/is still attractive. Gear wears out and needs removal and replacement like car tires. Boats get dings that need repair much like car bodies. Fiberglass has proved to be a reasonably easy substance to repair.

 

[dLj]

Lot's of great suggestions above. I'll add in another suggestion on a somewhat different tack, so to speak. I've owned a lot of boats, but with your description of who and how you will be sailing you might want to look into the Windrider 17. It's a tailorable trimaran that is easy to set up, You could quite easily make a system to raise and lower the mast while sailing. I used to raise and lower the mast on the trailer but I've seen setups where they can do it on the boat. It's great sailing for two people and four people can easily fit - I used to sail mine with my two daughters and wife. It tows behind a small car - I drove mine across the us towing it with a VW Jetta - the car didn't even know it was there... The entire boat and trailer only weights something like 600 to 800 pounds - I don't remember exactly. There is a facebook group dedicated to the Windriders - the only model that sounds like it would work for you is the 17. The rest are too small. Back when I owned that boat, I was seriously considering doing the R2K and the Everglades challenge. Folks do all kinds of crazy stuff with these boats...

Good luck in your quest.

dj

 

[ShawnL]

Where in Upper Michigan?

I sail a Catalina 22 out of the Houghton / Hancock area. We have a small club with members sailing everything from small beach cats to 30' plus racers. I've seen at least one Flying Scott for sale in the Marquette area, which also has some sailing clubs. Also sailed a sail fish / flying fish in some of the inland lakes near Copper Harbor (wouldn't want to take it on the big lake unless it was an exceptional day). It's a fun boat, but not suitable for more than 1-2 people.

Closer to the Wi border, you can find a lot of boats for sale in the Green Bay / Menominee area.

As for the type of boat, it's really hard to say. On inland lakes, or the Portage Canal, etc. you can pretty much sail anything as long as you watch the wind. Venturing out into the big lake (or lakes, depending on where) can be fun, but conditions make a difference. If I was only going to day-sail, I think I'd pick something with either a small cabin, or no cabin.

Small cabin can be nice for keeping gear out of the weather, and providing female passengers with a place to use the head (all we use on my '22 is a 5 gallon pail with a camping toilet seat on top, trash bags and some gel powder). No cabin means extra cockpit space.

Something with a retractable keel / centerboard is nice for inland lakes as they can get shallow quickly. That will also help with launching. Anything with a retractable keel / board means that you can pretty much launch on any ramp a power boat can.