I purchased a 13.5 ft daysailer. Had no experience sailing. Was learning from youtube when on our 4th outing, I capsized with my wife and two kids aboard. We had to swim to shore, maybe 200 ft. The boat was in about 8ft. She floated low when fully swamped, but would have inverted if the water were deep enough. The mast head hit the lake bottom. Went back and got her righted with the help of two other sailers. They helped me get her to shore then turn her on her side to bale. Her hull could not handle the stress and fractured like a cracked egg (4ft x 1.5ft). I took her to a boat repair professional who took one look, shook his head and told me to junk it. Said he didn't want to fix it, would not fix it and if he did, would charge me $2000. I paid $200 for the boat, trailer, sails and all the hardware. Spoke to a friend of mine who had extensive fiberglass experience and he was not very encouraging. I went back to youtube and google for council and with stubborn determination, about 3 weeks time and about $250 for materials, nitrile gloves and respirator, I fixed her. She's not pretty but she sails greatly. We've been sailing 9 x's post repair and I've learned a great deal.
What is her name? She is the sailing vessel AGAINST ODDS. Having a blast! Looking forward to next season.
