finally......She Sails!!!

[ybrad]

Here's the good news for those of you who have read/replied to my occasional posts. After working on our 37C low-budget project (yeah, right) for 15+ months, she has made way while under sail!

By the end of March, I had aquired a main, a jib and the known hardware needed to make it happen. The test hoist occurred on a glassy day at the end of March; it all worked.

On April Fool's Day, 2 neighbors (1 of whom is highly experienced in 'big boats' and an invaluable instructor, the other a 'quick study') and I took the Miss Bobbi out for an shake down sail.
Plenty of tweaking to be done, but it worked! The boat has a very nice feel.
The next day, we took 10 people out and got a whole new appreciation about just how fun the Indian River was going to become.

Thanks again to all who responded to my questions to help get this project to this milestone. More to follow.

Brad

 

[Ed Schenck]

Congrats on your first outings on Miss Bobbi! Wish you had posted some pictures. Especially with the ten person crew. You will never tire of sailing her. It keeps getting better.

I think that I posted once that our worst storm between Lake Erie and Tampa was on the Indian River. We had been sailing down river, jib-alone, at about seven knots and the wind kept building. Then we encountered zero visiblity from smoke from a govt. burn-off. That kept us from seeing the black sky. Fortunately we were rolled up and motoring when it hit. Visibility went to zero again just as we were approaching an open rail bridge. We had to anchor in the channel or risk hitting that bridge. When it passed over the bimini was in three parts. We went on to Cocoa Beach and anchored for the night.

 

[ybrad]

Thanks, Ed. I will get some pics up eventually. That's quite a story of your IRL experience and it just goes to show....things can change fast