My husband and I finally found a great 1995 Hunter 26 and we are so excited. He actually surprised me with it for our 10th anniversary. Problem is...we do not know the first thing about sailing and would like to see if anyone else here is in Charlotte or near Lake Norman. We did manage to get the boat in the water - after hours - which would have been a great video for a laugh! Since then, we have just visited the boat to try and figure out what goes where. Not sure if we should hire someone from a local sailing school? Not sure where to start. We have had many nice sailors at the dock offer to help too but we have not been there too often since we have had to travel lately. What are suggestions about getting started and not wasting too much $$. Thanks for any suggestions.
New Hunter Owner
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My wife and I are barely two months into our 1st sailboat and like you we knew absolutely nothing about how to sail, let alone rig a boat. We contacted the local sailing club, which we joined and became active members of. A few members came by and helped raise the mast and rig the boat and one member in particular offered to sail with us showing us what to do. After this little amount of time we feel like natural sailors. Check to see if any clubs are near you.
CSD, congratulations on your "new" Hunter! I am sure that you will enjoy it very much! :dance: My suggestion to you would be to find a local sailing school and at least take the basic course. This will give you an understanding about how the boat works and, most important, what you need to do to keep yourselves safe while out sailing. As far as the where and the how things need to be stored and what basics you need aboard you will obtain that knowledge as you get more experience! Additionally a couple of reference books will help as well. The one I like and still use is "The Complete Sailing Manual" by Steve Sleight. Great illustrations and explanations.
Good luck and stay safe! See you out on the Harbor very soon!
Contact Brian at Lanier Sailing Academy on Lake Murray. After taking the basic ASA course there, he may be able to help you out at Lake Norman but on your boat.
(803) 317-9070
http://laniersail.com/a1/ <---- this website covers all 3 locations of LSA
Learning
Try to let the sailors who have offered to help you out help you and also try a sailing school with sailing lesson's.
Your best thing is letting local sailors help you learn as much as can be learned from sailors who have been sailing a long time and you need to make time to enjoy the boat and the more you sail her the more you will learn.
Nick
Try to let the sailors who have offered to help you out help you and also try a sailing school with sailing lesson's.
Your best thing is letting local sailors help you learn as much as can be learned from sailors who have been sailing a long time and you need to make time to enjoy the boat and the more you sail her the more you will learn.
Nick
Thank you guys sooo much. I called someone on Lake Norman and we are going to meet with him next week. We would like to move the boat to a smaller marina and I think he can give us some suggestions. I am going to call the other guy 2 posters suggested as well since we do not know if this will be the right fit for us. I like someone that lets me learn and does not over talk everything!! I will definitely use the knowledge around me as well. I think joining a sailing club would help but one we applied to will not allow us to bring our dogs on the property. They weigh less than 15lbs combined and they are our family too. Still looking...
Congrats on the new boat! I'm pretty new at this too and I'm finding the best way is hand's-on training. Theory is great in small doses but it doesn't become real until you're on the water and applying it. ***One tip: Make sure you have thought through what your sailing priorities are (cruising, gunk holing, racing, etc...) and make them clear to your teacher(s). For example there's no point in someone lecturing you for weeks on the finer points of sail trim if you never plan to race. You will pick that up over time and there are much more immediate concerns for cruising (if that's your priority)
Welcome to the boating world.
My wife and I took a major leap and purchased a new H33 last summer. I had little sailing experience and my wife had even less. Two year prior to getting our boat, we took various sailing lessons (basic), navigation course, VHF course, docking course and a refresher course just before we received our new boat. On top of that I had done a lot of reading.
All of this did help us, but the real "training" started when we received our boat. I must admit that we have learned a lot on our own. At some point you will get a sense of what your boat does and how it reacts to the wind. Once you are out on the water, enjoy and take your time.
One of our issues that we still struggle with a bit is docking. Getting the boat moving is easy, getting it to stop is a whole other story. Fortunately, many of our club members are aware that we are the novices and surprisingly there is always someone at our dock ready to catch a line when we come in. (I'm sure they are more concerned about their boat than the are about mine.)
Our other issue is....our 4 year old son. He is in a phase in live that he needs to figure out what every button and switch does on our boat. I'm surprised he hasn't contacted the coast guard yet.
I'm sure at the end of the season, you'll feel like a pro....although the seasoned sailors will say that you never stop learning.
In a nut shell, take some courses/sailing instructions and read some good books. Then get out there and practise.
My wife and I took a major leap and purchased a new H33 last summer. I had little sailing experience and my wife had even less. Two year prior to getting our boat, we took various sailing lessons (basic), navigation course, VHF course, docking course and a refresher course just before we received our new boat. On top of that I had done a lot of reading.
All of this did help us, but the real "training" started when we received our boat. I must admit that we have learned a lot on our own. At some point you will get a sense of what your boat does and how it reacts to the wind. Once you are out on the water, enjoy and take your time.
One of our issues that we still struggle with a bit is docking. Getting the boat moving is easy, getting it to stop is a whole other story. Fortunately, many of our club members are aware that we are the novices and surprisingly there is always someone at our dock ready to catch a line when we come in. (I'm sure they are more concerned about their boat than the are about mine.)
Our other issue is....our 4 year old son. He is in a phase in live that he needs to figure out what every button and switch does on our boat. I'm surprised he hasn't contacted the coast guard yet.
I'm sure at the end of the season, you'll feel like a pro....although the seasoned sailors will say that you never stop learning.
In a nut shell, take some courses/sailing instructions and read some good books. Then get out there and practise.
csd0606,
Welcome to the Hunter family. I owned a H260 a few years back and have some pictures that I keep online. Hopefully there are some things in here to help you with the boat. We really loved the H260 but the H356 stole our hearts.
enjoy....
http://www.ayesail.net/sailing/JavaModifications.html
Welcome to the Hunter family. I owned a H260 a few years back and have some pictures that I keep online. Hopefully there are some things in here to help you with the boat. We really loved the H260 but the H356 stole our hearts.
enjoy....
http://www.ayesail.net/sailing/JavaModifications.html
I don't know which is cooler - the fact that your husband thought that a sailboat would be a great anniversary gift, or that you were excited to get it. Either way, best wishes for many happy years together on the water. Few things in life help a couple build trust and confidence in each other's judgment and abilities like learning to sail together.
That sure was not the responce I received when I went got my hunter 23.5. She still has not been on it or seen the inside. I have taken it out three times all solo. I am fixing to take it to Florida for 5-6 days. Solo I guess. I gave her the choice of sailboat with a trailer or in the water. I had to make a decision.
CSDo606;
feel free anytime to contact me via the forum with phone and location as a backup resource of information on the boat. Many to include seamons (oops Jim) are well versed and will be glad to help you.
crazy dave condon
feel free anytime to contact me via the forum with phone and location as a backup resource of information on the boat. Many to include seamons (oops Jim) are well versed and will be glad to help you.
crazy dave condon
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