new to sailing

[mark rocco]

Hello every one. I'm new to sailing...i will be going to ASA of Wilmington NC in May. I want to after the school use there boats at a fee to learn and get comfortable with sailing. My other thought is to buy a small sail boat 14-17 ft. I would appreciate any feed back. thank
mark rocco

 

[ppm411]

Check out a flying scot

 

[Jackdaw]

How old are you? How much free time do you have? What is more important, money or time?

ASA classes are a GREAT way to get started, They cut the learned curve down tremendously. I'd never try and talk someone out of doing that.

Always best to try lots of boats. Very few people know what they want straight out. Those that think they do are often wrong.

 

[mark rocco]

How old are you? How much free time do you have? What is more important, money or time?

ASA classes are a GREAT way to get started, They cut the learned curve down tremendously. I'd never try and talk someone out of doing that.

Always best to try lots of boats. Very few people know what they want straight out. Those that think they do are often wrong.

Thank you Jack as far as free time I'm semi retired...have a good job money at this point in time is not much of a problem I'm single my kid's are grown and secure...well as much as one can be theses days in our changing world...I will be trying as many boats as i possible can I'm not a person of impulse...when the time comes and the right boat comes along I'll know. Thank you for your input I take all reply's serious thanks mark rocco

 

[mark rocco]

Check out a flying scot

I will go on line and check out what the flying scot is I'm not sure but any reply's are worth some research i see you have a 22 Catalina that would be one of the boats i would be looking at down the line ...thank you for your reply mark rocco

 

[Kings Gambit]

Hi,

Welcome aboard! As JD said, you'll move along more quickly taking an instructional course from ASA; but in the end your ultimate enjoyment and proficiency at sailing will depend on practice and time on the water. No surprise there; nothing quite like stating the obvious! So your plan to use their boats afterward for a fee is a good one if the boats are in good condition and if they prove available at times when YOU wish to go sailing. It can be frustrating sitting on the sidelines on a beautiful sailing day b/c someone else has the boat out that you wanted, etc. So, the ownership solution to that issue. There are many, many boats for sale by owner all of time. It's always a buyers' market. However, some are quite new, maybe only a year or two old. It's like buying a new car and then selling it, or trying to, at a substantial reduction a year or two later. Why would somebody do that? Could not afford the car (boat), did not like the car (boat), wife did not like the car (boat), the car (boat) is a lemon, etc. In the case of pre-owned: too much work or money to fix it up; spending too much money relative to the enjoyment being received. Common to both of those circumstances is what I call "the hassle factor." If it's too high you'll stay home or do something else rather than go sailing; eventually, you find yourself not using the boat much and decide to dump it.

What situation presents the "lowest" hassle factor? A boat in "good condition" at minimum; one that is ready for sailing at anytime w/o extensive preparation [Include finding or scheduling crew as form of preparation.]; and one stationed close to a good sailing venue. In order of least to highest: A boat that you can singlehand and in a slip ten min or less from the sailing venue; a trailered boat that you can launch and sail alone and in mast-up dry storage on its trailer ten min or less from the sailing venue after launch; the same trailered boat but kept at home [or elsewhere] requiring travel to the launch site and rigging/derigging at the site. The same three as above in respective order, but where you need one or more crew to execute [the last one almost demands it] and/or requiring more time to the sailing venue. Anything over 30 min [not including travel time to launch site if not in a slip] is a definite turn off.

So as you look for your boat--consider the above and ask yourself how much sailing do you really wish to do and expect to do?

 

[Rwrohlfs]

Check out the Boston Whaler line. My first sailboat was a Boston Whaler 4.3 Harpoon. It was a great boat to learn with and very forgiving. I sold it when I bought my Cat22 and shed a tear when it left the yard. It is being sailed on a lake just a few miles away so I still have visitation rights!

 

[mark rocco]

Hi,

Welcome aboard! As JD said, you'll move along more quickly taking an instructional course from ASA; but in the end your ultimate enjoyment and proficiency at sailing will depend on practice and time on the water. No surprise there; nothing quite like stating the obvious! So your plan to use their boats afterward for a fee is a good one if the boats are in good condition and if they prove available at times when YOU wish to go sailing. It can be frustrating sitting on the sidelines on a beautiful sailing day b/c someone else has the boat out that you wanted, etc. So, the ownership solution to that issue. There are many, many boats for sale by owner all of time. It's always a buyers' market. However, some are quite new, maybe only a year or two old. It's like buying a new car and then selling it, or trying to, at a substantial reduction a year or two later. Why would somebody do that? Could not afford the car (boat), did not like the car (boat), wife did not like the car (boat), the car (boat) is a lemon, etc. In the case of pre-owned: too much work or money to fix it up; spending too much money relative to the enjoyment being received. Common to both of those circumstances is what I call "the hassle factor." If it's too high you'll stay home or do something else rather than go sailing; eventually, you find yourself not using the boat much and decide to dump it.

What situation presents the "lowest" hassle factor? A boat in "good condition" at minimum; one that is ready for sailing at anytime w/o extensive preparation [Include finding or scheduling crew as form of preparation.]; and one stationed close to a good sailing venue. In order of least to highest: A boat that you can singlehand and in a slip ten min or less from the sailing venue; a trailered boat that you can launch and sail alone and in mast-up dry storage on its trailer ten min or less from the sailing venue after launch; the same trailered boat but kept at home [or elsewhere] requiring travel to the launch site and rigging/derigging at the site. The same three as above in respective order, but where you need one or more crew to execute [the last one almost demands it] and/or requiring more time to the sailing venue. Anything over 30 min [not including travel time to launch site if not in a slip] is a definite turn off.

So as you look for your boat--consider the above and ask yourself how much sailing do you really wish to do and expect to do?

Wow thank you so much we are definitely on the same page the fee is rather high to use the boats at the ASA school...i look at boats for sale all the time there are a lot of good ones out there i thinking small is best the only thing if i were to buy a small boat say a 14-16 ft then when the time come to sell well it might take for ever so this is wer I'm at in my thinking...what are your thoughts on this mark rocco

 

[Kings Gambit]

Wow thank you so much we are definitely on the same page the fee is rather high to use the boats at the ASA school...i look at boats for sale all the time there are a lot of good ones out there i thinking small is best the only thing if i were to buy a small boat say a 14-16 ft then when the time come to sell well it might take for ever so this is wer I'm at in my thinking...what are your thoughts on this mark rocco

Try this one.

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1977/Nordica--2759258/Lottsburg/VA/United-States#.VSiUjtJdWEw

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=4034

 

[Nahart51]

I have both a Catalina 30 and a Catalina 22. The 30 is really forgiving and once it's moving, momentum kinda takes over. If I make a mistake, it's not so bad.

On the on the other hand, the 22 is way more responsive to weather, water currents, and my mistakes.

I guess my point is, learn to sail on a small boat. You will get immediate feed back from her.

I enjoy my 22 way more than my 30. Small boats are way closer to the water, less scary in a knockdown, and easier to get off the bottom when you go hard aground (my specialty). If there is shallow water, I will find it.

 

[mark rocco]

I have both a Catalina 30 and a Catalina 22. The 30 is really forgiving and once it's moving, momentum kinda takes over. If I make a mistake, it's not so bad.

On the on the other hand, the 22 is way more responsive to weather, water currents, and my mistakes.

I guess my point is, learn to sail on a small boat. You will get immediate feed back from her.

I enjoy my 22 way more than my 30. Small boats are way closer to the water, less scary in a knockdown, and easier to get off the bottom when you go hard aground (my specialty). If there is shallow water, I will find it.

thank you...I think I'm leaning towards a small boat at first...it seems that's were you can hone in on your skill.....i always owned small sport cars... MG's... and the handling was always much more one on one so yes i think a small boat at first is the way to go thanks mark rocco

 

[Kestle]

Race. Get on someone else's sailboat and race, even if the only job is moving from one side of the boat tot he other as moveable ballast (called "rail meat").

Learn the mechanics and help them repair the boat, which will teach you how to keep costs down. Start with a trailerable boat, as the fees to keep a boat in the water are high and it also increases maintenance.

Race on different boats. Get a feel for how much you cal handle for yourself. For me, I cruise around on a weekender called a MacGregor which has a number of versions in the 25-26 foot range. There's a great group on this site.

Where you sail is also important; if you must go offshore then a sturdier boat will be necessary.

But seriously, just start by volunteering to race at a local yacht club. You'll be glad you did that first. After a year or so, try a boat.

Jeff

 

[mark rocco]

Race. Get on someone else's sailboat and race, even if the only job is moving from one side of the boat tot he other as moveable ballast (called "rail meat").

Learn the mechanics and help them repair the boat, which will teach you how to keep costs down. Start with a trailerable boat, as the fees to keep a boat in the water are high and it also increases maintenance.

Race on different boats. Get a feel for how much you cal handle for yourself. For me, I cruise around on a weekender called a MacGregor which has a number of versions in the 25-26 foot range. There's a great group on this site.

Where you sail is also important; if you must go offshore then a sturdier boat will be necessary.

But seriously, just start by volunteering to race at a local yacht club. You'll be glad you did that first. After a year or so, try a boat.

Jeff

Again thank you and every one else for there feed back I'm very grateful i feel like I'm adopting another family.....the best thing is we all love boating and we don't need to get together at the holidays thank you all again mark rocco

 

[Meriachee]

There's a bunch of 470s at the Guides camp near us, and they take great pleasure on practising capsize recovery on hot summer days. It's rather cute to see 1/2 dozen masts all together, then one by one tip over, followed by howls of laughter.

 

[Leeward Rail]

Personally, I'd buy something small that other people sail/race near you.
While I love boats similar to the Lazer, Byte or catamarans like the Hobie 16, or especially the International 505, they are athletic boats.
If you are older and looking for something less "athletic" I'd suggest something where you sit "in" the boat, not "on" it.

Something like a CL16.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CL_16
She has a main, headsail, and spinnaker so you can get used to what most larger keelboats have for sails. She's unsinkable, and she's got a large cockpit for a a bunch of people. You can even use a trapeze on her.
She's a good size, but small enough that you can really learn about sailing because you can actualy feel how minor changes can affect how the boat sails.
One was sailed from Norway to iceland and some people camp on them with a tent over the boom, some sleeping bags, and a coleman camp stove.
She also has a decent sized racing fleet. At least in Canada.
Racing is a great way to learn, once you know the basics. It also give you a bunch of people with similar interests to hang out with and learn from.

Anything similar to that would make a great small boat which works for beginners, but is also fun once you know how to sail well.

 

[mark rocco]

Personally, I'd buy something small that other people sail/race near you.
While I love boats similar to the Lazer, Byte or catamarans like the Hobie 16, or especially the International 505, they are athletic boats.
If you are older and looking for something less "athletic" I'd suggest something where you sit "in" the boat, not "on" it.

Something like a CL16.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CL_16
She has a main, headsail, and spinnaker so you can get used to what most larger keelboats have for sails. She's unsinkable, and she's got a large cockpit for a a bunch of people. You can even use a trapeze on her.
She's a good size, but small enough that you can really learn about sailing because you can actualy feel how minor changes can affect how the boat sails.
One was sailed from Norway to iceland and some people camp on them with a tent over the boom, some sleeping bags, and a coleman camp stove.
She also has a decent sized racing fleet. At least in Canada.
Racing is a great way to learn, once you know the basics. It also give you a bunch of people with similar interests to hang out with and learn from.

Anything similar to that would make a great small boat which works for beginners, but is also fun once you know how to sail well.

Thank you very much for the info...I'm sure that i will get something small to start out with...I'm just starting to go to some of the yacht clubs in the area so i will keep every one posted...again thank you for your info. mark rocco