Second boat not all its cracked up to be!

[emergpa1]

I put my second boat, a renken 18 in the water yesterday. I had a good time but she does not sail as well as my 26. She doesn't point worth a hoot, and with her stubby little keel she makes a bit of leeway. It was cool being closer to the water and I did have a lot of fun, but I had to ask myself if the extra stress and cost of trying to maintain two boats is worth it. For me, NO!

I am just posting this to say that a second boat ends up taking a lot more time and money than I budgeted. The idea was to have a small boat that I could haul around to different places or to sail while working on My Girl. Dang it, why do I have to be so impulsive? Besides having high standards: everything has to be the best. While sailing I was constantly planning upgrades, new sail plan etc. I can't do all that for two boats.

I had to learn my lesson the hard way. I think I am going to put her up for sale for less than I have in her. But I learned a good lesson. I also have a new appreciation for how well My Girl sails, and for the o'day in general. That is worth something.

What are others experiences regarding having that second larger or smaller boat? Whew, one is enough. It is like having two wives!

 

[Shoaldrafter]

What did you expect?

Keith,

What did you expect?

The O'Day 26 is a proven design for a good sailboat.

Your logic just does not make good sense.

Ed K

I put my second boat, a renken 18 in the water yesterday. I had a good time but she does not sail as well as my 26. She doesn't point worth a hoot, and with her stubby little keel she makes a bit of leeway. It was cool being closer to the water and I did have a lot of fun, but I had to ask myself if the extra stress and cost of trying to maintain two boats is worth it. For me, NO!

I am just posting this to say that a second boat ends up taking a lot more time and money than I budgeted. The idea was to have a small boat that I could haul around to different places or to sail while working on My Girl. Dang it, why do I have to be so impulsive? Besides having high standards: everything has to be the best. While sailing I was constantly planning upgrades, new sail plan etc. I can't do all that for two boats.

I had to learn my lesson the hard way. I think I am going to put her up for sale for less than I have in her. But I learned a good lesson. I also have a new appreciation for how well My Girl sails, and for the o'day in general. That is worth something.

What are others experiences regarding having that second larger or smaller boat? Whew, one is enough. It is like having two wives!

 

[Joe11688]

Keith,
Don't feel bad. I went through this very same thing years ago when I bought my Sturdee Catboat. Oh, I enjoyed sailing it,---for a while--- but the cat boat came up real short compared to my O'Day 222.
Weather helm on a catboat can be brutal and sometimes she would get in irons and I couldn't get her to tack.
One day I was leaving the dock and my topping lift got caught around a piling as I was sailing off. The boat filled up with water and I lost a nice Sony Sports radio.
I brought it to the club and left it sitting on the trailer with the mast up and one stormy night, the wind blew the boat over on to one of my friend's O'Day 22. Luckily his boat didn't get damaged and neither did the catboat for that fact.
Finally, I left it in my yard sitting on the trailer and the trailer rotted out and the tires went flat. The boat sat in my driveway for years and finally a tree branch came crashing down on the boat one stormy night and broke the combing and half of the gunwale strip.
I went out and bought some wood and I was going to fix the boat up but as I was trying to remove the combing boards I discovered that some of the wood screws behind the bungs were all rusted and when I tried to remove them, the heads got all chewed up. Did they cut corners and use regular steel screws at the factory when they built this boat? I took a ride to the factory where the boat was built in Tiverton RI to get a price on having them do the repair and of course they denied ever using anything but stainless steel on their boats.
Finally, I put it in the "Want Advertiser" and I also put it in "By The Sea" classified adds and a guy in Sandy Hook NJ bought it off me for $2000 without the trailer. He mailed me a check and he drove all the way up to my house with his trailer behind his van. When he got to my house I loaded the boat on his trailer, adjusted the tongue weight, and helped him load all the gear that went with the boat. I even gave him the boards that I had bought to make the repair.
I took a $700 loss on that boat or even more considering that I had work done to the sail.
So don't feel too bad. For me, it's a case of "been there done that." Hopefully we can all learn through our mistakes. I know that I did.

 

[Shoaldrafter]

Joe

Joe,

Surprise, here is a guy with a very good lake boat, that is an O'Day 26. O'Day 26's were the end of an evoluton in small cruiesing sail boat design.

The O'Day 26 was designed by several experienced and knowledgeable boat designers, a.k.a., naval architechs. They learned from first boats they designed and earlier versions of Keith's O'Day 26, that is the family of O'Day 25's, 23's and 27's.

No he takes orphan design and expects it to compare to his 26? How is that different from supporting a Marxist advocating against America and limited government.

Ed K

 

[RAD]

I couldn't imagine in my wildests dreams TWO WIVES

thanks for sharing

 

[gjaffess]

We are "snowbirds" and owning 2 boats works out great. An O'Day 27 for Cape Cod for 6 months and a Compac Suncat for Lake Weir in Florida for 6 months. Very little down time. Maintenance on the Suncat is minor and it is a great lake boat in any wind conditions. Not fast , but very comfortable and easy to single hand.

 

[emergpa1]

Joe,

Surprise, here is a guy with a very good lake boat, that is an O'Day 26. O'Day 26's were the end of an evoluton in small cruiesing sail boat design.

The O'Day 26 was designed by several experienced and knowledgeable boat designers, a.k.a., naval architechs. They learned from first boats they designed and earlier versions of Keith's O'Day 26, that is the family of O'Day 25's, 23's and 27's.

No he takes orphan design and expects it to compare to his 26? How is that different from supporting a Marxist advocating against America and limited government.

Ed K

Good Lord Ed, you have lost your mind!

 

[emergpa1]

We are "snowbirds" and owning 2 boats works out great. An O'Day 27 for Cape Cod for 6 months and a Compac Suncat for Lake Weir in Florida for 6 months. Very little down time. Maintenance on the Suncat is minor and it is a great lake boat in any wind conditions. Not fast , but very comfortable and easy to single hand.

We looked at the sun cat a while back. I was thinking about that little boat when I got the renken. Like the sun cat, the renken has a lot of room below for storing gear, and to stretch out. She will be cheap to maintain. If she doesn't sale I will not be too disappointed. But what a slug! That's why I caught myself thinking about sinking more time and money into her for a larger sail plan, traveller on the coaming, and began to feel guilty!

Joe, I hope it's ok that I chuckled at your tale of the " bad luck sturdy cat"

Ed, you spend too much time watching and listening to the political "made for TV" drama that fox and other networks call news. IMO it is all a show. Smoke and mirrors. Politically focused radio and tv shows get much higher ratings if they can keep you guys all tore up, angry, and scared. But to each his own I always say! If that's what floats your boat then enjoy it. As for me it's all flotsam and jetsam.

 

[Merlin Clark]

My Morgan is kind of like your O'day in that it would be a lot of work to trailer around to different interesting sailing grounds for a weekend at a time.
The Renken looks like a good boat for that. I'm thinking of something like similar for just hooking up and going/sailing someplace different once in a while.

 

[heymagic]

The cost of maintaining one boat is enough for most of us to handle. I get attached to them and it is hard to let them go. I love to sail the mirror and the Sanibel, but the O'Day 23 gets the most attention. The new-to-me boat always needs some TLC to get it up to snuff.
I find those mishaps you mention, to be more common when I am switching boats more often, so for me there is that! Could be my advanced age though!

I put my second boat, a renken 18 in the water yesterday. I had a good time but she does not sail as well as my 26. She doesn't point worth a hoot, and with her stubby little keel she makes a bit of leeway. It was cool being closer to the water and I did have a lot of fun, but I had to ask myself if the extra stress and cost of trying to maintain two boats is worth it. For me, NO!

I am just posting this to say that a second boat ends up taking a lot more time and money than I budgeted. The idea was to have a small boat that I could haul around to different places or to sail while working on My Girl. Dang it, why do I have to be so impulsive? Besides having high standards: everything has to be the best. While sailing I was constantly planning upgrades, new sail plan etc. I can't do all that for two boats.

I had to learn my lesson the hard way. I think I am going to put her up for sale for less than I have in her. But I learned a good lesson. I also have a new appreciation for how well My Girl sails, and for the o'day in general. That is worth something.

What are others experiences regarding having that second larger or smaller boat? Whew, one is enough. It is like having two wives!

 

[Joe11688]

Joe, I hope it's ok that I chuckled at your tale of the " bad luck sturdy cat"
No that's OK Keith. It only hurts when I laugh.

If it's one thing I can't get enough of, it's Fox News. I love Fox!

 

[RichBone]

There's several reasons why a boat won't point besides the design. Sails and tuning come to mind. From the picture it looks like the head sail luff could be tightened. What kind of shape are the sails in?Weather/lee helm?
From this picture it looks it should be a decent sailer-
http://oksailing.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/about-the-tangerine-18-sailboat/#jp-carousel-106

 

[Joe11688]

I don't know Rich. That boat has a sleek design and I think that the only reason why it won't point up high is the stubby keel. Put a fin keel on that boat and you'll get her to point up to within 42 degrees I bet. There just isn't enough "gripe" in a stubby keel for good up wind performance. If she had a keel/centerboard it would make a bigger difference in sailing performance.

 

[emergpa1]

I don't know Rich. That boat has a sleek design and I think that the only reason why it won't point up high is the stubby keel. Put a fin keel on that boat and you'll get her to point up to within 42 degrees I bet. There just isn't enough "gripe" in a stubby keel for good up wind performance. If she had a keel/centerboard it would make a bigger difference in sailing performance.

She does make a bit of leeway, and if I tried a larger headsail I think the leeway would increase. The sails are blown and the rig does need tuning.

 

[emergpa1]

There's several reasons why a boat won't point besides the design. Sails and tuning come to mind. From the picture it looks like the head sail luff could be tightened. What kind of shape are the sails in?Weather/lee helm?
From this picture it looks it should be a decent sailer-
http://oksailing.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/about-the-tangerine-18-sailboat/#jp-carousel-106

Good point. That little rolling furler has a lot is curve to the luff that, try as I might, i could not get out! It needs a larger block at the mast head and perhaps adding a wench. I also thought about changing to a larger hank on headsail, but would need to add winches and traveller. Hence my growing sense of feeling like I was wasting tme and money which should be directed to My Girl.

 

[Joe11688]

New sails might make a big difference on that boat Keith. I talked to a guy on the river years ago who owned a stubby keel O'Day 22 and he told me that the new sails that he bought from Porpoise Sailing Services really made a big difference in the way she sailed. He got them at a pretty good price back then.
http://www.porpoisesailing.com/

 

[LordNelson]

i have two boats, but the second one is a power boat. works out great, if the wind is blowing i sail, if not, i use the power boat. it's also great having the power boat for diving and taking the kids, grandkids tubing and skiing.

so if you want a second boat, go with a small runabout and you'll have all the bases covered.

 

[Indysailor]

I've been thinking about getting a sunfish, a laser, or something similar. My son has told me sailing is boring, which is exactly the opposite reaction my wife said she had when she was young, sailing her own laser. So that seems to be a key thing if you're going to own more than one boat- get something that is completely different, or in our case, more kid friendly. And I'll admit the prospect of zinging along close to the water appeals to me, as well.

 

[emergpa1]

I've been thinking about getting a sunfish, a laser, or something similar. My son has told me sailing is boring, which is exactly the opposite reaction my wife said she had when she was young, sailing her own laser. So that seems to be a key thing if you're going to own more than one boat- get something that is completely different, or in our case, more kid friendly. And I'll admit the prospect of zinging along close to the water appeals to me, as well.

yes, that a good idea, and i had those thoughts in mind when looking for a smaller boat. Plus kids like being in control of a craft, and if he could sail his own little boat about while you guys are in the bigger boat (given the conditions and where you are of course) they would get a big kick out of that, and a grand appreciation for the art of sail.