Two-foot-itis. Are you cured?

[Bob Camarena]

Not too much more

I went from 21' to 25' to 27' to my current Catalina 30. We're OK for now but I could see going to a 310 or 320. I wouldn't want to get so big that it get's too much of a chore to handle.

 

[Andy]

Test Me please now

I'm not sure if I have a full case of 2footitus. Would someone like to test me? Place a "more than fair cash offer" in my hand for our 29.5 and give me two weeks to consider your offer. Remission means I take your offer and buy a smaller boat debt free.(Hobie Getaway or buy back my old Freedom 21)Stable means I say thank you for your offer, but I'm happy with what I have, and sail away.Full Case of the Illness-I jerk you money away, hand you the keys and start looking!Okay-who want to test me first?

 

[Mark Wieber]

Are we having fun wet??

I started sailing a "Flight 12" ( M.Wards addition of Mini Fish). I still have it. It has a lateen rig, is simple to operate, and is big fun when the wind is up. Mistakes on this boat are easily and immmediately recogniseable and usually involve getting at least your feet wet. Our "new" boat is a 1985 Catalina 36. It is much more forgiving and will generally self sacrifice expensive parts before she lets you get too wet. She has lots of electronics that would be useless on the Flight 12, brought us up from Long Beach (to S.F.) in a little less than three days, and is capable of acting much more like a sail boat than you would think. My wife and I both work, and do not have the time to be purests. The bigger boat and the fancy electronics allow us to go places and see things that would have been mostly out of reach only a few years ago.

 

[Tim]

Keeping the faith

I learned on dinghys, sailed everything from windsurfers to lasers to cruisers.Right now I have found a good mix to keep sailing fun and safe. I have a Pearson 28 for cruising and will be adding a Chartplotter this season, maybe radar next for safety. When I really want to fly I go back to the basics and go out on either my Hobie 16 or one of my windsurfers. This really keeps your skills sharp.Tim

 

[Ray Trombino]

It Depends

First we went smaller, then bigger, then we decided to hold. We started with a 20-year old Luger (21 foot), which we kept for just over a year, and then traded for a 19-foot Seaward Fox. That boat was a test bed for us. After five years, we knew what we wanted, and purchased a Hunter 260. Last year, we looked very hard at a Hunter 356, and almost bought it. Then we realized that the boat would be farther away, instead of almost in our back yard. This would require a different lifestyle - living on the boat for week-ends to make the investment worth it. After long consideration and lots of research, we decided that we are glorified day sailors, and the H260 is really what we need at this point in our lives. So, the answer is, "It Depends."

 

[James E. Meyers]

Getting Older

Hi Elmer Lotshaw:I agree with you. I also had an Interlake and now have a 1979 Hunter 27 with a Yanmar 8hp engine. Would like to sail to the North Channel but with the 8hp engine, I would have trouble getting into Lake Huron due to the fast current at the bridge. How did you do it?I love the Hunter 27 and it is easy to sail single handed, even though it does not have roller furing for the jib. Would not mind moving up to a 30ft plus or minus cat boat at my age of 77. As far as electronics, I have a radio, gps, autopilot and depth meter and knot meter. I could do without the knotmeter since the gps gives me speed over ground. This and good old DR chart ploting is all that is really needed in my case. For safety reasons I have just bought a hand held waterproof radio for a back up. jemeyers@gcfn.org I have sailed my Interlake against you in past races at Leatherlips Yacht Club.

 

[Jim Green]

For, smile on you face, fun...think small!!

I have a 48' Chris tricabin and a 18 ft ski boat, a Hunter 30 and an Alcort Sunfish. I must admit that for pure fun for both me and my kids the small stuff (including puttering around the Harbor in the skiff with an Evinrude Jr.) wins out every time. Extended cruises to other areas and the Islands justify the slip fees for the big stuff. (Just don't ask my wife!) Big boat sailing and cruising is actually a completely different activity, with different rewards. But for the adrenalin type, smile on your face, FUN I'll take a small boat exploring a lagoon or a quick sail to the Chowder Barge every time.

 

[Fred Scott]

Glad I did not go big!

Before I retired I had a steel fabricating company building bridges, then I started shipbuilding which gave me the greatest satisfaction instead of all those monuments all over the land. One boat was a 350 ton car ferry and another was the Edmonton Queen a 450 passenger paddle wheeler.Then a few years ago I was invited to crew in a sailboat race and then started looking for a 30 ft. sailboat or larger when I discovered a book called how to sail big on a small sailboat.That changed my thinking and bought a Macgregor 26X and now I could go anywhere where there was water and I never looked back.Yes you can sail big on a small sailboat.Fred Scott "LADY Vi"PS If you check out my web page you will see what I mean.

 

[John Nantz]

Boating Magazine Cartoon

Years ago I saw a cartoon in a boating magazine which showed a kid rowing across an anchorage in a dink who was looking dreamy-eyed at this Chris craft-type runabout next to him. The guy in the runabout was looking over the 40 ft cruiser next to him and the owner of the cruiser was eyeing the huge yacht on the other side of him. Well, the guy in the big multi-deck yacht, surrounded by his crew and company, was standing there holding his martini peering over the rail at the little kid having fun rowing around in his dink.One of the joys of cruising is getting somewhere and droping the hook and going out in the inflatable and exploring, be it in a city with marinas and other shore facilities or in an undeveloped area with beaches, coves, rock islets, sandbars, and the like. Even beach coming except I am always trying to convince my wife we don't need to take home any souveniers.Small boats are a lot of fun.

 

[Bill Wehmer]

35 is Max

Started with a sunfish, then 14.2 then 18, and now a 30. I want a 35 max. Enjoy the room crusing. New features are more inportant....electronics, stern purch seats...etc. No more than 35 or I'd have to move to another dock. Love my neighbors. It is interesting how different things are priorities.

 

[Wayne]

I'm glad we went to the 41

I confess I had a bad case of the two-foot-itus last year. Our H41 appears to have cured most of the symptoms.Moving from the 34 was the best thing we did in terms of sailing.I think it's funner to sail. Handles much better in close quarters, That 8 hour trip to P-town is ow 6, and it can comfortable handle a couple of guest for a weeks vacation.Of course I didn't commit to the boat until a 42 foot slip opened up on our dock. I like my neighbors as well.

 

[Elmer Lotshaw]

Getting Older

Hi Jim,Don't let that 8 hp Yanmar deter you from going to the North Channel. The only place you need some power is going under the Bluewater Bridge at Sarnia. I had no trouble with getting the Catalina 27 through and, keeping to the right shore, did not have to run the engine above cruising speed. A friend with a 24'boat and a 8 hp outboard got through ok.I have the same equipment as you except for the autopilot.I keep my boat at Spider Bay Marina at Little Current on Manitoulin Is. and spend much of the summer there, 60 days last year.Sold the Interlake a couple years ago.If you want info on the North Channel contact me.elotshaw@accesstoledo.com

 

[Rich Wallace]

All The Comforts Of Home

We started with a MacGregor 25, went to a Hunter 34, and now to a Hunter 42. (Still have the 25, our son uses it each summer and the 34,{for sale}.) The driving forces behind the move was to have more creature comforts and a boat that was easier to sail. My wife's idea of camping out is Holiday Inn so the 25 would never due, and the 34 was missing some of the comforts (read walk around bunk in the rear cabin, built in A/C.) The 42 has power winches, power windlass, generator, and lots of other toys. Without exception the 34 was easier to sail and handled better around the docks than the 25. I am expecting the 42 will be easier than the 34. As Wayne noted, I think we are now at a point that the two (or eight) foot-itis disease can take a break. The real issue is whether the boat is meeting your needs and wants. If not, the disease will attack....repeatedly.

 

[the Pirate of Sha-lin]

How About 11-Foot-itis?

We recently went from two 22 footers to one 33 footer. Who says bigger is drier? There hasn't been anything up to now that quite compares to 6 tons of racer/cruiser in 20 to 25 knots, all sails up, washing the lee side windows. I haven't had so much fun since my Sunfish days!Not only that, when I'm done, I can have a hot or cool shower, change my clothes, and go to the head, before the crews of the smaller get aboard for beer!! Think the next one should be a 44-footer?

 

[Muskrat]

Guilty

12' Snark, 14' Sailfish, 16' Hobie, 22' Bristol, oops... 33' Pearson. It doesn't get any better than this. Anyone seen a good used 44?

 

[R.W.Landau]

for now......

Things are good. In five years I want to add 5'. That all. 30' is a nice size for two. Also don't want to own a house nor a car!r.w.landau

 

[Gary Britton]

smaller is better

I live in land locked Oklahoma and trailer to two different lakes. I started out with a 16' Sidewinder. Nice, fast and loved it in the 100+ days of summer. But I decided that I am getting to old for such a "fun" boat and found a 1966, 17'O'day Daysailer. Fits my needs just fine. Easy to trailer with my little Ford Ranger. It is still fun to sail, feel the water in my face on windy days, easy to maintain, and easy for an out of shape 55 year old to launch. Do not need any bigger boat with all the electronic gadgets, just get out on the lake and sail. The only electronics device I may have onboard (besides a VHF radio for safety) would be a portable radio so I can hear someone other than me singing as I glide through the waters. I do not need a 30+ foot boat. To me smaller is better

 

[Frank R]

doubled size from 12 to 25 feet

I built a 12 foot sail boat 2 years ago and got hooked. Then came the boat shows, demos and sailing on vacations.....etc. Now we just bought a C250 because we wanted a head, galley and a bed to be able to explore the Chesapeake. Unless some long lost relative leaves me some money I'm going to be satisfied with this for quite a while.

 

[Tom Rohlf]

Not too big nor too small . . just right!

I learned to sail on a Grumman sailing dinghy, later bought a 27'Sun Yacht and finally a S2 9.2A (30'er). My wife & I are mid-50's and this boat is just right for us. 'Kestrel' can handle most anything Lake Michigan can throw at us, She's big enough to stand up in (for my 6'4" frame)and has enough room & privacy for an occasional guest or two. Best of all, she's got a big-boat feel w/o the big-boat price. We love her to death!

 

[BILL ROBB]

MOVIN' UP

When I bought my O-25, I thought I couldn't be happier. It seemed to be the perfect combination of "big boat" amenities and small boat sailing fun. But when a O-30 became available at our dock I just couldn't resist. I've never been sorry. Coming up through a sailing dinghy, an Interlake, a Hobie, Sunfish, and even a strange but fun boat called a "Super Porpoise" - I know that nothing beats the FUN of a small sailboat. But for us old farts, having the comforts too is great.