First Sailboat

[Radial4.7]

There's a reason Chicago is called the Windy City. I'm not sure it would be my first choice for learning to sail, although you would certainly learn quickly.

I thought "nineteenth-century journalists first gave Chicago this designation when criticizing the city’s elite as 'full of hot air.'" Not my words; I read it somewhere.

Well, Cape Cod is out of the picture. I'll turn down LIS. The question is Seattle or Chicago.

 

[tillerman]

I thought "nineteenth-century journalists first gave Chicago this designation when criticizing the city’s elite as 'full of hot air.'" Not my words; I read it somewhere.

Well, Cape Cod is out of the picture. I'll turn down LIS. The question is Seattle or Chicago.

I'd go for Seattle. Once you have mastered the basic skills of singlehanded dinghy sailing in a Sunfish or Laser you are going to want to move up to the RS Aero, and Seattle has the best and biggest RS Aero fleet in North America.

 

[Rojoyinc]

I'll join a club for a season or two when I get into keelboats. For now, I'll go with a Sunfish.

I started with a sunfish. I outgrew it REALLY QUICKLY as I found it SLOW and BORING.
WETA though not as exciting as a Hobie (NO TRAPPING OUT = (
is a very nice start. To me - trapping out or flying is mandatory for the excitement factor.
I raced with a friend in a weta. VERY safe - we broke it. With no rudder, we had to walk it a mile
around the lake to get back to the beach.

No trapping out - but a very nice starter boat.

 

[firstlast]

Planning to buy my first sailboat. I have zero experience. I will teach myself and sail solo in Cape Cod and close by beaches. Middle-aged guy here. 150lb, 5'7". Need to work out more though.

My short list:
Laser Radial
Weta Trimaran
Hobie Wave

Any comments? Big Mistake? Better ideas?

Strongly suggest, if you have the time and funds, to take sailing lessons in the type of boat you plan to buy...not keelboat lessons. Your contemplated purchase will be light and fast. I was self taught. Acquired many bad habits and didn't acquire the nuances of sailing nonballast boats.

 

[Gunny]

Here’s an idea. Check out some local yacht clubs and see if anyone is looking for crew. Chances are they are. The best boat to have is someone else’s boat.

 

[Radial4.7]

I started with a sunfish. I outgrew it REALLY QUICKLY as I found it SLOW and BORING.
WETA though not as exciting as a Hobie (NO TRAPPING OUT = (
is a very nice start. To me - trapping out or flying is mandatory for the excitement factor.
I raced with a friend in a weta. VERY safe - we broke it. With no rudder, we had to walk it a mile
around the lake to get back to the beach.

No trapping out - but a very nice starter boat.

That's why I'm planning to start with a used / cheap Sunfish - like very used and very cheap one.

I dropped the Weta from the list as it is pricy for a first boat, even used.

Hobie Wave is still in the list, but that I will rent one first and see how I like it. Wave has to be a used one too - possible to outgrow her quickly as well, I assume.

Now, Hobie 16, on the other hand, is just awesome. I bet there are used ones in good condition everywhere. That one could be the second one, after gaining some experience.

 

[Marty Gingras]

I dropped the Weta from the list as it is pricy for a first boat, even used.

They tell me a boat is an investment.

 

[Radial4.7]

Strongly suggest, if you have the time and funds, to take sailing lessons in the type of boat you plan to buy...not keelboat lessons. Your contemplated purchase will be light and fast. I was self taught. Acquired many bad habits and didn't acquire the nuances of sailing nonballast boats.

Yeah, I remember a similar comment. I might take a brief lesson or two at the beginning. That way I can test the boat they teach on too.

 

[Radial4.7]

I'd go for Seattle. Once you have mastered the basic skills of singlehanded dinghy sailing in a Sunfish or Laser you are going to want to move up to the RS Aero, and Seattle has the best and biggest RS Aero fleet in North America.

Looks as if I'll have to pick them both and let the fate decide. At least, now, I know both are nice places to sail.

 

[eudman]

If you're certain racing is not in your future, buy the boat that gets you excited and you will actually get out and use. Easy is important because it's way too easy to plop on the couch with a bag of Doritos and watch football. Make it as easy as you can to go sailing!

If racing is in your future, the answer is simple: One design racing. Find the most active dinghy fleet in your area and buy that boat, no matter what it is. The reason is that sailing is a complex sport with possibly an infinite number of variables. Eliminating as many variables as you can will help you learn and understand much more about the remaining variables. Handicap racing is a huge and necessary benefit to our sport, but it simply takes a lot longer to evaluate and adjust your own performance due to the additional variables involved. This is why dinghy racing at the highest levels (Olympic and Collegiate) is one design.

If possible, borrow a boat before you buy to be sure this is for you. Then buy a boat as soon as you can. In my opinion, buying used works better for 2 reasons: 1) Dings are going to happen and they're easier on the psyche and to fix on a used boat. 2) Selling your boat is easier if you want to upgrade to newer, change fleets, move to another area, just changed your mind, or whatever.

Once you have a boat, sail and race as often as you can. Be a fun person who shows up early and stays late to hang with the other sailors. Ask questions while respecting everyone's time and thier desire to enjoy their sailing too. Buy them beers, breakfast, or lunch. Listen, take notes, and practice.

On a side note, when I was new, I was somewhat intimidated by the good sailors, which made me hesitant to ask "dumb" questions and to get up on the starting line for fear of messing them up. I've also seen this with almost every new sailor at our club. Please keep two things in mind: 1. As long as you make an effort to understand the rules and sail fair, you have just as much right as anyone to any spot on the starting line you want; even in your very first race. 2. Everyone was a beginner at some point so don't hesitate to calm the occasional ego with questions that start with, "When you were a beginner like me, how..."

FWIW: I was in your position about 8 years ago. Middle age, never sailed, 145 lbs, 5' 6". Since then, I've bought, sold, and raced many boats. I currently own 2 Sunfish(s?), an MC Scow, a VX Evo, and a J22 (I know, not a dinghy). The point to this is that my opinions above fit your situation IF you want to race a dinghy. Additionally, as a somewhat introverted person, I started with the teach myself method by buying a book and a Prindle 16. Within 6 months I sold the 16 to another guy (just like us, ha), gave him the book, and found a local fleet. This turned out to be the best decision of my sailing life.

Above all else, get in a boat and go sailing! Good luck and make it fun!

 

[BGeff]

Weta!

 

[Mike Winter]

Planning to buy my first sailboat. I have zero experience. I will teach myself and sail solo in Cape Cod and close by beaches. Middle-aged guy here. 150lb, 5'7". Need to work out more though.

fitness minimum may be relevant if you have had a health checkup, can you walk 3 miles without needing a nap and can you safely tie a taughtline hitch at full stretch above your head. the knot is important, the height less so, but some folks could put their life at risk doing so.

you are asking if it’s a big mistake? of course it is, you are certifiable if you have not been sailing on other folks boats and you need your head examining unless you are certain, the only way to proceed is to buy. Why not rent or join a club and save yourself headaches galore. Owning a boat and the treadmill of challenges that’s incumbent in this “lifestyle choice”, requires commitment and sailing is only part of it. i’ve heard tales of rich idiots dropping beaucoup dollars on lovely new romantic notions of adventure, then realize it’s not as much fun, nor compatible with wife version 1.0.

glhf in this life choice
- mike
Ranger 33
sv Knot Alone

 

[Marty Gingras]

fitness minimum may be relevant if you have had a health checkup, can you walk 3 miles without needing a nap and can you safely tie a taughtline hitch at full stretch above your head. the knot is important, the height less so, but some folks could put their life at risk doing so.

Swimming in the cold too because with a little single-hander as his first experience and where he plans to start, odds are very good he's gonna be swimming a lot and cold. I recently helped RC a low-key masters Laser regatta where there was a lot of swimming and some exhaustion.

 

[Radial4.7]

If you're certain racing is not in your future, buy the boat that gets you excited and you will actually get out and use. Easy is important because it's way too easy to plop on the couch with a bag of Doritos and watch football. Make it as easy as you can to go sailing!

If racing is in your future, the answer is simple: One design racing. Find the most active dinghy fleet in your area and buy that boat, no matter what it is. The reason is that sailing is a complex sport with possibly an infinite number of variables. Eliminating as many variables as you can will help you learn and understand much more about the remaining variables. Handicap racing is a huge and necessary benefit to our sport, but it simply takes a lot longer to evaluate and adjust your own performance due to the additional variables involved. This is why dinghy racing at the highest levels (Olympic and Collegiate) is one design.

If possible, borrow a boat before you buy to be sure this is for you. Then buy a boat as soon as you can. In my opinion, buying used works better for 2 reasons: 1) Dings are going to happen and they're easier on the psyche and to fix on a used boat. 2) Selling your boat is easier if you want to upgrade to newer, change fleets, move to another area, just changed your mind, or whatever.

Once you have a boat, sail and race as often as you can. Be a fun person who shows up early and stays late to hang with the other sailors. Ask questions while respecting everyone's time and thier desire to enjoy their sailing too. Buy them beers, breakfast, or lunch. Listen, take notes, and practice.

On a side note, when I was new, I was somewhat intimidated by the good sailors, which made me hesitant to ask "dumb" questions and to get up on the starting line for fear of messing them up. I've also seen this with almost every new sailor at our club. Please keep two things in mind: 1. As long as you make an effort to understand the rules and sail fair, you have just as much right as anyone to any spot on the starting line you want; even in your very first race. 2. Everyone was a beginner at some point so don't hesitate to calm the occasional ego with questions that start with, "When you were a beginner like me, how..."

FWIW: I was in your position about 8 years ago. Middle age, never sailed, 145 lbs, 5' 6". Since then, I've bought, sold, and raced many boats. I currently own 2 Sunfish(s?), an MC Scow, a VX Evo, and a J22 (I know, not a dinghy). The point to this is that my opinions above fit your situation IF you want to race a dinghy. Additionally, as a somewhat introverted person, I started with the teach myself method by buying a book and a Prindle 16. Within 6 months I sold the 16 to another guy (just like us, ha), gave him the book, and found a local fleet. This turned out to be the best decision of my sailing life.

Above all else, get in a boat and go sailing! Good luck and make it fun!

Thank you. Ultra introverted here. Need solitary hobbies to recharge batteries.

 

[Radial4.7]

fitness minimum may be relevant if you have had a health checkup, can you walk 3 miles without needing a nap and can you safely tie a taughtline hitch at full stretch above your head. the knot is important, the height less so, but some folks could put their life at risk doing so.

you are asking if it’s a big mistake? of course it is, you are certifiable if you have not been sailing on other folks boats and you need your head examining unless you are certain, the only way to proceed is to buy. Why not rent or join a club and save yourself headaches galore. Owning a boat and the treadmill of challenges that’s incumbent in this “lifestyle choice”, requires commitment and sailing is only part of it. i’ve heard tales of rich idiots dropping beaucoup dollars on lovely new romantic notions of adventure, then realize it’s not as much fun, nor compatible with wife version 1.0.

glhf in this life choice
- mike
Ranger 33
sv Knot Alone

Fitness is good. I just want to get better.

I know about those rich idiots. Cruising is a competely different area. My sailing dinghy future is just for myself. I don't think I can go wrong with a cheap start on a used boat.

 

[Radial4.7]

Swimming in the cold too because with a little single-hander as his first experience and where he plans to start, odds are very good he's gonna be swimming a lot and cold. I recently helped RC a low-key masters Laser regatta where there was a lot of swimming and some exhaustion.

I am an avid swimmer.

 

[BoatBaseball]

As stated above the Sunfish is dead simple to learn and is a plenty fun for a new sailor.

One word of caution, when looking at a used Sunfish make sure you go over the hull for damage and try lifting it up by the bow handle. It should be ~120lbs/54 kg, however, if it gets water inside the internal flotation foam can absorb it and the boat can then weigh up to 300lbs/136kgs. Sails, lines, foils, etc can all be replaced but from what I understand you can't easily get a soggy hull back to fighting weight even if you try drying it out. An overweight Sunfish will still sail, but will be an absolute PITA trying to move ashore. I solo carry an aluminum rowboat up and down to the lake every year and its a piece of cake compared to moving an overweight Sunfish 10 feet.

Alternatively if you are interested in a Sunfish and looking to buy new I would check out out the Fulcrum Speedworks Rocket, its pretty much an updated Sunfish. I've ordered one for myself for next season.

Cheers,
-John

I second the Rocket recommendation, especially if you can get some practice in on a Sunfish. Get on the Sunfish and then while sailing, imagine a boat that is 40% lighter (or more, if your 'Fish is waterlogged), has a big-enough cockpit and is just as easy to rig and sail.

 

[Pewit]

I think you should first get some sailing lessons and then look for the boat. Sail Cape Cod offers adult sailing lessons. https://www.sailcapecod.org/

I’ve been to in Cape Cod in summer and winter. Winters are long and freezing. Summer is quite short but usually sunny. I’ve sailed a Laser rented off the beach and also been swimming (in summer) . Thanks to the Labrador Current, the water is cold and only gets to a maximum of 68 deg F (20C) in peak summer and drops to 38 Deg F (3.5 C) in winter. Don’t sail in winter! I would recommend a 3mm wetsuit for summer use because if you do go in, the cold can sap your energy quickly. A dry suit would be advisable for shoulder seasons.

So until you learn how not to capsize, a boat that doesn’t capsize easily is a really good idea. That takes out most monohulls unless you have one with a weighted keel.

I stared sailing in Lasers and other dinghies in the UK - then moved to yachts (up to a Maxi) and sportsboats. After moving to Sydney I wanted something I could sail solo or with friends but that was fun to sail too - most fast boats (eg moth, solo skiff) seemed to be hard to learn and expensive to buy and maintain. Then saw this video on SA of two guys sailing a Weta up a river for 40 miles in 35+ knot winds with a kite up - that's what I need, a skiff with stabilisers!

I got my first Weta in 2013 which has provided the most fun I've ever had sailing. It's hard to capsize and very forgiving but easy to right solo even in windy conditions (I’ve raced and capsized in winds over 30 knots) - righting is easy, the video makes it look complicated but it's not hard work, unlike righting a monohull, and takes about 4 minutes or less if racing - undo port on float, sit on it to burp out the air then get onto daggerboard and lean in to the cockpit to sort out the sheets - you can furl the gennaker from there. Step into boat as it comes upright or seal dive. Sail upwind to drain float and lean back to close port).

While the Weta is great in many respects, it is a wet boat because of the spray in anything over 12 knots of breeze but winds in Cape Cod are mostly light in summer around 10 knots. You can get spray guards to reduce it which helps but you should take a spray top to reduce wind chill.

I haven’t sailed a Wave but I have sailed a Hobie 16 and they are more fun than most monohulls in light winds because there’s little hull drag. But the Wave hull is plastic so quite heavy for its size compared to the fibreglass hulls of the Weta or H16. And unlike the Weta which tacks like a monohull, it has no jib so it makes it harder to tack.

What you choose depends also on what you plan to do - leisure sailing or racing. You can race a Weta - you are unlikely to be able to race a Wave.

 

[feralcomp]

They tell me a boat is an investment.

They're lying.

 

[Bill5]

Go back to page 1. Lessons and a used Sunfish. No need to read any further - other than for entertainment value!