What was the first boat you owned?

[Alan Crawford]

Super Snark like this one in the photo. My dad paid $160 for it at the equivalent of a K-Mart in 1977. Learned to sail on small Western Kentucky fishing ponds along with a couple summer vacations to the beach in South Carolina where it became obvious a Laser would be a better boat.

 

[@last]

Yeah, me too! Nobody seems to sail around here anymore. I went out the last two days but my sailing friends have all seemed to age out. Maybe one other sailboat in sight and the weather and wind was near perfect.

On topic, first "real" boat after the family Chrysler daysailer and Hartley 14 "cruiser" I built in the late 1970's, was an old red cape dory typhoon I bought in Jax in 1980. Cool little boat that made several "ocean" trips to St. Aug and Cumberland when I was young enough to "cruise" something like that.

There was a lot of sailing back then with the big boats being Aggressive the Carter 42 and Big Time, the 10.3 along with a host of others (T Ten Fleet, Hobie 33 Kaos which I understand is still there under same ownership after all these years!). Out of curiosity did you buy the Cape Dory from Barbara something or other? I seem to recall that she sold Cape Dory's out of their house, not even sure you would call it mini marina in Switzerland just south of Julington Creek.

 

[qwerty57]

When I had just finished college bought a rather beat up Tornado Cat. It was pretty much the most fun you could have with your clothes on!

 

[Sailbydate]

P Class. Spindrift Spy. Can't remember the sail #.

 

[Sailbydate]

Surprised I've not seen one of these yet.
Mine rotted away, but it looked like this one:

I went to night school and built one of these Optimists for my two kids, way back when. Neither of them were even remotely interested in sailing, as it turned out. Sat around in the garage for a few years then I sold it. Prolly still sailing somewhere

 

[Spreader Boots]

1969 Coronado 25. 4kt fun box from Canada. Blue hull with an orange lighting bolt on bow. The glorious “Spreader Boots”, wife didn’t like the name “Spreader Patch”. The boat came with a radial spinnaker with Kilroy. We did a little cruising around the sound. Wifey felt it was too much work to be on the water as I wanted to race everyone. Sold boat and now crewing on fast big boats to feed the need.

 

[trisail]

Optimist.
My Dad and I built it from a kit back in the days when all Optimists were built with marine ply and had wooden spars.
We were clueless and took forever to finish it. 100's of bronze screws went into the chines and gunwales. Despite copious amounts of waterproof glue we were too scared to take the screws out.
The boat weighed a ton, leaked like a sieve and on a beat the loads from the mast caused the bows to twist to leeward. But it sailed and it was mine.

The next sailboat I built was an Ian Farrier F9AX trimaran.

 

[Charsel]

Those harpoons were neat boats! Oh, and laser II's don't make the best dive boats to go out spear fishing, but they work in a pinch. Congratulations on retirement. It still feels like a vacation a few years in.

They are. Might get another for Lake Murray. Laser II was a blast, amazed that my crew, err wife, came back for more.

 

[jerseyguy]

1978 Hunter 25.

 

[BBender]

Not including off the beach dinghy an Australian built Columbia 27 which was effectively an upgraded Coronado. Great family days on her ,then I caught the racing bug. Bugger ,wish I kept the Columbia.

 

[bgytr]

Laser, at 14. My dad agreed to pay for half as a bday present. I was over sized as a 14 yr old, I grew to 6'4" and 185 lbs in my 9th grade year. On the Chesapeake with light winds, it was a handicap to be big so I only kept the Laser a few seasons as i got tired of the little people drifting past me downwind.

 

[Bulga Naba]

Super Snark like this one in the photo. My dad paid $160 for it at the equivalent of a K-Mart in 1977. Learned to sail on small Western Kentucky fishing ponds along with a couple summer vacations to the beach in South Carolina where it became obvious a Laser would be a better boat.

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Believe this one. I sailed one on the Chari River in Chad in Central Africa, Just found in at the "Yacht club" there, perhaps left behind by a former US diplomat. Huge breeze across the river, planing reaches up and down all day if you like. Only hazards were Hippos - hit one of those and it is game over. Hard to believe that none of the locals used sail power; even though Lake Chad was the origin of the Ra Expedition - the unigue reeds there created habitable floating islands and were used to fabricate the boat. Eventually took delivery of a Capri 14 as part of my household goods. Eventually started a US AID program building sailing canoes to try to reduce the dependence on outboard/fossil fuels.

 

[Mambo Kings]

A mahogany canoe that came in two halves and clipped together with beautifully made brass latches. My brother and I went down every river we could find. WE tied large yellow buoyancy bags in the bow and stern . Real Wind in the Willows , and Swallows and Amazons stuff!
Then at 11 yrs old we built a Mirror Dinghy with our Dad. Once we had sails, the bug really bit us. We sailed that dinghy everywhere we could persuade someone to tow us. A week on Ullswater or two weeks camping and Mirror Dinghy Cruising along the South Coast of France. It were luxury. When I got my moped licence, we even towed it behind a moped until the West Sussex Constabulary stopped us, bless their hearts.

 

[Mambo Kings]

A mahogany canoe that came in two halves and clipped together with beautifully made brass latches. My brother and I went down every river we could find. WE tied large yellow buoyancy bags in the bow and stern . Real Wind in the Willows , and Swallows and Amazons stuff!
Then at 11 yrs old we built a Mirror Dinghy with our Dad. Once we had sails, the bug really bit us. We sailed that dinghy everywhere we could persuade someone to tow us. A week on Ullswater or two weeks camping and Mirror Dinghy Cruising along the South Coast of France. It were luxury. When I got my moped licence, we even towed it behind a moped until the West Sussex Constabulary stopped us, bless their hearts.

We (my brothers and I) taught our kids to sail in the same Mirror dinghy. So it was very special to be on a walk on Chichester harbor last week and notice her in the dry sailing lot at Dell Quay. Built by craftmen 50 years ago, she has made a lot of people happy and is still sailing.