Sailing School

[albanysailer]

Took our two day basic keel boat course on Lake George this past weekend. It was a great time, I would highly recommend taking lessons to anyone now. My wife and I both have so much more understanding and confidence, can't wait to put it to use on our own DSII!

The weather was perfect on Saturday, sunny and around 70 deg. The air was very light when we first got on the lake, but it picked up to about 12knts. for the afternoon with some strong gusts.

Sunday was a gray day, much cooler, but with perfect sustained winds out of the south at 8-10knts. We stayed on the water all day except for lunch when we docked on Long Island in the lake at one of the state campsites. Great experience to dock under sail power only. A squall blew in around 3pm which cut our time on the water short, but we had enjoyed ourselves so much and absorbed so much by that point that we didn't mind.

I think the class was especially great for my wife. I knew that I was going to love it going in, but now she is even more excited to get the cover off our DS than I am. Looking forward to a great summer!

-Bill

[algonquin]

Nice report

What type of keelboat was it ? Brad

[albanysailer]

We took the lesson on a Hunter 216. I liked the boat a lot, made our daysailer seem small with its 8' beam! Also had a hydrolic mechanism for raising the keel, with a good sized cuddy too. I guess you can get it with an optional v-berth and porta-potty in there.

I think I'll be sticking with the daysailer for a while though, since we can actually tow it with my wife's Hyundai elantra. Not to mention the price tag!

[doconnor]

Bill (Albany Sailer) - how did you work out buying your new boat. My wife and I would also like to buy and learn to sail. But I wouldn't know what things to look for in the boat to make sure I"m getting a good deal. With a used car, I would take it to my friend who is a mechanic and have him check it out. But in this case, I really don't have that type of resource.

Any suggestions?

Also, Bob Hunkins said in his post above:

If you don't have a local sailing friend, I'd find a school that has an instructor that can teach you how to handle your size of boat, and won't try to sell you a bigger or different one.

But after checking with the nearby sail schools, all of them teach on somewhat larger boats (26' and larger). The one yacht/sail club has youth sail lessons on the small boats but nothing for adults. Where are these sail schools that teach adults on 14' to 17' boats?

thanks

[adam aunins]

But after checking with the nearby sail schools, all of them teach on somewhat larger boats (26' and larger). The one yacht/sail club has youth sail lessons on the small boats but nothing for adults. Where are these sail schools that teach adults on 14' to 17' boats?

I took mine a the red cross in our area. If you're looking for 14' to 17' boats then you can start out in a sunfish and then move up and learn how to work a head sail.

[albanysailer]

doconnor,

I actually stumbled across our daysailer on craigslist.org. Turns out an older couple who hadn't used it in 13 years (due to husband's illness) had donated it to habitat for humanity. We only spent $1000 for the boat, trailer, and really old motor that I have since replaced.

I didn't know much about what to look for on the boat other than reading up on some of the topics here. I checked for the major stuff like gouges, cracks, looked at the sails which are in great shape, etc... I felt that with a little common sense and going by your gut I knew if the boat was in good shape or not.

Definitely check out the trailer though, mine had dry rotted tires from sitting so long (only $100 for new ones). Also you will have to grease the bearings and all kinds of other non-boat related activities.

As for learning, I think that most boats under 30' or so are going to have similar controls and rigging. If you are going to stick with a DS I would recommend you learn on something with a tiller though.

Check out offshore sailing school, they have a 3 day basic keelboat course taught on a 26' boat. Might be a nice vacation for you and your wife to go to FL for a long weekend

Good luck, you will find plenty of advice on these forums.