1st Sail

[Russ]

Awesome. Looks like you were having fun. Jib appears to be still furled up. I find these boats really need both sails to sail well. Sailing well isn't important. Having fun is.
Tices shoal is always fun anchorage as you can often hear the ocean on the other side. However, NEVER on the weekends when it's a total zoo. Berkley Park was always less crowded.

You did fill the water ballast right?

[Rumdirty]

Unfurled the Jib a few hours later as we got more comfortable with the main and general boat handling. I've heard a few folks mention Tices Shoal and will have to check it out. Don't know anything about Berkley park but will have to look into it. Oh and the water ballast is full

Congrats to you too Dofus! I'd love to have someone experienced go out with me at some point. Just the same, we're having a blast! How did your Admiral enjoy sailing with you? I'll be taking mine out soon.

I have 8 pfds on board. I don't plan on more than 6 people at any given time but I had the extras. I'm buying the self-inflating this week (which doesn't count for coast guard regulations but will be what I'm wearing).

Next trick, making the boat sail with minimal heeling so that the Admiral won't get too upset. I've intellectually proven these boats are safe (showed her some of Roger's videos). We just have to get over the emotional hurdle. She is scared of the heeling. Told her she should wait before coming out with me because I'm still learning. Oddly enough she insists because I had too much fun last weekend.

[Tomfoolery]

Oh and the water ballast is full

Full, and both valves closed (fill/drain plus vent).

I'm buying the self-inflating this week (which doesn't count for coast guard regulations but will be what I'm wearing).

It counts if you're wearing it. But having plenty of extras onboard is never a bad thing. I keep a few high-speed type vests onboard also, though only my youngest son wakeboards. But they count, they lay flat for storage, and I already have them. And you never know when some extra guests may want a ride unexpectedly.

Next trick, making the boat sail with minimal heeling so that the Admiral won't get too upset. I've intellectually proven these boats are safe (showed her some of Roger's videos). We just have to get over the emotional hurdle. She is scared of the heeling. Told her she should wait before coming out with me because I'm still learning. Oddly enough she insists because I had too much fun last weekend.

That seems to be true for more admirals than not. So start easy. And let her helm the boat once you're both comfortable, and once you know enough to give good directions to the helmswoman. Oddly enough, people don't get as nervous about heeling when they're in control. Even though both you and she understand that you could lay the boat on its side and it will still stand back up, rather smartly at that, assuming full ballast.

If it's breezy, furl the main and roll in the headsail to balance. Excessive heeling means slower sailing, though it's more exciting to sit on the lee side and drag your hand in the water. But if the goal is to sail well and not turn the admiral off to sailing, then I would concentrate and doing it well. And if it's breezy or especially gusty, keep the main sheet in your hand so you can play it to keep the boat on an even keel, and not have any 'exciting' moments where a gust causes excessive heel. A few of those, and she may not want to go out again, at least if she's not in control of it. But if she's adventurous, and takes a shine to it, she may be the one to put the rail in the water just for fun.

[Catigale]

Its a characteristic of these boats that that they heel suddenly for the first 15-20 degrees, then they get stiffer and stop at that point. They do this much more so than most keelboats. It sometimes helps new crew to say this and warn them of this characteristic. Most things that tip easily continue to tip over - our boats are not like that.

[Russ]

Berkeley Island park. Charts show no water, but locals know there is plenty. Often a good place to anchor.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Berke ... 95!6m1!1e1

Tices shoal. A popular anchorage because you can go to shore and walk to the ocean on the other side. Sandy bottom is sometimes difficult to anchor in. Weekends you can walk across the boats.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Tices ... afa2d2165e



Hey, great to see you out on the boat having fun. Doesn't matter how fast or what form as long as you are enjoying the water.

[Do+fus1]

Hey Rumdirty, the Admiral would have had more fun had it not been so darn hot. It was nice to have my brother along, but he kinda took control, adjusting the sails and stuff like that. I did learn quite a bit but anxious for me and the Admiral to go it alone.

[misterww]

I'm right with you rumdirty! I did my 3rd sail on Lake Michigan this week (this one solo) on my 2000 Macx. I do wear the PFD that has been recommended by others here, perhaps simply because the "sea" here is consistently 1 to 3 feet minimum. Sailing gloves may seem like a 80s fashion statement but after my first burn they are now standard when I leave the harbor.

Happy sailing everyone!

[dlandersson]

Not always. Last wed I went out (several boats were out already), raised the outboard, dropped the main and unfurled the Genoa - and the wind died. Completely died. Nada. Nothing. Not a wave/swell/nothing anywhere in sight. So I reversed everything, raised the ceterboard and the rudders and "blew out the gunk" as Bill C says (200 pmh). I'm here to tell you that if your forget to open the midships (under the step in a 97 X) air inlet/outlet point, it takes twice as long to empty the ballast tank. I did eventually get it up to 15 knots. Then I declared victory and went in.

I'm right with you rumdirty! I did my 3rd sail on Lake Michigan this week (this one solo) on my 2000 Macx. I do wear the PFD that has been recommended by others here, perhaps simply because the "sea" here is consistently 1 to 3 feet minimum. Sailing gloves may seem like a 80s fashion statement but after my first burn they are now standard when I leave the harbor.

Happy sailing everyone!

[Rumdirty]

Catigale - I learned that these boats are tender with previous research, great tip reminding me to explain it all to her. If she expects a bit of tippiness in the beginning maybe it won't be so bad.

Russ - Berkeley shows as closed, but worth exploring or just anchoring out one night. Tices Shoal looks like an utter madhouse!

Dofus - I gotta admit I'm glad I didn't have someone experienced to take control. I learn best by actually doing, making a few mistakes, seeing how changing one thing leads to something being changed. Mistakes are some of the best ways to learn On the other hand I read a heck of alot, so theoretically I understood what was supposed to happen. Practical application is an entirely new experience! Perhaps you can convince your brother to sit tight and explain things without actually telling you what to do or taking over. I dunno, I have a tendency to jump in too.

Misterww - I don't have a set of sailing gloves yet, I have some pretty calloused hands, but can already see the need for gloves. While nothing slipped and gave me rope burn, I had a hull of a time pulling in the jib without turning the boat into the wind. It's amazing how strong some wind can be! Congrats on your 3rd sail! Between you and Dofus I feel like I'm in good company!

DLAnderson - My boat is 2nm thru a variety of canals before I get to the bay. Wind conditions can vary quite a bit from one point to the other. I'm already expecting to motor my way to the bay (all thru a no wake zone) to find no wind. It'll just have to be motoring and exploring time

Inflatable PFD already on it's way, wife coming out with me tomorrow (Saturday). Will definitely try to "take it easy" with her on the boat. hull, I might be so devious as to just sail downwind and then motor back up...

Thanks all for the stories and recommendations!

[Russ]

Catigale - I learned that these boats are tender with previous research, great tip reminding me to explain it all to her. If she expects a bit of tippiness in the beginning maybe it won't be so bad.

Russ - Berkeley shows as closed, but worth exploring or just anchoring out one night. Tices Shoal looks like an utter madhouse!

For people who've been on traditional boats or keel boats, these are very tippy. Newbies tend to get a bit freaked out at the softness of them. Once the ballast kicks in, they stiffen right up. After years, my wife still gets freaked at the tenderness of this boat.

I keep forgetting NJ had that little hurricane a couple of years ago. Berkeley may be different from when I lived there. Charts weren't very accurate then, I bet much has changed. I read in 2013 they were marking cars they found at the bottom of the bay for later retrieval. And this is a bay that is only 5 feet deep, so hitting one of those could hurt your boat. Might be fun to watch some of those cigarette boats blazing across the bay suddenly rip off a prop.

Oh yea, another tip I just employed, drop some chopped up chlorine tabs into the ballast vent hole. This will keep stuff from growing in the tank. After a few weeks, the rotten eggs science project in there can be pretty strong.

[C Buchs]

I'm on the 1st sail list also. Technically we sailed for our third time, but for the first two we didn't have enough wind to go more than a knot. This time we were going pretty well. In fact we pulled off to the side of the channel to let a barge pass and I had to pull in the sails because we were still going faster then they were. I know it doesn't sound that impressive, but I was proud of my crew.

My wife kept trying to tell the kids about how much we were going to heel so that they would be ready. However, she was the one who was the most worried when it actually happened.

I'll do two things different the next time we get out:
1. Use the advice given above and tell everyone about the tenderness of our boats for the first 15-20 degrees. I've read this here before, but even I was a little surprised by how fast it changed and how the steering of the boat changed. Reading about something and experiencing it are two very different things.
2. We've got a really nice compass and incline gauge. It's mounted to the starboard side of the companionway. I plan to take the cover OFF so that we can all see how we are doing. Yes I am admitting that I never even took the cover off!

Jeff

[Russ]

I plan to take the cover OFF so that we can all see how we are doing. Yes I am admitting that I never even took the cover off!

Jeff

Congrats on enjoying one of the best things in life, being on the water.

Compass? Oh, I have one....down below in a compartment. Now if you said you are taking the sail cover off next time, that might be a bigger problem.

[sailboatmike]

I found having the compass next to the helm so I could see it highly important at night, all the lights tend to get disorientating to the point you feel like your turning even when your going straight, was a very strange experience I was sure that I was going around in circles but keeping my eye on the compass helped to orientate me and assure me we were going in a straight line

[Tomfoolery]

My wife kept trying to tell the kids about how much we were going to heel so that they would be ready. However, she was the one who was the most worried when it actually happened.

While I don't think any amount of intellectualizing will help, it might be useful to look at a couple of photos of Macs heeled to some extreme angle, far further than you'll ever normally sail since it's so inefficient, and notice that it doesn't actually look like it's heeled very far. For normal sailing, 15-20 degrees of heel just doesn't look like much in pictures, though it feels like the boat is halfway to turning turtle.

[Highlander]

Yep here u go
http://vid844.photobucket.com/albums/ab ... 0_2495.mp4

or even more heel
http://vid844.photobucket.com/albums/ab ... 010128.mp4
Oop,s if yer gonna show the second vid to the wife & kids better mute the volume
J