Is There Anybody Out There? [Pink Floyd, The Wall]…

[PSNA]

The last industry survey published had the average age of a sailboat owner at 59.

There is little left of the industry. It started with the oil embargo during the 1970s which caused a tidal wave of builders to close. Next came the 1990 recession and the luxury tax on boats and other high-ticket items in 1991.

From there, it suffered through recessions in 2001, the monster of 2007, and finally the one we are in today.

There is truly little left of the industry today. A handful of builders with idle factories, a smattering of sailmakers, and a couple of hardware manufacturers.

The Boomer generation has been the generation that kept a declining industry afloat. Then covid came and they were its primary target.

You now have two complete generations that have spurned the sport. Unlike the boomers, these generations and their children have a multitude of activities they can spend money on. Sailing simply takes up too much time and money.

Look at today's sailing forums. They are a sad testament to how bad things have become. A little over a year ago, the owner of the infamous Sail Anarchy basically gave the keys to a new owner. They have all become ghost towns.

It was a heck of a ride. Just like the rock music era, I am grateful to have been young to experience both when they were at their peak.

[OverEasy]

Hi Sundew!

(Love the name!)
While we haven’t yet gotten to do it there is the option of just sailing with the foresail, especially if you have a roller Furler.
It saves on the time/complexity spent on setting up the boom and mainsail and simplifies the sailing process as you only have one sail to manage while still having lots of fun. Just an option……

Best Regards
Over Easy

[dlandersson]

I do that all the time on lazy days

While we haven’t yet gotten to do it there is the option of just sailing with the foresail, especially if you have a roller Furler.

Best Regards
Over Easy

[Jimmyt]

My strategy for day sailing has been to leave everything as close to where it needs to go; only perform the steps necessary to go sailing. I leave my MRS connected at the mast base, laying flat on the foredeck on a towel. I use BWYachts quick pins at the mast base, bow pulpit, and boom. No tools required for setup or tear down.

My main sail is furled on the boom and stays on the deck.

I use Velcro ties to secure almost everything. I have about 3 bungee cords and 3 ratchet straps (including my boat to trailer ratchet strap).

My setup time is under 30 minutes. With competent help, it’s close to 20.

Tear down takes me around 45. If it’s over 90 degrees and sunny, it might as well be a lifetime. I’m still chipping away at it, but it just takes longer to carefully secure everything for a 60mph run, than it does to set up for sailing.

As stated above, speed will improve with practice and deliberate improvements of the tasks that slow you down. Right now, having a person sort the Velcro straps by size and hand them to me saves several minutes. So I need to improve that portion. But they don't lose their stretch and the ball ends don’t pop off like the ball bungees I used to use.

I went yesterday for 2-1/2 hours because my little brother was in town and had a chance to go. A couple of my sailing buddies came along. After the lightning chased us off the water (we had a great 2-1/2 hour sail in sporty conditions first), one of my buddies asked if I wanted to borrow his slip for the night and put it on the trailer in the morning. It didn’t take me long to decide to accept his offer. Since my brother didn’t get out of his conference until around 3, we had put the rig up and launched in blistering sun and 95 degree heat. And there was virtually no breeze in the ramp parking area. So, putting the boat back on the trailer after 2-1/2 hours, while possible, wasn’t an attractive alternative to a slip.

I typically day sail from a trailer. It’s a 7 mile run from my house to the closest ramp. I try to only go when I can spend the whole day. But, I do make exceptions.

I will say that it was pretty nice to hop on the boat in the slip this morning and go for a quick ride (power boat mode-no wind) this morning before we de-rigged, washed her down, and hauled her home.

[Jimmyt]

The few minutes saved with the quick release is not significant enough…

This is true. So, this cannot be the only change you make. You have to become a process engineer, examining and refining every step to make significant improvements in your total time. Shaving 30 seconds off of 20 steps is 10 minutes.

Eric Hardtle has been video’d setting up a 26X in under 10 minutes; while talking to the guy shooting the video - answering questions, etc. He had made several mods to his rig to increase speed of rigging/de-rigging. And… he had done it numerous times.

[Sundew]

Thank you, everyone, for the encouragement and tips! I truly needed it. It gives me renewed motivation to continue the learning, improvement, and practice to be a better sailor. It is harder than I expected. But with a community like this, it makes a big difference.

The name Sundew comes from the last US Coast Guard Cutter that I served on: USCGC Sundew - a 180’ buoy tender stationed in Duluth, MN. in the mid 1990’s. I was a Quartermaster (navigator) and was on board when we transitioned from positioning buoys using sextants (turning the sextant sideways and taking an angle to fixed objects on land) to using GPS. It was an amazing experience. The name of my sailboat is “Puddle Jumper” as suggested by my wife, daughter, and brother (who is retired Navy). It has a very special meaning to me and I am so thrilled to be back on the water after a couple of decades. I remember a lot of the navigation, seamanship, and rules of the road… but I still have a lot to learn.

Thanks again! God bless.

[OverEasy]

Hi JimmyT!

Right now, having a person sort the Velcro straps by size and hand them to me saves several minutes. So I need to improve that portion. But they don't lose their stretch and the ball ends don’t pop off like the ball bungees I used to use.

We’re moving toward yer perspective… Been using the balled bungees for awhile but they are starting to get ‘tired’ and stretching out.
A while back I came across bulk roll of UV resistant double sided fabric Velcro inch wide ribbon which would allow a ‘cut yer own approach … that way the excess just over laps itself… the only draw back we can see is the aspect of them all getting together and self forming a Gordian Knot! … that’s an aspect you might be able to shed some light on how you’ve dealt with ???

While I wrote down the supplier I’ll be darned if I can find it at the moment

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Jimmyt]

the only draw back we can see is the aspect of them all getting together and self forming a Gordian Knot! … that’s an aspect you might be able to shed some light on how you’ve dealt with ???

...thus the need for the sorter. They do turn into a royal cluster. But, still faster and better than the former approach I used. I bought the ones that are about an inch wide and have a metal return loop on one end. You can get a pile of assorted lengths on Amazon for a reasonable amount.

[Be Free]

When I first got Simple Interest I used a lot of bungie cords and velcro. After replacing the elastic a couple of times I started looking for an easier way to get the boat ready for the road. What I've settled on (so far) is to use the jib halyard to fasten everything to the mast after it is stowed. It's been working well for the last 5 years or so.

I start with the backstay, coiled and held against the mast. A couple of wraps of the jib halyard hold it there so I continue wrapping the mast.

As I recall one set of shrouds will come up tight to the mast but the next set forward I just pull snugly to keep them from waving in the wind.

A little further down I pick up the mast raising pole (I leave it attached) and the baby stays (also attached). At some point I'll have already wrapped it around the forestay as well.

When I run out of mast I start back up just to use up the last of the halyard.