New Guy here

[paintpollz]

Hello all:

My name is Kevin and I'm the new guy. I've hear a lot of good things about this forum.

A little bit about me. Born in MA, currently live/work in CT. I like sports, cars and boats. I don't like golf because I suck at it.

I'm looking to take up sailing for a couple of reasons. One because I've got some good memories with my Sunfish. I used to get that thing hummin when I was a few years younger. Two, I love the ocean. Not very many other places I'd like to be. Three, I like working with my hands, and fixing things. It gives me a big sense of accomplishment. Four, I like the shore a lot, and spend a lot of time there. Mostly day trips to beaches, but walking around the towns and checking out all the powerboats/sailboats made me really want to scoop one up. and Five, I'm looking to spend my weekends on the shore, so I figure a sailboat would be adequate.

I hope this will be a good community for me to learn in, and I to get some purchasing help from everyone as well.

Cheers

[DonScribner]

Sail or power? Power boats are like driving up Mount Washington. Sailing is like scaling Tuckerman's. It's you against the wind and the weather. Sometimes because there's too much and sometimes because there's too little. Expect to be exhilarated sometimes and nearly bored other times. Do you enjoy quiet, contemplative times? Or are you bent on getting there? With sailing, it's about the journey not the arrival. I'd suggest picking aup a fair sized trailerable, say 22 feet. Big enough to sleep on, small enough to learn on and not as likely to roll as a dinghy. If you fall in love with the sport, move up, but you'll know if it's for you the first time you meet 6 foot seas and 20 knot gusts.

Fair Winds and Welcome,

Don

Biddeford, ME

[paintpollz]

Hi Don,

Thanks for the welcoming and explanation. Sorry if I wasn't clear enough, I would like to take up sailing. I have enough noise in my life Monday thru Friday, the quiet and contemplative times on a sailboat would probably help me live longer.

I think your analogies are spot on. I'm not really planning on going far distances, just casual daysailing. I'd like a boat that's big enough to relax on, and have some simple comforts of home.

I'm a high energy kind of guy during the week, who loves to kick back and relax on the weekend. Slightly contradictive right? But if mother nature was to throw 6 foot swells and 20 kt gusts at me, I'd gladly take her for a ride:

Any suggestions of boats would be of much help. Meanwhile I'm going to head over to Barnes and Noble to pick up some reading material

[SecondWindNC]

Welcome aboard!

Sounds to me like your next step should be to get on the water on some other people's boats - lessons, rentals, charters, crewing, etc. Learn the ropes a little and get a feel for what you might want in a boat before setting out to buy one.

Enjoy!

[paintpollz]

That's the plan!

I will be around the CT/RI shore, and would like to take some lessons. If anyone has any good contacts around here, let me know.

Thanks again!

[SHNOOL]

Ok, so I've sailed a lot... but my wife, just really started sailing with me this summer... I tried to go easy on her... many sails have been little or no wind... I thought this best for her to get used to the motion of the boat. Well, I caught her describing sailing as not really having done it yet, since everytime we go out there is no wind.

I think ASA classes are in order for her... she's bright and picks up on things quick... I think she'd really enjoy it if she understood it more... AND I wasn't tryign to coddle her so much

That being said... sailing can be boring with no wind. But I love the non-sailors, who look at the window at 30+ knot winds and go, "good sailing day eh?"

My response is... yep, reef and a storm jib.

[paintpollz]

I was a student pilot during college. Being in 10 kt winds gusting to 20kts was a VERY good learning experience. If you couldn't handle being tossed around in a small plane at 3000 ft, non the less LANDING the plane during those conditions, then dont fly general aviation. For me, I got a thrill out of it. Learning to fly small planes might have been the best experience for me. I'm not sure I've had a better feeling than my first solo, what a great sense of accomplishment.

The only reason why I'm not flying anymore is because I don't really have too many places to go to in a plane. I finished college and went right to work. Finding time to get to the airport of weekends was hard for me as I was constantly places by car. I log a lot of beach days during the summer, and a lot of skiing days in the winter. My family shares a ski house for the winter, now I'm looking to secure a small boat for the summer. I work full time, so it's tough for me to venture out for more than a weekend at a time.

That's what got me thinking of sailing. The challenge and the learning experience is thrilling to think about. Thinking about how it can be so calm and relaxing, and then intense and exhilarating, reminds me of when I used to fly.

Plus the fact that I would like a place to crash on the weekends near the beach...

I think I'm interested for the right reasons.

Feedback?

[paintpollz]

bump so I can PM, 15 count minumum?

[paintpollz]

Test

[paintpollz]

pm to barry