Hey there,
I'm 22 and live in South Australia. I've recently been getting very keen on sailing as a result, in a roundabout way, of becoming interested in the Napoleonic Wars era. Specifically, the British Navy and tall ships (Yes, I'm a history nerd). I never seriously considered buying a boat simply because I'm a student and have all the associated financial strains. I figured it would be unrealistic, but decided to hit the net to see if it's even remotely possible to get a small dinghy which could go on top of the car to muck about in. Long story short, a few days later and I've put a deposit on a dinghy and trailer combo for $500au. It's a 15 foot National E with a trailer and is ready to sail. The paint work (of both the dinghy and the trailer) could use a touch up but all the fittings and rigging is pretty much new. I bought it from a delightful old bloke who has run out of time to sail but is stoked to have someone to pass on his boat too. He's even offered to give me a demo run to show how the boat is rigged and what not.
I really can't wait to get out on the water and get learning. It's way too cold to get out at the moment, especially with the inevitably of a capsize and being in the water for quite a while, so I'm in the process of deciding whether I should sort the paintwork out before I put it in the water. Would appreciate advice on that. My dad sailed when he was young and my mate's wife has been sailing all her life too, so I'm well served for teachers. I'm familiar with boats in general as I water ski and went fishing a lot as a kid but this will definitely be a learning experience.
Anyway, enough rambling. Here's a picture of the boat.
I'm 22 and live in South Australia. I've recently been getting very keen on sailing as a result, in a roundabout way, of becoming interested in the Napoleonic Wars era. Specifically, the British Navy and tall ships (Yes, I'm a history nerd). I never seriously considered buying a boat simply because I'm a student and have all the associated financial strains. I figured it would be unrealistic, but decided to hit the net to see if it's even remotely possible to get a small dinghy which could go on top of the car to muck about in. Long story short, a few days later and I've put a deposit on a dinghy and trailer combo for $500au. It's a 15 foot National E with a trailer and is ready to sail. The paint work (of both the dinghy and the trailer) could use a touch up but all the fittings and rigging is pretty much new. I bought it from a delightful old bloke who has run out of time to sail but is stoked to have someone to pass on his boat too. He's even offered to give me a demo run to show how the boat is rigged and what not.
I really can't wait to get out on the water and get learning. It's way too cold to get out at the moment, especially with the inevitably of a capsize and being in the water for quite a while, so I'm in the process of deciding whether I should sort the paintwork out before I put it in the water. Would appreciate advice on that. My dad sailed when he was young and my mate's wife has been sailing all her life too, so I'm well served for teachers. I'm familiar with boats in general as I water ski and went fishing a lot as a kid but this will definitely be a learning experience.
Anyway, enough rambling. Here's a picture of the boat.