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Tell us about the first boat you ever owned.

11K views 80 replies 55 participants last post by  tenuki 
#1 ·
I'll start, I was 16 yrs old, just learned to drive and was just driving around when I saw it. It was a 16' homebuilt pretty well constructed of plywood and fiberglass on a trailer, except.. it was in pretty bad condition (hole in the hull, etc) but hey, 200 bucks. Fixed the hole, sanded and painted it, fixed the mast, repaired the mainsail (used nylon fishing line to lash on the sail hanks, etc), all myself and for cheap.

So for my first sail I took her down to lake michigan (8 miles away) and launched her with the help of a friend. A girl I was trying to impress (who was coincidently an experienced sailor with her own hobie cat) was on hand to watch. Pretty much everything went wrong during the launch, and by the time me and my friend got about a mile offshore two things became apparent. First of all, a storm was headed in and a low, planing hull really wasn't equipped for the waves that were starting to be generated. The boat was swamping. Second of all I discovered that the centerboard that had come with the boat was the wrong one, it obviously was barely longer than the well, so basically no centerboard. Ok, should have probably checked that before I started.

At that moment one of the buckets I had for bailing floated out of the boat and away, fortunately I had tied one in so we could still bail. My friend then calmly informed me that he couldn't swim.

I ended up having to get out of the boat and swim it around to point it back to the shore, then scramble in before it took off without me. it was like sailing a rudderless submarine, but we finally got back to shore about a mile and a half down from the boat launch.

The girl had left by the time we got the boat back and she never returned my calls.

It's a miracle I'm still sailing. :D
 
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#55 ·
Mid 60's, sailing up and down the Nile river, past the Pyramids, "racing" with the feluccas. An open wooden boat of about 15 feet that my dad called a 'bath tub with a mast in it'. It hooked me! Ever since then, I've sailed anything I could beg, borrow or st.... Snarks, Sunfish, Hobies, even crewed on larger (Beneteau and a J) boats too.
Finally purchased my own Mirage 5.5 about 12 years ago. Great starter boat, still have it and will probably keep it to give to my boys when I move up to a larger boat.
CD
 
#56 ·
I posted this some time ago:

Finally, the day had arrived. The day to put the boat in the water and make sail. After co-opting my eldest daughter and her husband as the unwitting crew, we set out to rig and launch the beast, a case of the blind leading the blind. After getting her in the water and managing not to hit that big rock by the boat ramp, we motor out about 100 yards and make sail. First the Jib, then the main as we catch wind and begin to move. We start off downwind running wing and wing SAILING! Hmm, there's an inch or so of water there in the cabin sole, ok, no worries. We run down the lake a bit feeling splendid when we notice that one of the cabin footwells is now full . Ok, now to beat back to windward. We come about on a starboard tack and find that every time we try to run close hauled she falls off the wind, not much help from the tiller. Ok, the motor being down must be canceling the rudder so we lift it. Bang! The motor drops back in and refuses to stay up so we're now steering with both the motor and the rudder. Back and forth we go trying to work our way to windward but everytime we get headway and attempt to close haul, the wind drops and she falls off. We're heeling somewhat and remember the keel, only to find it's rusted in place. After tacking back and forth and going in circles for an hour or so, I'm noticing that water is bubbling up through the keel cable hole and both footwells are now full. Ok, time to motor back but the motor isn't cooperating now. Three minutes of furious cranking later, I decide to prime it. Vroom! We're off and running. A fast skiboat goes tearing by and I crack the throttle open only to have the water in the boat rush back and bury the motor . Hmm, a couple of yanks and we're off once more with a bit less throttle and the crew perch on the forepeak for balance. We get back to the ramp and the Son in law, missjudging the depth, hops off with a bowline and disappears. He pops up momentarily and we enjoy a laugh at his expense. When we get the bowline hooked and winch her onto the trailer I notice the bowhook comes in under the winch, how strange. In a hurry to get the boat out, I pull forward. The wildly waving arms of my daughter stop me. I get out only to find that the tires are almost flat from the weight and that the tiller, which I forgot to pull in the rush, has dragged and twisted forward into the transom. Matter of fact, the back trailer frame is dragging, Good Lord! So we pull the newly discovered drain plug and notice another stream of water UNDER the boat. Upon checking this out we find a nice 2" hole in the hull that had been hiding behind the rub rails of the trailer. Eventually, enough water drained out that we could refloat her and get her all the way on the trailer as well as pull off the now shattered tiller/rudder. Lessons learned? Use a check list. Take rain gear and warm clothes, we were all in tees and shorts when that cold rain just popped up. Sailing's a BLAST, even when it's not. So now we work on the boat so we can get back out there as soon as possible.

I've since had the boat out over a hundred times. I've kicked butts on much larger boats, had the cabin windows in the water as planing surfaces and had a ball. Even when I get the big boat, I'll keep this one for when I wanna just go out and tear the water up!
 
#57 ·
Goose, thanks for having that talk with sailortj.

A little clarification and military history. Dad returned in early 1946...a war was ending if you took US history. I was born in October 1946, which just happened to be 9 months after mom and dad met in Chicago when he returned. The II was bought in 1954. 54 minus 46 = 8. Goose probably covered the rest.

Tom
 
#61 ·
Thats a sweet lookin boat joel,
First boat I was 10 years old was an inflatable with oars, man i rowed that thing all over the lake for miles. Second boat was a 1959 16' dorsett deep vee. then Sunfish at 23, mac 25, 1965 Cal Jensen 30' back to Mac25. and still boat shopping. wife says i cant get a newer boat unless its 36' or over and cruising capable. but still have my venture slipped and am content for now so... Still Searching:cool:
 
#62 ·
I just got her last fall, a 1973 Pearson 30. I'm 50 so she's about the right age for me. Sailed the last 2 weekends in a row and so far so good. we are planning to cruise for a week or so this summer so I want to shake everything down beforehand.

Sailing history goes back to my dad's first boat. I was 5 so it was in '62 but the boat was considerably older. He moved up to a rhodes 19, then a Pearson 26 and finally a half share of a Pearson 30. That boat was sold about 14 years ago and I now finally have my own boat. Guess you could say I'm Kind of starting out where my dad left off...
 
#63 ·
This got me to wondering what design my first sailboat actually was. I bought it from someone already built, and they didn't know what it was. Fortunately my uncle had built one back in the day and I remembered him telling me about it when he saw mine. So I contacted him and of course he remembered since he built one. voila, it was a Tabu:





Ah, memories. :D
 
#65 ·
Sea Snark, I had sailed once on a friends Cal 20 and loved it. So for $100 I bought it. First time out I ended up down the lake aout a mile and walked back. Next time I figured out the against the wind thing.

Then the sail was stolen so I rerigged it as a sloop with a jib made from an old parachute. Went from 42 sq ft to about 100. Over sized the rudder and center board. Very, very fast but very, very, very unstable.


Youth- Great Fun
 
#67 ·
A 1967 Westerly Cirus that was in fair shape. Kept it for five years. Strong, sturdy, reliable. Sold it for the amount paid, plus about 3K of materials. It was a good boat to learn on. My son was six months and now he is 27, he loves to sail.

Tom
http://landlockedvasailor.blogspot.com/
 
#70 ·
My first boat was a 14.5 strip built solo canoe. I still have it! weighs about 35 lbs! Did many a trip in the Adirondacks portaging from lake to lake. don't ask about my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, canoes and 2 kayaks! built at least five, restored 2 wood canvas, and designed a one of 15ft wood canvas solo canoe. Gawd I'm tired! no wonder I got into sailboats!

oh.. err... My first sailboat was hunter 23, now I have that Oday 30
 
#71 ·
My first boat was a Budweiser keg sawed in half with a mopp handle superglued to its keel and pink flamingo shower curtain mainsail . It wouldn't point worth a shhh but she was a dab hand runnin down wind. I had a couple of beavers mounted to the transom and carried a club to encourage them for auxillary power. She was a fine wee boat but I lost intrest in her when I discovered Mount Gay Rum. Nahh the first boat was a Sunfish I loved that thing ,we lived in Saudi Arabia and Dad got it for us kids I was 9 bro was 7 and we lived to capsize that thing on the Persian Gulf at a place called Half-moon Bay Dammam . Thanks for starting this thread it brought back some great memories
 
#74 ·
First sailboat: 8 foot closed rectangular skiff built in high school shop class. Plans from some "book for boys," blue nylon sail I sewed up, rigging hand-made from the hardware store, daggerboard and swing up rudder. Nicest part-- mahogany hand rails I made. Name: Cynus.

She was sailed for a couple of years on a fresh water lake on the Oregon Coast. Not bad if there was enough wind. After she rotted out, we burned her Viking style at the edge of the lake. Her mast, rigging, daggerboard and rudder/tiller are still in the beach house 20 years later.

Jim H
 
#75 ·
I bought my first boat from Lippincott at the Annapolis show in 1976 - a 27 ft Cal 2-27 for 17,000 dollars. We sailed out of Kent Island and later out of St. Petersburg, FL. for the next 4 years. That was alot of money back then. Now two sails for my boat cost that much.
 
#76 ·
Boston Whaler

Yep, a Harpoon 5.2 (17')centerboard sloop. Sweet, bulletproof, beachable, quick little daysailer. Room for four and a decent sized cooler. Bought it in 1980 for $5, sold in in 1986 for $5K, saw one for sale recently in the Jackonville, FL paper for $5K. They made a 4.6 (15') centerboard boat as well, and a few 20' keel boats.
 
#77 ·
Sunfish

First with a sail was a Sunfish. Often sail it still off the beautiful (lol) beaches of Bolivar Texas. I love goin out out when the waves are about 2-3ft. Oh and dont mind the PVC sleve over the boom, it will hold, thats just were it broke on the beach. Oh, you think the halyard and control lines look a little off for a sailboat, and you have never seen carabiners used quite like that. Who said you cant use old climbing gear for your sailboat... had to do something with em when they got retired from my Enchanted rock gear. Nah its totally safe today to head out so far the houses look like ants, here put on this inflatable vest on, its worth more than the boat so please dont mess it up, have fun :)
 
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