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What was your first sailboat and how old were you?

21K views 142 replies 120 participants last post by  ceol 
#1 ·
The title says it all. i was just wondering what kind of boats people had for their first sailboat and how old you were?

i'll start.

11.5ft Laser Pico
19 years old

-kai
 
#56 ·
First boat

In 1977 14' Laser @ 25 yrs. old

In 1978 24' Laguna - swing keel

In 1992 13' Zuma

In 2007 27' C&C [currently own & sail]

Love sailing. Each boat has taught me new skills. Am too old to sail a wet boat; but loved it at the time. Each guest I take sailing, falls in love with the sport.
 
#57 ·
First Two Boats

Hi, All....

My first boat was a Snark Fireflower (10' and made of ABS plastic covered styrofoam.... really!), at age 39. My second boat is a 1982 Catalina 22, also bought when I was 39 (last year).

I've been sailing since 1995, however, on rented and borrowed boats; I got ASA Bareboat Chartering certification in 1995 in San Diego.

John.
 
#64 ·
My dad and I built a wooden sailing dinghy over one winter when I was about 10 with the help of a sailing friend of my dad's who was also an excellent carpenter. The boat was our tender, but it was also my boat. I sailed it a lot. Sometimes, when we were anchored in one of our favorite (and quiet) spots, I'd sail late into the night under full moon, beam reaching behind the anchored boat, across the creek and back. It was good times.
 
#66 · (Edited)
I'm crossposting from this similar thread - lots of good stories. :) I had been sailing since my first summer camp at probably 10, and on friends boats and beach cats, but this was the first one _I owned_.

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' Tabu 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
 
#67 ·
Tenuki-

She probably left because she didn't want to have to go out and rescue you. :)
 
#70 ·
My first time?
Two years ago... age 40... Catalina 30. Her parents were asleep upstairs, so we had to be really quiet. I was trying to pop her bra strap, but it kept getting snagged on her blouse. Anyway, long story short, I didn't have a condom but I didn't care and neither did she. The second I got her knickers down I went for it... six weeks later she missed her period...
 
#75 · (Edited)
MFG Copperhead

At 19 I got engaged and bought a 14' MFG Copperhead, cat rigged, very fast, and orange, also my first bank loan to pay for it $17 a month and no cosigner (maybe, I think the boat dealer may have cosigned without my knowledge). I sold the boat after I was married to build a deck on my new mobile home, boat, deck and mobile home are all history but the marriage is still intact after 34 years and my wife and I are restoring a 1961 New Horizons. I also own a 1969 Newport Holiday and a 1973 Sears Jetwind that I am restoring for my grandson
 
#77 ·
At 63 I bought my first sailboat or any boat, for that matter, last February. Wanted one large enough to liveaboard just could come up with the funds. Purchased a 1984 Starwind 22 and rigged her for coastal sailing on the Texas coast. We are loving every minute that we can go out. Still getting the basic down but soon we'll start doing over nights and longer sails.
 
#78 ·
45 years old. Bought two Lasers with Olympic graphics(red and blue) for my two youngest boys. They didn't take to it....but I DID. I kept both so a friend could sail with me. Sailed 'em for a couple of years....next up was a Cape Dory Typhoon that I paid too much for. Fully restored it for the next owner, boy, do I wish I had that one back. She was SWEET!

Just bought a 25' Seaward in Seattle to fulfill a dream, to cruise the PNW. After a couple seasons of that, I'll probably tow it back to Florida....or maybe the North Channel if the money holds out.:confused:
 
#79 ·
The title says it all. i was just wondering what kind of boats people had for their first sailboat and how old you were?

Cape Cod Knockabout Age 10...my father's but learned how to steam ribs, varnish, lay canvas etc. Later sailed/cruised the boat all over Long Islands East End and the Great South Bay. Home Port was Brookhaven on the Carmens River.
 
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