Viking Dinghy

[balt11t]

Hello,
I'm Taylor Skidmore, and I recently purchased a Viking dinghy, and I just had a few questions. First of all, though, I should say that I learned how to sail nearly four years ago on a Sunfish, but have not sailed since then. I recently resparked my interest in the activity when I found this boat for sail, however, like I said, I have a few questions about it.


These are the two pictures I have right now, I left my camera at the lake, haha.
It's very similar to a Sunfish, and has two lines, like a Sunfish. One is the halyard, and the other (if I recall correctly) is either the control line or the mainsheet, I can not remember which is which.
The first question is: where is the easiest place to get new sails/lines for it? The sail isn't in terrible shape, but it's definitely not in the best, and I'd like to replace it eventually. And the ropes are in pretty bad shape, but I'm not sure what to buy.
Second: does anyone have any actual information regarding the boat? I can't find anything on the internet, and I was just wondering if there was anything I needed to know beyond what I did for the Sunfish.
Third: Does anyone have any additional advice? I can get the boat going, and I can sail it relatively well, but I'm positive my "technique" is improper in some way or another.

Thanks,
Taylor Skidmore (balt11t)

[balt11t]

Uh, whoops, I posted this in the wrong section :/ can someone move it please?

[bubb2]

Ah Mister Taylor, Welcome

This tugs at my heart (no pun intended). I learned to sail on a small lake in Northern Indiana, Beaver Dam as it's called, 45 years ago.

As for the lines on the boat you are correct one is the halyard and the other is the main sheet. You don't need to buy tricked out line for that boat. Cut a small piece off and stick in your pocket, When you get to wallmart just match it up to what they have in their boating/fishing dept.

[CalebD]

Taylor,
Don't worry too much about 'where' you posted this.

Yes, that Viking is essentially a Sunfish or a Sailfish if it has no cockpit.

A good place to get info on these boats will be here: sunfish_sailor : Sunfish Sailor
it is free to join, you just need a yahoo id which is also free. They probably have a for sale/items wanted section.
If there is no marine store near you you can get new lines for your boat at: Discount Marine and Boat Supplies - Inflatable Sales - Defender
or at the store here: Boating equipment, sailing gear, sailboat hardware, marine electronics, safety gear, foul weather gear and more. or Walmart as Bubb suggested.

If you sail that boat right in 15 knots of wind you can get it up on a plane on a broad reach. You will be screaming along at somewhere near 8 knots.
Great boat to learn on.

[balt11t]

Where could I get new sails then?

[CalebD]

Look on craigslist under boats and ebay in ebay motors -> sailboats...
If you want a brand new sail look here: http://www.apsltd.com/c-2359-sunfish-sails.aspx
The cheapest sail they list is about $140 and the racing sails more expensive.

[balt11t]

So I should be able to use a standard Sunfish sail on this boat?

[balt11t]

I sent an email to a representative at FX Sails, who makes and sells sails, and they told me any normal Sunfish sail should work for this boat. Thanks for all of your help, and if any of you have any more advice that I could use, that'd be great