[MoonBeamEstate]

A quiet voice of reason and experience is heard loudly.

 

[Scorpioguy8]

Thanks for the great recommendations, I just downloaded a copy of "The Dinghy Cruising Companion" on my tablet and I am on page 10 just from reading it during breakfast! Lol! Hard to put down as Roger has a nice descriptive way of writing that draws me in. I also found him on Youtube and subscribed. It's getting late so I better get out there and catch some fish! (From the shore unfortunately ) I will be looking for the other book once I'm done this one. I didn't see it on the same site I grabbed this one from so might have to look around a bit but sure I'll come across it somewhere. Later!

 

[Davil]

Looks like you are on your way to success
It seems I always enjoyed more the looking for a boat.

 

[Scorpioguy8]

Yes, It is fun looking at all the options out there. Read some more of the book yesterday between the minnows I kept catching! Lol! (I did end up with a couple keepers) and really enjoying it.
One thing brought up was that the author preferred completely open dinghies rather than the ones with covered front deck. He said it was easier getting the jib down when bad weather was approaching. Does anyone have advice on how much of an issue this would be for a newer sailor? A couple of the boats I am seriously looking at do have the covered front deck area. I had a covered deck on my old fishing boat and used underneath for storage, but never really had a reason to go out on it during bad weather. HAGO!

 

[Arcb]

There are pro's and cons to totally open boats. A dinghy with a foredeck has dry storage and may need less bailing because you are not taking as many waves over the bow.

There are a couple of work arounds to getting the jib down on open water on a decked dinghy or beach cat.

The simplest and most cost effective is a jib down haul. It's a rope tied to the head of the sail, runs down the forestay to a turning block then back to the cockpit. This allows for easy jib dowsing from the cockpit. I have this system on 2 of my boats.

Roller furling is more expensive, but a bit tidier. This is the same system as used for roller furling genoas on large sailboats but smaller. They can be purchased on line.

Cat rig. These are boats that are designed to sail pretty well without a jib. The main is bigger and placed further forward. My other 3 boats use this system.

 

[Davil]

does not hurt to have a place to keep things dry, (dry been a relative term )

 

[Davil]

as described, a jib down haul works very well, is rapid, simple to operate and will give you the peace of mind you want, with the caveat of been just my humble opinion.

 

[Scorpioguy8]

Thanks guys! Knew there had to be a solution to that one, but being new to the sailing terminology I wouldn't have had any idea what to even try to search for on Google! Lol! This Forum has been more helpful than I ever imagined it would! HAGO!

 

[CPM]

Welcome.

 

[KayakerChuck]

I'm near Detroit, and have an O'Day 22. She was the perfect first boat for us, and I'd be keeping her if life hadn't gotten more "interesting". Having a small cabin & an enclosed head were requirements. She's surprisingly comfortable sailing in winds up to about 30 knots, and works well for 2 people for weekending. We're backpackers, so the 22 is luxury living! 4 people in the cockpit is tight, but we have done it many times. Easy to sail, easy to launch & retrieve. We like to explore the bays, so the keel/centerboard arrangement is perfect for us.

We moved up to a 30 O'Day.