I read a lot and taught myself to sail many years ago. Had been out a few times on other people's sailboats, but that's about it. That said, I made a lot of dumb mistakes early on that I would have avoided if I had taken some classes. If you can take a course somewhere (make it a vacation!) that would be the way to go.

Sailing is like a lot of sports. The basics are pretty easy, but it takes a lot of time, experience, and study to get really good at it. Even after almost 40 years of owning a sailboat I am still learning new things.

 

Is learning to sail hard? Tips and advice?

No at all. Take a few ASA lessons is much easier and then read and read everything in sailing. This will eliminate frustration and make sailing a positive experience. Good luck.

 

self-taught sailing

I learned to sail by reading, Invitation to Sailing, by Alan Brown. I would read, sail and experiment, and read more until I got it right. I also started on a small boat, 12', which helped tremendously when I moved up to bigger boats.

 

I learned to sail by reading, Invitation to Sailing, by Alan Brown. I would read, sail and experiment, and read more until I got it right. I also started on a small boat, 12', which helped tremendously when I moved up to bigger boats.

Great book. If it is the same one I'm thinking of, it was around back when I learned to sail as a kid. My folks taught sailing and would give that book to their students. BTW, that was about 45 years ago.

Dave

 

The wife and I bought an old Columbia 26 several years ago with the idea that we would learn to sail and then upgrade. We read, watch others, watched Youtube, talked to the old salts, and then took the boat out. We actually had our first outing the day after we bought the boat.

Research before you go out, but sailing, or at least learning the concepts of sail trim, seem to come naturally when you're out there.

 

As a former instructor, I would recommend starting on something smaller. 16' X-Class or a Flying Scott. They are very forgiving boats and it will help you understand what is happening with your weight distribution, sail handling, and steering.

Read everything you can on sailing, but I do recommend taking a few lessons. Contact your local power squadron, community rec center, etc. If you take lessons you will fall in love with sailing. If you try to teach yourself, you may end up frustrated and not wanting to pursue it.

Good luck and have fun.

 

If you have never sailed before, I would suggest taking some type of class before going out on your own. After that, a 22-24 ft. boat should be a fairly stable boat to start on. If you begin in calm winds and also have a small motor on board, you will be just fine.

I think the most important thing to realize is that you will make mistakes. Don't let them ruin your day, learn from them and move on. Good luck!

 

Learning to sail

When I was 10 my father bought me a 10' Sailfish.After he and I rigged it (took a while as neither of us had ever been on a sailboat) we put it in the water, put me in it and I went sailing. I spent a wet and wild summer learning to get that boat from point A to someplace else but did not drown and learned to love sailing. Been doing it off and on for 55 years now, stll no lessons and now own a 28 keel boat that I dearly love. Just watch the weather, do some reading and go for it. Lessons would be nice though.

 

Re: Learning to sail

When I was 10 my father bought me a 10' Sailfish.After he and I rigged it (took a while as neither of us had ever been on a sailboat) we put it in the water, put me in it and I went sailing. I spent a wet and wild summer learning to get that boat from point A to someplace else but did not drown and learned to love sailing. Been doing it off and on for 55 years now, stll no lessons and now own a 28 keel boat that I dearly love. Just watch the weather, do some reading and go for it. Lessons would be nice though.

That's funny. My dad gave my younger brother and me a Sailfish for a summer when we were in the bahamas for a short summer. He was running a construction project and we had the vacation of our lives.
We dumped that boat tons of times, used it as a platform when finding interesting things along reefs, and found lots of lobster with slings.
The boat dumped when gybing in anything over a breeze..so I did roundies.
Never took a class until my 30s when some charters/rentals wanted ASA cert.

Learn really fast on something small.

 

It depends on your personalities. If you or one of you are easily frustrated, get lessons. Trying to teach a spouse while you are learning yourself may or may not work. The concepts are pretty simple, but are different than a power boat, sometimes a good instructor is needed to make the light go on. No matter which way you try, learn from your mistakes, but stay at it. It is a life time sport that will bring hours of enjoyment. Stay safe and definitely get a motor on anything big enough to have one. Virginia summer time weather has a habit of turning nasty quickly.

 

If your ever in Daytona Beach give me holler, I have a business where I teach people how to sail on the water in one day....no classroom stuff

 

Tom, are you also the guys that rents his sail boat at the marina over night. My husband and i are really exploring a sail boat. If so we would like to meet up. Debbie

 

I highly recommend driving somewhere to take 2 lessons. First, read an intro book to know the names of things aboard and, most importantly, be able to recite the points of sail. Very easy. The two lessons will have you sailing on your own without question. You may not be a racer or ready for heavy weather, but you will be able to move the boat anywhere.

I've told this to many who find the act of sailing to be rocket science. Originally, only the most ignorant and uneducated of our population went to sea. It was extraordinarily dangerous in those old boats, with no radios, etc. They all learned to do it very well. In modern equipment, you are guaranteed success.

 

I took ASA lessons a couple years ago. There are a few books that I think are pretty good, who knows what others will say but...

On Amazon;

Sailing Fundamentals Text book for ASA 101 - Basic Keelboat.

The Complete Sailor Lots of folks seem to recommend this one.

ASA Learn To Sail page.

There is a recommended reading post around here as well.

Good luck and welcome to sailing. Nothing quite like it!

 

lessons are the best thing you could do. ive taken them $200 for a 2 week class and we went sailing the first day of class. Try to get a 14-18' sailboat first you will be happy you did. because if you make a mistake on a boat that size you won't have the chance of killing someone or harming them. a boat that little the boom doesn't hurt as much as a 22-24' boom to the head. ive learned this first hand what a 14' sailboats boom does in light wind snapped my glasses in half and cut me up a little. starting small will be better than starting big.

 

Due to my situation and where I have to keep the boat since I cant really trailer it I have to get a boat that I dock at my marina. Maybe the 22 would be better? I would love to have one of those little West Wight Potters but they are too much. We are going El Cheapo for first boat to make sure we like it! Have been watching many many many youtube videos, will also get into reading those books suggested. Problem with lessons is closest lesson place is 6 hours from us. Ive checked and checked.

 

The biggest problem with teaching yourself is knowing what is "normal". The first time you get to a 15 degree heel you will swear that you are going over. I have seen people scare themselves so bad that they never want to sail again when nothing was wrong. Having said this I taught myself many years ago and I am still unlearning some of the lessons. Drive the six hours, make it a weekend away or something. It will pay for itself in the long run.

 

Subjective, as you have pointed out.

Some people feel one thing and some feel another. Its's dependent on the person.

I say buy a cheap boat, research, take her out, listen to those that have gone before, and learn on your own.

 

Is it hard? Oh yeah hardest darn thing I ever did...
Wait a minute you asked about SAILING not quitting smoking:hammer

Learning the basics of sailing is not hard, mastering the intricasies is proving downright impossible. I should start approaching mastery in another 30-40years at the pace I am going. No hurry though, this is sailing, not offshore power boat racing.

If you can at all manage it I reccomend taking a weekend vacation to take lessons. Stay in a nice hotel the night before classes start and a night after they finish if you can. Six hours isn't too far to go for a sailing vacation IMHO. Heck really do it up and go someplace further afield for lessons if your situation allows.

Have fun!

 

Depends on how particular you are. To be good enough to get a boat from point A to point B can be achieved in a couple of outings or a lesson or two. I've been sailing most my life and I'm still learning.

One of the things I enjoy most about sailing is that there's always something to learn and a better way of doing just about everything.

 

I still say the only real natural law of sailing is that you can't sail directly into the wind. Other than that everything is pretty simple. Learn what the names are of the different points of sail, the parts of the boat, the lingo of sailing (lines vs. ropes, sheets, halyards, shrouds, stays, fore, aft, port, starboard) and the rules of the road as regards right away and then go sailing. You can get most of that out of a book but it helps to go out with a knowledgeable sailor first. After that there is years of learning the finer points of sail, trim, wind shifts, tactics in racing (all sailboats going in the same direction are actually racing), wind conditions, weather, navigation, etc. Once you have the bug it can become a way of life.

 

It is the same book dhays, and it is still in print. Brown has the gift of simplifying learning for the novice or the "no-nothings". Aimcat, if you have the opportunity to learn on a sunfish, you will be way ahead of the curve when you move to bigger boats. I say this because to become a real sailor, you have to "feel" sailing, not just learn the basics, which is what a small boat will do for you. I speak from experience: I started on a (8-10ft)? snark when I was 12yrs old, and worked my way up through numerous bigger boats, until 41yrs later I settled on (for now) an Irwin 33'

 

I had a Snark one time also. I had almost forgot about that boat. I put a broom handle in the mast to make it a little stronger and just screamed across the lake. Light enough to toss on the roof of the car and take anywhere.

 

Get a dinghy like a Lido 14 or even a Sunfish - Cost lese than $1k


Mess around, get wet, learn to capsize and right yourself - once you taught yourself These skills then go and buy a keelboat.

 

Go buy your boat say a Catalina 22 or Hunter 22 and find someone with sailing experience to take you out the first time [ or two ] to show you the 'ropes'.

As others have said getting from A to B under sail is not rocket science.

Most useful tip I got "shorten sail the FIRST time you think about it".

 

My wife brought me home (Sailing for Dummies). I have found it very informative.

 

Given that this thread is 6 years old Tom might have changed his name and joined the resistance since then.

By the way also bad idea to post your phone number in a forum... not saying don't but, you may want to remove that.

 

Find a good sailing school with good instructors--best way to learn.

 

Like Bump, taught myself to sail on a Sailfish that I built from a kit when I was 12. Sailing is all about learning how to take the best advantage of whatever the wind gives you. The smaller the boat, the more responsive it is and the more sail and boat trim effect performance. Expecting an adult to jump on a Sailfish or other similar vessel for an entire summer is not realistic but renting one for a couple of days and doing some intense practice solo would be a good way to start. Beyond going out and doing it, devoured every book on sail and boat trim, boat set up, sailing and cruising I could find. So far it's worked for thousands of miles of sailing on both coasts, SoPac and Hawaii.

I know you love your husband but for your own learning would suggest you sail solo as much as possible. My wife never really understood how to make the boat move under sail even after several thousand miles sailing with me. On her own initiative or possibly self preservation took a short sailing course from the town when we were getting ready to head for SoPac. A short two weekend course in Sabots made a world of difference in her understanding and ability to sail our boat.

As others have said, littler is better to learn on. Might think about buying a Sabot, El Toro, Opti or other small sailing dinghy for practice. Can use it as a tender for your bigger boat when you have one. Many yacht/sailing clubs/associations have acting racing fleets if you really want to hone your sailing skills. All of these boats are small enough to fit on even a 20' cruiser.l