questions from a wannabe sailor

[shelly]

hey folks, <br /> did a little sailing in college on the sf bay, no boat of my own, just a tag along. definitely fell in love with it. almost 40 now, looking for some activities. just spent 8 months working in annapolis md and left wanting to sail. <br /> first question, i want to take some sailing classes in annapolis, as i really like the area, plan to eventually spend part of my year there. anyone have an opinion of the j world sailing school or the annapolis sailing school? anyone consider either of these a better school or know of a superior school, any location is acceptable. any feedback is greatly appreciated. <br /> second question. i wanna buy a boat. the situation is, i live in texas. have a house here i plan to keep. but i really would like to buy a boat in annapolis i can stay on occasionally. i work catastrophe insurance claims, travel. worked hurricane isabell and saw a lot of damaged boats on the east coast this year. hope all you guys out there were ok. anyway, the trick is, i want to buy a boat big enough to live on occasionally, small enough for two people to handle. how big can i go? maybe it's how big do i wanna go. definitely don't want more than i can handle. i have heard, maybe incorrrectly, from a captain friend of mine, that i really don't want to go over 27' for 2 people to handle. however, when i look at the internet and search for new boats, or possibly used, i can't find the features i'd like on this size boat. i'd like sleeping for 4 people, a galley and a head. i sorta like the j32. what do you guys think about those j boats? am i an idiot to think two people could handle it? anyway, any ideas on a cool boat 2 folks can handle with amenities. sure do appreciate it guys. truth is, i really like that j80, but no head. i'm a chick, that is essential. give me your ideas, fellows.<br /> thanks, shelly

 

[ED21]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

J boats are well built from what I know, but tend to be more built for racing. A little lighter, taller rigs & deeper draft & more expensive.<br /> <br />While I wouldn't argue with your friends advice, I know people w/ 29' & 35' boats that sail w/ 2 people easily. More cruising oriented boats especially can be rigged w/ self furling & other things to help. <br /><br />A 27 footer as a first boat is probably a good size limit though. Big enough to be comfortable, but not unwieldy for a novice. <br /> <br />While not an endorsment of these boats, on the Chesapeake you can find plenty of O'Days, Pearsons, Catalinas, Tartans, etc. that are generally solid boats at a good price. Not racers, but cruisers that are fairly comfortable with most of the amenities.

 

[flashback]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Shelly, I have been sailing an Oday 27 for many years solo with no problems except in the worst of weather, then, I don't go out. In any case, I agree with Ed, the J boats are strictly racers which are more demanding and less forgiving. If I were looking for a nice size boat to stay on and cruise a bit, It would not be a J boat, but rather a nice 32-36 ft. ketch or yawl. (two shorter masts rather than one tall one) this configuration gives you many more sail combinations and the sails are smaller and easier to handle. Also the crusing type boats gernerally have a lot more headroom and are more comfortable below... just my 2 cents... good luck...

 

[BillP]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Two people can easily handle a 40'r. Just make sure you have the gear aboard to help...roller furling, anchor windless, lazy jacks, etc. A bigger boat gives better footing in rough weather to do deck work on too. A typical 27' sailboat doesn't even have an anchor windless so the work is all manual labor. A typical 40' sailboat has a windless and anchor work is effortless in comparison. Does that give you an idea why bigger is sometimes easier? <br /><br />Unless you are a go fast guy I would stay away from a jboat because it is designed for racing. A racing rig is high aspect and depends on headsails to do the work. Bigger headsails are harder to handle than mains. Low aspect rigs are easier to handles due to their bigger mains and smaller headsails. Roller furling helps tame it but a low aspect rig is more user friendly for small crews...as are split rigs (ketchs, schooners, etc).<br /><br />Don't sweat sailing a bigger sailboat. It's done everyday by retired folks well on into their social security days.

 

[ED21]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

BTW-I did know a couple that used a J 29 for racing & cruising on weekends w/ 2 small kids.<br />He used an outboard for an auxillary. It was a nice looking & fast boat. <br /> <br />I haven't seen him for a few years & don't know how the boat works now that his kids are much older.

 

[L e w]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Shelly I sail a 39' C&C by my self alot of the time. I'm pushing 50 and out of shape but its easy to handle sail boats. If you have your hart set on a J its one of the better boats, and theres alot of people who will teach you how to sail. It just takes time and and the love to sail.

 

[TGattis]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Shelly , I bought an older 30'Hunter and taught my self how to sail from watching a video it's not hard to do and there are no real secrets as long as you keep in mind that mother nature has a mind of her own and sometimes she needs some Prozac.My little wife (5'2" 125#) with no upper body strength sailed this boat by herself on numerous occasions. Just get a boat and a slip make some new friends and you'll pick it up. Spend the money you would spend for lessons on a nicer boat.As for my opinion you could do alot worse than an Ericson or Catalina for a first boat.

 

[Sailor_Vic]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Hey Shelly, Welcome to our world. While I have to agree with these other folks as far as the J-boat is concerned.(Definately geared for the go fast crowd).It does not take away from the fact that it is a wonderful boat to sail, considering you have the experience to take advantage of its design. I would definately suggest the Catalina, owning one myself.Don't suggest that you start off on a large boat until you feel confident in your abilities.Nothing against you, simply a larger boat has more forces to deal with and someone inexperienced can get in trouble really fast and leave you wondering what went wrong and how to pay for the repairs. Something in the 27 to 32 foot range can easily be handled by one or two if its rigged correctly (Sheet stopppers, Lines led to cockpit and such).As far as the schools go both that you mentioned are excellent, but I think for you there's a course called take the helm geared towards women. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. There are a lot of very experienced folks here. Fair winds and following seas

 

[debbie and pete]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

HI Shelly,<br />Way to go girl! I got hooked on sailing with an old beau a few years back and when I got rid of him, I kept the want to learn to sail! Now my wonderful husband and I own a 25' Tanzer! Easy to sail singlehanded although we need a roller furling to make it even easier! We are learning as we go-should have been there the day we couldn't get the outboard motor to unlock so we motored out of our slip and the marina backwards-to everyone's delight! How embarrassing!<br />Lots of lessons and trials later, we both have two foot itis and want a 36' boat! We live a long way from the ocean-12 hr drive-so have to be realistic about it for now! I would highly recommend the Tanzer!<br />Have fun and Happy Sailing!<br />debbie

 

[shelly]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

i sincerely appreciate everyone's input. thanks all.

 

[flashback]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Shelly, let us know what you come up with and keep posting..........

 

[handball]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Shelly,<br />My first boat was a 36 ft. hunter, my second sailboat was a c and c landfall 43. After sailing to the bahamas and back to new york twice we decided to scale down to a 32 ft. erickson.<br />I single handed all of them as my wife usually only helped with anchoring.The secret is you should have roller furling for the working jib. And you should have a auto matic pilot on board, it takes the place of a second hand and allows you to do all the normal crew work.The larger the boat is anchoring and docking become more of a problem because of the weights involved.When we went back to the 32 ft. ericson it seemed like childs play compared to the c and c 43.I would recommend you look at a catalina 30, it is a beamy boat with a nice interior for extended stays aboard. They have a diesel engine and sail quite well. You can buy one quite reasonable if it is an older boat.I love annapolis and always stopped there on our trips south, we usually stay at the town dock right next to the main street.Its no wonder you got the sailing bug this is a fantastic sailing area, and we love to cruise the bay and its rivers.Read everthing about sailing that you can get your hands on and buy a boat that is in reasonable shape so you can spend your time sailin it and not repairing it.<br />Good luck,<br />Bill

 

[sailor3X7]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Shelly:<br />I too live in Texas - and nowhere near the coast. But I love boats. I attened the Annapolis Sailing School 16 years ago when they had a branch in Houston. I had a wonderful time and learned a lot. It was just me and my instructor out on Clear Lake for 8 hours a day for a week. That was the main way I learned - just by sailing for so many hours. I felt there was room for improvement with the school - at least that branch. But I will tell you it is one of my best memories.<br />jerry

 

[santana21]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

My 2 cents:<br /><br />You can have a galley head and sleeping for 4 people on a Hunter 22,23,23.5,25,25.5 Catalina 25, Oday 24,26 and many others. All of these boats are easily single handed. All are reasonably priced and are pretty seaworthy. Once you get into the 27 foot range or 7000#'s you get into alot of boat that can get out of hand in a blow.<br /><br />Goofd luck and keep posting.<br /><br />Santana21

 

[Rideout]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Shelly,<br /><br />I live in Annapolis and have attended both schools. You won't go wrong with either.<br /><br />A good option for you if you spend any time in Annapolis at all is JPort sailing club, it is next to JWorld school and for a reasonable fee lets you use J80's, J32's or J105's. They also will let you join in the racing every Thursday night as crew. No experience necessary, and the best way to learn to sail<br /><br />The 32 would be a great cruising boat for 2, easy to handle. Lets you test the waters for a year before you commit.<br /><br />There are many, many used boats at reasonable prices in the mid 30 foot range that can be easily handled by two<br /><br />Good luck, I'll look for you on the bay

 

[starrider_68]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

you guys and girls are gonna think I am crazy... but ... I would love to know what type of boat was used in the movia "waterworld". I fell in love with that configuration and want to see if there are any plans/drawings that someone could copy it from.<br />thanks all

 

[Mrcproject]

Re: questions from a wannabe sailor

Hi<br />I have a friens that took his J 105 and crossed the Atlantic and he found that it was a great boat for crusing. Everything on those more racing like boats work really well and they are very easy to control. I think that racing boats handles very well in a storm and would rather be in one of those than in a crusing boat. Since they are faster and ligher the pressure in the rig and sails is not as high.