Finally took my own Sunfish out for the first time

Grymbrow

New Member
Finally got my own Sunfish on the lake over the weekend (and 2nd time on one ever). The wind started at nothing, and built to slightly more than nothing over a couple of hours. I was out with a bunch of other dinghy beginners, and there was enough wind that we did get some upwind and downwind practice, even some close quarters sailing around a coach boat. There wasn't enough wind to need to hike out at all.

Are there any other heavy sailors out there? I'm currently at about 225-230 on any given day, and just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to best learn while having more weight to shift and balance. I'm working on flexibility right now, and definitely have my boom raised higher than the racers at my club right now. I hope to lower it as I get more comfortable and in better shape. My understanding is that raising the rig higher like that will add more power, but I'm assuming my weight will help to balance that out?

I'm itching to go out more, but am also very cautious because of the first time I ever went out (blowing sustained 15+, whitecaps on lake) when all I did was end up practicing capsize recovery. I'm thinking of heading out for Wed night races tomorrow, just to either hang at the back or tool around nearby while there's other sunfish on the lake to watch and learn from. The wind forecast as of now looks to be 10-12 with gusts not much more than that. Would most of you say that that's manageable?
 
Cant hurt to go.out. Make sure all your hardware and lines are good. Just remember in stronger winds you have to tack faster to prevent going into irons.
 
Cant hurt to go.out. Make sure all your hardware and lines are good. Just remember in stronger winds you have to tack faster to prevent going into irons.

This makes a lot of sense, as the day I was out in bigger wind I was getting caught in irons almost every time I tried to tack.
 
Are there any other heavy sailors out there? I'm currently at about 225-230 on any given day, and just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to best learn while having more weight to shift and balance. I'm working on flexibility right now, and definitely have my boom raised higher than the racers at my club right now. I hope to lower it as I get more comfortable and in better shape. My understanding is that raising the rig higher like that will add more power, but I'm assuming my weight will help to balance that out?

I mean 225-300 lbs is not like super heavy (unless you are a short person). For 185 cm + it is kind an overweight but not a serious one. Sunfish can handle up to 550 lbs, so no worries. Actually your weight can also help you with balancing the boat :). And if you will sail often, it should help you loose weight.
 

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