predator
Fear the 'fish!
Hi everyone.
I'm new to pretty much everything to do with sailing-- I've been on my brother's boat once or twice, but certainly had no clue about how to do anything. I think his boat was 32 feet? The extent of my sailing knowledge is that the wind blows and the boat goes.
Anyway, he had bought a Sunfish for his daughter many years ago, and it's been sitting upside down in his yard ever since. The sails were rolled around the mast on a top shelf in his garage. He said I could have it if I could get it home, so I bought a trailer and drove it home over the 4th.
Yesterday I went to the neighborhood boat launch by myself to put it in the water and I thought I'd relay the experience for your enjoyment.
My neighborhood is built around a 1700-acre reservoir lake. The launch point is about a 5-acre lagoon.
I backed up to the ramp with the masts and sail still tied down along the length. I pushed the boat out into the water and then pulled it back up on the grass beside the ramp to go park the car. At least it floats-- check one.
I fumbled around with the sail for about 20 minutes before I figured out which end was up, and ultimately ended up putting the gooseneck on backwards anyway.
Then I went to attach the rudder and I couldn't make the pin move at all. I spun it with some pliers to free it up and then it moved easily. Now I realized the rudder was in the down position and I couldn't budge it. After another 20 minutes I managed to use the handle of the pliers to wedge between the wood and the bracket and pry it about halfway to the beach position, but it is still really hard to move. Now that it cleared the ground it went right in the bracket-- check two.
I knew the sail was on backwards, but I wasn't trying to impress anyone and didn't think it really mattered which side of the mast the sail is on, so I pushed off and set out.
The first thing I noticed was that I'm a big guy and this is a very small boat. I sat on the edge of the deck right behind the tub and I heard one crack. I didn't sink, and there were no more noises, so I kept going.
Then I soon realized two things-- With the sail on backwards, the blocks are on the top of the boom, so the mainsheet doesn't move very freely at all in either direction. And, probably even more important- there is no wind, I have no idea how to steer this thing back to the ramp, and I don't have a paddle.
Yes, I'm an idiot.
I could tell from the daggerboard dragging that the water was very shallow, so I wasn't in any real danger. If nothing else it was a relaxing lounge in the lagoon, and every now and then a slight breeze would blow me a little farther out. At some point I realized I never put the rudder down, so I shimmied and leaned over the stern and had to beat on the far end of the rudder just to get it to move a few inches. It wasn't all the way down, but at least it was under the water now.
Finally, the air and water went dead still about 100ft from shore. It had been about an hour and a half to get to this point, so I decided I should figure out how to get back.
Suddenly there was a slight breeze. I have no idea which direction it was coming from, but somehow I managed to position the sail to get me moving toward the shore. (I figured out that the daggerboard is critical to going straight, and the rudder actually works). I wasn't able to go straight back to the ramp I came from, but managed to beach myself nearby.
With that little success, I fixed the sail and considered heading back out, but ultimately decided it was dumb luck I got back this time and without a paddle I really couldn't hope to get to where the wind was.
I dropped the sail, grabbed the bow line, and walked along the shore with the boat trailing behind back to the ramp.
It was still fun and informative. I know it floats with me on it, and I learned a bit about how to rig and control it. I need to work on freeing up the rudder and there is no retainer to hold my daggerboard in place. I also didn't see any drain hole-- there is a plug in the bottom of the tub but it is flush with the floor and doesn't have any screwdriver hole or anything to indicate that it is supposed to come out.
Well, that's my story. I'll go out again on Friday, and this time I'll have my two-piece plastic paddle that came with my inflatable row-boat.
I'm new to pretty much everything to do with sailing-- I've been on my brother's boat once or twice, but certainly had no clue about how to do anything. I think his boat was 32 feet? The extent of my sailing knowledge is that the wind blows and the boat goes.
Anyway, he had bought a Sunfish for his daughter many years ago, and it's been sitting upside down in his yard ever since. The sails were rolled around the mast on a top shelf in his garage. He said I could have it if I could get it home, so I bought a trailer and drove it home over the 4th.
Yesterday I went to the neighborhood boat launch by myself to put it in the water and I thought I'd relay the experience for your enjoyment.
My neighborhood is built around a 1700-acre reservoir lake. The launch point is about a 5-acre lagoon.
I backed up to the ramp with the masts and sail still tied down along the length. I pushed the boat out into the water and then pulled it back up on the grass beside the ramp to go park the car. At least it floats-- check one.
I fumbled around with the sail for about 20 minutes before I figured out which end was up, and ultimately ended up putting the gooseneck on backwards anyway.
Then I went to attach the rudder and I couldn't make the pin move at all. I spun it with some pliers to free it up and then it moved easily. Now I realized the rudder was in the down position and I couldn't budge it. After another 20 minutes I managed to use the handle of the pliers to wedge between the wood and the bracket and pry it about halfway to the beach position, but it is still really hard to move. Now that it cleared the ground it went right in the bracket-- check two.
I knew the sail was on backwards, but I wasn't trying to impress anyone and didn't think it really mattered which side of the mast the sail is on, so I pushed off and set out.
The first thing I noticed was that I'm a big guy and this is a very small boat. I sat on the edge of the deck right behind the tub and I heard one crack. I didn't sink, and there were no more noises, so I kept going.
Then I soon realized two things-- With the sail on backwards, the blocks are on the top of the boom, so the mainsheet doesn't move very freely at all in either direction. And, probably even more important- there is no wind, I have no idea how to steer this thing back to the ramp, and I don't have a paddle.
Yes, I'm an idiot.
I could tell from the daggerboard dragging that the water was very shallow, so I wasn't in any real danger. If nothing else it was a relaxing lounge in the lagoon, and every now and then a slight breeze would blow me a little farther out. At some point I realized I never put the rudder down, so I shimmied and leaned over the stern and had to beat on the far end of the rudder just to get it to move a few inches. It wasn't all the way down, but at least it was under the water now.
Finally, the air and water went dead still about 100ft from shore. It had been about an hour and a half to get to this point, so I decided I should figure out how to get back.
Suddenly there was a slight breeze. I have no idea which direction it was coming from, but somehow I managed to position the sail to get me moving toward the shore. (I figured out that the daggerboard is critical to going straight, and the rudder actually works). I wasn't able to go straight back to the ramp I came from, but managed to beach myself nearby.
With that little success, I fixed the sail and considered heading back out, but ultimately decided it was dumb luck I got back this time and without a paddle I really couldn't hope to get to where the wind was.
I dropped the sail, grabbed the bow line, and walked along the shore with the boat trailing behind back to the ramp.
It was still fun and informative. I know it floats with me on it, and I learned a bit about how to rig and control it. I need to work on freeing up the rudder and there is no retainer to hold my daggerboard in place. I also didn't see any drain hole-- there is a plug in the bottom of the tub but it is flush with the floor and doesn't have any screwdriver hole or anything to indicate that it is supposed to come out.
Well, that's my story. I'll go out again on Friday, and this time I'll have my two-piece plastic paddle that came with my inflatable row-boat.