That looks like a Sailfish with a Sunfish sail. And even for a Sailfish it looks to be sitting loowwww in the water!!Maybe the setup for the rig?
Here's picture of decent setup/rig—except that I'd rig the sail to have the clew higher by adjusting the gooseneck further forward on the boom. Raise the halyard all the way up.
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Colorful sail on Squam Lake, New Hampshire. Many restrictions on property here, which makes for a lake populated with many paddling-boats and Sunfish sailboats.
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Thanks for the heads up! That makes sense as I was doing much better along the shore in the lighter winds than when I got out into the middle of the lake where the wind was stronger. I do have a friend with a pontoon close byjeering, I meancheering me on and ready to assist. What do you mean, a good boat setup up?
Wear a PFD (personal floating device). In fact, don't go out without wearing it and don't be tempted to take it off when you're sailing! Get a PFD that fits your size and weight-wise. Ask here on the forum for proper brands etc. (Zhik or Magic Marine are good, but not necessarily what suits you the best). Getting low enough when the boom swings over your head, is hard enough without a PFD. Practice it with the PFD on!
Be sure to tell someone that you're out sailing. Without proper skills, it can be hard to get back home etc. People must be able to locate you.
Wear a PFD (personal floating device). In fact, don't go out without wearing it and don't be tempted to take it off when you're sailing! Get a PFD that fits your size and weight-wise. Ask here on the forum for proper brands etc. (Zhik or Magic Marine are good, but not necessarily what suits you the best). Getting low enough when the boom swings over your head, is hard enough without a PFD. Practice it with the PFD on!
Try to learn and see the wind in Nautical Knots. 3 -5 knots is nice for the first few days out. You'll learn to see how nature (trees, water) react to the wind and you'll mentally 'tie' the signs you see with the strength of the wind. Look for dark patches on the water: that's where the wind is. 'Pressure' according to sailors as in: "There's pressure in my sail!" when you are on those darker patches.
Going out in an evening breeze is a good idea. However, here in NW Europe, it's common for the wind to die down completely 1 - 2 hours before the sun goes down. You don't want to be on the far part of the lake then!
I teach people how to sail. From complete novices to people who want encouragement to cross the ocean on their own. Always keel-boats. I don't like that wobbly stuff.The most important lesson (and the hardest to learn) is to learn and understand 'wind orientation' and how to act accordingly with the rudder and sail. In short: when you hear a 'flapping' noise over your head when sailing, thing are not good: you're losing speed!
Most made mistake? Going out on a sunny but very windy day. People are over-confident when the sun is shining. Most accidents I've seen on the water occur on sunny + windy days. On the dark, cloudy days with the same wind force, people are more careful.
But most important: enjoy sailing.
Menno
plan to print and take to the lake with me this weekend, will report back with hopefully good results!Clarice, this may help you learn https://www.sunfishclass.org/documents/learn_2_sail_in_3_days.pdf
Good luck!
This did happen to me twice, first time the dagger board stayed in place, easy to flip back up. Second time I didn't have the dagger board snapped in place and had to re-insert, what a pain, but I figured out after several different attempts. My dagger board has a flat spring that holds it in place...plan to look to see if there is a place to tie a bungie or line to it so I don't have to swim after it if this happens again!Learn to correct this when it happens because it will. Not to scare you in anyway, it's super easy to right the boat. Make sure daggerboard is secured with a bungie so it won't slide out of the pocket when inverted. Ask me how I know. lol
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I am definitely a trial and error type learner, but I plan to read up also. So far, just going with what feels right to get the feeling of the boat, I have never sailed by myself before! I love learning and when I get a bit of wind...describable!When you're 'dead in the water' (to translate a Dutch expression into English...), with a flapping sail, there are two options: tiller facing straight forward and you start pulling the sheet. Look up and you'll notice that the movement of the sail will gradually stop: the will be 'pressure' in the sail; at first at the rear quarter. And when you keep pulling, the pressure will gradually fill the whole sail. You'll start moving forward as soon as your sail finds pressure. The speed will increase when the pressure in the sail builds up. You can steer when the boat develops speed. That's more or less lesson #1 when sailing upwind.
When you're dead in the water and you want to go the other way, just pull the tiller towards you and keep the sheet in your hand. Gradually the boat will turn away from the wind; the sail gets caught by the wind and you're going downwind. Be careful: this is the course you sail when you jibe! The boom & sail can come across with a lot of speed and momentum. Be sure to anticipate.
Of course, I cannot provide with a proper course 'how to learn to sail' by using an online forum. I wish I could. And of course, not everybody has the same learning strategy. ('Trial and error' vs. reading the whole 'how to' manual springs to mind). Look carefully on how other people in similar sized boats act when sailing: the position of the sail, their own position in the boat. What is a jibe? When to tack?
Again, enjoy your sailing.
I thought I replied to this yesterday, must not have hit post. Thanks for your advice, I do wear a life jacket and have a friend who id=s following me around in his pontoon...just in case! I am learning a lot from the generous advise of this group!Be sure to tell someone that you're out sailing. Without proper skills, it can be hard to get back home etc. People must be able to locate you.
Wear a PFD (personal floating device). In fact, don't go out without wearing it and don't be tempted to take it off when you're sailing! Get a PFD that fits your size and weight-wise. Ask here on the forum for proper brands etc. (Zhik or Magic Marine are good, but not necessarily what suits you the best). Getting low enough when the boom swings over your head, is hard enough without a PFD. Practice it with the PFD on!
Try to learn and see the wind in Nautical Knots. 3 -5 knots is nice for the first few days out. You'll learn to see how nature (trees, water) react to the wind and you'll mentally 'tie' the signs you see with the strength of the wind. Look for dark patches on the water: that's where the wind is. 'Pressure' according to sailors as in: "There's pressure in my sail!" when you are on those darker patches.
Going out in an evening breeze is a good idea. However, here in NW Europe, it's common for the wind to die down completely 1 - 2 hours before the sun goes down. You don't want to be on the far part of the lake then!
I teach people how to sail. From complete novices to people who want encouragement to cross the ocean on their own. Always keel-boats. I don't like that wobbly stuff.The most important lesson (and the hardest to learn) is to learn and understand 'wind orientation' and how to act accordingly with the rudder and sail. In short: when you hear a 'flapping' noise over your head when sailing, thing are not good: you're losing speed!
Most made mistake? Going out on a sunny but very windy day. People are over-confident when the sun is shining. Most accidents I've seen on the water occur on sunny + windy days. On the dark, cloudy days with the same wind force, people are more careful.
But most important: enjoy sailing.
Menno