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This thread needs 55 meters of perfection...   
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Mar 20, 2016 00:37
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Lolcano Eruption posted:Can you comment about having guns onboard while sailing around the Caribbean? Is it legal? Hmmm, yea......guns. K, this is my own personal opinion so you can take it for what its worth. Being a 'Murican' and right to own a gun stops at the U.S. territorial limit line. What does this mean? If you get caught with a gun in another country with more strict gun laws, your arse is pretty well fried. When you sail to another country and want to stay in their waters, you have to enter a port which has a customs office. It is just like when you fly overseas, you show them your passport and such but with boats it is a little more involved. You enter the harbor, the process is that you anchor out and do not dock. Some places allow docking but you have to verify this beforehand. After dropping the hook, you then raise the 'Q' flag (Q for quarantine). This is a small yellow flag notifying the customs office that you wish to enter the country. After a while, a customs officer will come out to your boat. he/she will ask for certain papers and documents. Things like passports, list of crew, length of stay, and of course if you have anything to declare. If you pass this interview, you are then allowed to lower the Q flag, dock up, and enjoy your stay. Now typically, crime in the West Indies is not that bad, in comparison to America. However there are some neighborhoods that you should stay out of at night but that is common in most places. The biggest crime I have seen is theft. Things such as dinghy and small outboard motors tend to be hot items for the taking. These are taken for the same reason that weed eaters and such are stolen out of your garage. They get sold for money and not because they need the stuff. Now you do decide to bring a gun along and someone climbs aboard your boat, you can shoot them if you want but expect a lengthy stay in that country in order to keep yourself out of their jail system. You didn't declare up front that you have a gun, there is going to be some real issues that you will face....aka.....money for defense, lawyer, and such......not including a good chance of losing your boat if you cannot pay the slip/moorage fees. You kill them and well, kiss your arse goodbye. Because of so many issues, more bad than good, I never carry a gun with me. But if you insist on having some type of protection, you may want to have a speargun. Yes, a speargun is just as good as a real gun, only more useful and more acceptable when entering foreign ports. You will still have legal issues but not as bad as if you shot them with a gun. If that idea seems too grime, you can use pepper-spray but be forewarned, you use it inside the cabin of a boat, you will end up fogging everyone including yourself. But in all seriousness, the Caribbean is pretty safe to sail around in. As long as you lock things down when in port, you shouldn't have any issues. Anchoring out in the middle of nowhere is not a issue either. Cruisers tend to watch out for each other while in port but there are some boaters out there who wouldn't mind exchanging their raggy rear end dinghy for your new one at the dinghy dock. Hope this helps and sorry about the long absence.
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Apr 7, 2016 11:56
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A sailing thread! I'll crosspost something I just put on a sailing forum about how my friend and I recovered my main halyard which he'd stupidly lost up the mast. Note that my friend is a much more experienced sailor than I and I've learned far more from him than he'll ever learn from me. Fishing for Halyards: One Method that Worked I am posting this in case it is useful to add to the general pool of knowledge of things to try in the event of a halyard that has flown the coop. The boat: Beneteau 323 How it happened: Main halyard was being used to run a radar reflector up the mast. Reflector was long cylindrical Plastimo model. Halyard shackle was attached to one end of the reflector and a bowline tied to the other end. The halyard was not attached to itself to form a closed loop. When the device was about mid mast the device fell apart at the glue joint at one end (the end attached to the shackle). It ran up the mast with about a foot and a half of halyard exposed, and the shackle and plastic end of the reflector jammed between the mast and shroud on the port side (first picture). We opted to put a slight tension on the main halyard and leave it in place with the idea that it might be easier to retrieve with a predictable and fixed location of the halyard.  The Method: The topping lift on this boat runs through a block in the mast and represents a line that can be brought up to the wayward halyard and controlled from the base of the mast. My thought was to attach some kind of hook to the topping lift, with a lot of spare line added, to run up and snag the main halyard and then pull downward, maintaining some tension on the main halyard to keep the line "snagged" and under control until it could be reached. This method was ultimately successful but took a number of tries. The Steps: 1. Purchased various pieces of hardware that looked like suitable hooks, with turnbuckles and the like to use to weigh them down or attach them to the line, and purchased 50 feet of light (red) line to tie to the shackle in the topping lift and use to haul down on the hook. 2. Padded the boom with PFDs as a precaution and untied the topping lift (boomvang on this boat supports the boom and keeps it off the deck though). 3. Attached hook apparatus and spare line to the topping lift shackle. 4. Began fishing. By manipulating the angle of the red line while hauling up it was relatively easy to get the hook right in the vicinity of the exposed main halyard. Problem is the hook was usually oriented in the wrong direction, facing outwards away from the mast etc. Some way of controlling the orientation of the hook, either through weight or a attaching a small additional control line, might improve the success of this method. 5. During the course of a number of attempts, as I suspected might happen, the main halyard shackle and the piece of plastic it was attached to got jarred loose from their position wedged under the shroud. The remaining exposed halyard promptly ran up into the mast leaving the shackle and the knot it was attached to and the circular piece of plastic exposed at the top of the mast. The knot and shackle appeared to prevent the whole assembly from disappearing into the mast even if the piece of plastic was not present. 6. One final adjustment was made to the hook to account for this new situation: instead of hanging down from the topping lift shackle, the topping lift line was wound around the hook so that the hook rode higher than the knot and shackle it was attached to and could reach several inches higher than the shackle. (second picture) With the new configuration, the hook managed to snag the large plastic piece very shortly after being run aloft.  7. With the end of the halyard "hooked", we hauled it down with counter tension being maintained on the main halyard to keep things under control. As you can see in the last picture, the hook is around the plastic but could easily have let go without tension. The halyard was hauled down until it could be reached by hand and secured.  Lessons learned: -Having the halyard looped to itself could have avoided the situation. Even with disintegration of the radar reflector, the line would never have been lost. -It's very helpful to have an observer with binoculars standing at a distance in the right spot to tell you if your hook (or noose or "grabber" depending on method) is in a good location or in the right orientation. -Some way of controlling or influencing the orientation of your hook or grabber would probably greatly enhance the effectiveness of this method. -The specific circumstances influence the method chosen. I was encouraged to use a hook because of the exposed piece of halyard with a bit of daylight between the line and the mast and the fact that the exposed halyard was trapped and fixed in place.
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Apr 14, 2016 04:10
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nplus1 elephants posted:I've always been interested in learning to sail and a tiny boat seems like a logical (and cheap) way to start. Look no further. http://www.pdracer.com/ "The PDRacer is a developmental one design racing sailboat that is basically a plywood box with a curved bottom and is the easiest boat in the world to build. The rules are aimed at keeping the lower 10" of all hulls the same but the rest is up to the builder. A simple hull can be made from 3 sheets of plywood, titebond II glue and latex house paint. If you work hard for 2 weekends you can go sailing on the 3rd weekend. If you are really in a hurry it is possible to go from lumber to the lake in 5 days. Here are our free plywood sailboat plans." I love these quirky, yet stable and efficient boats. I love the philosophy behind them: Make it, sail it, have fun. When Duckers meet up, everyone makes and brings a trophy. The trophies are set up on a table. The Duckers then race. The Ducker that comes in first place gets his pick of the trophies. Second place picks a trophy next. And so on. I only wish there was a group in the Los Angeles/Santa Barbara area. 
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May 11, 2016 08:03
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Sun Dog posted:Look no further. http://www.pdracer.com/ These are really cool.
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May 12, 2016 00:45
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Sun Dog posted:Look no further. http://www.pdracer.com/ 
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May 14, 2016 06:20
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Airborne Viking posted:Oh hi there summer project. Thanks for bringing yourself to my attention. Are you near Los Angeles?  Just look at these awesome goofball trophies.  "The importance of it being homemade, is that turns it into a unique personal message from one ducker to another." http://www.pdracer.com/articles/trophies/ So much variety. So many ways to build your PDR.   You like daysailing/watercamping? Ok then! Tenacious Turtle:  Ocean Explorer:  Ocean Explorer porn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhlAfUweOcw
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May 23, 2016 00:54
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Going to chip in here as I have done a good amount of barefoot sailing. Typically 2 week stints in the BVI aboard a Sunsail rental good times. We had three couples aboard and it did get a bit cramped at times but once everyone had a "place" it worked out.
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May 23, 2016 03:10
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14 years ago I moved to San Diego and ended up meeting a guy who had a broken down 25' sailboat who let me sail it anytime I wanted for 50% of the cost of the mooring, which was a couple hundred bucks a year. He taught me everything he knew about sailing (which he gave to me verbally, but if it were written, could have been contained on the back of a 3x5 card). I sailed mostly on the bay but from time to time ventured out in to the open ocean. I learned a lot and managed not to drown nor run the boat aground (except for once which was totally not my fault). I did this a couple weekends a month for a couple years. Eventually I met my (now) wife who hates anything water related, and after a year or two of my paying the mooring fee and not setting foot on the boat even once, this guy eventually refused my money and I no longer had access to the boat. Well, years have passed since then and my only child is 6 now, and the perfect age to learn to sail (and I'm looking for a hobby again, now that I don't have an infant/ toddler anymore). I probably will contact this guy and kick my couple hundred bucks back in. There is a potential path toward owning my own sailboat someday, not sure if that is in the cards or not. I feel like I have a fighting knowledge of sailing. I feel like a one week sailing 101 class would bore me, but I might pick up some nuggets there. I feel like a sailing 201 class might be above my head. If they were half day classes or were $50 or whatever, I'd probably suck it up and take my lumps - but they're a week long and expensive. Any suggestions as to what the right move would be?
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May 23, 2016 05:34
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photomikey posted:Any suggestions as to what the right move would be? Have you thought of picking up a small boat (Sunfish, Hobie Cat, etc.) to practice on and maybe crewing on a larger boat to pick up some advanced tips?
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May 23, 2016 17:21
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Zwabu posted:A sailing thread! You're lucky with that one. Typically I see them shoot all the way up to the top and be half way buried into the opening of the mast. I usually get the smallest person and pull them up in a bosun chair to get that halyard. Besides while up there, they can check the anchor light and such.
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May 23, 2016 22:49
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Timbo posted:Going to chip in here as I have done a good amount of barefoot sailing. Schitt, I would rather be in a boat with five other people and enjoying some good sailing and anchor spots than puking up my lunch on a dirty arse cruise ship any day.
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May 23, 2016 22:53
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GamingHyena posted:Have you thought of picking up a small boat (Sunfish, Hobie Cat, etc.) to practice on and maybe crewing on a larger boat to pick up some advanced tips? So much this.......I wouldn't spend any money on a boat you haven't seen in years. Try going around the marina (if you can get in, most are locked or keyed) and ask some of the people sitting on the boats if they know anyone who would care for having a crew just to go sailing. Ask in the office as well. Mariana office workers tend to know who is who when it comes to some things. Sometimes people just get frustrated with sailing because it is such a hassle for them to get out on the water. Plus they may enjoy some company just for a change of pace. Does your wife still dislike water sports? If so, you might have a huge hill to climb on getting another boat. I mean, if you are going to be spending money each month on a boat, it might as well be yours and not a time share kind of thing. If getting into a marina is an issue, you can always buy a trailer sailor boat. Catalina 22 boats are fairly good and plentiful aka cheaper than most. They make a good weekend boat as well. Parts are easily available at https://www.catalinadirect.com for most if not all the boats made. Another great thing about boats on trailers, you can take them with you on vacation. It gives that week off a whole new air to go sail on a distant lake. Look for boats at the end of the year. Sailboats are seasonal with people wanting to get rid of them before winter time. Take a look at this website. http://www.sailingtexas.com/cboats.html These boats tend to be sold by owner. As far as improving your sailing knowledge, maybe go ask the local marina, yacht club, or just the local outfitter for people who may teach sailing. Now depending on how much you want to do........sail offshore and such, you might want to get into some navigation classes as well. First aid as well. First thing though, check your budget. Do you have the money to support this habit. Anything related to 'Marine' tends to garner a hefty price hike.
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May 23, 2016 23:12
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Okay, time for another installment of 'Raz talks'. Today's topic is Safety at Sea. First off, let me say that what follows is my own personal opinion. Although you have always heard about how great it is to go sailing, it does require some sense of caution. Sailing CAN get you killed, especially offshore. So then, now that I have put the fear of god into you, let's talk about what could happen to you on a boat. The number one cause of injury on a boat is falling. Yes, falling. Falling off the boat, falling onto the boat, falling down into the boat, and falling on deck. 80% of falls happen when people are trying to get on or off their boat while docked. They think that they can board a moving object while carrying thirty pounds of can goods with only one hand. They also think that they can get down off a boat with a handful of items as well. Even though a boat is tied off to the pier, it will still move when you first step on it. Granted the movement will be minimal on a larger boat (35'/>), the boat will still try to move. So if you have gear/food/crap to load on your boat, either hand it off to a person already on the boat or place the items on the boat deck and then climb aboard. The next big falling hazard is the entrance to the interior, commonly called the 'companionway'. In order to maximize interior boat space, the designers have made the steps to get in/out of the cabin fairly steep and narrow. Not watching where you are going is good way to take a tumble downwards. These falls tend to be the ones that break bones. After that, falling on deck is the next one. Falling tends to happen from getting feet tripped up on lines laying around and stubbing one's toes on certain items *cough winch cough*. So to minimize such hazards, keeps lines coiled up and off the deck if possible. On smaller boats, always have one hand on the boat as you walk around on deck....just in case. And the last one and it is the biggest one......falling overboard. If you go sailing offshore alone, you fall off your boat and you cannot get back aboard, you can kiss your arse goodbye......it is that simple. I don't care if you can swim twenty laps at the public pool....you fall overboard and your boat sails off into the sunset..............you ARE a dead person. Now that I got that point across, let's see how we can stop this from happening. Well, first, you can stop solo sailing but fawk, what fun would that be? When I sail, I wear a harness that is clipped onto jack lines running fore and aft on my boat. If I fall off, the harness and jack line will drag me along the side of the boat until I can either push the rudder over by hand to get the boat to head upwind or pull the swim ladder down so I can climb back into the boat. Remember what I said about tripping over loose lines on deck? For that reason, I use nylon webbing for my jack lines as they lay flat on the deck and are just as strong. Plus they are cheaper than dirt to replace if needed. Okay, then......so you don't want to solo sail ever again now. You bring along a crew mate. This is safer but only IF they know what to do if you fall overboard. Do they know how to turn the boat around? Do they know how to return to pick you up without running over you? Are they strong enough to pull you up and out of the water by themselves? You really need to explain what to do with your crew before you ever leave the dock. It doesn't matter if they have four years of sailing or ten days....they need to know how you want things to go. Sooooooo, now...............the next biggest safety issue is getting hit by an object. Raise your hand if you have ever got wracked by a shackle on a flogging sail. Schit hurts, don't it? However, you stand a bigger chance of getting hit by the boom swinging from side to side than a piece of metal hook on a end of a line. An accidental gybe can cause a boom to swing with quit some force and put a nasty bump on the old noggin. If the boom is big enough, a hit will kill you as well. And the last biggest issue is fire. With the use of diesel engines, the risk of fire has decreased quit a bit. However, fires in the galley are still an issue. Always pay extra attention when you are cooking/baking and still doing boat chores. Stove fires are about as common as kitchen fires at home.......typically. Also keep in mind that your boat is moving around while you are standing there in front of that hot stove and pans of hot bubbling liquids. Now the last and least things you have to worry about is getting sick. Sea sick or just plain sick. Although you may feel like you're dying, as long as you keep drinking (not beer), you should be able to pull through. And finally, if you haven't seen this story, here is the link. *warning - graphic* http://tinyurl.com/gq5gstt
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May 24, 2016 00:01
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I'm glad you mentioned the falling topic. I just rescued (along with a few others) a lady who'd fallen off her boat at our marina. She had no swim ladder configured on her boat, it has a steep stern (no swim ladder), and it's a floating dock 2-3 feet above the water with no ladders. Now there are plenty of boats with swim ladders or platforms all around our marina (like my sailboat, or almost any powerboat there). So if she were thinking straight she could have just headed for one of those boats and climbed out. SoCal Pacific water is cold but not lethally so like in PNW or Lake Michigan in winter etc., you could spend a little time in it and not die of hypothermia. It was night time and she was either going to do laundry at the marina or bring some back and fell in. It was a busy weekend night with a ton of people around, some parties on boats etc. I heard some moaning/cries and I honestly thought it was someone having sex and having such a great time they didn't care who heard, until I got closer and saw someone thrashing around a bit in the water. (Turns out that someone afraid of drowning can sound remarkably like someone having a thunderous orgasm!) She was hanging onto cleats and lines and had likely tried once or twice (futilely) to climb out. I told her she looked like she was doing well hanging there (i.e. not going to drown in the next 15 minutes) and we would get her out but I was probably not going to be able to do it myself. I tried once without success. As it was a busy night and her slip is along the main dock everyone has to walk down to get to their finger pier, before long (right when I was beginning to talk to her about whether she had PFD or ladder on board her boat which was right in front of us that I could go get) a few other people showed up. We "manhandled" her out of the water which in retrospect I think wasn't great, could have dislocated her shoulders, it was kind of ugly. Find a ladder and put it in would have been safer, I think she still had enough energy to climb out with a ladder and some help.
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May 24, 2016 02:30
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Sun Dog posted:Are you near Los Angeles? That's one hell of a setup. Can this guy still call himself an amateur boat builder? Holy poo poo.  Sadly I'm quite a ways away from LA, but apparently there's an annual PD race about an hour and a half from me. Which is awesome, because I was worried that I'd just be that local weird guy with a floating plywood coffin. Also, I call dibs on the boat name "Plywood Coffin". RazNation posted:Does your wife still dislike water sports? 
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May 24, 2016 17:08
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Zwabu posted:I'm glad you mentioned the falling topic. She is very lucky that you heard her. People do/say weird things when they think they are drowning. When I took my first aid class, our instructor told us to approach a drowning person from behind because they will grab you and force you underwater in a vain attempt to climb out of the water. He said that if they become to combative, it is best to kick them away and swim back. Of course, this may cause the person to drown but its better him than you. We had a lady trip over the life line as she was trying to board her boat while carrying a box of food. She ended up falling face first into the cockpit. I think we found only one of her teeth. Several years ago, the Coast Guard had a small station (office) in our marina (Seabrook Shipyards). One day, I saw a ambulance and a fire truck pull up to the station. Typically it is closed or has one or two people working there. So being tired of cleaning teak rails, I walked over to see what was happening. A Coast Guard helicopter flew in and land in the nearby field. They pulled a stretcher off with a guy laying on his stomach. He was covered with a sheet at the time but the wind from the blades blew the sheet off. It looked like someone took a steak knife and made diagonal cuts all down this guy's back. I asked one of the guys there what happened and he said that the victim was riding on the bow of a powerboat. He was sitting on the bow when the boat hit a wave and he fell forward off the boat. The skipper couldn't stop the motors in time and ran right over him. The cuts came from the prop as the boat passed over the guy. He probably lived but he surely had some scars from that.
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May 24, 2016 23:41
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Yikes. I need to get out there and practice my man overboard drills. On another note, I'm looking for some reading on sail trim. I'm developing a pretty good feel for what to adjust to trim sails to the conditions, but I'm looking for more detail about the forces at play -- optimal angles, expected range of effect adjustments can have, etc. Something in between "vang make boom gown down" and hydrodynamic calculus.
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May 25, 2016 03:17
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I used to live near lake Conroe (Houston) and now i live near lake Lewisville ( Dallas). Both of these lakes are FULL of powerboating idiots. I am not trying to be a boat snob but there is too much money going around and not enough common sense on those lakes. The most tragic thing i can recall : there was a sandy beach in a cove on lake Conroe. lots of boats would beach on the sand and drink/party. the boats would beach and by doing so would blow out the sand creating a sand bar about 20 feet from the shore. So the impression was that the water was deep at the end of the boat, whelp lake conroe has horrible water clarity so after enough drinks a woman dove off the end of the boat and broke her back causing her to lose the use of her legs. Granted this was not the skippers(who was sober) fault but just a sad day on the water in general. On a brighter note i can share some pretty drat funny stories about watching people trailering and untrailering boats at the marina. these include: 1. The wife and husband 2. ye old parking brake 3. thumbs up motor down and many more!
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May 25, 2016 03:52
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Docking - this is pretty much the most vexing issue of sailing for me, given my slip situation which I will outline below. Excellent and lengthy Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship lecture on the topic with thorough discussion of the principles and many examples. Only issue for me is it lacks practical videos of examples of people doing it right and doing it wrong, I think it's important for a practical topic like docking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoGMAEjiHmU Basic principle of using a spring line to dock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjUMocc1_4w Attaching a spring line and maintaining slight forward thrust will keep the boat safely pinned to the dock while other lines are attached (good concept for single hand sailors or those with crew who can't help, effectively single handed): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLcZfxbKCuk Example of using a stern line to "spring off" a dock. In this case the line pins the stern to the dock and the bow pivots outwards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq75PvUChss (the same principle works when pinning the bow to the dock and pivoting the stern outwards, you have even a bit more control because you can use prop wash.) Very good practical video by the good Captain Klang illustrating an approach to docking that can be done by a singlehanded sailor, making heavy use of spring lines, with many illustrative videos of him performing the techniques to go with the schematic diagrams. Costs a few bucks but well worth it in my opinion. He addresses my exact situation in this video. His method doesn't require you to be a master of dock line rodeo or jousting, or need you to make heroic leaps onto the dock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb3PU_z4DMg My undocking scenario - I'm on the right. Typical wind blows me onto my neighbor on the port side:  The problem is that with any wind blowing, both the wind and "prop walk" will push the boat onto my neighbor. My boat is a typical right handed screw configuration, and when in reverse the stern will pull to port. The solution I've been using most recently, with two aboard, is for crew to "walk" the boat halfway out of the slip with bow and stern lines in hand, and then step aboard while I put the engine in reverse with my stern well clear of my neighbor already. It's worked okay but I feel like it wouldn't be that safe in stronger wind. Another solution would be to get used to backing into the slip, this would make exiting much easier as prop walk would bring my stern towards the dock and my bow would clear the neighbor right away. I could "overshoot" the slip coming up into the wind and then back in. The Capt. Klang solution is to use a spring line from my stern, doubled around the last cleat on the dock, and back into the boat. Controlling tension and feeding this line out as you reverse should hold the boat in the proper orientation and once the stern is clear and you have a bit of speed you are under control. This has actually worked for me but I never did it well enough to get really good at it. I even have a diagram of this that I drew on an old log from a prior boat from years ago of doing this. More recently I had a couple of mishaps trying it where I hosed up because I let a knot form and snag on the dock cleat, transforming a very controlled evolution into an instant emergency clusterfuck (now the snagged line forces your bow to pivot onto the neighbor and crew has to fend off like a motherfucker). I was gratified to watch the last video because it vindicates that, yes, this is actually a good solution, I just need to get it down and not gently caress it up. I can see from the Klang dude's video that he uses a line that seems pretty small which is probably fine, the spring line is just supposed to get things in control for a bit until you secure your heavy lines. Other solutions I've seen described - if you have pilings around your slip, you can tie permanent "buddy lines" between them and "walk the boat out" along them by hand most of the way out of the slip from aboard the boat. I've done a lot better on getting into the slip lately, it's the undocking that causes me the most wailing and gnashing of teeth. I feel I have some good solutions, I just have to get them practiced and smooth to where I have confidence in them. Even better if I can get in practice on an empty dock or without my neighbor being there. I'm curious the experience of others with docking, adventures, misadventures, tips, tricks! One point the guy in the Maryland video makes is realy true - sometimes people on dock trying to help do a worse job than if there was no one there at all so be wary of this help unless you know the person and their ability to take instruction well. Zwabu fucked around with this message at 04:55 on May 25, 2016 |
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May 25, 2016 04:06
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Timbo posted:On a brighter note i can share some pretty drat funny stories about watching people trailering and untrailering boats at the marina. 
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May 25, 2016 15:53
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Kobayashi posted:Yikes. I need to get out there and practice my man overboard drills. Actually to really get a feel for how sail trim works or doesn't is to actually go sailing. Unlike most people I know, I prefer to have a tiller instead of a wheel, even for larger boats. Tiller makes courses corrections quickly and when not in use, you can pull it up and out of the way. Plus you get to 'feel' the weather helm a lot easier on a tiller than a wheel, at least for me. I would suggest doing some searching on YouTube for some sailing vids. Granted they are not the best but you can see what they are doing. Sail trim is quit easy to learn once you get the concept down on how sails work. It's the knowledge of when to reef before things go bad is what takes some time.
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May 25, 2016 22:37
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Timbo posted:I used to live near lake Conroe (Houston) and now i live near lake Lewisville ( Dallas). Both of these lakes are FULL of powerboating idiots. I am not trying to be a boat snob but there is too much money going around and not enough common sense on those lakes. I know both of those places.....freaking crap holes full of drunk boat owners who think they own the water. Down in Clear Lake, the 'in thing' is to take strippers out on the large cigarette boats. These tend to be owned by over-weight older men who can't find or hold onto a nice wife. They show up at the fuel dock each Saturday and Sunday morning with their stripper 'friends', they fuel up and then head out into Galveston Bay and finally out into the gulf itself. One night, one drunk rear end decided it would be a good idea to let a 20yo stripper drive his 40' cig boat outside buoy 01 at night. She ended up slicing through another boat and killing two people. Not be out done, a week later, a boat load of drunk asses ran their cig boat onto the shore of Clear Lake.
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May 25, 2016 22:43
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Zwabu posted:Docking - this is pretty much the most vexing issue of sailing for me, given my slip situation which I will outline below. I don't know how much trouble it would be for you but have you considered putting out some buoys out in open water and use them as a guide to docking a boat? Maybe use some fenders, line, and a brick. Just go out there and place them kind of like in a line and pretend those to be the edge of the dock or the boat next to you. If you jack it up, no harm, you just float across them and try again. Just be careful not to catch the lines with your prop.
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May 25, 2016 22:46
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RazNation posted:I don't know how much trouble it would be for you but have you considered putting out some buoys out in open water and use them as a guide to docking a boat? I've docked many times but this not only would be a good deal of trouble to set up but it doesn't seem a good model for docking at all, as... there's no dock! The buoys would not maintain a consistent position unless anchored to the bottom, and the techniques of using fenders, coming up to docks in the proper orientation and tying to cleats or pilings would not be present at all and the open water (Pacific off Point Loma where I am) would have waves and chop you'd rarely ever see in a sheltered marina/dock. I have basic boat skills and know how to drive up to things, and have no problems making moorings and do okay most of the time on my dock, just always looking for better or more reliable methods. What you describe might be more useful to practice coming up to a mooring ball. Meaningful practice for me would involve having an empty or available dock or slip to come on and off of, preferably with cleats because that's my home condition. If my slip neighbor took his boat out more (he doesn't do it very often) I could take the opportunity to practice coming in and out of there a bunch of times without worrying about his boat.
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May 26, 2016 02:35
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Re: Man Overboard methods - Here is a clever one to bring someone aboard. This method would obviously only work on someone who is still able to help themselves a decent amount:  For an incapacitated victim I suppose you could loop a bowline around them and use winch and other tackle (boomvang maybe) for mechanical advantage to winch them up and aboard, or fasten the line to their PFD or a harness. I've heard it described where you could let a sail wrap around the victim and haul up one side of it with a winch. The difficulties involved in hoisting 180lbs of wet, dead weight aboard are significant.
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May 26, 2016 03:15
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Zwabu posted:... would not be present at all and the open water (Pacific off Point Loma where I am) ...
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May 26, 2016 03:19
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photomikey posted:Hey there, Goon neighbor. Looking for able-bodied crew for your vessel? My situation is a bit complicated at the moment as I am not able to sail nearly as much as I'd like. When I have some time and am doing it, goon crew would be fine. I think you don't have PMs? I can be reached via PMs or sending you a PM or we can figure out other ways if the opportunity presents itself.
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May 26, 2016 03:23
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The Wife and Husband. it was late afternoon on a Saturday Summer of 2002. a buddy had rented a slip overnight and we were finishing up locking the boat down when i noticed a couple mid 40's on a nice Tahoe. They pull up to the dock and Mr.Tahoe ties up and goes to get the trailer. While he does this Mrs. Tahoe takes the boat and starts it to line it up for a run at the trailer. I have seen plenty of women trailer a boat and figured she had this in the bag as they way she controlled the boat. Mr. Tahoe had sunk the trailer maybe a little too deep.... but hey every boat is different and i have no experience with his rig. As Mrs. Tahoe starts heading for the trailer it just looked like she was coming in a little hot. For one reason or another she got off on her line up and tried to use some more power to correct it ..... This action sent the boat hard into the left side of the trailer and OVER it onto the concrete ramp. The bow resting firmly and the stern high but not fully out of the water. Luckly nothing was hurt but the boat and pride (maybe the marriage). We ended up leaving after numerous people were giving ideas on how to correct the problem.
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May 26, 2016 04:15
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Zwabu posted:I've docked many times but this not only would be a good deal of trouble to set up but it doesn't seem a good model for docking at all, as... there's no dock! The buoys would not maintain a consistent position unless anchored to the bottom, and the techniques of using fenders, coming up to docks in the proper orientation and tying to cleats or pilings would not be present at all and the open water (Pacific off Point Loma where I am) would have waves and chop you'd rarely ever see in a sheltered marina/dock. Yea, I see what you're saying. Do you have any other empty slips in your marina that you can 'borrow'? I have seen people put out some lines from the dock which forms a 'cradle' so that they can motorboat right in and not worry so much about banging stuff around. I think it is more of a crutch and a bad way not to learn how to dock a boat.
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May 28, 2016 03:45
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Zwabu posted:Re: Man Overboard methods - I like the LifeSling myself. But you need to know how it works before someone falls overboard. http://www.westmarine.com/buy/lifesling--lifesling2-overboard-rescue-system--357634
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May 28, 2016 03:47
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Timbo posted:The Wife and Husband. If you ever go down to Clear Lake, Tx........head over to the public ramps under the Seabrook Bridge. This is where those old farts with more money than brains show up to launch their cigarette boats. Since the boats are so big (>35'), they use the large one ton pick ups to haul them around with. As you know, after a couple of launches and retrievals, the concrete ramps get quit wet and slippery. So they get their boats on the trailer but when it comes time for them to haul them up the ramp, the truck just sits there and spins the tires. Never got to see a rig end up back in the water but I did watch several get towed up the ramp by their buddies.
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May 28, 2016 03:56
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Try with an aft spring to keep your stern in check, but if walking it out works, hey... Propeller walk is different on every boat, but when you're in open water try giving her a short, sharp kick astern from a standing stop and putting the rudder hard a starboard. It works with my 23' but then she's got little to no propeller walk (8HP outboard  ). I'd also invest in a couple of fenders for the outboard side, just in case.We're in good relations with the marina owner so we always get a slip bow into the current (marina's on a river) which makes controlling the stern at slow speed over ground so much easier. Might not be possible where you are. Also installed a fender on the dock just in front of our bow, too, for windy days. Just drive the thing right in there, keep the gas on until you're all fast. The best way to do it is with a spring line but if for whatever reason... I wouldn't bother with floating ropes and buoys, they'll be affected by the current the same way your boat will be so the exercise is kind of useless. One tip from my commercial shipping days that served me was to not go too slow. The slower you are, the less effective your rudder is and the more apparent the wind and current effects are. Don't be in a rush but be firm with the throttle. Gas is power. Also nthing the advice not to rely on dock randos for springing or anything. They usually make things worst. Good line handlers can basically dock your boat for you; a lot of people hanging around a marina think that the only thing lines are for are keeping the boat from floating away.
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May 29, 2016 01:50
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RazNation, what kind of boats are you looking at? What resources are you using? TheBoatTrader.com? Craigslist? Local rags with ads?
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May 30, 2016 14:46
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Anyone interested in anchors and anchoring should check out this guy's channel. He isn't paid by anyone but for whatever reason his hobby, aside from sailing, seems to be to take a bunch of anchors of different types out and test them under varying conditions. Here's one test, of a Fortress FX-16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmHxO8mbAyk It's a bit confusing to understand what you are seeing, but he's tied a five foot line with a float and a GoPro camera looking down at his anchor during the test. In later videos he alters his method so he can see what's going on from the side as well. I discovered this channel through a thread this guy made on SailingAnarchy.com (Cruising subforum). YouTube channel is definitely worth a subscribe.
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Jul 2, 2016 19:29
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A lesson in the value of making sure you have a good condition EPIRB with fresh batteries if you are going offshore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxIiN559Jms Also, at least for a short while, I bet every one of those guys was a fan of the government and taxes. 
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Jul 3, 2016 18:57
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The Locator posted:A lesson in the value of making sure you have a good condition EPIRB with fresh batteries if you are going offshore. Very surreal to see these guys filming their sea rescue adventure like it's their own "found footage" movie they are starring in. This is the age we are living in. In the beginning of the video it doesn't seem like anyone is trying to help the guy in yellow aboard, they were too busy filming and loving around with the flare. Coast Guard rescue swimmer is one of the coolest jobs around requiring huge cajones. And it looks like one of the guys had a PLB (same thing as EPIRB really, just tagged to an individual as opposed to a vessel). I'm guessing the waters were Gulf Coast or warm Florida waters since the USCG swimmer was not in a full wetsuit?
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Jul 3, 2016 19:31
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I'm guessing that it's this one - http://coastguardnews.com/coast-guard-rescues-four-people-from-capsized-boat/2016/06/28/ 11 miles east of Charleston SC.
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Jul 3, 2016 23:23
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The Locator posted:A lesson in the value of making sure you have a good condition EPIRB with fresh batteries if you are going offshore. One of my family members was a career SAR guy. As he would say, it's people like this that keeps SAR in business.
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Jul 4, 2016 03:27
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 18:50 |
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I'm a 24 year old amateur sailboat racer, and I just got second place in our Santana 20 class championships, losing out to a boat of professionals by one point. Ask me anything.
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Jul 4, 2016 17:29
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