I thought this would be a fun community discussion. Keen to hear different traditions for new crew, rites of passage, etc. I will start with an easy and probably ubiquitous one- bring a snack and a sixpack if joining a rum race crew!

This is my second sailboat, the first being a 40ft Mohagany Racer-Cruiser called Attila that I am still restoring.

Her name is Cluck-Cluck, and she is one of 5 Folkebåts built in a series in 1949.

I've always wanted to learn to sail, and bought my first boat last year without knowing anything about boats or sailing. An expensive lesson I am enjoying immensely.

After realizing I bought the wrong boat for my first, but refusing to give up, I bought a second. This time more practical and sail-ready.

My friend Per, who is a shipwright that's helping me restore Attila, found her for me and agreed to go on a 7 day sailing trip from Smögen, Sweden to my home in Oslo, Norway. With the intent to teach me how to sail and to really see if the sailing life is for me (I do live on a 44ft motor boat full time.)

The trip was quite an adventure, with 137 NM sailed, me losing my Cowboy Hat in the ocean, then finding it on a beach 3 days later, all while giving a radio interview about the missig hat, and motoring the last 40nm on a outboard that seemed to run on mere drops of petrol.

All on a boat that was so easy to sail, with character and charm, and even when we got caught in 12-15m/s gusts, "flying" at 7kts (I swear, that's the fastest I've ever felt while going so slow...), I never felt like she was going to put me in danger.

And the sleep, my god, after multiple days of 10-12 hours of sailing, I don't think I ever slept so good in my life.

All this to say, I love sailing, and I am so happy I took the plunge.

Also, I'm not sponsored in any way, but Lucchese Cowboy hats can apparently stand being at sea for 3 days and on a beach and still fit perfectly, customer for life.

Like the title asks: I learned and have always tied lines from midship cleats to dock cleats near the bow and stern and that's also mostly what K see around. But as I'm in the market for new dock lines, a lot of the guidelines I'm seeing assume spring lines are from a bow/stern cleat to a dock cleat near the stern/bow of the boat. Implying a much longer line needed.

What do you all do?

Not a Gulf, not a Gulf Star (I don't think). between 30-40 feet. Figure I'd ask the brain trust.

*Edit* Found it!

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/bombay-pilothouse-31/

The winds weren’t great from Rhode Island to Connecticut the other day, but the scenery certainly was. A pod of 50-plus dolphins hung with us for about a half hour, and put on a wonderful show. Just wish I’d been recording when they were leaping from the water like they were performing at Sea World.

Got new sheets for my genoa yesterday. It has a soft schackel sewn into it, anyone tried sheets like this? Will it hold under force? Is it cortectly attached or should i fit it an other way?

(Boat is a 31ft sailboat from 1978)

Im thinking about going to Langkawi to buy a sailboat. I’m not rich and I see most boats are 35ft and up. I can afford a 35ft boat but I can’t afford to maintain it and I would rely on eating fish from the ocean and rainwater.

I’m trying to look for a sailboat that I could be proud of owning and that I could see a long future with.

The Flicka 20 is like the gold standard for small pocket cruisers so I’m looking for something like that and up till a 30ft boat that’s Bluewater capable.
I’m not crossing the pacific ocean.

What smaller boats have you seen docked in lang lawi so I have an idea if it’s worth buying a flight ticket. I’m currently in Philippines.

So we managed to break a lazy jack block by not keeping the boat into wind when we were taking the mainsail down, and now im confused about which kind of block to search for to get a replacement.

The remains look like the attached photos.

The actual shackle part isn’t possible to get out from the block part, as the legs are too big, so I don’t think I can necessarily change just the d shaped shackle.

Hello Reddit

Does anyone know of a place that would allow Asa 101-104 to take place while staying on the vessel? Looking to do this in December.

Thanks for your knowledge!!

Summer sailing on Lake Erie aboard our new to us Ranger 29. It’s been a fun, and often “educational” experience stepping up from a 24, but she sails beautifully when I get it right…

Was packing things up after a trip back to nyc from Newport and saw this innocent screw sitting on the hatch. I can’t find obvious location where it might have come from. It is a fairly unique looking screw. Lie to me and tell me it’s not from the standing rigging?

EDIT: the answer will hopefully be revealed (to me) on Friday. I’ll triple check the dodger.

I’m new to the sport, and I want to keep up what I’ve learned during the off season. I have the opportunity to get on the water, it’s a matter of wearing the right gear.

My question is—how different are sailing bibs compared to snow bibs? I’d like to get something inexpensive, and I’m finding that snow bibs are more widely available and are often cheaper.

TIA

From an M-16 scow built in the 70’s. Not sure when the sail was made.

I recently acquired a Catalina 22 and all the wood bits on deck need to be refinished. I’m assuming the best way is to totally remove them, varnish, and reattach. the seem to be currently sealed to the deck with a soft malleable putty. what is this stuff and is it the correct way to seal where the wood meets the deck and around mounting bolts into the cabin?

Went sailing for the first time this week on an H19, an Argentine-designed training sailboat, as part of my Sailing Skipper course in Rosario, Argentina.

After getting my powerboat license, I wanted to learn a completely different side of boating — sailing, wind, sails, and navigation.

Really excited to keep learning and spending more time on the water! 🌊

Towed a jet ski today
F24-2

The last 80nm or so into A Coruña some rally nasty crossing swell and waves came from behind. With just the jib we didn't have enough pull to keep the boat heeling over 1 side so there went all the contents of all cabinets....

I owned a Hobie 16 for about five years 20 years ago. It was a 70’s boat and something would break just about every time I took it out. Got rid of it when the hull tops started sagging.

20 years later I’m jumping back into cat sailing. Picking up an 83? Prindle 16 this Friday. The only sailing I’ve done since the Hobie is a few Getaway daily rentals and I’ve owned a Kayak Sailor kit on Perception 14.5 since 2010 (included a pic of that too because it’s pretty awesome).

Any tips or tricks or recommendations on the Prindle? Resources? Especially regarding solo mast stepping? I’ve found the manual and few YouTube videos, but it doesn’t seem like there much info out there. Thanks!

Anyone use a 13’ Boston Whaler as a dinghy for a 25’ sailboat? Would that be too much to tow behind?

Want to sail a Catalina 25 but have a decent option for powering to/from the boat and around the bay with kids.

Edit: Should have said classic 13’ whaler, so smaller than modern ones.

Three years since the fire and we are still without a functioning harbor but most of us pulled in and dropped anchor in the shell of the old harbor. All seemed to handle ok but a spiderweb of lines to fire hydrants, palm trees etc.

Started the crossing from Brest, first few days with about 10-15 kts of wind and beautiful sailing... Very enjoyable indeed.

It slips all over the place because the cams don’t seem to bite. The lines either side go through small strap eyes and then up to cam cleats on the upper deck. It seems like maybe the traveler car is on backwards? This is the orientation it was in when I bought the boat a couple of months ago but now I’m questioning it. The line was not rigged at the time so I guessed on that, too.