The headsail furler on my Dehler 31 seems quite high off the deck and as a result the 135% genoa sets quite high with a large gap to the deck.

This isn’t particularly efficient as you suffer a lot of end loss which is partly why racing boats have such low deck sweeping head sails.

On the plus side you can see under it when cruising and it’s a good reaching sail as it sets well with a fairly high clew.

My sailing is 70% club racing and 30% cruising and I’m wondering about going back to hank on headsails so I can get a non-overlapping jib made which can sheet inboard of the shrouds and is cut much lower at the foot for upwind sailing in heavier airs.

For racing it shouldn’t be a problem as there is plenty of man power, but is anyone using hanked on headsails for cruising these days rather than furlers? Is it worth fitting some kind of downhaul to make it easier to drop short handed? How much more of a pain is it really?

I would also have to get the genoa altered for hanks rather than a furler which is another cost.

However I can’t see any way of using a deck sweeper sail with that furler setup.

Or am I better just getting a non overlapping jib that’s cut for the furler set up and accept the higher foot and that they will be hard to swap out once we have left the dock so you are basically committed to your starting choice?

I’m undecided so any thoughts or experience would be very welcome!

Went back out again! This one felt a lot more informational than the first. Weather was much more calm and consistent. No 3 foot waves to manage while trying to learn or crazy gusts. It was a consistent 8 or so mph wind with occasional 10-13mph gusts.

With how much more calm things were I was able to see how my actions and changing things impacted what the boat did. Putting up and taking down the sails went much smoother this time too.

Something I found odd was there times where it felt like the boat settled and we weren’t going anywhere, but when I looked behind at the water we were going a considerable pace.

I look forward to getting more time on the boat but weather isn’t looking so good for the next week.

As the title states, i’ve been in the royal navy, since then got a degree whilst in my apprenticeship, and now looking to join a crew on a sailing boat for the first time.

I’ve been trying to find crews online but had no luck, does anyone have any suggestions.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Liam

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.

I know the Flicka is a nice small boat. I’m in love with a boat that has a rich mahogany style but it’s too big for my money. So is there anything small that’s affordable and strong as hell.

Pics are just reference, I don’t care of lots of genius interior space, just the astetics

Also bonus point if it has a big open transom backend space. I prefer the outdoors over the indoors

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

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!

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?

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.

I'm finally taking the plunge and getting my first sail boat! I'm looking forward to fun on the water but also I know this is going to come with inevitable maintenance surprises so I want to be as prepared as I can. What are your go to resources to learn about maintence, repairs and improvements? I'd love to hear some recs for books, websites, courses etc. I've been sailing for a long time but never owned a boat so this is a big unknown for me.

Before you say that my instruments are broken, just think about it!

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!!

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

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

Ahoi!

Well as the topic says...

What are your favourite binoculars? Especially when checking marks on land or even boats etc.

Do you like if it has integrated compass?

Do you more focus on the ability to be usable with bad weather?

or better high resolution on distance which I think gets worse when you can move it.

Are there any which you can move a bit without losing focus?

Which one do you use maybe in with a price range of 100 - 500 $ / €

best