# S.O.S.! Get me in the water before the season's over



## Cap'n Brunch (Sep 12, 2017)

Hi, everyone. I'm a *very* amateur sailor who needs some quick and dirty tips, if you please. I've been sailing for a long (sometimes very long) weekend once a year for about a decade on my relatives' 40-footer. Learned a lot from them. Last summer, I discovered that my limited experience made me an expert when I had a little Sunfish handed over to me with no instructions -- it's so intuitive! Last weekend, I lucked into a free 14-foot dinghy, and I just so happen to live on a lake. I've been cleaning and reading and waxing, got the instructions for pouring out the requisite champagne for Poseidon, and I'm hoping to get in a few good sails this year before it's too late (I'm in Massachusetts). What are the top 5/10/100 things I need to know before I take her out? What do you wish someone had told you as a novice? Which stupid mistakes should I avoid? Am I delusional for thinking I can sail this girl in just a few days? Yes, I do own life jackets. ? Thank you all so much for your time!


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## SHNOOL (Jun 7, 2007)

Go sailing... Expect to swim... You don't need 20 knot winds to go sailing. 5-10 would be great.
Dinghies are harder to sail than keelboats.
A Dinghy will teach you to sail quicker than a keelboat.

Sail UPwind for the first half of the sail (if you can)... and downwind back (it makes getting back easier).


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## Cap'n Brunch (Sep 12, 2017)

The forecast right now is for 6... Just need to find out which direction now, because my lake is shaped like a J, and I'm right on the crook. Guess that's why I'm supposed to buy a second bottle for the four wind gods?


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## Towguy (May 8, 2016)

Just push it in the water,put our life jacket on and go......do you have a jib sail? Bring a friend as crew to do the jib,,oh and bring a very sturdie paddle for propulsion or....a backup tiller as I learnt on my very first sail when I only had a crappy plastic one ,,,have fun ,be prepared to get wet...watch a YouTube vid of uprighting a dingy....again have fun.......Ralph


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## Cap'n Brunch (Sep 12, 2017)

I do have a jib, as well as paddles from my canoe, which I figured I should bring along just in case. She's 14 feet -- an Atlanta Vario, if that means anything to you. I'm getting the impression that I'm absolutely going to capsize; is that a design flaw? I can handle 40 and 10 feet no problem. Is my centerboard inadequate for a rookie? Or is it just that Sunfish are easy, and I have babysitters in the big-kid boat? (Thanks again!)


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## Towguy (May 8, 2016)

Well,I have yet to flip my 16 footer ,so I guess it's how hard you put you push them.......RALPH


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## StarwindMango (Oct 14, 2016)

Cap'n Brunch said:


> I do have a jib, as well as paddles from my canoe, which I figured I should bring along just in case. She's 14 feet -- an Atlanta Vario, if that means anything to you. I'm getting the impression that I'm absolutely going to capsize; is that a design flaw? I can handle 40 and 10 feet no problem. Is my centerboard inadequate for a rookie? Or is it just that Sunfish are easy, and I have babysitters in the big-kid boat? (Thanks again!)


What makes you think you're absolutely going to capsize? In under 10 knots of wind even a rookie should have no problem keeping the boat upright. In college I taught kids on 420's- a 14 foot pretty round bottom dinghy and rarely had anyone flip under 10 kts. Hopefully the water is warm :laugh


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

I grew up in Sharon, MA, and took sailing lessons on Lake Massapog. My mom got me out of the house for the summer by enrolling me is sailing lessons. We were taught on O'day Sprites. Four kids in a 10-foot boat.









credit Sailboatdata.com

Lesson 1: how to rig, and un-rig the boat. 
Lesson 2: how to make the boat move through the water. 
Lesson 3: how to capsize and then right the boat, and then bail out the cockpit.


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## Cap'n Brunch (Sep 12, 2017)

So, be confident, but definitely check out the "what to do if you capsize" chapter of the book next? Haha


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

Regarding the whole capsizing thing; Dinghies are generally unballasted. They will have a centerboard to keep from sideslipping going upwind. What keeps the boat from tipping over is the shape of the boat, and the weight of the crew on the rail. If the crew doesn't shift properly, or they don't ease the sheets enough in a puff, the boat will go over. From pictures, it looks like the Atlanta Vario will do fine recovering from a capsize. It also looks like a sloop. That means it could be a handful with just one sailor onboard. If you are solo, you may want to go with just the mainsail up. Read... Sail... Ask questions on SN... Repeat.

My advice from teaching some dinghy lessons;

1) "When in doubt let it out". If you are heeling too much or out of control let the mainsheet out.
2) Hold onto the tiller. Students have a tendency to just let everything go if they get out of control. If (when) things go haywire, let go of the mainsheet, and keep hold of the tiller.


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## Cap'n Brunch (Sep 12, 2017)

Ooh, good tips! Thank you!


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## ottos (Aug 12, 2008)

Work out a sail plan notification system with someone who cares (and is reliable)...in case you are overdue.


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## jwing (Jun 20, 2013)

1) Enroll in an online safety class that includes boating rules. If you don't understand that there is no such thing in boating as "Right of Way," then you do not know the boating rules.

2) Learn and understand how to avoid unintentional jibes.


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## zedboy (Jul 14, 2010)

Barquito said:


> 1) "When in doubt let it out". If you are heeling too much or out of control let the mainsheet out.


I'll take that one further: don't even cleat off the main. Just hold on to it.


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## Skipper Dan (Mar 31, 2017)

As a pilot I learned when things go wrong let go! The plane will stabilize. It is the same for a boat, let go of the sheet and tiller and it should pop back up then take control again. There are a few exceptions but as a beginner its faster to just let go. The thing about a little boat first is after when you get on a big boat you feel you have so much more control... then the **** hits the fan. From a big boat to a small boat, your like man I really have to stay on my toes. Good Luck


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## jwing (Jun 20, 2013)

I disagree with "let everything go." The beginners instructor in my area teaches this: "Tiller Toward Trouble."


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## Skipper Dan (Mar 31, 2017)

jwing said:


> I disagree with "let everything go." The beginners instructor in my area teaches this: "Tiller Toward Trouble."


Yes I worded that wrong sorry, let go of the pressure. Your mind sees one thing someone else sees another.

I was thinking more of a total beginner making a mistake and pulling the tiller the wrong way, just release it.. you don't actually throw your hands in the air. Just release it and the boat will go back to even. In a plane if you pull the opposite way you over correct then again the other way and it keeps going, so just releasing it lets the plane go back to even. Why I feel it is better to let go (release) rather than try and correct. Not for teaching to sail, just to get them out on the water and experiment.


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## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

If you want to get "IN" the water, leave your boat at home, it will simplify things, by not having to learn to right the boat. If you want to get "ON" the water, go ahead and take your boat.

Do you live on a lake with other sailboats or a yacht club? You might be able to find someone to take you out and show you how to sail. The subtleties of sailing a dinghy are more challenging than a keelboat, it would be nice to have someone there the first time.

Before you release the main sheet or push the tiller to leeward, you want to be leaning back to keep the boat flat. It's when you are leaning back then either shove the tiller to leeward or let out the mainsheet suddenly that you will have the opportunity to get in the water. There are degrees of control, you can ease the sheet and point the boat up the wind a little bit before you go all the way with these controls. Try to get your body into the center of the boat when you let go of the sheet or shove the boat into the wind.


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

I agree with all above posts, very good advice. I would like to reinforce, the idea of sailing up wind first, so you can get back home. Forecasts are nice, but you could probably just look at which way the wind is blowing, that's what I would do, forecasting is often so so on small bodies of water.

I don't think there is much risk of capsizing in 6 knots, but if you do, just pop her back up, bail her out and keep on sailing. 

14-16 feet are really the nicest sized boats to sail in my opinion. Much smaller, and there is no room for an adult, much bigger and things get complicated, and mostly not in a good way.

Have fun.


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## LameBMX (Sep 2, 2017)

Get out there! I just went from no boat and an idea to solo mast stepping a 22' swing keel trailer sailor and solo sailing on a couple 5 to 10 knot days 22 days later. Know how to release your main and jib halyards, but relaxing and letting things go their way to head up on its own is less work later. Specially if you dont have a slug stopped. For the record, main was reefed and furler Genoa was at about 50% to the mast to start. Sounds like you already know more than I did, though I ran your same search through Google daily for those 22 days.


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## codybear (Feb 6, 2015)

Skipper Dan said:


> As a pilot I learned when things go wrong let go!


As a helicopter pilot, I would be dead following that philosophy.

If you can handle the Sunfish without any problems, you'll handle your boat just fine. The Sunfish is 13' 10" which is the same length as your 4.2m Atlanta Vario. You'll have a second sail and more cockpit space which will be ideal to bring along a friend. Looks like it will re-right just as easily as a Sunfish. If you didn't sweat about getting on a Sunfish, don't sweat this one. Go have fun.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Cap'n Brunch said:


> ...because my lake is shaped like a J, and I'm right on the crook. Guess that's why I'm supposed to buy a second bottle for the four wind gods?


I first sailed on a lake. Depending on the size of the lake and the topography surrounding the water the wind speed and direction can often be very erratic. The advice (otherwise good) to sail upwind first then downwind to return to your starting point may not work as well as it does in theory. You might also experience sudden strong gusts out of nowhere.

Also, lake water can be cold. Dress appropriately for capsizing, even if you don't. Be prepared.

Good luck, be safe, and have fun.


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