# I always wanted to learn to sail.



## chris.bitgood (11 mo ago)

I am 60 years old and studying and learning about sailing. I bought a Chrysler 26" boat and will have it delivered in April. I will update the boat by painting and other updates. I am in Michigan, so April is a good time to begin working on her. (Working outside). I be going to sailing classes this summer (Woo Hoo!).


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Enjoy it 😊 
It's pretty easy really.... Although some instructors can complicate things. 

Mark 😊


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

Have fun. As you read the how do books and start to say to yourself "this seems hard" just be aware it isn't!


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

As an old friend once said to me, "Anybody can learn to sail a boat, but it takes a sailor to stop one." Laugh if you wish, but it is sound advice.


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## SchockT (May 21, 2012)

chris.bitgood said:


> I am 60 years old and studying and learning about sailing. I bought a Chrysler 26" boat and will have it delivered in April. I will update the boat by painting and other updates. I am in Michigan, so April is a good time to begin working on her. (Working outside). I be going to sailing classes this summer (Woo Hoo!).


Welcome!

As others have said, learning the basics of sailing is pretty easy, but there is always more to learn. I have been sailing for over 35 years, and owned sailboats for 25 years, and I am still learning. Most of what I learn comes from doing, but I also continue to learn a lot from forums like this one.

One piece of advice that I offer new boat owners is to get out and sail the boat as much as you can to start. Don't get caught up in major projects that don't contribute to the seaworthyness of the boat and prevent you from using it. You will likely discover plenty of little projects that will affect the functioning of the boat. Worry about those first, and then worry about cosmetics items like paint jobs. (Other than antifouling of course).

Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk


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## JoCoSailor (Dec 7, 2015)

chris.bitgood said:


> I am 60 years old and studying and learning about sailing.


Welcome aboard to both Sailnet and sailing. I too was 60 when I started sailing. Be careful it can be addictive!

You have gotten some great advice here already. I'll add if you are also new to boating. You'll need to learn the rules of road. Getting in and out docks/harbors/launch areas might be your biggest challenge. Don't be afraid to ask for help as you learn.

Good luck and have fun.


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## chris.bitgood (11 mo ago)

WOW, thanks community for the replies.


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

Guess I can't give you my usual statement of learn to sail first then buy a boat welcome aboard!

Just get out there, only a few things to remember, don't tie off the Mainsail "because when in doubt let out"
A boat cannot sail straight into the wind it has to be slightly off IE at an angle 

Practice docking launching with the motor how to tie off lines how to use spring lines etc erc because stopping and going is sometimes more important and harder to learn than sailing


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## AndyL (Dec 1, 2019)

Lake Michigan can get very challenging. Knowing how to check the weather and what you and your boat can safely handle will be very important.


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## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

Michigan, huh? Muskegon, here. You?


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## chris.bitgood (11 mo ago)

Battle Creek


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

chris.bitgood said:


> I am 60 years old and studying and learning about sailing. I bought a Chrysler 26" boat and will have it delivered in April. I will update the boat by painting and other updates. I am in Michigan, so April is a good time to begin working on her. (Working outside).


Slowest way to learn to sail is by repairing a boat.


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## Chris Bitgood (11 mo ago)

capttb said:


> Slowest way to learn to sail is by repairing a boat.


Yes, I probably will be out this Summer. Just wringing my hands with anticipation!


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## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

Where are you going to keep your boat?


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## Chris Bitgood (11 mo ago)

In Nashville, Michigan. Have property there.


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## EmmaPie (Dec 23, 2021)

Wooohooo! Sounds like you will have a very nice spring eh? Have fun, enjoy yourself and hope to see you soon in the waters!


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## Chris Bitgood (11 mo ago)

thx a lot! it's about time too!


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## PhilCarlson (Dec 14, 2013)

Welcome aboard and good luck!


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## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

Is that Thornapple Lake? Are you able to slip it there?


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## emcentar (Apr 28, 2009)

Good to hear you are signed up for sailing classes. I still wish I had taken more classes and waited longer before buying my own boat. She was too perfect to pass up though so it was the right call. But the first year would have been a little less scary if I'd had some experience on a cruising vessel before owning one. I'd only sailed keelboats with no engine and driven cars, so I was surprised by stupid things like prop walk in reverse, what to do when the GPS conks out, how to read preferred channel markers, and that the wheel doesn't work unless you've got like 1.5 knots of speed, and all sorts of things you don't run into sailing a dinghy on a lake.


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## emcentar (Apr 28, 2009)

Also my biggest tip about being a little boat sailor in big waters is reef early, watch the wave forecast, and get an AIS app with a collision warning because you want to know when that commercial fishing boat is about to run you over, even if at 5 knots there's not much you can do to stop them but if you wait until you can see them your chances are even worse.


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## EmmaPie (Dec 23, 2021)

emcentar said:


> Good to hear you are signed up for sailing classes. I still wish I had taken more classes and waited longer before buying my own boat. She was too perfect to pass up though so it was the right call. But the first year would have been a little less scary if I'd had some experience on a cruising vessel before owning one. I'd only sailed keelboats with no engine and driven cars, so I was surprised by stupid things like prop walk in reverse, what to do when the GPS conks out, how to read preferred channel markers, and that the wheel doesn't work unless you've got like 1.5 knots of speed, and all sorts of things you don't run into sailing a dinghy on a lake.


Looking in hindsight, how much time would you say you'd wait before buying your own both? Half a year? 2-3 months?


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## AndyL (Dec 1, 2019)

EmmaPie said:


> Looking in hindsight, how much time would you say you'd wait before buying your own both? Half a year? 2-3 months?


IMO it depends more on what you should accomplish before buying versus an elapsed time. 

My wife and I looked at it as follows... 1) we need to be sure we want to make the commitment, 2) we need to feel confident about our skills, 3) we need to have enough experience to get insurance. 

Depending on the size and cost of the boat, those things can be harder or easier. It was easy when we just wanted a small and inexpensive day-sailer, but more work when we wanted to move to a cruising boat. 

The elapsed time will depend on how quickly you can get things done. When my wife felt it was taking too long to meet those criteria for our cruising boat purchase, we had to push ourselves to cram a lot of experience into a short period. Luckily we were able to do that just before Covid hit.


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## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

My experience may be unique. I was quite the land lubber only being on ferries for my whole life until I was 37 and my best friend and former college roommate invited me to help him with Spring prep on his 31 foot sailboat. When it was launched I was invited to sail with him down the Sound to his summer mooring. It was a two or 3 day leisurely sail.
I though sailing was pretty fabulous based on this but thought I was too old to start with my own boat.

The next Spring Jack called... but this time to drive him to a boat yard in CT to look at a 48' Contest for sale which he said was a steal. WOW!....my second close experience with a sailboat and it was mind blowing. His idea was we would be partners on the boat. He would sell his 31 and we would split the cost of the 48... and he would teach me. hahahaha.

I liked the idea and decided to learn to sail and so I took a Colgate course in City Island. The partnership never happened but there I was a graduate of the course and so off I went to buy my own boat. I didn't know what to look for. I had read 10 books about sailing and cruising... Remember books? This was in 1985 before the internet.

I decided to ask the broker of the 48 and he offered me a new 36'. YIKES. I asked Jack if I should buy it and if he would mentor me until I could sail it alone. He agreed and did spend almost the first summer with me every weekend on my boat, WOW what a learning curve! I spent the first 5 years learning and "fitting out" the new boat... electronics, AP, heater,... and so on... and sailing as much as I could in everything and anything. I even sailed one weekend when it was snowing! I ventured further and further,,, to Maine, Nantucket, MV and of course Newport.

in 1990 I entered the Marion Bermuda race and enlisted the broker and Jack as crew... along with my upstairs neighbor a guy I knew since kindergarten. After that race I felt confident to sail off and gave up my loft and moved aboard. IN the Fall I got a crew together and we sailed to Antigua and then cruised the Caribe in winters and LIS and NE in the summers. I did a delivery of a sistership from CT to Brazil!

Essentially I had an intensive 5 years of sailing immersion... before cell phones and GPS. I began with paper navigation,... And here we are.


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## chris.bitgood (11 mo ago)

Siamese said:


> Is that Thornapple Lake? Are you able to slip it there?


Yes, Thornapple Lake is 15 minutes away.


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## chris.bitgood (11 mo ago)

chris.bitgood said:


> Yes, Thornapple Lake is 15 minutes away.


I will see about slips.


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## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

You didn't ask for advice, but I'm throwing this out there just the same. That's a smallish, long narrow lake that narrows down in a few places, and has a small island to avoid. By the time you have your main and jib up and trimmed, you'll be coming about. Real often. It's not just going be challenging, it's going to be frustrating. 

Are there other boats of that size on that lakes? Sometimes people have a boat of that size on a lake like that and use it for a cottage, swim platform, and pseudo sailing. 

With the centerboard down, that boat draws a smidge over six feet. Thornapple Lake has reasonable depths, with fairly quick drop-offs, which is in your favor, nonetheless the portion of the lake you can actually use is smaller than it looks. 

With regard to a slip, that's the only reasonable way to go. Trailering that thing and launching it would be a bear. 

The ideal sailboat for a lake like that is going to be less than 22 feet. If you want a small cabin and a place to pee, then 18 to 20 feet may be the sweet spot. 

Again, you didn't ask for this advice, but I'd like you to succeed at what you're doing.


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