# Tell us about the first boat you ever owned.



## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

I'll start, I was 16 yrs old, just learned to drive and was just driving around when I saw it. It was a 16' homebuilt pretty well constructed of plywood and fiberglass on a trailer, except.. it was in pretty bad condition (hole in the hull, etc) but hey, 200 bucks. Fixed the hole, sanded and painted it, fixed the mast, repaired the mainsail (used nylon fishing line to lash on the sail hanks, etc), all myself and for cheap. 

So for my first sail I took her down to lake michigan (8 miles away) and launched her with the help of a friend. A girl I was trying to impress (who was coincidently an experienced sailor with her own hobie cat) was on hand to watch. Pretty much everything went wrong during the launch, and by the time me and my friend got about a mile offshore two things became apparent. First of all, a storm was headed in and a low, planing hull really wasn't equipped for the waves that were starting to be generated. The boat was swamping. Second of all I discovered that the centerboard that had come with the boat was the wrong one, it obviously was barely longer than the well, so basically no centerboard. Ok, should have probably checked that before I started. 

At that moment one of the buckets I had for bailing floated out of the boat and away, fortunately I had tied one in so we could still bail. My friend then calmly informed me that he couldn't swim.

I ended up having to get out of the boat and swim it around to point it back to the shore, then scramble in before it took off without me. it was like sailing a rudderless submarine, but we finally got back to shore about a mile and a half down from the boat launch.

The girl had left by the time we got the boat back and she never returned my calls. 

It's a miracle I'm still sailing.


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## T34C (Sep 14, 2006)

My first command was a shipping skid with empty milk jugs lashed under it!!!! Ahhh how I miss that boat. 

First "real" boat was a 13.5 ft. Pirateer.


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## Guesser (Mar 24, 2007)

My first was a 12 foot Beetle Cat, (gaff rig). It was 1974, I was 11 years old and spent several summers sailing around Lake Washington in Seattle. I miss that boat.


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Sunfish!!!!


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

mine real mine...an Optimist, I was 9.


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

An early '70s Puma 23 sloop, a Holman Pye design built in Spain. Very rare in the USA, but a great sailing and sturdy boat. Somehow managed to then move up to a PUMA 26, another rarity in the US, and a design that had more tumblehome (vertical hull curve) than any other boat I've seen.


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## sailor25b (Jun 2, 2006)

I was 12 yrs old in 1971. My parents went to Sears and bought me a bright yellow Snark Sunflower for my birthday. I've been a sailor ever since.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

First boat I had was the family hand-me-down that my father put each of us in to learn to sail. A green wooden thing 9 feet long with a daggerboard and a cat rig. I was the youngest kid of four so it had seen its share of trauma before I got it. Not sure if it was any class or not - never seen another one. Fun though !


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

First "boat" was a 14' glass over ply runabout that I built from a kit at age 16...

10 years later our first sailboat was a 24' Hinterhoeller Shark, rare here on the west coast. After the first summer my wife informed me that our son was on the way, and stated she wouldn't cruise in the Shark with a baby. So, first order of business was to get a larger boat (rats!<G>) and so we only had the Shark for 6 or 7 months. It was a great, forgiving starter boat esp. in an area of generally higher (20K+) breezes on a daily basis.


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Thing called a VJ. 12' skiff, plywood, solid deck. Bought it cos it was the first boat I had ever sailed and figured better the devil you know. Sadly forgot to think about a certain height difference. Getting six foot of me under that boom was tricky at best and I did spend an awful lot of time in the water. Lots of fun though.










Not mine, same design.


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## drynoc (Jul 17, 2001)

*First boat*

My first boat is the one I have now, bought three years ago when I was 49: a Santana 35 built by Schock in 1980. I probably had about 30-50 hours sailing experience when I bought it, in a rental Catalina 27 and in the knockabouts they formerly used to teach sailing at USNA back in the '70's. I'll never have two foot-itis other than when I get older and start looking for something a little smaller.


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## Jotun (May 4, 2006)

13-foot Boston Whaler. It was my grandfather's. I was buzzing around on that before I could drive a car.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Super Snark on a lake...spent a lot of time upside down!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

My first sailboat was probably a Snark.. I didn't own it for very long, and bought it used as a teen. Had a canoe that was used a lot more when I was a kid. Back then, I was more into fishing and less in to sailing.. which has since changed.


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

First sailboat was a Mirage 5.5. Price was right, since all I was looking for was something to see if I still enjoyed sailing.


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## Bump (Aug 23, 2004)

*My First*

My first sailboat was a Snark. It was 1958 or 59. I was 13 or 14. My parents bought it for me after a runabout cut my pram in half while I was fishing on the lake. Had a grat deal of fun with that boat but like others I spent a lot of time upside down or hanging on for dear life. Been sailing on and off ever since. Bought my first "big" boat four years ago, a 1979 28' Mariner. Love that boat too and Buzzards Bay is a great place to cruise.


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## poltergeist (Oct 26, 2006)

About 30 years passed between my first outings on a sailboat and actually buying one and sailing again. Two wives, one child, 8 or 9 jobs in nearly as many cities ... all went by before I found myself with the time, money and nearby water that made getting back into it possible. 

I was living in Chicago at the time, and took lessons from the local chapter of American Youth Hostels. The price was right, and I think we spent eight or ten Friday evenings doing classroom work and took a written test before we were allowed out on the fleet of 7 or 8 Rhodes 19 keelboats that they kept at Monroe Street harbor.

The first time I had the tiller I had to launch from the mooring and sail out of the harbor. I remember the magical moment after cast-off when the sails first filled, things were suddenly quiet, and the boat began to make way. At the helm, I could distinctly hear the hiss of the wake, and looking over the stern I could see the champagne bubbles created by the rudder rising to the surface. Pure delight, and it still makes the hair on my arms stand up to recall it. I love the Flying Scot I bought last summer, but the experience of that first sail is still vivid three decades later.

Kurt


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## pmoyer (Oct 3, 2006)

Mine's a 1976 Columbia 26K. I take posession tomorrow. A completely different boat than what I envisioned, but the price was great. The current plan is to sail her around the Bay for four years until the girls are in college, sell her, and get something to go long distance passagemaking on (like a Southern Cross 31, or a 32' Valiant), which will become home for my wife and I. Work is already cool with the idea. Current boat is to get my wife and kids out on the water and having fun.


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## toddrtownsend (Jun 13, 2006)

*Another hand-me-down . . .*

My first boat was a hand-me-down from Dad. We sailed a Chrysler Mutineer for years when I was young. Dad was on the USS Enterprise, an aircraft carrier and I had my Small Boat Sailing Merit Badge. Therefore, we thought we were qualified to get ourselves a boat.

After a few years of sitting in the driveway and I had moved to Florida, Dad hauled her down to me. I spent several more years sailing her and then sold her to a Scotsman named Ian Molloy who had retired to Florida.

Dad was a punster, the boat was named "The Luff Boat." 

TrT


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Todd,

You're father didn't happen to like Spider Robinson as an author, did he???


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

My Dad was also on the USS Enterprise.


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## P8dawg (Jan 10, 2007)

*Hobie 10'*

The first boat I ever owned was a present for my 9th birthday. It was a little pumpkin seed with a sail. Because the boat was so small and unstable, when the impromtu hailstorm came in, I was doomed. Luckily, my fearless father and one of his cohorts came to save me. The one good thing that came from it all was that I learned to trust my life jacket. When I finally was brave enough to try again, it was on a sunfish. It was such an improvement, sailing came much easier and I was hooked for life.


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

Freesail99 said:


> My Dad was also on the USS Enterprise.


Last October, the USS Enterprise came to visit Lisbon Portugal, on her last trip before decomission, and I sailed around her for a while..they were nice and friendly...the helicopter made my sails crazy 

I like Americans...you guys are OK.   Happy Easter everyone.














































Sorry, photos by phone camera..


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## lsusailing (Sep 9, 2006)

*My first boat!!!*

Was a small raft which I built in Cuba, had a broom stick and a sheet. Had a blast. Just donated by 1973 25 foot Ericson to the Sea Scout program and found a beutiful Morgan 28 Out Island, love it.

Sir Giuelletta, I named her after my mother Daphne, who is French. No French jokes on this one if not I will thow a stale croissant at you!!! Just kidding, I enjoy your wicked humor

John
s/v Daphne


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Isusailing-

Shouldn't you have gotten a Bendytoy or a Jeanneau instead?


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## HerbDB (Sep 30, 2000)

Bought a Chrysler Lone Star 13 sloop when I was in college. Read the little how to sail manual on the way home from the dealer. Launched the boat and had a nice downwind sail. When I turned back to the dock, I didn't know how to dump wind from the sails and managed to swamp the boat. It was so heavy when full of water that it would not respond to the rudder. I didn't have anything to bail with and had to be towed home by my little brother in the speedboat.


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## tonic (Jan 22, 2007)

My father bought a Force 5 for my three brothers and I. Needless to say we all became excellent swimmers. Its made by Weeks boat yard now. What a fun boat. Still have it haven't sailed it in years.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

I built a Glen-L 8-ball when I was 12, sailed it until 17 or so, sold that to buy the sails for a Glen-L 12 sloop I built, then sold that to put an engine in a convertible bug I had.......not sure if that was a good thing or bad!

I also have a Easy Rider Canoe since 81, named the Easy Tipper due to a scout 50 miler in the same design, but different one. 

I also remember sailing some of the first lasers, with hull numbers in the 700-800 range, I got wet a lot in those too, everytime someone said "Starboard" in race, I went over for what ever reason, usually went from 3-5 place, all the way back to last about 30'ish, what a pain when one is a "100 lbs dripping wet 14 yr old!"

marty


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## pmoyer (Oct 3, 2006)

blt2ski said:


> I also remember sailing some of the first lasers, with hull numbers in the 700-800 range, I got wet a lot in those too, everytime someone said "Starboard" in race, I went over for what ever reason, usually went from 3-5 place, all the way back to last about 30'ish, what a pain when one is a "100 lbs dripping wet 14 yr old!"


Boy, does THAT bring back memories. I learned to sail when I was 14, at the Culver Military Academy back in Indiana. I started in cat boats, then O'Days, and finally moved up to Lasers. I really liked those Lasers, particularly on hot, muggy, Indiana summer days on Lake Max. They kept me wet and cool.

They eventually bought a bunch of Hobie 18s, too, which were great. The problem with the Hobies was the depth of the lake. The kids were always knocking them over in the shallows. Some of us were VERY fast to jump the bottom pontoon, grab the strap, and get them back up. If you were too slow, the mast would fill with water, the masthead would hit bottom in the silt, and the wind blowing on the now-upended tramp would bury the masthead. It took multiple power boats to get them out when that happened.

I wouldn't mind finding a E-scow someplace. Those were fun, too....

Cheers!


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## resdog (Mar 29, 2006)

The first sailboat that I bought and paid for myself was a 1982 J24. It was fun, relatively cheap and easy to sail. Sold it for a succession of larger cabin boats that were not nearly as enjoyable.


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

pmoyer said:


> They eventually bought a bunch of Hobie 18s, too, ....If you were too slow, the mast would fill with water, the masthead would hit bottom in the silt, and the wind blowing on the now-upended tramp would bury the masthead. It took multiple power boats to get them out when that happened.


Been there, done that.


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## mike dryver (May 13, 2006)

home made sunfish from popular mechanics design order. dad made the boat we (me) i was the youngedt at the time had to help. really was fun in retrospect, but older brother used it the most to show off to the girls at the lake. go figure!?


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## ronandjudy (Apr 9, 2007)

*Cabo Rico 38 for sale*

After sailing the Bahamas and Cuba on our beloved Pioneer, a beautifully maintained 1987 Cabo Rico 38, we find that health issues require that we put her up for sale. We bought her privately and want to sell her privately. She is immaculate, loaded with equipment, new Yanmar engine and is ready to start cruising again with new owners. We are presently in the Florida Keys working our way up to North Carolina. If you are a serious buyer, email us at [email protected] for a complete description. You can also check her out on our website at TOTALLY FLOATS!

Ron and Judy
presently living aboard Pioneer 
phone: 252-876-2552


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Ron & Judy-

I'm sorry you have to sell your boat, but you really should start a separate thread for it... it will get a much better response if you do so. 

Go to the "Buying a Boat" forum and then click on the "Forum Tools" drop-down menu and select "Post a New Thread"


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

bump, more stories please.


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## Neises (Feb 24, 2007)

The first boat I bought was a canoe. After a season of paddling every body of water within a couple hundred miles, it became painfully obvious that my bowman (wife) wasn't as interested in covering distance as I was. To compensate, I experimented with double-bladed kayak paddles & eventually a tarp sail.

The tarp worked so well, we'd travel five times the distance while she sat in the bow reading. Sailed the experimental rig for two seasons. This winter, I was planning to re-rig the whole thing with a more lightweight permanent solution and a roller furling jib; she insisted we buy a "real" sailboat instead. After several months of research & watching the used market, the San Juan 21 sounded like the perfect step-up from a canoe: Shoal draft with board up, easily trailered & rigged, performs well in light wind, and a bit tender for that canoe'ish excitement in a puff.

Watched a listing for a 1981 SJ21 MKII like a hawk all winter long. The MKII has the big flat deck, versus most other designs in this size range having the tiny catwalks that my flipper feet wouldn't do well on. She was covered head-to-toe in moss, mold, mildew, and various other organics including mud dauber nests... Registration tags were five years expired. Hull & deck felt very solid, price was right.

Took the plunge & signed on the dotted line one day before our fifteen year wedding anniversary. The traditional gift for 15 years is crystal, thus her name Crystal Anni.

Here's the most recent pic after about two months of scrubbing, rubbing, buffing, and cursing the previous owner. Wheels, hubs, and tires get replaced in next few days, hoping for maiden voyage next weekend (damnable weather permitting).


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

Mine was a piece of roofing corrigated iron folded in half with the ends bashed over and filled with silastic a piece of 4 x 2 held it open. voula one home made boat for the billabong.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

1984 Newport 28. A C&C designed-hull, with a very nice cruising interior. Spent many a wonderful long weekend on her. Very comfortable, too. A bulkhead-mounted dinette table when in the up position made for a seemingly huge main cabin. Owned Sakana (Japanese for "fish") in Portlland, OR and sailed her up and down the Columbia River. I would run into sailors all the time who would say "Hey, I know that boat - used to beat me all the time", so you know she was a good little performer, too.

Still miss that boat...


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## ceol (Apr 15, 2007)

my first boat was and i still have it a nacra 5.2. got it for $500 around '91. have not had a chance to sail it much now that i have two kids (one 2 the other 4). the 4 year old has been out on it though in the Gulf of Mexico. was a bit skittish till i grabbed a cannonball jellyfish for him to touch and see. now loves to be on boats. getting an Elite 29 for the family to sail on till they get old enough to hang out on the nacra traps.

about the time i bought the nacra also bought a Melges M-16. got that one for $200. sailed that one a few times. i then traded it to my roomate for my first computer. i need to ask hime what happened to that boat.

here is a pic of the wife (girlfriend at the time) and i on the nacra in Florida. pay no attention to the rooster tail. who says you can not have rooster tails on a sailboat. 










G~


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

First boat I ever sailed was a Snark, literaly held together with duct tape and bailing wire. Bought a Flying Junior Hull and rig when I was twelve for $50. Finished refitting it when I was 15, and still have it.


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## tommyt (Sep 21, 2002)

Interesting round robbin history.

The first boat that my father owned was a sailboat. Sold it to buy a boat that my mother would like which was a 12' power boat named after her. He sold it to get married as he left for war in 1942. In 1954 he bought a new 12' Wagemaker, center deck, beauty and named it after my mother as number II. I was conceived when he returned from Burma and was 8 years old at the time. So, this was my first boat and his third and it was a II. Two years later he bought a 20' cruiser and it was III. The good news was he was so infatuated with III that II became mine. At the same time he decided that I needed a hydroplane, so he and I, with the emphasis on HE, built one over the winter. So, I am 12 now and have a hydroplane. By the time I am 15 I have sunk it three times, still have II which is still sweet, and he never did find out about the sinkings. No matter what people think about Firestone engines, they take water and with a little TLC they start and run great again. Sold the hydorplane when I was 16 (needed gas money for the car) but II is still sweet. 

OK, this is a sailing forum and I know you are waiting for a sailing story. At 17 I was in love and a friend had a Sailfish. Great platform for a date. Loved it and wanted one. My first love went away, but the love of sail lasted. More to follow.

OK, fast forward to 30 years old. My father bought IV, a 17' Larson, and I loved it. Bought it from him in 1978 and had a great time. He still owned II so had a boat anyway and could use mine. In 1986 he gave me II and I was going to refinish it so my son could use it when he was 12. Thought it would be a great winter project. Later for the finish. 

Bought a 18' Dolphin wet boat and loved sailing her on our inland lake. It was so popular that I bought another wet boat to sail while everyone else was sailing my Dolphin.It was a great boat that everyone else called the death ship. The rigging was a little wierd and most people did not like getting caught in it. Hey, if they did not like it I could use it. Worked for me. Kids had a great time for 15 years beating those boats up and they finally had to be scrapped, but good sailing money spent. 

In 1988 bought a 21' Sea Ray to tie at the end of my dock. Still have her and she is great. Always said that if you could not troll at 50 MPH, why would you want to fish. In 1995 bought a SeaDoo because my 17 year old had to have one. It too did over 50 and was a lot of fun. Never buzzed a sailboat with it and never will. Still at the end of the dock! OK, now you are thinking, this guy has a Sea Ray and a Sea Doo, so he is an *******. Partly right! Hey, I golf too. 

In 2004 I came into possession, through good friends, of the same Sailfish that I had dated on 40 years earlier. A little work and she hangs on a stand on the dock and is used by me mostly, but also my grand daughter and my kids. My grand daughter loves to sail, continues to take classes in prams, and loves hiking out on a Sailfish that is really not meant to hike out on. Remember, this is a Sailfish, a flat board, not a Sunfish. 

OK, also in 2004 bought a Catalina 34 for use in Lake Michigan. I love it, and only wish that my father, who started it all with a sailboat, could have sailed with me. He would have loved it. Still have the Catalina 34 and will have a larger sailing platform like it till I can't handle it or die.My plan is that my kids will have to dispose of it many years from now, or that my grand daugher will own her. Love to go slow as much as I like to go fast......only different. Still don't fish.

In 2006 finally decided that since my son was 31 I probably was not going to get II done in time for his 12th birthday. I do not have the skill or patience to do great varnish work on a classic beauty. Found someone that really knows what they are doing to do it for me. 3 months later, at a price 10 times more that the boat cost new, I have II back and she looks like she did when I was 8. I again wish that my father was here to see her. My son, who was going to get the boat when he was 12, is not allowed to come to close to this little beauty. However, my grand daughter looks really cute in it. Hey, she is my grand daugher and my sailing buddy. At 11 she is still perfect, AND she loves to sail! II, which hangs at anchor, when she is in the water, will never hang on a dock again. No scratches on my childhood as I already have too many scars.

Also own a rowboat that nobody ever uses...HEY, we don't fish! 

My father started all of this. My brother, who is not a boater, and I always thought he missed his calling. He was a manager in construction, but should have been in marketing. My mother, who could not swim and hated the water, had to boat because she had FOUR boats named after her. How could she not?

Now, if I could just find that damn hydorplane!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I was a lot older when I actually "owned" my first boat. I was 29 when I bought my first boat, a folkboat. Never knew a thing about owning one, had always been on other bigger boats, tall ships and offshore and the like. The guy who sold it to me was instrumental, an old Polish Navy Navigator. I found the boat in Boat Journal and talked to him all winter, since I worked the rigs and could not get away till springtime. He had not sold the boat in almost a year. Many a tire kicker (or would it be hull kicker) and people who wanted to make deals that fell through. Spring came, I gave him my weekly call and headed down to Vancouver to see the boat. I liked it right away (it was the first one I looked at EVER!! what was I thinking!! ) said I would buy it on condition of survey. Survey was good and he then took me out for a sail to show me the boat. I bought it for $12000 CDN. The motor (1979) on the boat was older than the boat (1982)! I thought I was king!!! With my sea experience being quite good, I had done lots of offshore from Seattle to Alaska and in the Atlantic and been in big boats. Fishing boats, working boats, tugs, skiffs, sail ships you name it. I thought water was my middle name. The thought never occured to me that maybe I DID NOT know how to sail a boat by myself!! 

I was quickly put in my place when one afternoon I left the Marina, almost whacked two boats getting out of a tight spot and went "SAILING". (in the subsequent few months while I was still learning I did whack 2 boats!! But none since then) It was more like a dumbass on a boat pretending to sail. We had a stiff 20knot breeze outside in the bay and I soon shut the motor off to start "SAILING". No sooner had I tried to get the main up when viscious waves and wind pounded the boat. Not being able to get the main up (because I had no motor to point me into the wind) I decided to pull it down and start the motor. Nobody told me you cant pull start an outboard in gear!! No motor and now no sail and yes now there were lots of rocks close by since the wind and waves had pushed me onto a leeshore very quickly! I tried to raise the main again (by now the wind was gusting 30) only to find out it the battens became entangled in the raked shrouds. Still, I kept a cool dumbass head and tightened a half lifted main enough to give me some way. somehow I managed to go close hauled while missing some very big rocks by only 10 feet, being unable to tack because that would have put me right back into the circle of rocks.


It was after this when I finally got far enough out into the bay and started the motor after cussing and swearing like the rig hand I am that I decided maybe I should read a book or two, perhaps even the owners manual for the outboard might help.

Amazing I didn't kill myself really!!

And thats my first idiotic boat story. Wait till you hear the one about how years later with much sailing experience under my belt I nearly killed my girlfriend in 70knot freak storm who had never even been on a boat before!!.......Still....we are together and alive and not missing any body parts....aaah....the memories.

Amazingly, I kept the boat. That was the boat that had kept me alive and my girlfriend alive and given so much joy and happiness to others. We even raced it sometimes. that little boat has had a good long life and will continue to. I loved that boat so much I redid everything on it. Sails, rigging, tore out the inside, redid the electrics, everything. I now know every little bolt on that boat. Every one. So for me, the first boat I bought is still the only boat I own many years later.


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## sidiag (Jul 5, 2003)

In 1978 (I was 30 then) we lived in California and I purchased my first sailboat, an Aquarius 21, (I can't remember the year of mfgr) after a couple of rides on the sailboat owned by friends named Dotty and Gene (my wife worked with Dotty) - their boat was named 'Whither Thou' out of Alameda.


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## skrap1r0n (Mar 6, 2007)

Just bought my first one. A '80 Catalina 25. We love her. She is essentially stripped down, it's like the previous and original owners didn't do anything to her. No instruments, lines aren't organized at all and theres no appearance that she ever had instruments or organization. She isn't even named.

The nice thing is, we get to do a lot of the work on her and make her like want her. She is in good condition and we got her for a song. The surveyor stated that for the price we got her for, we could flip her and earn money, in the event it turns out sailing is not for us.

So far, sailing is great. Theres a lot I want to do to her to improve her, but as she stands, she is a good boat.


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## l0keman (Mar 14, 2007)

Sadly, my first sailboat was a 12 foot homebuilt by my grandfather when I was like 11. I let it sit around in the dry slip next to my fathers hobie 16 for too many years and never got sails made like my father told me too (being a typical kid), and he sold his boat and gave mine to my uncle. So my first boat was a paper weight thanks to my thick skull, that I would give anything to have now.. My first boat I owned and used is my current boat 1975 chrysler c-22. A big time fixer upper named "money Pit"


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## TSteele65 (Oct 19, 2006)

1985 Wellcraft 17' bowrider with a 4 cyl I/O. Damn thing wouldn't get out of its own way, but it took us nearly 20 years to kill it.


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

bump to pick up anyone who hasn't shared yet..


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I caught the sailing bug when a coworker invited me to play hooky from work and sail with him on Barnegat Bay. Prior to this my only sailing experience was on a sail board in Martinique on my honeymoon. I got stuck out in the bay and the lifeguard and to come and retrieve me. My first boat was a Catalina 25. We sailed it on Greenwood Lake in lower New York. I took one 1-hour lesson, and then learned by trial and error. We had great fun and a few scary moments. Once we pulled up a wheel chair while hauling up the anchor. We were thankful that no one was attached to this. See story in the attached link. 

http://archive.recordonline.com/archive/2004/07/20/wheelcha.htm

We now have a Catalina 30 up on the Hudson.


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Tommy T,
Please explain this

"I was conceived when he returned from Burma and was 8 years old at the time."

You were conceived when your father was 8 years old, 
or
you were 8 years old when you were conceived? 

Great life story about the boats, but im confused about how you were conceived.


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## goose327 (Jun 11, 2001)

sailortjk1 said:


> Tommy T,
> Please explain this
> 
> "I was conceived when he returned from Burma and was 8 years old at the time."
> ...


OK TJ, sit down, we need to have talk. See, when a Man and woman fall in love, they..............................


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

goose327 said:


> OK TJ, sit down, we need to have talk. See, when a Man and woman fall in love, they..............................


I get that................ but he said he was conceived when his father returned and was "*8 years old" at the time.*

Way to go stud!


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## scurvy (Jul 24, 2006)

AMF Alcort Sunfish!!!


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

First boat was a Fisher Price yacht at 12" overall  

First real boat was a 15' Alabaster Runabout  

First sailboat...20' Buccaneer


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*First Boats*

1st Family Boat, 1957 Sea King (wood). (pic circa 1959-60)
My 1st boat, 14' rowing skiff w/Wizard 5hp. (pic circa 1964)
My 1st Sailboat, 8' pram. (pic circa 1965)
Total owned to date, appx. 25, I've lost count!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Mid 60's, sailing up and down the Nile river, past the Pyramids, "racing" with the feluccas. An open wooden boat of about 15 feet that my dad called a 'bath tub with a mast in it'. It hooked me! Ever since then, I've sailed anything I could beg, borrow or st.... Snarks, Sunfish, Hobies, even crewed on larger (Beneteau and a J) boats too. 
Finally purchased my own Mirage 5.5 about 12 years ago. Great starter boat, still have it and will probably keep it to give to my boys when I move up to a larger boat.
CD


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## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

I posted this some time ago:

Finally, the day had arrived. The day to put the boat in the water and make sail. After co-opting my eldest daughter and her husband as the unwitting crew, we set out to rig and launch the beast, a case of the blind leading the blind. After getting her in the water and managing not to hit that big rock by the boat ramp, we motor out about 100 yards and make sail. First the Jib, then the main as we catch wind and begin to move. We start off downwind running wing and wing SAILING! Hmm, there's an inch or so of water there in the cabin sole, ok, no worries. We run down the lake a bit feeling splendid when we notice that one of the cabin footwells is now full . Ok, now to beat back to windward. We come about on a starboard tack and find that every time we try to run close hauled she falls off the wind, not much help from the tiller. Ok, the motor being down must be canceling the rudder so we lift it. Bang! The motor drops back in and refuses to stay up so we're now steering with both the motor and the rudder. Back and forth we go trying to work our way to windward but everytime we get headway and attempt to close haul, the wind drops and she falls off. We're heeling somewhat and remember the keel, only to find it's rusted in place. After tacking back and forth and going in circles for an hour or so, I'm noticing that water is bubbling up through the keel cable hole and both footwells are now full. Ok, time to motor back but the motor isn't cooperating now. Three minutes of furious cranking later, I decide to prime it. Vroom! We're off and running. A fast skiboat goes tearing by and I crack the throttle open only to have the water in the boat rush back and bury the motor . Hmm, a couple of yanks and we're off once more with a bit less throttle and the crew perch on the forepeak for balance. We get back to the ramp and the Son in law, missjudging the depth, hops off with a bowline and disappears. He pops up momentarily and we enjoy a laugh at his expense. When we get the bowline hooked and winch her onto the trailer I notice the bowhook comes in under the winch, how strange. In a hurry to get the boat out, I pull forward. The wildly waving arms of my daughter stop me. I get out only to find that the tires are almost flat from the weight and that the tiller, which I forgot to pull in the rush, has dragged and twisted forward into the transom. Matter of fact, the back trailer frame is dragging, Good Lord! So we pull the newly discovered drain plug and notice another stream of water UNDER the boat. Upon checking this out we find a nice 2" hole in the hull that had been hiding behind the rub rails of the trailer. Eventually, enough water drained out that we could refloat her and get her all the way on the trailer as well as pull off the now shattered tiller/rudder. Lessons learned? Use a check list. Take rain gear and warm clothes, we were all in tees and shorts when that cold rain just popped up. Sailing's a BLAST, even when it's not. So now we work on the boat so we can get back out there as soon as possible. 

I've since had the boat out over a hundred times. I've kicked butts on much larger boats, had the cabin windows in the water as planing surfaces and had a ball. Even when I get the big boat, I'll keep this one for when I wanna just go out and tear the water up!


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## tommyt (Sep 21, 2002)

Goose, thanks for having that talk with sailortj. 

A little clarification and military history. Dad returned in early 1946...a war was ending if you took US history. I was born in October 1946, which just happened to be 9 months after mom and dad met in Chicago when he returned. The II was bought in 1954. 54 minus 46 = 8. Goose probably covered the rest.

Tom


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## tommyt (Sep 21, 2002)

Charlie Cobra,

Loved that story the first time I read it and laughed again this time. Certainly not funny in the doing, but great story after the fact.


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## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

Sure was a learning day and set the hook deeply and forever.


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## Joel73 (Apr 23, 2007)

*Dolphin Sr.*

My first boat was my mom and dad's Dolphin Sr. but MY official first boat was a 1975 O'Day 22.

Dolphin Sr... kinda like a Sunfish on steroids:


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Thats a sweet lookin boat joel,
First boat I was 10 years old was an inflatable with oars, man i rowed that thing all over the lake for miles. Second boat was a 1959 16' dorsett deep vee. then Sunfish at 23, mac 25, 1965 Cal Jensen 30' back to Mac25. and still boat shopping. wife says i cant get a newer boat unless its 36' or over and cruising capable. but still have my venture slipped and am content for now so... Still Searching


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## cranki (Jun 11, 2006)

I just got her last fall, a 1973 Pearson 30. I'm 50 so she's about the right age for me. Sailed the last 2 weekends in a row and so far so good. we are planning to cruise for a week or so this summer so I want to shake everything down beforehand. 

Sailing history goes back to my dad's first boat. I was 5 so it was in '62 but the boat was considerably older. He moved up to a rhodes 19, then a Pearson 26 and finally a half share of a Pearson 30. That boat was sold about 14 years ago and I now finally have my own boat. Guess you could say I'm Kind of starting out where my dad left off...


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

This got me to wondering what design my first sailboat actually was. I bought it from someone already built, and they didn't know what it was. Fortunately my uncle had built one back in the day and I remembered him telling me about it when he saw mine. So I contacted him and of course he remembered since he built one. voila, it was a Tabu:


























Ah, memories.


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## CBinRI (May 17, 2004)

Owned? A Pearson Ensign. Sailed on other people's sunfish as a kid.

The first boat my son ever owned was a foot locker with a plastic sheet in the Fools Rules Regatta. Didn't point too high, as I recall.


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## LakeTravisP26 (Mar 30, 2007)

Sea Snark, I had sailed once on a friends Cal 20 and loved it. So for $100 I bought it. First time out I ended up down the lake aout a mile and walked back. Next time I figured out the against the wind thing.

Then the sail was stolen so I rerigged it as a sloop with a jib made from an old parachute. Went from 42 sq ft to about 100. Over sized the rudder and center board. Very, very fast but very, very, very unstable. 


Youth- Great Fun


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## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

The one I have now... Contest36

jef
sv shiva


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## landlockvasailor (Aug 13, 2007)

A 1967 Westerly Cirus that was in fair shape. Kept it for five years. Strong, sturdy, reliable. Sold it for the amount paid, plus about 3K of materials. It was a good boat to learn on. My son was six months and now he is 27, he loves to sail.

Tom
http://landlockedvasailor.blogspot.com/


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## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

My little V-21 I sail now is MY first boat owned.


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

CharlieCobra said:


> My little V-21 I sail now is MY first boat owned.


and from your last san juan trip description, you sail the _hell_ out of it.


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

My first boat was a 14.5 strip built solo canoe. I still have it! weighs about 35 lbs! Did many a trip in the Adirondacks portaging from lake to lake. don't ask about my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, canoes and 2 kayaks! built at least five, restored 2 wood canvas, and designed a one of 15ft wood canvas solo canoe. Gawd I'm tired! no wonder I got into sailboats! 

oh.. err... My first sailboat was hunter 23, now I have that Oday 30


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

My first boat was a Budweiser keg sawed in half with a mopp handle superglued to its keel and pink flamingo shower curtain mainsail . It wouldn't point worth a shhh but she was a dab hand runnin down wind. I had a couple of beavers mounted to the transom and carried a club to encourage them for auxillary power. She was a fine wee boat but I lost intrest in her when I discovered Mount Gay Rum. Nahh the first boat was a Sunfish I loved that thing ,we lived in Saudi Arabia and Dad got it for us kids I was 9 bro was 7 and we lived to capsize that thing on the Persian Gulf at a place called Half-moon Bay Dammam . Thanks for starting this thread it brought back some great memories


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## fupls (Feb 26, 2007)

My first boat was a 1978 made Catalina 25. We bought it from her loving owner because he upgraded to a bigger one. We sailed with her for another 12 years before we found her present owner as we moved to a bigger one too.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

My first boat (@ 6 years old) was a 8' wooden skiff with a beach umbrella for a sail and an oar for a rudder. I would sail accross the harbor, aprox 1 mile, down wind then row back. Then moved up to a beetle cat.


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## Jim H (Feb 18, 2006)

First sailboat: 8 foot closed rectangular skiff built in high school shop class. Plans from some "book for boys," blue nylon sail I sewed up, rigging hand-made from the hardware store, daggerboard and swing up rudder. Nicest part-- mahogany hand rails I made. Name: Cynus.

She was sailed for a couple of years on a fresh water lake on the Oregon Coast. Not bad if there was enough wind. After she rotted out, we burned her Viking style at the edge of the lake. Her mast, rigging, daggerboard and rudder/tiller are still in the beach house 20 years later.

Jim H


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## speciald (Mar 27, 2007)

I bought my first boat from Lippincott at the Annapolis show in 1976 - a 27 ft Cal 2-27 for 17,000 dollars. We sailed out of Kent Island and later out of St. Petersburg, FL. for the next 4 years. That was alot of money back then. Now two sails for my boat cost that much.


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## CGMojo (Jul 6, 2007)

*Boston Whaler*

Yep, a Harpoon 5.2 (17')centerboard sloop. Sweet, bulletproof, beachable, quick little daysailer. Room for four and a decent sized cooler. Bought it in 1980 for $5, sold in in 1986 for $5K, saw one for sale recently in the Jackonville, FL paper for $5K. They made a 4.6 (15') centerboard boat as well, and a few 20' keel boats.


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## GulfCoastSkimmer (Jul 3, 2007)

*Sunfish*

First with a sail was a Sunfish. Often sail it still off the beautiful (lol) beaches of Bolivar Texas. I love goin out out when the waves are about 2-3ft. Oh and dont mind the PVC sleve over the boom, it will hold, thats just were it broke on the beach. Oh, you think the halyard and control lines look a little off for a sailboat, and you have never seen carabiners used quite like that. Who said you cant use old climbing gear for your sailboat... had to do something with em when they got retired from my Enchanted rock gear. Nah its totally safe today to head out so far the houses look like ants, here put on this inflatable vest on, its worth more than the boat so please dont mess it up, have fun


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## sanctuarysam (Sep 16, 2006)

i'm glad someone revived this thread..very interesting to see the genesis of everyone's sailing experience, not to mention bringing back a flood of memories for me.
as for me, a 9 foot Turnabout (a veritable tub w/ sails), but i won my first race in that boat at 7... the thing even had a spinnaker. it was bright yellow and fun (for a kid at least) to sail...mine was wood, and the newer ones were glass..i even remember getting t-boned by a friend (i had right of way)..the boat didn't seem to care as i ended up w/ a huge hole... 
then on to flying juniors, 470s columbia 26, J/24..and now my sabre 30..
ain't sailing a wunerful thing...


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

1969 Grampian 26. Bought it in late October 2001 after going out two weeks before on a friends Catalina 22 (1972). Sailed that boat 9 times in Nov and Dec (including new years eve) despite the 2 hour drive to the boat and nasty weather. In spring, donated it to the youth sailing portion of the yacht club / community I am now the vice commodore of and bought a 1986 Hunter 31. The main reason I bought the boat was I wanted the slip (precious in Annapolis) and a boat I didn't mind sinking to learn on.


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## dave6330 (Aug 16, 2006)

Other than canoes, our first boat was our current Omega 36.


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

which boat are you talking about sinking chuckles, the Grampian or the Hunter?


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