Gwyl Blaser Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I've been sailing real life since the early 1980's. Started with a small Lido 14, then to a Santana 21, off to a Catalina 25, a couple of Santana 20 race boats, a few catamarans, back down size to a Catalina 18, and now we are sailing a 30 footer. I just can't seem to get it out of my blood. I love being on the water. Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSiemens Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) I would love to learn and plan to some day soon. What do you recommend as a good first boat? Edited March 12, 2015 by DSiemens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hi DSiemens, If I had it to start over again, I would probably still start with something like the Lido 14 or similar boat. It does not have a weighted keel but instead has a dagger board. It is a boat that you might get wet in but it sure teaches you a lot about sail control etc. From there I personally would go to something like the Catalina 18 or a Hunter 18. Both of these have weighted keels. Much more stable and solid but still small enough to trailer easily and they are a blast to sail. A used Lido in daily good shape can be had for $1000 give or take a dollar to two. The Catalina 18 can be had (an older model, nothing wrong with that) for as little as $3500 to $4500. Here is a Lido 14 and here is the Catalina 18 Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSiemens Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 That Lido does look fun. I'll keep it in mind. Gotta get into a house which should happen this summer and then my next goal is to get into sailing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 That Lido does look fun. I'll keep it in mind. Gotta get into a house which should happen this summer and then my next goal is to get into sailing. The Lido's are a hoot to sail. Check out http://lido14.org and click on the classified like about 2/3's the way down the page. Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Fox III Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Greetings, Been sailing small boats for about 15 years now. Started with a Chinook 13, for about eight years, and now a Rebel 16. There is nothing quite like sailing, my wife and I spend considerable time on the water when it's not ice, fishing mostly, but sailing is such fun we love to get the Rebel out when the wind isn't too strong. The Chinook was so easy I could sail it by myself, the Rebel is large enough my wife does the jib, while I the main and tiller. We sometimes get up to Bayfield, where we rent a C&C 24'er, just for a day sail, and with someone who actually knows a lot more about sailing than we do along with us. The sailing experience can definitely be a plus when modeling sailing vessels, knowing what all the lines are for makes it much easier to remember how to rig a ship or boat, and keep it realistic. Anchor's A Weigh! John Fox III Ladysmith, WI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Hi John, Good to hear that you too are a sailor. They sure are fun, and they do lend to the constructing of our models, especially when rigging of the sails. I feel that having sailed for quite a while, I will always be drawn to the water. Sometimes just the thought of going out on a pier and feel the wind, and hear the water lapping the pier is a feeling that I often succumb to. Many a times while driving along our freeway system I will stop at different marina's and walk the docks etc. Just a wonderful feeling. Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Johnston Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 I have a Wayfarer at the cottage and totally love it. can be singlehanded or fly a spinnaker with a good jibman. I have a cruiser rating and have rented boats up to 45 ft. We sail mostly Georgian Bay Ont. Really I'm a novice though. And a novice sib builder. I built a model of a great Lakes schooner The Nancy In a rum bottle. It's great if I do say so. I'd like to try one of Franklin's ship next -- arctic scene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted March 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 Hi Ron, Glad to have you aboard. It's also once to hear from another sailer. I have seen videos of the Wayfarer. It is a lot like the Lido that I have sailed. Lots of fun and a good chance of getting wet too! With the dagger board that is real sailing! :-) We look forward to seeing your work. Keep us posted as to your progress on the Franklin. Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fellingham Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 I took some sailing lessons many years ago just for the purpose of improving my SiBs through a better understanding of the interaction of wind, waves and boats but never really caught the bug to take up sailing as a hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted March 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Dave, I had never sailed before I went to purchase my first boat. It was a small 14 footer. On the way home I got to thinking about learning to sail, so I stopped at the mall to see if one of the bookstores there had a book on how to sail. The first year we sailed, it was all from the book, and experience. Some really scary experiences too. The second year, my oldest son(11 years old), and I were asked if we would like to crew for some folks we and just met at our local lake. We accepted the offer, and I think it was the best thing I did to help us learn to sail. As a crew member on a racing boat, I know I learned more in one year than I could have in 20 years by myself. Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Fox III Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 Greetings Gwyl, Scarry? Hmmmmmm.........when I first got my Chinook 13 it was mostly as it was dirt cheap at a rumage sale, and always wondered if after many years building sailing vessels I might actually have some knack for sailing. While the boat had sails and mast/rigging, metal drop keel, it was missing the tiller and a trailer. When I went looking for a tiller, found a guy who restored small sailboats as a hobby. He was so intrigued by my story and models, he gave me a tiller, trailer and two or three sailing lessons. I did learn some things from the lessons, but we only went out in extremely light winds, I was disappointed in how the boat handled. So, first time I soloed it, i took it out with 20+ mph winds! I was smart enough to launch the boat from a downwind boat ramp, i.e. makes it much easier to get back later. However, while I did OK for a while, and got a real kick out of the speed I could generate, I eventually tacked totally wrongly and flipped the boat completely upside down! <Grrrr> Worse yet, I did not secure the drop keel line, so it fell out and to the bottom of the deep lake, and I was not smart enough to have taken the jib and spare sails and bits out of the boat first, so they all went to the bottom as well. When I told the guy who took me for a few lessons later, he described what I felt like, it was like going from one fire drill to another! <G> Anchor's A Weigh! John Fox III Ladysmith, WI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyCity Frankie Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 I have been volunteering at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City since 2001, prior to that I had no sailing experience but was reading Patrick O'Brian and building static ship models. Through the Museum I have worked and sailed often on several schooners but never anything with a square rig, sadly. I love the sailing but I also love sewing canvas and rigging at the start and end of each season. There is no end to the stuff you can learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipbuilder Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 This is me, 50 years ago! Bob DSiemens and Gwyl Blaser 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Nice photo Bob. It looks like the deck was always kept well vanished! I can see why and where you got your love for merchant sailing vessels! Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Bob, Is this your ship? http://www.ssmaritime.com/windsorcastle1.htm If it is, She must have been a beauty. Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipbuilder Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 Thanks Gwyl, The decks were never varnished! They were holystoned every morning at about 0500. They are shiny in the photograph because it was pouring with rain, and I dashed out just to get the photo taken, then dashed back inside again. We were homeward bound int the Bay of Biscay at the time, and the teak capping on the rails was bound up in canvas to prevent damage during our ten days in Southampton. She was a beautiful passenger liner of about 36,000 tons, carrying 250 passengers in 1st class and 800 in tourist, with 400 crew. I was always overwhelmed by the sheer size, but she is sneered at as tiny these days, but I wouldn't have swapped the Windsor Castle for any of these present day self-propelled hotel barges! Your link doesn't work - maybe this is the one you meant to show - RMS Windsor Castle in her prime. Bob http://www.ssmaritime.com/Windsor-Castle-PC.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapiteinhadock Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 This is me nearly 30 years ago. I'm still sailing as engineer mostly in offshore or salvage. I built a few models on board but as I have been moving around different vessels lately I haven't been very active. I'm working on my first SIB the schooner "Pickle" now and hoping to put her in a lightbulb. Jantje Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted May 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Hi Jantje. It's nice to see another sailor here. Pickle looks to be a nice model. Don't forget to show us pictures when she is complete! Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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