Sailing

[MexicoHusky]

Any sailing enthusiasts on the Yard?

I frequently think about what I do when I retire. I'm about 15 years away still. I've considered buying an RV. Living minimally and traveling the country.

I was just thinking sailing may be a neat idea as well. With 15 years to go I have enough time to gain the proper experience. Start with some ASA classes. See if it's something I might like to do.

I'd like to sail from Duluth to NYC. Maybe down to the Caribbean. Stuff like that.

Any sailors on the Yard? Good idea? Bad idea? General thoughts.

 

[Samoo]

A boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into, but if you like being on boats ( I do), cant think of a better way to spend your time (and money).

 

[Get a Job]

Is it really possible to sail from Duluth to NYC? What's the route?

 

[TRest]

My kids bought me a weekend of sailing lessons with the Yale team a couple of years ago. It was very enjoyable but I found I needed to be in much better physical shape to really get around on the little racing boats. Yale's team offers beginner and advanced lessons, I don't know if they did it last summer but I would assume they could start it up again, facility was in East Haven I think?

 

[MexicoHusky]

Is it really possible to sail from Duluth to NYC? What's the route?

Yeah, you have 3 options
1. Erie Canal (smaller boats)
2. St Lawrence Seaway (major shipping lanes from Great Lakes to Ocean)
3. Lake Champlain Shortcut (smaller boats)

Escape to the Sea: How to get from the Great Lakes to the Caribbean

Inspired writing about sailing featuring personal ponderings, boat reviews, gear reviews, techniques, cruising guides,

www.sailfarlivefree.com

Side Note: These routes (in particular the erie canal) had a major impact on the history of NY and NYC. The Erie canal turned NYC into the major port in the United States. Gave NYC access to the Great Lakes and the interior of the country. Before that, New Orleans had the best access to the interior of the country through the Mississippi River.

 

[The Frog]

I've been a liveaboard for the last 13 years... If you can do your own maintenance and work... Highly recommend it...

 

[MexicoHusky]

My kids bought me a weekend of sailing lessons with the Yale team a couple of years ago. It was very enjoyable but I found I needed to be in much better physical shape to really get around on the little racing boats. Yale's team offers beginner and advanced lessons, I don't know if they did it last summer but I would assume they could start it up again, facility was in East Haven I think?

Yeah, that's one of my reservations. I'm not sure sailing is the best hobby for the 60 year old version of me. Might be a bit demanding.

Been considering classes as well. I'd take them in Minneapolis and the Duluth area.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I've been a liveaboard for the last 13 years... If you can do your own maintenance and work... Highly recommend it...

Your comment about doing your own maintenance. Is that for financial reasons? Too expensive otherwise?

 

[TRest]

Yeah, that's one of my reservations. I'm not sure sailing is the best hobby for the 60 year old version of me. Might be a bit demanding.

Been considering classes as well. I'd take them in Minneapolis and the Duluth area.

My understanding is the basic principles you learn on the small boats will apply to the bigger ones. If you are looking to retire/live on a cruiser, the physical aspects won't come into play as much as the boats aren't going to tip absent a disaster. With the little ones, you are scuttling around on your hands and knees, maneuvering with another person on board, etc. I was probably 58 when I did it and everybody in the class was younger.

 

[Vancat]

We have a 14-foot JY on our lake. Small potatoes. But I have to tell you it's my favorite thing in the whole world.

 

[Samoo]

Yeah, that's one of my reservations. I'm not sure sailing is the best hobby for the 60 year old version of me. Might be a bit demanding.

Been considering classes as well. I'd take them in Minneapolis and the Duluth area.

Start now with lessons and get a small boat to learn on. Start with a used sunfish for $1000 and work your way up - by the time you're sixty you'll be aboard your 40-foot retirement dream with substantially less physical exertion to hurt yourself and infinitely more skills to save your arse.

 

[Chin Diesel]

A boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into, but if you like being on boats ( I do), cant think of a better way to spend your time (and money).

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

 

[MexicoHusky]

Start now with lessons and get a small boat to learn on. Start with a used sunfish for $1000 and work your way up - by the time you're sixty you'll be aboard your 40-foot retirement dream with substantially less physical exertion to hurt yourself and infinitely more skills to save your arse.

Yeah. That's what I'm thinking as well. Or determine it's not for me after some lessons.

I've done some sailing on a sunfish in the past. It was cool. Tipped it in some heavier winds. It was fun, but can't say I've done it enough to concretely say it's for me.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Biggest drawback to sailing is this.

 

[don356]

Biggest drawback to sailing is this.

He looks like he'd sink.

 

[uconnfan68]

Your comment about doing your own maintenance. Is that for financial reasons? Too expensive otherwise?

No help at sea.

 

[Lefty2one]

Are small sailboats really that expensive to maintain? I'm ignorant here, but living on on the shoreline I've thought about getting a small used sailboat (far) down the line. It seems therapeutic as hell.

 

[Improviser]

Are small sailboats really that expensive to maintain? I'm ignorant here, but living on on the shoreline I've thought about getting a small used sailboat (far) down the line. It seems therapeutic as hell.

I went on one once in Long Island Sound off New Haven Harbor, and felt queasy or I guess, seasick. It buffeted about and I didn't like the experience. I was not the skipper, but just a passenger. Maybe your stomach is stronger than mine.

Also, the sails had to be adjusted periodically and I was asked to help. A sailor I am not. So, it is not like you are on yacht or a tour boat where you can just sit there and take in the scenery.

Find a friend who has one and see how it works out for you.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I love boats. Sailing or otherwise. Never sailed anything bigger than a sunfish on Coventry lake. But I love the wind and the spray and the feeling of it. A Pirate Looks at 40 is my theme. I’d love to get a boat and sail, but my wife doesn’t like boats. I could do it anyway, but that doesn’t seem a good recipe.

I would like to know more about the cost of a small, ocean going sailboat or small sport fishing boat. Not open ocean, but Buzzards Bay and Nantucket Sound. Falmouth to the Vineyard perhaps.

 

[gtcam]

Sailed for many years on the CT lakes and on Cape Cod - sailed Buzzards Bay the most.
It's an expensive hobby if you can't do it year round
Miss it but don't miss the upkeep and expenses

 

[Baltic]

I have been a sailboat owner and sailed all through New England and helped deliver boats up and down the East Coast. Sold the boat a number of years ago and chartered in different places, Caribbean, Pacific Northwest, etc. also was an ASA instructor in Mystic.
Chartering allowed varying experiences in different locales on boats I would otherwise never experience. There are Learn To Sail Chartering opportunities.
I loved sailing but the bucket trip you envision would be best be done in a Trawler. You don’t go fast, but the Trawlers are sea worthy and much roomier than an equivalent sailboat would be. Also pretty fuel efficient. Even in a sailboat you would be surprised as to how often you would travel under power. I know a number of people who have done the circle up the coast, through the Erie Canal, Great Lakes and down the Mississippi.
the other advantage of the Trawler on this circle is that you don’t have to dismantle your mast in those areas where there is a height restriction.

 

[Samoo]

Are small sailboats really that expensive to maintain? I'm ignorant here, but living on on the shoreline I've thought about getting a small used sailboat (far) down the line. It seems therapeutic as hell.

Uf it is fiberglass and on a trailer the cost is pretty much nil once you make the original purchase.

 

[aburks41]

I sailed growing up at my parents yacht club, and then taught sailing during the summer when I was in college. My dream has always been to retire on a catamaran and sail around the bahamas / British Virgin Islands (the most unreal place in the world) during the winter, and then sail up the east coast back to CT for the summer. I’m only 25 though so I still have 40 more years to go lol. Nothing better in life than being out on the water

 

[aburks41]

Are small sailboats really that expensive to maintain? I'm ignorant here, but living on on the shoreline I've thought about getting a small used sailboat (far) down the line. It seems therapeutic as hell.

Not really. There’s not much that can go wrong on a sailboat if you take good care of it. Your biggest cost would be replacing the sails every few years which would be a couple grand. But if you aren’t using your boat for racing (there are a few “leagues” on Wednesday nights down here in the Mystic/Groton area) then you could extend their life quite a bit longer.

 

[Fishy]

If you want to learn to hate an inanimate object, buy a boat or a BMW.

Living on a boat, however, sounds appealing.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I have been a sailboat owner and sailed all through New England and helped deliver boats up and down the East Coast. Sold the boat a number of years ago and chartered in different places, Caribbean, Pacific Northwest, etc. also was an ASA instructor in Mystic.
Chartering allowed varying experiences in different locales on boats I would otherwise never experience. There are Learn To Sail Chartering opportunities.
I loved sailing but the bucket trip you envision would be best be done in a Trawler. You don’t go fast, but the Trawlers are sea worthy and much roomier than an equivalent sailboat would be. Also pretty fuel efficient. Even in a sailboat you would be surprised as to how often you would travel under power. I know a number of people who have done the circle up the coast, through the Erie Canal, Great Lakes and down the Mississippi.
the other advantage of the Trawler on this circle is that you don’t have to dismantle your mast in those areas where there is a height restriction.

I've seen lots of people on YouTube document their trips across the Atlantic. Ever consider such a trip? The individuals I see on YouTube seem very casual about it all. It seems pretty daunting to me.

 

[CL82]

I've seen lots of people on YouTube document their trips across the Atlantic. Ever consider such a trip? The individuals I see on YouTube seem very casual about it all. It seems pretty daunting to me.

The movie Dead Calm leads me to believe otherwise.

 

[aburks41]

I've seen lots of people on YouTube document their trips across the Atlantic. Ever consider such a trip? The individuals I see on YouTube seem very casual about it all. It seems pretty daunting to me.

There’s a huge difference between the people that make that voyage on a 26ft monohull vs a 45ft catamaran. Most sea faring folk would be okay with spending a couple weeks on a big catamaran, but a small monohull is a totally different experience for a trip like that

 

[prankster]

Any sailing enthusiasts on the Yard?

I frequently think about what I do when I retire. I'm about 15 years away still. I've considered buying an RV. Living minimally and traveling the country.

I was just thinking sailing may be a neat idea as well. With 15 years to go I have enough time to gain the proper experience. Start with some ASA classes. See if it's something I might like to do.

I'd like to sail from Duluth to NYC. Maybe down to the Caribbean. Stuff like that.

Any sailors on the Yard? Good idea? Bad idea? General thoughts.

I have sailed many thousands of ocean miles, including 2 trans Atlantic passages.

Life at a damp slant.

Sailboats are much smaller than power boats for a given length. For living on, you will likely need a bigger boat than you think.

But, overall, buy the smallest boat you can get away with.

For reasons of physics, longer boats sail faster than shorter boats. If you are thinking of passage making, bigger gets you there faster. shorter and fewer days from point A to point B. But bigger is more expensive in every respect. Insurance, dockage, haul out, bottom cleaning/paint, all of the gear, sails, running rigging.

Live aboardinand in many areas, you will necessarily need heat/air conditioning, refrigeration, etc. And the ocean hates pretty much every piece of mechanical and electronic equipment that is to be found on a boat.

Sailing is rewarding, on its own. But learn, learn, learn.

Learn to sail, in light air and in heavy weather. Learn to read a chart. Learn to navigate, both with and without the fancy electronic gadgetry that God might to take away from you. He has a keen sense of irony. Learn proper provisioning, and meal prep at sea. Learn to sail and navigate in the daylight and at night. Learn weather. Learn tides and currents. Learn to sleep lightly. Learn patience.

Whatever you think you know, you don't know s4it.

The gods hate hubris and the ocean is a harsh mistress.

Have fun.

 

[Vancat]

Have had the JY14 for over 25 years now. I bought new sails once, bought a couple covers, and put new wheels on the boat dolly. That’s it for expenses.