Well, we have not "gone far" yet, but she sure is SMALL. :P
Got the Opti out for a bit today. Wind was 10-15 from the SE and air temp was upper 60's.
This was the second time we took her out; the first was in VERY light air, though. Today was better, and man that little boat can move. My daughter has been claiming she is ready to sail by herself, and she is getting very close. The wind direction and puffiness today would have been a little much for her first time. She's got the steering down, but not as much experience with sail trimming.
We broad reached down the fairway and out into the river, then turned around and tacked back. Each child got a turn and then I just had to take a spin on 'er myself. I found the best way to sail her was to lie down with legs on either side of the centerboard trunk, tiller over my head while leaning against the aft air bag.
She's a fun little boat, though not really built for someone my size. I'm sure it won't be long until the little ensigns are out exploring creeks, back marshes and even the open river.
I'll post progress updates here, and welcome in this thread any and all 'sailing dinghy' experiences, anecdotes and advice.
They have not named her yet, but one of the front runners is Eclipse.
sounds like a hoot. Great to be a 'kid' again ;D
I've found a derelict Snark sailboat that my nieces might get some use out of, when they return to Maine on visits from Southern California. Sounds like a great boat for exploring with, as you say...
If I had an Optimist, I might consider naming her Polly Anna or Little Miss Sunshine? ;)
Quote from: Jim_ME on March 07, 2011, 03:44:46 PM
If I had an Optimist, I might consider naming her Polly Anna or Little Miss Sunshine? ;)
;D ;D
Another front name under consideration is, of course,
Optimist Prime.
They have not agreed on a paint scheme, yet. I wonder if painting one side one color and the other differently would be a compromise? ;)
Maybe paint the port side red and the starboard side green to aid in navigation...? ;)
I was wondering if there is a Pessimist class? Probably about 40-feet and rarely leaves the dock. "Still a little too small for cruising and besides...Bad stuff can happen out there..."
Quote from: Jim_ME on March 07, 2011, 10:14:43 PM
I was wondering if there is a Pessimist class? Probably about 40-feet and rarely leaves the dock. "Still a little too small for cruising and besides...Bad stuff can happen out there..."
LOL...grog for that. And given what I've seen (on video) some of the young'uns can do with an OPTIMIST, it fits as that counter example.
:)
Took the little boat again yesterday in pretty good conditions, 10-ish knots (in the puffs at least) from a good direction for the senior ensign to practice easy reaching. I was present for "advice," but this is the first time she ever actually sailed - steering AND sheet trimming - by herself.
She did a great job, and managed to work upwind into some chop enough to get me wet.
The cool part is that today, after lunch, I was down below tending to some things and the little ones were up on the cockpit. I heard a lot of "boat talk" ... about masts and the like. They were comparing the boats here in the marina.
Punchline: With great pride and a not insignificant amount of pleasure, it was firmly announced that their Opti is the SMALLEST sail boat in the marina!!
Small boats...long distances - future sailfar-ers in the making. ;D
;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D
Had another good afternoon on the water with the little boat. My daughter had a "do" and so she and her mom were out of town...that left the boy and I.
I tacked out of the fairway on a very light north wind under overcast skies and temp in the 60's. Once outside the marina, and with a bit of "searoom," we switched places and I let the 5 year old practice his helmsmanship. He did good on broad, beam and close reaches, practicing something akin to 'straight-line' steering...mostly. ;D
He is already getting better at focusing his attention outside the boat rather than his shoe, the tiller, the hiking strap or whatever else catches his eye.
When he got tired, we switched again and just sailed around. Back and forth, here and there, up wind and down, across this river or that, we actually covered several miles while never leaving sight of the marina.
During the afternoon, we had winds alternating between a true clock-calm and 10-12 knots, with direction running from the north, then the east and finally filling in from the south. I did learn after a careful approach that we can clear the bridge one span over from the one that opens, so access to the 'big river' is problem free (so long as the 'wind tide' is not too far "in").
I really enjoy sailing the little Optimist even though it's not very comfortable (and after several hours, I can attest to the 'not very comfortable') for me and sure is not made for someone my size. But man, what fun; everyone that sails should have a sailing dinghy.
We saw four other sail boats on the water - three with sails up and one Beneteau motoring.
One of the highlights for me personally? Well, that would be the excited gesticulations and BIG smiles of the folks on a passing power boat when they realized that the boat was being sailed by a 5 year old boy. They just seemed to think that was "cool."
Ok, this is too much fun. Daughter's turn was today. Unfortunately, we had no wind most of the three hours we were out. >:(
But, she did learn that you CAN make a sailboat move in the REALLY light stuff. For a while, we probably averaged 0.75 knots, getting up to 1 or so in the 'puffs.' Hmmm.
It was tough sailing. We'd get the boat moving "good" (a relative term) with something akin to decent airflow over the sail and BOOM...waked by a powerboater and no more attached airflow. Sit...wait for water to settle down, wait for boat to foot off, gentle ease 'er in to recatch the air....slooooowwly build up boat speed again and struggle to keep 'attached' and flowing.
I helped her a lot by handling the sail, with her on the helm.
We had a few interesting moments:
** Ghosting along at a stately 0.5 kt or so, but clearly making steerage way, a sail boat we had watched motor in from WAY down river toodle over to speak us...I figured he wanted just to say "hi." Nope.
"Can I give you a tug," he shouted.
"No thanks, we're ok," I replied. "Thanks for asking, though!"
We continued on, and moments later, the afternoon thermal set in and we were OFF....
** We were heading to a dock at a place called "The Galley Store," which has fuel docks, a restaurant (called Persimmons), a historic skipjack used for harbor tours and similar things.
A dude on an overpowered (per IQ at the helm) stinkpot motored out and RIGHT BEFORE he got to us, powered up to the stops and SLAMMED us with his wake. We did not swamp, but we did take on a good inch of water into the boat, and since I was making the low side, I got a good case of "dinghy butt."
Would have been funny and no big deal if it had "just happened," but hey, he could have waited another ten seconds before going full throttle, and what he did was, in fact, quite dangerous.
Rhetorical question: When will the price of gas and the economy start working to get some of these kinds of bozo's off the water?
It's called "sea manners," but it's more than just being nice...most stuff on the 'sea,' is right or wrong based on safe or unsafe way to do things. Oh well, not to let it ruin our day ...
** Right after the waking, we were approaching the dock. My daughter was at the helm, I was trimming the mainsheet, the wind was pushing 12, maybe 15 in the gusts and we were on a beam reach, maybe a touch broad off.
Persimmon's has an outdoor seating deck just above the face dock...so the diners can overlook the water and watch all the cool boats and stuff. You know the type of place, right?
My 8 year old daughter, in front of all and sundry, sailed her little engineless boat right to the dock. Okay, I helped a little by suggesting when she should put her hard over to turn up wind and she did it like a champ. She turned, aligned parallel, lost way, and scooted right in, coming alongside without even bumping wooden boat upon wooded dock. I reached over, amazed, to grab the cleat.
It was, in short, one of the most incredible sailboat dockings I have ever either witnessed or been a party to. And, she had an audience! ;D
I told her that she won't get many of those...usually, the good ones happen without a soul around to see it.
We went to 'use the facilities' (no room for a head, or the privacy to use one, on an 8 ft open pram) and get some drinks, then returned to get under way back. It was blustering pretty good by this point, and the chop had worked up, so we elected for me to take the helm for the ride back. It was rough going in steep sided 1-2 footers, but we had a good lesson in why it's called "beating."
Through the bridge and toward our fairway, and we were met with the craziest, flukiest wind I've encountered since leaving "inland lake sailing." Ostensibly from the SE at about 5 knots or so, we should have been good to get "home." No dice.
We would sit totally becalmed, get a lift, start moving then get headed by over 90 degrees shifts. Couple that with a more-than-perceptible current setting westerly (slightly oblique to downwind), and it was the wildest 5 attempts to get into the fairway, or even tied to the face dock, I've done in a LONG time.
Finally got on the face dock and took a break, then back on the boat and paddled up the fairway to the beach.
On the water about 1500 - 1830. Here's what it was doing at the airport at the time:
(http://sailfar.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_20110410_windspeed_kewn.gif)
I've said it before and I think I'll repeat it..."light air makes the sailor." I told my daughter that just about ANYONE can figure out how to make a boat sail in 10 knots....but this stuff? Oh man...1-3 knots, Force 1 sailing takes a light touch and a ton of patience. She thought it was pretty cool to be moving at all (though was a bit upset by how long it would take us to 'get there,' not that we were going anywhere). When I mentioned that if we left "now," we could be in Oriental by lunchtime tomorrow, well she didn't think that sounded very good. ;D
We did, however, while ghosting along and chatting, get to repeat one of our oft stated Gaelic Sea phrases "In a motor boat, you get there fast; in a sail boat, you are already there." She saw that in practice today. We were, indeed, right where we needed to be.
In fact - she gave up the opportunity to go to the movies to go sailing, and back on the dock, said she had no regrets of her decision. She figured she'd rather be outside, and thanked me several times this evening for taking her sailing ... even with no wind.
And, just as importantly, I thanked her.
(edit: added wx data charts)
Winds were 12 knots from the South, occasional gusts up around 20 knots or so. It was a beautiful Spring afternoon in the 70's, sunny and that crisp "Carolina Blue" sky you just don't see anywhere else.
And my 8 year old daughter took her first solo sail...
She sailed off the dock, ran off down the fairway, did a controlled jibe into the river, then practiced reaching to and fro along the marina, with tacks in between each leg.
When she got tired, I towed her back in to avoid her having to short tack up the fairway.
Video to follow later ...
;D ;D
.....can't wait for the video
Outstanding, looking forward to the video
Here we go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vntqT7TdZmA
And here's Hunter out of the boat. Along with the boy ;)
Great to see ;)
grog to ya
WTG Hunter ;D
Great stories and video.
Future sailfar-ers in the making, indeed.
What a good start you are giving them.
[Grog to you.]
By George, I think she's got it.
Video later (after the weekend), but the girl spent over an hour today sailing by herself. Tacking has become "routine," and docking under sail almost so.
She's got the basics...now for that lifetime of getting BETTER. ;D ;D
and heres a good cold kool aid to her great job
Since we've been discussing Sailfar music...this morning I heard this song again, sung by [Loudon] Wainwright - Daughter, and thought about what you had written about and videoed in this thread...
"That's my daughter in the water
Everything she knows I taught her..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVam-fshUgw
Absolutely love that song!
Tim, glad to hear it. I've always appreciated his humorous self-mocking satirical lyrics. :D
Quote from: Captain Smollett on April 30, 2011, 01:01:59 AM
By George, I think she's got it.
Video later
Sorry it took so long...here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRlK4CTj7UA
Reaching and tacking practice in light air.
Couple of notes:
The music is an Irish traditional called "The Tune a Fisherman Hums" which I thought fit. Sorry for the hacked audio editing.
This is bits and pieces of over an hour of 'practice.' Since that day, she has sailed several more times and even taken a friend out with her.
Sorry too for the big wrinkle in the sail in some of the shots....we had the sprit properly tensioned and she came to the dock, I thought she was done for the day and loosened the sprit. Then she went out again with the loose sail. She came in and I fixed it, but it got on the video. The upside is that she docked 3 or 4 times under sail. :)
I remember those days, I wish I could get my daughter started but she has no interest. Have a kool aid on me
Quote from: Captain Smollett on May 27, 2011, 05:34:24 PM
Sorry too for the big wrinkle in the sail in some of the shots....we had the sprit properly tensioned and she came to the dock, I thought she was done for the day and loosened the sprit. Then she went out again with the loose sail. She came in and I fixed it, but it got on the video. The upside is that she docked 3 or 4 times under sail. :)
I can't imagine anyone thinking ill of you over a wrinkle in the sail of the boat your daughter is sailing.
But it speaks highly of you as a sailor that you express concern.
On a similar note, my 3 year-old grandson keeps telling everyone he wants to go "swimming" on grampa's boat... I think I've got a young salt on my hands! Time will tell.
The other Little Ensign, Jonathan Age 6, took his first solo sail on an Opti yesterday!
He was very much looking forward to it, and while a little nervous at first, being able to make the boat move (well) in very, very light air had a BIG smile on his face.
In a puff, he took off with shouts of pure glee..."Look at me GOOOOO."
He's hooked. Now the big 'problem' is going to be sharing time on one boat.... ;D
Soon, I guess, I'll have to make good on my promise of the day coming when they would just say "hey Dad, we're going exploring on the Opti...be back in a few hours." :o
The Opti (and similar sized/styled boats) is the perfect training vessel...so responsive to the slightest change in wind, water, trim or helm, and they accelerate so fast when things are 'right' that the little ones get that rush of adrenaline.
Excellent! And that day is just around the corner :)
The boy took his second solo sail this morning with a touch more air than last time (though still light not much).
I regret that I did not have a video camera last week to get his first go, but did have one today!
JP's Second Solo Sail (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3xerhrn1M0)
Description: It starts out with him reaching well, then luffing for a bit, then taking off on a reach again. Hes the one in the entire video and the other one is an older boy I believe in his third year of Opti sailing.
Look how well those boats move in light air! What an amazing training platform....tons of fun even in air that many say "too light to sail today."
Congrats to JP on his solo sails, and thank you for sharing the experience.
I am sure that your children will remember what a great start they received.
Reminds me of Longfellow`s refrain of looking back at his youth...
"A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."
Very cool! Congrats to them, and to you.
Those are good videos. What program do you use to integrate the audio and video?
Quote from: s/v Emerald Tide on March 26, 2012, 11:54:03 AM
Very cool! Congrats to them, and to you.
Those are good videos. What program do you use to integrate the audio and video?
Thanks. They are having a blast. The girl is on the DL with a broken collar bone right now, but she's itching to get back to it. I've got til then to come up with good solutions to the 'sharing the boat' problem.
incidentally, JP is using one of the club boats in that video, so that's a solution on club days.
For the video, I use kdenlive, which is a Linux program. I could make the edits better with more time, but usually just trying to get the videos up for friends and family (when I try to email videos to family members, I always get complaints, so I've taken to using youtube).
I pretty much have to edit some audio over the audio in the raw footage, because there's usually a bunch of other stuff going on...talking, coaching, in some cases SINGING, chase boat engine noise, etc.
I'd think just about any video editing package could do it, but kdenlive and cinelarra are the only two with which I'm familiar.
2012 NYRA Cinco de Mayo Regatta
One of the local racing clubs, NYRA, began a new event this year with the purpose of raising money for the Youth Sailing Association. The NOR announced that they would hold classes for any one design class showing with 3 or more boats as well as PHRF classes if those boats showed as well.
We ended up with SJ 21's (8 or so boats), Tanzers (3 or 4 boats) and 5 Optimists with youth skippers.
The Opti skippers arrived early and got boats rigged before just about any other skipper's / boats were on site (in their defense, they had to launch at another location and be towed down).
(http://sailfar.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_2012_05_05_0003_edited_small.jpeg)
My son helped get the coach boat launched and helped the on-water coach:
(http://sailfar.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_2012_05_05_0006_edited_small.jpeg)
The Opti Skipper's held their own pre-Skipper's Meeting Meeting in preparation for the RC's Skipper's Meeting:
(http://sailfar.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_2012_05_05_0009_edited_small.jpeg)
Here's a shot showing boats from all three classes milling about awaiting for the start of the third race:
(http://sailfar.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_2012_05_05_0015_edited_small.jpeg)
It was a fun afternoon with some good racing.
It's so cool to see the larger sailing community supporting the children and the local Youth Association. I asked one of the "insiders" about the attitude of the adult sailors ... would there be "those kids should not be on the water during our race" kind of comments, and he said emphatically, "No, everyone here loves that the kids are out and sailing. There's tremendous support for the Youth Sailing among this group."
This was my daughter's first race and she had some fun. She's now officially surpassed my sailing experience: I've never been in a sail boat race. I told her afterward that if I enter a race, she'll have to sail with me so I can benefit from her greater life's experience.
She looked at me funny.
I shot some video of the racing which I will post when I get some editing done on it.
Outstanding!!!!!!!!
Okay, not perfect, but here's the video:
2012 First Annual Cinco de Mayo Regatta (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZWFMIOKGx8)
Some good sailing was represented and I had a ball watching the racing, even if I did not get to sail myself.
Got eclipse out for the first sail of the season last week. The boy and I had a few hours.
The new addition to our setup is a small trailer, which when combined with the little cart (purchased for the canoe), allows me to completely handle the boat "solo" (no other 'strong' person). I can get the boat on/off the trailer and move around the launch site myself for times when the XO is unavailable. The trailer makes it MUCH easier than car-topping.
It was a beautiful afternoon in the mid 60's, but when we got to the ramp, the afternoon thermal and some partly-cloudiness was setting in. Punchline: the boy felt a little over powered. So, I parked the dink on the beach and hopped in the Opti with him.
We had a nice toodle around the City Anchorage, to-and-fro-ing our way around the anchored boats, dodging a trawler coming in, headed under the Trent River Hwy Bridge, back, here, there...nice. I remain even after having it a couple of years, at just how 'responsive' that little boat is. Sailing dinghies are worth their weight in "fun."
After satisfying the sailing bug for the afternoon, we parked the Opti and went for a short motoring ride on the dink. This included stopping the ob and rowing to 'stalk' an egret...the boy wanted to see how close we could get. Rowing quietly attracted the aerial recon by several ducks as well.
Wind about 10 knots, gusts 15 or a bit better.
http://youtu.be/OF3G1VpiyNs
great video!! put a smile on my face ;D
Wow- the kids sure have grown. You're gonna have to get a 2nd Opti soon I fear:)
Opti has been out twice this season so far, both on "firsts" for the little Skippers.
They finally got around to giving her another coat of paint on the hull and getting the name painted on. Each Skipper got to paint one side, so they are different.
The paint looks nice...aquamarine?
Glad that H and JP are enjoying working on the Opti, and getting out sailing. Hope that is the start of a great season. :)
Quote from: Jim_ME on June 02, 2015, 11:59:42 PM
The paint looks nice...aquamarine?
Thanks! It's more of a minty green color.
The hull color is called "lark green." All paint for this boat is Sherwin Williams Porch & Floor Latex. I thought about putting a coat or two of clear over the top color coat, but have not done and probably won't.
The color scheme and logo were 'designed' on the computer, so we played with the green background until they liked the balance/look. Then, we printed it and took to the paint store to get them blended. ;)
Hunter got the inside (white) painted yesterday right before the thunderstorm showed up.
The paint has held up good for a couple of years, especially considering it was only a single coat put on before. She was due for some attention, but not really "bad."
eclipse is also getting new airbags this season; on order now. Two of the old ones had split their outer cloth on the last outing, but inner bladders still held air. New bailer and blade bags coming this season, too.
She got a new sail a couple of years ago that has been dutifully kept in a bag when not in use, so with this year's maintenance...she's in pretty good shape!!
She's one of the very few wooden Opti's in our immediate area; most are glass. Most folks around here want the glass boats to be 'class legal' and because they are 'racier.' I like the wood. She has "Character" in my opinion. I'd like to know who built her; whoever it was, a fine job was done.
There may be some wooden ones in the fleet down around Beaufort as the older, wiser guys down there occasionally host boat building 'lessons' and I'd be surprised if Opti's were not on the menu.
Quote from: Captain Smollett on June 03, 2015, 11:12:32 AM
There may be some wooden ones in the fleet down around Beaufort as the older, wiser guys down there occasionally host boat building 'lessons' and I'd be surprised if Opti's were not on the menu.
Charlie showed me some photos of the plywood dinghies he and his group of students were building in his workshops. It might be possible to do a longer, more advanced course sometime and build some Optis?
Quote from: Jim_ME on June 05, 2015, 12:59:46 AM
Charlie showed me some photos of the plywood dinghies he and his group of students were building in his workshops. It might be possible to do a longer, more advanced course sometime and build some Optis?
That's a good idea, and as I said, I think some folks do that. They do similar things in Beaufort frequently and I think I've read of some goings on in Oriental as well.
In regard to the Optimist in particular, the "problem" with this stems from a cultural attitude more than anything practical.
The Optimist has a storied history. It was originally designed for just this purpose: to be
easily and
inexpensively home built for club sailing. The boat was so successful, soon "the wrong people" were winning races.
Enter the "Blue Jacket" crowd, as some like to call certain yachties, who got a bit upset that "lower class" kids were beating THEIR children at races. And thus was born what was to become an International Organization complete with rules, regulations, guidelines and...increased costs.
My understanding is that it is EXTREMELY difficult to build a wooden Optimist that meets class rules. There are over 500 points of measure, and some of the tolerances are sub-millimeter over 8 ft runs. Some of the metrics have to do with the compound curves and would be tough for a home builder to even measure properly to SEE if he got it right.
There is only a handful (three I think) of "approved" glass hull Opti manufacturers. Race boats with racing rigs and blades can easily run over $10,000. It's a shame that this is what it has become based on her humble and honorable beginnings...the initial concept was to 'get kids sailing...ALL kids that wanted to learn."
If a person wanted to build a boat SOLELY for 'fun sailing' with no wish to race in sanctioned races, a group building session would be a lot of fun for parents and children. Enter that cultural aspect, though: there is a strong pressure in these parts to "race." Resisting that pressure takes a special purity of love for sailing itself, and the parent casual about sailing (or completely ignorant of it) is, I fear, unlikely to make the commitment in time and resources.
Used glass hulls that meet the class requirements (though may not be super competitive) can be had for $500-$1000 and sometimes less. Given a similar financial outlay and much less "work" to get the little one sailing, and ending up with a boat that (technically) meets the class requirements, it seems sad but most likely that most folks will choose this path.
I thought about building one so we could have two; as my daughter is getting close to outgrowing the Opti, I'm looking at other options. I lean toward something small, perhaps nestable, but better suited to someone taller and heavier than the Opti is really geared toward.
Not an Optimist, but VERY near you ;D
http://www.bandbyachtdesigns.com/yachtt3.htm
The Catspaw is one on my short list. :D
Some one in the Optimist community should do as the Moth class did years ago. They split off a Classic Moth class for the traditional less costly version, with loose measurement rules so home builders could have some latitude in the features of the sailboats. They race for fun!
See wiki reference at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moth_%28dinghy%29. Scroll down to REBIRTH for that part of the Moth history. The American Moth was born in North Carolina. The modern Australian/New Zealand Moth has foils, and reaches 30 knots!
My first boat was a derelict Moth that I "saved from the dump" for a few days, then sent it on its final trip. It was home built of ordinary plywood and painted on the outside only. Stored outside, simply upside down, it soon rotted everywhere. I thought that I could re-skin with new plywood and sail her, but the frames were rotten too! Out only the gas for the trip to get the boat at his house, the "free" boat did not cost me much. The guy that gave it to me had 3 or 4 years of great sailing on a community lake before she started leaking beyond bailing and was abandoned. At a total cost equal to 3 time the price of 3 sheets of 1/4 inch plywood, very inexpensive sailing, and a fine education on sail technique. A few years later he crewed on my Lightning in the Presidents Cup Regatta.
Those inexpensive build it yourself boats introduced many youngsters to sailing and boat carpentry. There needs to be more fleets of such boats today.
Home made Optimists need to be reborn.
I should have included that Hunter and Jonathan are making outstanding progress as sailors! Small dinks and such are the absolute best place to start for young sailors, and produce what I call 3D awareness. Learning on larger boats tends to produce a focus on a narrower field of sailing activity, as some one else is responsible for much of what is happening.
Your comment on Jonathan learning to focus outside the Opti is exactly the point of single hand boats to learn on. The little craft do little damage if they run into something, beyond embarrassment to the skipper, but the lessons of hits or near misses develops an all around and up the mast point of view very early. Both Hunter and Jonathan are off to an outstanding start in the Opti!
After a summer of sailing the dink, they will both have the skills to look at the sails on the big boat and know if they need trimming. Congratulations on a fine start!
Quote from: Norman on June 05, 2015, 08:03:53 PM
Those inexpensive build it yourself boats introduced many youngsters to sailing and boat carpentry. There needs to be more fleets of such boats today.
Home made Optimists need to be reborn.
Grog for that.
I think there are SOME home made Opti's being built here and there, but as I said before...I think the problem lies in the resistance folks get in the form of "Why build one, if you DO choose to race you won't be able to." Even that's not necessarily true, but (a) it's very difficult and (b) a wood boat will be hard-pressed to be competitive anywhere above the beginner level.
Quote from: Norman
After a summer of sailing the dink, they will both have the skills to look at the sails on the big boat and know if they need trimming. Congratulations on a fine start!
Hunter does quite well sailing the 18 ft trailer boat, though she lacks self-confidence in handling two sails at the same time. That's on the slate for 'work' this summer if our schedule lets us ever get on the water.
She's also sailed the Alberg 30, though with 'help and guidance.'
JP sails the Opti well enough, but he is still building confidence in himself as solo sailor. It's a time-on-the-water thing; he enjoys sailing on the bigger boats and is learning the ropes a bit at a time.
The other day he was talking about taking the Opti fishing.... 8)
Quote from: Captain Smollett on June 05, 2015, 09:48:37 AM
The Optimist has a storied history. It was originally designed for just this purpose: to be easily and inexpensively home built for club sailing. The boat was so successful, soon "the wrong people" were winning races.
Yup...nothing worse...racing riffraff who don't know their place...
Quote from: Captain Smollett link=topic=3218.msg50139#msg50139
Enter the "Blue Jacket" crowd, as some like to call certain yachties, who got a bit upset that "lower class" kids were beating THEIR children at races.
And hopefully also beating them
up at the after-race event...or is that
too optimistic...? ;)
When I read about Hunter and Jonathan [getting] such an early start [at sailing], I find myself wishing that I had been so fortunate myself.
Quote from: Captain Smollett on June 05, 2015, 09:48:37 AM
...And thus was born what was to become an International Organization complete with rules, regulations, guidelines and...increased costs.
My understanding is that it is EXTREMELY difficult to build a wooden Optimist that meets class rules. There are over 500 points of measure, and some of the tolerances are sub-millimeter over 8 ft runs. Some of the metrics have to do with the compound curves and would be tough for a home builder to even measure properly to SEE if he got it right.
There is only a handful (three I think) of "approved" glass hull Opti manufacturers. Race boats with racing rigs and blades can easily run over $10,000. It's a shame that this is what it has become based on her humble and honorable beginnings...the initial concept was to 'get kids sailing...ALL kids that wanted to learn."
It
is a shame.