Help needed for rankest of novices

[namrimus]

I bought a 1973 Venture 24 today. It is the first sailboat I have ever owned or been on for that matter. That said, I'm committed to the boat and the process of learning. Please don't tell me I can't learn on this boat....just let me find it out for myself which I'm sure I will in time if it is true.
I have no clue, then, as you might imagine, how to rig this boat. Can someone refer me to a good resource, written in bonehead language with lots of pictures that can teach me how to do it?
I will be forever in your debt and will dance at your next wedding if you can help me.
Thanks

[mawalsh]

Welcome to the site...I just purchased a 73 Venture 224 at the end of May...so we will be learning together about our boats. I sailed a lot about 10 years ago, but like you this is the first boat I have ever owned...I am more than willing to help you as much as I can.

Does your boat have the pop top over the cabin? What kind of condition is it in?

Good luck,

Mike

[Hamin' X]

Welcome aboard and congrats on the new (to you) boat. I am not on familiar enough with the V-24 to be of much direct assistance, but most of the Venture series are very similar in their rigging, So, although I do not see one for the V-24, you might want to check out the manuals for the other Venture boats and see if they will help. You can find them at the top of the page under Resources=>Manuals, Or click Here.

If you update your profile to indicate the area where you are located, others will be more likely to offer on site help. Have fun and enjoy the learning experience. MacGregor boats have probably introduced more people to sailing than any other brand.

~Rich

[Retcoastie]

Hi and welcome to the fun and frustration of sailboat ownership.

I don't want to detract from this board, but mostly it is Xs and Ms here. A board that deals heavily with Ventures is at http://bbs.trailersailor.com/forums/macgregor/index.cgi.

Posting your question there would probably get you an instant response.

That said, we're happy to have you linger here.

Ken

[Bill Reichert]

Another V 24 owner!!!!!
I would like to invite you to the V 24 forum on Yahoo. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Venture24/

I just started it last Dec. after scouring the internet for info. We have some knowledgeable members including a few that are on here also. I have added some good links for info including this site.
Please post where you are and you might be able to get some help nearby. The Venture of Newport group has been around for 10+ years and might be of some help for learning. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/venturenewport/
If your boat has the pop top, it would be a V 224.

[Pete]

I don't want to detract from this board, but mostly it is Xs and Ms here. A board that deals heavily with Ventures is at http://bbs.trailersailor.com/forums/macgregor/index.cgi.

There are enugh venture sailors on here to help you out. I don't like the layout of trailersailers as much as this site. Yes this site is more M's and X's but I still like it better.

I just checked out the Yahoo group V24 and looks good.

Pete

[Lloyd Franks]

I second that. The powersailer forum is mostly for the x's and m's. This is called the mac/venture forum because of the ventures here. I have a 73 224 (with pop-top)... The venture 24 is w/o the pop-top. You are in for a world of fun...

[Rick Westlake]

I bought a 1973 Venture 24 today. It is the first sailboat I have ever owned or been on for that matter. That said, I'm committed to the boat and the process of learning. Please don't tell me I can't learn on this boat....just let me find it out for myself which I'm sure I will in time if it is true.
I have no clue, then, as you might imagine, how to rig this boat. Can someone refer me to a good resource, written in bonehead language with lots of pictures that can teach me how to do it?
I will be forever in your debt and will dance at your next wedding if you can help me.
Thanks

Namrimus, you can learn on ANY sailboat! The lessons may be different and your results may vary - but you WILL learn more in YOUR OWN sailboat than you could possibly learn from some pompous snob that discounts what you learn in anything but HIS brand and model.

(Though I haven't learned much about grounding in my )

MacGregorSailors and MacGregorOwners have a lot of good tips, tricks and "I Learned About Sailing From That" stories. I've probably found more good on this one, but that doesn't lead me to shun the other. But neither one - nor all of the sailors' stories I've heard and read, here and elsewhere - can equal the learning you'll do in YOUR OWN sailboat.

And if you decide you want something different, later on -- be it a J-boat, a Teak Goddess, or (heavens forbid) a POWER boat -- the lessons you've learned on your Venture will carry over and forward forever.

Welcome to one of the most exciting things you can do at the speed of a fast walk.

[namrimus]

Thanks to all of you for your responses. I'll be checking out the suggested resources.
My boat is the 1973 224 with the pop top and the pop top is in very good shape.
I'm located in Athens, TN between Chattanooga and Knoxville and my boat will be on Watts Bar Lake, on of the TVA ponds.
I owned a Four Winns 24' deck boat several years ago. The years are slowing me down and the cost of gas is prohibitive.

[JoeVacs]

Welcome.
Here are some videos and pictures of how I rig my Venture 17. Yours will have a backstay, but otherwise be pretty much the same.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25826781@N ... 989182820/
I too like the format of this forum better, but it doesn't have as much traffic as the trailor sailors forum, so I use both.

[johnnyonspot]

I bought a 1973 Venture 24 today. It is the first sailboat I have ever owned or been on for that matter. That said, I'm committed to the boat and the process of learning. Please don't tell me I can't learn on this boat....just let me find it out for myself which I'm sure I will in time if it is true.
I have no clue, then, as you might imagine, how to rig this boat. Can someone refer me to a good resource, written in bonehead language with lots of pictures that can teach me how to do it?
I will be forever in your debt and will dance at your next wedding if you can help me.
Thanks

FWIW, I started sailing the summer of 2005. Had no idea about what I wanted or needed, except something cheap. Ended up getting a very nice Johnson M16 Scow, with the racing set up, and taught myself how to sail by single-handing it on small lakes around home. Took it out on a couple bigger lakes in windier weather and concluded I needed something bigger. So in spring 2006 I bought a Mac 25 for a song and sold the scow (at a small profit ) and dry sailed it that summer with friends on a large lake in Central Minn. The next summer I had a slip on the lake and single-handed all the time. Once you learn the basic concepts that are applicable to all sailing vessels, e.g., sail trim, steering, controlling heel, and docking, you'll be good to go. Should take.... a few trips. Be prepared to ease stress and have your blood pressure go down.....