MacGregorSailors.com

Hey Bob

(Driving around a lake for the first time with no understanding of lights and buoys and rights of way is scary )

Do what I did, take some classes with the U.S. Power Squadron

www.usps.org

Or get a "Learn to Sail" book. They almost all have chapters on bouys and lights and right of way and all the other good to know info for beginners.

I probably have 4 different Learn to Sail books. I re-read them every 6 months or so.

Jim

Best little book for boaters is the


Boaters Pocket Reference by thomas McEwen

published by anchor cove for 15$ or less you get over 700 pages, gives USA, INternational and Canadian rules & regs and it fits in your pocket..

Q1

Probably the exercise with the least effort that may maximize time and knowledge (what am I talking about)
go to US Sailing's web site and run through the free on-line coursesand somewhere on that site is a link to a interesting "lights at night" power point you can run/download

...and for one that isnt covered...

Bright white light up high at night, with a 1000 foot inky black thing coming at you from 2500 yards is a tugboat pushing a barge

Suggested action - get the h*** out of the way before you become boat chum...

c130king wrote: I probably have 4 different Learn to Sail books. I re-read them every 6 months or so.
Jim

I read my four every night before I go to bed - - - it's like saying my prayers

Rick

No matter how much you read, or how much you think you know, first time standing in 26' of floating GRP, trying to get it to point and go in the right direction a few feet from a maze of pontoons, gently nudging the throttle lever that you know will send you hurtling to destruction if you overdo it, is still scary.

Cheers, Rick

Rick;

I always am sailing and never have the motor on when I am tacking out of the channel in Marina del Rey - - - and SOME days the biggest obstacle is I have to play dodgeboats with as many as 70 to 100 UCLA boats as I pass their private launch ramp.. Sailing 101 is very popular and many students just learning are in lasers or what I call floating bathtubs with two sails. They are, of course, much more manuverable than my Mac, and they mostly avoid my bigger boat no matter who has the right of way in the channel, but sometimes it can be pretty hairy around there. You never know who is in their first week (or day) of the course

Rick

Bob,

seriously, you may be getting some ribbing but do know it is all good natured.

we have all had our mishaps...

I have had several boats over the years, and know that the mac is tougher to handle than anything else i've had. Mind you, now that i am in a real marina with actual water i think it is a breeze.

I used to be in a marina so shallow that the rudders had to come up and the centerboard could only stay down a titch, it handled like a pig and i had a few close ones.

take it easy relax and it will come..

best of luck

Rick
I agree, where I launch there is a sunfish club and on late summer weekends when the lake temp is tolerable, it is like driving an 18 wheeler through a group of A.D.D. 4 wheelers. All the talk about sailboats giving way to freighters, how about sunfish giving way to anything over 21 ft.

Guys:
First of all thanks for all of your help and support - I appreciate it. As for the ribbing - and the National Lampoon Vacation nature of my situation - for me it is perfect. I decided to buy a boat one day - on a whim. I am going to figure out how to do many things very soon and am enjoying the experience. But it will take time - and ample helpings of humble pie - I am cool with that - hull - I bought this thing sight unseen. So please keep ribbing me and each other - this is really fun.

NEW Note to self. The motor can only draw so much vacuum in the gas tank - make sure it is vented while driving around the lake.

daydreamerbob wrote:The motor can only draw so much vacuum in the gas tank - make sure it is vented while driving around the lake.

Yeah - just BTDT last week. I was thinking "I didn't know these plastic tanks were collapsible"

I couldn't help notice the "sigh" the tank made when I opened the vent - like "there's always one ..."

Cheers, Rick

note to self:

make sure all rigging is clear from the stanchions when raising mast...and if the mast seems like it too heavy while raising it...stop cranking and find out why.

I had a cable wrapped around a stanchion and kept cranking...even though it was difficult and bent the mast right in half.

My first trip out I left the rudder bolts in place. I managed to get to the yacht clubs dock and used a lapstrake launch and two open end wrenchs to get them out. It was humiliating and painfull. I recommend everyone go through that experience just to learn respect for check lists!
In retrospect, using two open end wenches would have been more fun.

David,

How do you get two wenches around the bolts?
Love to meet those wenches, they could make my day.