all amazing boats. anyone here now?

Opinel Ocean knife. Best value sailing knife imho.

I can confirm that this is NOT true. In my service ticket with Starlink I attached my USCG registration (LOA of 51') and they converted my subscription to personal maritime.

Zero issues.

That said, I'm still considering changing to Global priority... $6/gb underway is wild.

It feels like there should be a couple more wraps…

Would this be a secure way to leave long term mooring lines?

Also, SeaTalkNG is just NMEA2000 (blue and white style do the same thing), and original SeaTalk is just 3 #16awg wires.

Raymarine changes the plug shape and pinout to force you to buy cabling from them. There is no functional difference. They even sell $90 "adapters" that just change the plug shape.

That is all.

It’s a hobie 16 for $200 with the trailer, sail, and extra trampoline all included. The seller listed a few problems but they all seem to be pretty simple fixes. The seller says the masthead pulley is stuck, he lost the drain plugs, the main and jib sheet lines need to be replaced, it needs new rudder bushings, and the standing rigging is on the older side. I have found a 3d printing option to fix the masthead, the bushings and drain plugs are both fairly cheap and for a $200 boat I’m willing to spend the money to get new standing rigging. My biggest concern is that fiberglass patch cause I’ve never done any fiberglass work and that patch was the sellers first time too.

I need to buy some new flares as mine are expired. These are Pyro type.

I guess I can buy strobe/electronic flares instead of combustible ones. Electronic seem to be more expensive.

Thoughts on what you did.

Coastal cruising daysailing always within 30 mi of land

After 15 years my west marine pants are finally needing replacement— on our last race I ended up soaked through in a couple spots. However, I was still more dry than many other of the crew who were in newer gill and Helly hansens.

So essentially I am looking for some fouly pants that will actually stay dry when it’s pouring rain and rollers are coming over the rail for 12 hours straight 🤣

Waiting for the storms to pass this morning and got in a 20+ mile sail...

Something about being the only boat on the water

Which weather forecasts/applications do.you use for the Ionian Sea (Kefalonia)? This year we are sailing for the first time, completely alone (out of the flotilla) and we have to prepare well.

I have fractional rig adjuster on my back stay, looking to tighten it up a bit but it’s seized, any suggestions for freeing it up?

The rigging screw runs through the black handles and they should turn to adjust the back stay, I’ve tried penetrating oil and it’s not helped

Basically as the title asks. Looking for advice on these shoes. I don’t live near a marine store (traveling) and I don’t want to drop like $150 more than I need. Are these water shoes sufficient? My primary concern is non-marking, which they appear to be but the soles are black

I just acquired a 1986 o’day 192. For the most part I think it is in excellent shape, but I found 3 issues that I’d appreciate opinions on:

1. The trailer was not adjusted properly, and the front of the shoe keel has a little damage from running into a support beam on the trailer. I readjusted the trailer, but am wondering how serious this damage is.

2. Similarly, there is a little damage on the bottom of the keel from where it rests on a support beam. This is less serious than item 1.

3. It is an EZ loader trailer with rollers. Two of the rollers have deformed the fiberglass a little bit. Not as bad as some other posts I’ve seen here, but noticeable.

Are any of these “fix now before you splash it” issues, or are they more “ehh we can get to it sometime this year” issues?

I’ll be keeping it on a trailer, sailing on inland lakes. Mostly day sailing with an occasional overnight.

Hello hivemind,

I was recently messing around in a Pico when I accidentally stumbled into a pod of dolphins, and didn't really know how best to manage the situation. I've never properly seen, let alone closely encountered dolphins before, and the first I knew of them was when one popped out of the water right next to me.

They seemed relatively playful and inquisitive about the boat (but that might just be me anthropomorphising), and after a while they left me behind with no contact, but I was wondering for future reference what the best course of action is if I find myself in a similar situation again. As it was I just tried to be predictable by holding a steady course and speed, and trusted they were more agile than I was, but if there's any better approach, I'd love to hear it!

It was a very cool experience, and I suppose great as a sign of whale and dolphin populations rebounding. I've been sailing in the same place for over 25 years, and never seen so much as a distant dorsal fin before.

Many thanks in advance for all your suggestions,

Hope you all have delightful weeks :)

I live in Brooklyn and am looking to head up the metro north to go hiking for a few days, and am curious if there are any lakes up in that direction that have small sailboat rentals. Any NYC sailors have some spots they know of upstate?

I'm literally starting from scratch here. I've rented a few keelboats but never even considered owning one. But my wife hates dinghys. I get several hours/week in my Laser and race 1-2X/week; been racing a dinghy since I was old enough to. I've tried to get her out to learn the ropes, to no avail. So if we want to hang out on the weekends, we'll have to make the jump to keelboat at some point.

First off, what is a decent budget? We live inland but some big lakes are nearby. She's thinking something that is comfortable, around 32 feet (before we met, she spent a lot of time on a nice 32 footer in Kansas; her idea of sailing is a comfortable boat, drink in hand, nice breeze). But 32 could be 25 for all I know. That's her frame of reference.

What is cruising like: just a lazy day on the lake or is it legit sailing but more downtempo than racing? Do people find themselves racing their cruising keelboats, or that more of a thing for faster purpose-built classes like the J/24 and J/105?

What's the size limit to transport a boat yourself (assuming you have a tow vehicle rated to up to 7,500 lbs?)

Ideas for a sporty yet comfortable boat? I love nothing more in life than loading up my laser in a puff, planing out on a reach.

My keelboat rentals have all been out of California, which is a hell of a lot more interesting sailing than in the plains, unfortunately.

Most of my sailing was done with hanked-on headsails and traditional mains. Now my boat has furling headsails and a mast furling main. Do I have to worry about packing them away wet?

fwiw, most of my sailing to date was in the PNW and wet sails were a common state of affairs. Now in Mexico, not so muich. But I'm still curious.

Coastal sailing not for ocean crossing. I heard that it is like 60ft for munuhull yachts but what is it like for catamarans? Is it still like 60?

Please excuse my rambling thoughts and the randomness of this post.

The other day I was thinking about how sailing is like playing guitar. You can compare them in a bunch of ways.

For starters, there’s a huge variety of sailboats and guitars out there. Both are mass-produced in different styles and colors for different purposes. Most are nothing special, but some are works of art that can achieve great things in the right hands. Quality can vary, even among the same models, and a sailor must bond with their boat the way a guitarist bonds with their guitar.

Both need regular maintenance to stay in working order, including setups, cleaning, and replacing strings or rigging. To perform properly, both also need to be tuned correctly.

The theory behind sailing and music can be studied endlessly, but you can’t master either through theory alone. Both require a baseline understanding paired with hands-on experience and practice. Eventually, it becomes intuitive. The best sailors and guitarists don’t have to stop and think. They just know what to do. Sailors read the conditions the same way great improvisers listen and know what to play, when to play it, and what to leave out.

Lastly, there are tons of sailors and guitar players out there, but very few are actually good. Ego and overconfidence plague both worlds, and too many people claim the title without the skill to back it up.

A great sailor, like a great guitarist, is ultimately an artist who has developed their skill over decades of practice and dedication.

People like Bernard Moitessier, Francis Chichester, Joshua Slocum, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, and Keith Richards earned their titles because they pushed the boundaries of their craft and showed that there’s no limit to what someone can accomplish with hard work, determination, and a little bit of luck.