[cerveza_fiesta]

Anybody on this forum gearing up for the summer season of boating? Or if you live in the southern hemisphere, gearing down from a sweet boating season?

I just put in an order at the nearest sailing supplies store for some boat maintenance products and fiberglass repair stuff. It's got me all riled up for boating now, even though the season is still 3 months away.

I've got a slow 22ft cabin cruiser sailboat with a tiny motor and a swing keel to get me out of the shallows more effectively.Its called a CS-22...which stands for Canadian Sailcraft. Based on a C&C design and built in canada for a short while.

I Keep it on a nearby lake that's large enough for heavy duty sailing, but small enough that I can't really get into too much trouble if things go awry. Never had it on salt water, but plan to trade it in for a bigger model in a few years and hit the high-seas.

The sailing is still new to me too. I grew up on powerboats and my parents still have an 18ft waterski boat that's loads of fun. Sailing is where it's at though. No other type of boat actually performs better when its occupants are shitfaced.

[alt146]

cerveza_fiesta, on 11 March 2010 - 12:34 PM, said:

Based on a C&C design

Would have gone for a Mammoth Tank myself

When out on my dad's boat a couple of times, not as much as last year though Mainly skiing with a couple of booze cruises thrown in for good measure 18ft Scimitar hull (think it's a Scimitar, that might have been our old one, anyway, it has seats in the nose) with a 150 HP Yamaha and a 20 pitch stainless steel prop.

Watersports are always a pain here, since there's very few large bodies of water. Luckily the dam nearby is one of the biggest in the country and it's been at 90% for the last two years. Got a nice little lapa on the river

[Gothos]

You people demotivate me with your wealth.

[Tiste Simeon]

Our Speedboat engine broke, and the two choices were either fix the engine for about 3 times the amount we paid for it in the first place or sell it on for about the same amount as we bought it for in the first place. So we now have no boat, unfortunately.

[cerveza_fiesta]

@tiste

boo, that's too bad.

You made the correct choice though. Fixing old boats, unless you're wealthy, skilled and have oodles of spare time, is a heartbreaker every single time.

Best to save up and shell out for a new one when it comes down to the fix-the-huge-problem vs. junk-it decision.

@gothos

You'd be amazed how little you have to spend to get into boating, especially sailboating. I mean, its going to be in the "under 10,000" range, but if you can raise that kind of cash you're golden.

our boat (22ft) with all sails (and spares, including spinnaker), rigging, pulleys, ropes, spare parts, outboard engine, roadworthy trailer and a homemade rowboat cost a whoppping 6000 dollars canadian. Granted that was a foolishly good deal from an aged fellow that was too old to sail it anymore, but the market for under-25ft boats is so low right now you can get one for a relative steal. Its a good range to start with too until you get the feel for it...and if you completely fuck up and sink it, its not the end of the world.

[RodeoRanch]

I throw up on boats. My buddies are big into sailing and I'm inevitably dragged out on to some horrifying lake for a sail every summer.

[Gothos]

cerveza_fiesta, on 11 March 2010 - 02:47 PM, said:

@gothos

You'd be amazed how little you have to spend to get into boating, especially sailboating. I mean, its going to be in the "under 10,000" range, but if you can raise that kind of cash you're golden.

our boat (22ft) with all sails (and spares, including spinnaker), rigging, pulleys, ropes, spare parts, outboard engine, roadworthy trailer and a homemade rowboat cost a whoppping 6000 dollars canadian. Granted that was a foolishly good deal from an aged fellow that was too old to sail it anymore, but the market for under-25ft boats is so low right now you can get one for a relative steal. Its a good range to start with too until you get the feel for it...and if you completely fuck up and sink it, its not the end of the world.

That's a big fat "if" for my financial standing. I earn below $600 canadian a month. Most of that goes into "costs of living" like rent, electricity, food, etc. Not to mention costs of socializing. I'd be lucky to save $100 in a month... and that'd be cutting back on a lot.
So yes, 6000 canadian dollars are solid.

[cerveza_fiesta]

@gothos,

Yeah, it aint *cheap* overall. I mean relative to some other activities out there. For example, downhill mountain biking - my buddy spends about 6000 bucks every 2 years on a new bike, shocks, rims, brake parts, etc... where my 6000 bucks bought an effing boat, which lasts basically as long as I want it to.

And the market in poland is probably completely different than Canada too. We have a surplus of small boats because recent high-fincancial times caused a shift toward the 25ft and up category, meaning everybody sold their small boats, which pushes the price for them waaay down.

[Slow Ben]

I'm on a motherfucking boat!!!




I dont know why simple things like drinking beer and fishing are more fun on a boat, but they sure as hell are. About time to get the ole rod and reel out and make sure theyre ready to go.

[caladanbrood]

I wish I was. Oh, how I wish I was. Not even a sniff of Tall Ships this year

[cerveza_fiesta]

Oh yeah...totally good point on the fishing thing.

I meant to do that all last summer and never ended up getting a rod or a fishing license.

Making a note to find a cheap rod/reel kit right now.

Sail rigging can get in the way sometimes, but you can trawl like a mofo with a sailboat and one of those wiggly swimming lures. We used to haul trout and salmon out of the river all the time on my buddy's sailboat.

Catch and release of course. I wouldn't eat anything out of that dirty ass river.

[Darkwatch]

At least you don't fish in the St-Lawrence.
I know people who do and eat their catch.
They're insane.

[rhulad]

Do they have some kind of super power now? Or perhaps cancer?

[cerveza_fiesta]

@DW

oh wow....

I do not think I'd do that. Especially not that far downriver...eugh. It went past frickin Montreal before it got to Quebec area. Gawd.

Not even counting ship traffic.

[Silencer]

You need a fishing license for recreational fishing? :S

I basically grew up on boats, and my dad before me. Didn't live on the things, except for three weeks out of the year, but every other weekend...boating in the Hauraki Gulf (New Zealand, in case you didn't know). He started on a 20ft-ish 'Pied Piper', but that was before I existed, then got a 32ft 'Townsen 32' called Toledo, then we shared my grandfather's retirement project (aside from being an onion farmer, he was also a professional boat-builder), which was a 36ft displacement (read: slow) launch of his own design. Just last year we decided to sell that, and instead have purchased a 40 ft planing (read: fast) launch, of the 'Formula 4000' design, mark 2...for those of you who know how fast this is, it does 30 knots max, 23 knots cruise.

We're just gearing down from the boating season, as the weather heads downhill. But it was a great season, and with our new, faster boat we got to lots of new places. ^^

That being said, I could easily go back to sailing these days. It's REALLY peaceful by comparison, and more relaxed, but it's also more involved, which makes the whole voyage more fun. Less fun is the sun- and wind-burn, but hey, that's the price you pay, right? Of course, being stuck at 7 knots all the time could feel bloody slow these days.
Though, at the same time, 8 knots in a launch (what our displacement did), was worse than 8 knots in a yacht. Because there is a shitload less to do. And going to 20 knots is more like driving a car, only a lot bouncier. Probably, though, my least favourite method of sea travel would be the displacement launch, even though it's the easiest/most comfortable.

[cerveza_fiesta]

cool man. Sounds like you're well versed. THat formula 4000 thing looks effing sweet

is this kind of like it?



Cos if it is, I'm pretty envious. Dunno what fuel prices are like there but that thing must consume its cash value in fuel every season!

Yer right about sailing. I grew up a powerboater (on a 19.5 ft bayliner boat), mostly on coastal saltwater, but there's a charm to sitting back in the sailboat with a beer in one hand and the tiller in the other, bossing around my crew (wife and friends usually).

The sailing thing really only started 5 or 6 years ago for me. I more or less taught myself the basics and have gone out with a few friends that are much better sailors than me. From that I picked up some of the finer points. I'm by no means a master mariner but I've gotten a lot better in recent years. Putting the boat on the lake was one of the best things I could have done cause the lake's shape and prevailing wind conspire to whip up some pretty awesome waves and much more challenging sailing than where I used to keep the boat on the river.

I'm still timid about bringing the boat to the saltwater cause the spot I'd likely bring it (saint andrews, new brunswick), although sheltered from the high seas in a mid-sized bay, can have unpredictable weather and is subject to the massive tides of the Bay of Fundy. Actually, if you get in the wrong spot near the barrier islands, tidal currents approach 8 knots, and the boat is only capable of 7....so it's fairly easy to get swept out to sea if you aren't paying attention.

Oh well, if I want to get into that I'll just have to buy a more seaworthy (read BIGGER) boat. Ha.

[Tarcanus]

If we're counting going out on the lake in my kayak, then yes, I'm excited for boating season! =]

[Silencer]

cerveza_fiesta, on 12 March 2010 - 12:32 PM, said:

cool man. Sounds like you're well versed. THat formula 4000 thing looks effing sweet

is this kind of like it?



Cos if it is, I'm pretty envious. Dunno what fuel prices are like there but that thing must consume its cash value in fuel every season!

Yer right about sailing. I grew up a powerboater (on a 19.5 ft bayliner boat), mostly on coastal saltwater, but there's a charm to sitting back in the sailboat with a beer in one hand and the tiller in the other, bossing around my crew (wife and friends usually).

The sailing thing really only started 5 or 6 years ago for me. I more or less taught myself the basics and have gone out with a few friends that are much better sailors than me. From that I picked up some of the finer points. I'm by no means a master mariner but I've gotten a lot better in recent years. Putting the boat on the lake was one of the best things I could have done cause the lake's shape and prevailing wind conspire to whip up some pretty awesome waves and much more challenging sailing than where I used to keep the boat on the river.

I'm still timid about bringing the boat to the saltwater cause the spot I'd likely bring it (saint andrews, new brunswick), although sheltered from the high seas in a mid-sized bay, can have unpredictable weather and is subject to the massive tides of the Bay of Fundy. Actually, if you get in the wrong spot near the barrier islands, tidal currents approach 8 knots, and the boat is only capable of 7....so it's fairly easy to get swept out to sea if you aren't paying attention.

Oh well, if I want to get into that I'll just have to buy a more seaworthy (read BIGGER) boat. Ha.

That's very much like it, except what you've got there is a Formula 4000L - you can tell because near the bow, the railing has a sort of second piece stuck on top of it.
It's about...oh...3 or 4 feet longer than a standard 4000, which basically means you get an island berth up front and some longer cabins.

Now, fuel usage...not as bad as you'd think. We're talking a 1000L tank of fuel, which we filled up...four times? on the 3/4 week holiday. And we covered some 600 nautical miles (of course, we were mostly half-filling it...never had to put it more than 600L), and the price of diesel is basically $1.2 per litre. Halve the number and you've got USD.
It's a bucketload of cash just for fuel, sure, but it would take us ten years of the equivalent tripping to replace the price of the boat. :S

What does cost? Maintenance. They're older boats, though by no means OLD - 1989 for our one. But, it's stern leg, and with those things you have to haul the entire boat out of the water every 6 months for a check up, and then you've got the engines themselves, which are twin 230 HP volvo's. (Mind you, in our boat hunting we saw a Vindex 470....THREE 400 HP engines. THREE. And it doesn't even go as fast as we do. :S Got a good 5 or 6 feet on us, too, but still...). Heck, if you get fishing line that sucks into the props and winds itself into the seal, you're looking at 15k NZD just to fix that. D:

And jesus. 8 knot tides? Screw that, my friend. It was bad enough going around the Coromandel Peninsula which gets 3 knot tides going - makes a journey take twice as long in a slow boat (and these days, if you have a GPS, you can SEE how much that tide affects you). But 8 knots tide? We'd feel that in our Formula. Unless being atop the waves like planing boats do negates some of that, which I suppose is kind of the point, but still...glad I don't go boating there!
Mind you, we get some absolutely shit weather here. You ever seen the Perfect Storm movie? My dad's been in a storm where his boat, a yacht, did the climb halfway up the wave then fall back down thing - luckily it just sort of screwed around and nosedived rather than rolling (gogo yacht power!), but fuck, I'm happy I wasn't around then. It was a badass storm, that's for sure. :S (And before you ask why he was out in it - his father had gone around a couple of hours earlier, and radioed in from a bay in the Inner Gulf to say it was a nice evening, and the trip round Channel Island had been OK. Do not, EVER, trust a weather assessment that is a few hours old.)

Anyway, found a nice pic of Sapphire, my boat:

 Sapphire pics 0808 016.jpg (91.34K)
Number of downloads: 1




Oh, also, I'm going to the Auckland International Boat Show today. Should be pretty sweet, even if it's going to make me envious of all the superyachts there. XD
And since that pic was taken, we've replaced the top dodger/bridge cover with a slightly higher, newer one. 'Cuz that one was just too low for comfort, and getting old.

[cerveza_fiesta]

@tarcanus

Does your kayak float? Then it counts. I've never been a huge fan of the ol' yaks. Much prefer canoeing myself, but I do most of my paddling on mild whitewater rather than saltwater. Ever taken your kayak over rapids?


@Silencer

Shit son. That storm story scares the bajesus out of me, having never experienced it. Where I sail, the internet weather report usually suffices, but I know I'm going to need a proper weather reporting method when I eventually graduate to coastal sailing. Especially for Bay of Fundy weather, which changes on a whim and fog rolls in at random intervals.

I was half joking about the fuel price thing. I usually assume if you can afford the boat you can afford to run it. I'd love to pilot a yacht like yours...seems like a lot of fun. Like you say, a lot of maintenance and work though. To have a boat that big it needs to be your only summer hobby I figure...not *one* of your hobbies, like mine is.

Still have a bad case of the upgrade sickness though. I'd like to go somewhere in the high 20's with a fixed keel and I'd be 100% happy. Something with a proper head (not a little blue bucket), inboard engine and a comfortable berth too. Still not so big I need to put fucktons of work into it but just a bit more comfort than I have now.

The 8 knots, like I say, is only near the barrier islands of the bay, where the volume is forced to drain between the islands. Within the bay itself, the current is much much less. You still have to watch it if you're around behind an island or something. Tides are something like 6.5 meters between high and low, so when it's about halfway between high and low it rushes out of small coves and bays and you can get caught off guard.

Planing hulls, as you suggest, pretty much negate the effect though. For the sailors I know that keep their boats there, they just work around it. If they're planning a trip out of the bay they'll leave at a time that ensures they'll be hitting the islands near slack tide, or at least time it so the current is helping rather than hindering. Its a funny aspect about boating in extreme tide regions. Along with the weather and all its worries/hindrances, you have to time EVERYTHING around the tide as well.

[Tarcanus]

cerveza_fiesta, on 15 March 2010 - 12:14 PM, said:

@tarcanus

Does your kayak float? Then it counts. I've never been a huge fan of the ol' yaks. Much prefer canoeing myself, but I do most of my paddling on mild whitewater rather than saltwater. Ever taken your kayak over rapids?

Sure have, but nothing like whitewater. I normally take the kayak out to the local lake to paddle around, maybe go up into the lake's feeder stream to sit around and enjoy the weather and quiet. Other times my dad and I take them to various creeks and some of those have some nice sets of rapids - I've had to stop along the bank and roll the kayak a couple of times to remove a bit of water, before. It's pretty fun.