single sailing

[bill coleman]

I am in the "investigative" stage. never been on a sail boat- will be soon. Can a 65' boat be rigged, modified, engineered, etc., to be safely handled single handed? is it worth considering? i'm not sure i have anyone that wants to go every where i want to go.

[PortTacker]

Yes. Easily.

But not for distance voyaging by a novice. Period.
A sailor with sufficient skill can sail any boat, anywhere, any time (more or less) and deal with what comes.
But the best boat in the world won't save you if you don't know what you're doing.

[alan white]

Bill, do you know what an Alcort Sunfish is?

[bill coleman]

alan,

I looked it up. sounds like your hint is start small to learn. correct?

[alan white]

Yes, that was the idea. I couldn't offer better advice. It's how I learned and likely how most sailors here started.

[robherc]

Bill;

In other places, I've seen MANY couples (mostly retired ones) who sailed HUGE (upwards of 75') sailing yachts with only the two of them, and safely. But, like everyone else in here is telling you, they were EXPERIENCED sailing couples...I'll stick with smaller boats until I've built up my skills, confidence, and experience.

[PAR]

Bill, as has been hinted at and bluntly blurted forth, single handling a large vessel is a matter of experience. In terms of "passage making", that is to cover large bodies of water to get some place you desire, you'll need to understand more then just basic sailing. Navigation, how to read the weather, how to read the sea, understanding the systems and equipment aboard and their maintenance routines, plus of host of other "sailor" stuff.

It would be possible for you to take a few sailing courses, which could provide you enough understanding of the systems, which strings to tug on and why. Many of these courses also offer off shore levels of experience. A primer for massage making if you will.

The bottom line is yes, you can set up a large sailboat for single handing, but there are many solely personal choices you'll need to make, in regard to the way things are arranged, so you can be comfortably accommodated. To successfully make these choices, you need experience. Some of this can be had in a sailing course, but frankly, the vast majority of what you'll need to know has to be entrenched deeply into your muscle memory. You can't be looking things up on a "cheat sheet" when something needs to be done. It must be committed to instinctive reaction, not just memorization.

The best advise is to get on a sailboat (any), preferably a little cruiser, like a Catalina 22 or similar. You will not have the spacious accommodations of a 60' yacht, but everything you need to initially learn is right there. In fact, this class of little "pocket yacht" can be found every where, usually fairly inexpensively. It would make a good stepping stone to educate your sea legs.

[RHP]

Originally Posted by robherc

Bill;

In other places, I've seen MANY couples (mostly retired ones) who sailed HUGE (upwards of 75') sailing yachts with only the two of them, and safely. But, like everyone else in here is telling you, they were EXPERIENCED sailing couples...I'll stick with smaller boats until I've built up my skills, confidence, and experience.

BNegs the question WHY in the world would a couple want a 75' yacht? They dont get on?

A modern 40' is way more than sufficient.

[robherc]

Originally Posted by RHP

Begs the question WHY in the world would a couple want a 75' yacht?

I guess they just have WAY too much money to burn...esp. since I saw pics/stories on some of them on custom yacht designers' &/or builders' sites...guess maybe buying a 95' custom sailing yacht is the next logical thing to do after buying a MLB team, if you still haven't burned enough money yet!

Originally Posted by RHP

BNegs the question WHY in the world would a couple want a 75' yacht? They dont get on?
A modern 40' is way more than sufficient.

Speed RHP Speed if not just to swank.
See the Dashews
Regards
Richard

[PAR]

Most novice sailors or would be world cruisers want or desire a fairly large yacht (thinking this is what they need). They get this class of yacht then trade down to a more manageable size. Most experienced cruisers, trade up in size to they get "comfortable" then they stay put.

Originally Posted by PAR

Most novice sailors or would be world cruisers want or desire a fairly large yacht (thinking this is what they need). They get this class of yacht then trade down to a more manageable size. Most experienced cruisers, trade up in size to they get "comfortable" then they stay put.

You´re so right here. I step down actually to a "half the size, no crew" boat !
Regard
Richard

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by bill coleman

i'm not sure i have anyone that wants to go every where i want to go.

I'm sure you will find someone.. to anywhere... However if you you limit your choices to females it's more of a personality issue

[daiquiri]

Bill, if you want to learn and have a lots of solo fun (with no sexual double-sense) without spending too much, I suggest you to look for a used Laser class boat. I just love that little beast.

[kerosene]

I am with the rest of the crowd. I am not a sailor - just a little training experience with 14" boats. Been on bigger ones but not really as a crucial member - more of a passenger.

But same (start small) principle goes for anything in my opinion. I ride motorbikes and started as a kid with a 50c thing that I rode like a madman for 4 years while starting to play with bigger dirt bikes. Hopping on a big bike was natural and easy to learn as I knew the basics from something that didn't scre the crap out of me.

fast forward few years. I work in a company of about 100 people and every now and then we have some fool who wants to get into bikes. Me and my buddy who road races 125cc 2-stroke always try to talk these guys to buys something small that they can learn on - but no - they insist on getting a 750-R bikes with 130+ horsepower. Because they like the looks and want to be bad ass. The irony is that they will never become badass because they are scared (for a reason) of the power and are truly never in control - gunning on a straight road is not being in control.

Had they bought something cheap for 1st year they would hev learnt much much faster, they would have saved money - a beater bike costs less than good insurance on a R-bike. And you can always sell it for almost as much as you paid for it.

As a result my friend with 40hp 125cc gets a laptime of 1:30 and the fellow with 140hp has lap time of ~2 minutes. The guy with 30 second slower laps talks about sliding the rear wheel and all kinds of motoGP stuff and wants a 1000cc bike. The 40hp guy just knows how to ride.

Another thing with bikes - and I think this goes well with boats - is that buys (or rent) something cheap 1st - learn on it without huge commitment. Then later you will know if you really like it or not (chances are that your 22 foot 5,000$ boat stays in the moorings most of the time) - not only will you learn how to sail but you will figure out if its is for you and most importantly - what it is that you like most. Is it weekend cruising, day trips or is it really that you want to go further. Same way with bikes - buy a neutral standard bike to learn on - then after a yer will know if you really want a commuter, a cruiser a tourer or a racer.