Boats- A love affair

It must be nice to boat year round. I just took most of the toys out of the water for the winter on Monday but had left the bowrider in for one final boat ride since the weather forecast for today was good.

We had a bit of excitement today as I took my boat lift out on Monday and had the bowrider in the water at the dock and a passerby kayaker noticed that it was half full of water. I was away golfing so DW was dealing with bailing it and pumping the bilge. It turned out that water was leaking into the boat from a 3/4" slit in a hose running from the lower unit through the transom. Ugh!

As I think about it, that hose could have been slit for some time as it is normally on the lift when we aren't using it so I never would have had a way of knowing it was leaking.
 
One more boat story...
In 1977 we lived in Saratoga NY, near the foothills of the Adirondaks. We had been canoeing the Chain of Lakes for several years, but this one time, early in the spring, decided to take my 8 year old on a canoe/camping trip down the Schroon River... Alwys wanting to be on the safe side, I checked the library which said it was a Class 2 water... easy and safe. So we packed up that ABS plastic canoe... (a new material at the time) a drove to Schroon Lake to start the tip down to Warrenburg... camping along the way...
All was well until aftre the first portage around the dam. Water was a little rough, but not too bad... Downstream about 200 yards a bend in the river. It looked as if the river had froth on top... Duh... water moving too fast to get to shore... down the river like a speedboat... rocks, falls, whirlpools, and... get this... out in the middle of the river, on a big rock, two guys, and a half of a canoe... Head gear, elbow and knee pads, beavertail paddles, and half a canoe.

Stupid (me) calls out... "Need help?" Reply... (Over the roar of the water) "What the .... are you doing here!" and... "Is that thing plastic?" We flew past so fast, son in the bow, which was periodically three feet out of the water, and then buried in the foam... Canoe filled and we somehow got to shore, and "lined " the canoe and camping gear past the rapids to a place where we could camp.
Mosquitoes, and every stitch of fabric... tent, clothing, sleeping bags and equipment totally soaked. Then nightfall... Managed to get gas camp stove going and to cook hamburgers... inside the tent... something I would never let my scout troop do under any circumstances.
Now this is black bear country and about 6 miles from any road,,, Middle of the night... still soaked... son says "What's that noise?" Yeah.. a crashing sound... going through the underbrush like... like... a bear!
Spent the rest of the night, camp saw in hand... wide awake... waiting...

After it was all over, I went back to the library to check on the Class 2 waters bit. In another book, found that "In early spring, freshets can cause parts of the Schroon to become Class 5 water... (Read that Class 5, as in the movie Deliverance.) "the big drop"

Cheated death again... :crazy:

http://www.lakeviewinn-sl.com/Waterwaytrails.html
 
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pb4uski said:
Check out the video at the bottom of this page:

The World’s Fastest Boats / America’s Cup

And the pitchpole about 1:35 into the video. Wild!
Click to expand...

Can remember back in college, 1958, reading about theoretical/experimental hydrofoil sailboats... (only on paper then, I think)... that could sail faster than the wind... Now quite common it seemsSailing faster than the wind - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Looking forward to seeing the AC45 and AC72
AC45 cost $1,000,000+
 
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pb4uski said:
I am still amazed to this day the amount of power that a sail can capture from a gentle breeze and the speed that you can obtain only from the wind. I don't know if you've watched any video of those America's Cup cats, but they are amazing.
Click to expand...
I've watched every race, in fact every Americas Cup back since 1983. The AC45's were/are great fun, the AC72's are unbelievable. Two of the three teams that have launched 72's have had massive failures already, they may be pushing the envelope a little too far, we'll know next July if not before.
 
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imoldernu said:
Can remember back in college, 1958, reading about theoretical/experimental hydrofoil sailboats... (only on paper then, I think)... that could sail faster than the wind... Now quite common it seemsSailing faster than the wind - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Looking forward to seeing the AC45 and AC72
AC45 cost $1,000,000+
Click to expand...
Estimates for the AC72 have ranged from $8M to $17M, I suspect the wide discrepancy is how much overhead they choose to "spread" to the two 72's they're allowed to build. I will watch every race, but the amount of money they've been putting into Americas Cup racing over the past several has become completely obscene IMO (vs somewhat obscene in previous generations, at least if was only personal fortunes before). I wish they could ratchet back the spending, but not holding my breath...
 
pb4uski said:
Check out the video at the bottom of this page:

The World’s Fastest Boats / America’s Cup

And the pitchpole about 1:35 into the video. Wild!
Click to expand...
The new AC boats are amazing but...

Interesting marketing, though the AC cats are not even the fastest sail boats, much less the world's fastest boats.

l’Hydroptère was the first sailing boat to cross the 50-knot sailing speed barrier with a top speed at 56.3 knots (64.8 mph). 2009 was also the year of absolute sailing speed records. l’Hydroptère raised both world records to a level that is difficult to access by the competitors: 51.36 knots (59.1 mph) of average speed over 500 meters and 50.17 knots (57.7 mph) of average speed over one nautical mile.
l'Hydroptere Sailing Record - YouTube
 
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Oh, yes, boat people.
When I was in third grade, we lived aboard an old houseboat while my dad renovated a house--maybe for 5 months or so.
When I met DH, he had a 16 Hobie. That was great til the Coast Guard had to come get us one day after we got swamped and the old hulls filled up with water.
We then got a trailer sailor, a neat little South Coast with a retractable centerboard.
Next was a "real" sailboat, a 28 foot Morgan O/I that we lived aboard in 2003 in the Bahamas. Learned liveaboard life not really for us, but still better than working!
Now we own a 34' Marine Trader DC trawler. She's a fine boat, a lot of work, an expensive drinking platform, and generally our single largest entertainment device.

I'd say we'll keep the trawler for a few more years, hoping to squeeze in a trip to the Abacos before we sell, but I do love the boat lifestyle and the great people you get to meet by keeping them at a lively liveaboard marine like ours.

And of course we have the obligatory dinghy with a 6.5 and two inflatable kayaks.
 
Midpack said:
I've watched every race, in fact every Americas Cup back since 1983. The AC45's were/are great fun, the AC72's are unbelievable. Two of the three teams that have launched 72's have had massive failures already, they may be pushing the envelope a little to far, we'll know next July if not before.
Click to expand...

I suspect that it is a combination of both pushing the envelope and working out the kinks of a new, leading edge boat design. I had viewed some videos of foil sailboats earlier this summer. Perhaps that'll be the next generation of America's Cup if the foils ever become as popular as cats are.
 
My DW and I are down to our last boat. We now criuise around the lake in our 20' pontoon and hang out on the sand bar. The need for speed and hard work have slipped away. Now it's just relaxation. I can't wait for next May.
 
pb4uski said:
I bought a little Trac 14 cat last summer and have had a blast with it - best $500 that I have ever spent!!!! Still have yet to capsize or pitchpole it but I have been on one hull a number of times - what fun!!

I also currently have an O'Day Day Sailor (17'), and 18' Larson I/O bowrider and a Honda AquaTrax jet ski (which ironically has more hp than my Larson - 165hp vs 130hp).

I remember when I first got the Honda I floored it and it was almost scary - but within a couple weeks it was old hat.

CBS news had an item on these new America's Cup cats and I guess that these are the starter fleet and the boats they will actually use in the America's Cup are twice as big and almost twice as fast - something like that anyway.
Click to expand...


The picture of the America's Cup boat is the actual boat they are going to race... they were testing it out.... the ones you saw on CBS were IIRC 42 ft (edit... well, I was wrong... 45).... but they were exciting to watch.... heck, they were doing all sort of steering before the start... surprised they did not hit each other more often....
 
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DW and I bought a Luguna 27ft sailboat in our early 20s for about $4,000. We put it in a slip in Marina Del Rey in LA. Some of the best years were spent on that boat we would spend weekends on it - friends would come and visit. We would take them on "booze cruises" = 1 1/2 hours out , tack once and back to slip. The wind is very constant there and from the same direction. We saw whales, dolphins, seals and ships of all sizes military and not. Such great times!
I am looking for a good deal on a Macgregor 25.5ft sailboat. It has water ballast and can handle up to a 50hp out board. You can sail it or water ski behind it! It's not a great sailer or skiier but can do both! Plenty of lakes in my area to explore.
 
Donzo said:
DW and I bought a Luguna 27ft sailboat in our early 20s for about $4,000. We put it in a slip in Marina Del Rey in LA. Some of the best years were spent on that boat we would spend weekends on it - friends would come and visit. We would take them on "booze cruises" = 1 1/2 hours out , tack once and back to slip. The wind is very constant there and from the same direction. We saw whales, dolphins, seals and ships of all sizes military and not. Such great times!
I am looking for a good deal on a Macgregor 25.5ft sailboat. It has water ballast and can handle up to a 50hp out board. You can sail it or water ski behind it! It's not a great sailer or skiier but can do both! Plenty of lakes in my area to explore.
Click to expand...

Interesting boat... there is a video at the end of this that is a good watch...

MacGregor 26M 2004 Low Hours Sailboat Powersailers with Trailer in Sailboats | eBay Motors
 
Donzo said:
I am looking for a good deal on a Macgregor 25.5ft sailboat. It has water ballast and can handle up to a 50hp out board. You can sail it or water ski behind it! It's not a great sailer or skiier but can do both! Plenty of lakes in my area to explore.
Click to expand...
They're not hard to find, here's 30 of them for sale Macgregor 26 (Sail) Boats For Sale
 
Donzo, we met a young guy who sailed one of those from NY to the Abacos Islands when we were down there. It was a small boat for that long of a trip, but he'd made it.
I think you'll enjoy motorsailing in it--we got to the point we were very lazy sailors, so we bit the bullet and got the trawler, which has all the speed of an average sailboat, but 3x the room and none of that pesky tacking business.
 
imoldernu said:
Stupid (me) calls out... "Need help?" Reply... (Over the roar of the water) "What the .... are you doing here!" and... "Is that thing plastic?" We flew past so fast, son in the bow, which was periodically three feet out of the water, and then buried in the foam... Canoe filled and we somehow got to shore, and "lined " the canoe and camping gear past the rapids to a place where we could camp.
Click to expand...

Did you ever find out what happened to the guys on the rock? :D
 
Sarah in SC said:
so we bit the bullet and got the trawler, which has all the speed of an average sailboat, but 3x the room and none of that pesky tacking business.
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We went one step further ( or back, depending on how you see it ) and bought a roomy power catamaran... it has the pluses of the trawler, but can also go faster if/when we have the need for speed (fishing tournaments, beating weather changes, etc). I can't wait for our retirement next spring to start some long-distance cruising on it! :dance:
 
I'm on my 3rd pontoon boat in 30 years. The current one has been docked in my back yard for the last 15 yrs. we're only allowed a 10 hp max, so I get great gas mileage - usually around $20 worth of gas per summer. Today was a sad day - I took it out of the lake, and I'm getting it ready for winter storage in my garage
 
Triton Bass Boat
VIP Bass Boat
Kingfisher Bass Boat (see a trend?)
Grumman Jon Boat
Sears Gamefisher fishing boat
Home Made boat when I was a kid

I'm a fisherman, obviously.
 
The real joy of boating for me is parking the beast (pontoon) in a slip within a full service marina.
Launching and recovery is nothing short of a bitch, but with the slip, I can be moving 60 seconds after boarding. This flexibility is about half of the joy of boating for me.
We can pack a cooler, pickup a sub, and enjoy a quick lunch on the water in the same amount of time it would take to simply get the boat to, and in the water. Sunsets are included during the evening cruise.

Other than that, it's a huge money pit. Thinking about renting next year.
img_1241296_0_25227484adc34c097a01ffbf55729ee7.jpg
 
I currently own a Skeeter SL190 with a Yamaha 150. Just love this boat and motor; fast, draft is 15", good for tubing and knee boarding. We have been on some real nice vacations with this boat.

That said, my dream boat is more of a small navy:
1. ski nautique for fun with kids
2. Patoon Boat for cruising, nice early breakfast with wife in middle of lake and family dinners at sunset.
3 Ranger or Triton Bass Boat with something large on back to feed the speed gene



image-616281589.jpg
 
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Pharmmgr said:
I currently own a Skeeter SL190 with a Yamaha 150. Just love this boat and motor; fast, draft is 15", good for tubing and knee boarding. We have been on some real nice vacations with this boat.

That said, my dream boat is more of a small navy:
1. ski nautique for fun with kids
2. Patoon Boat for cruising, nice early breakfast with wife in middle of lake and family dinners at sunset.
3 Ranger or Triton Bass Boat with something large on back to feed the speed gene
Click to expand...

My best friend bought a deckboat a few years ago. I think it is a pretty good compromise between a pontoon and a runabout and you can put a big ol OB on it to feed the speed gene.
 
Sarah in SC said:
Donzo, we met a young guy who sailed one of those from NY to the Abacos Islands when we were down there. It was a small boat for that long of a trip, but he'd made it.
I think you'll enjoy motorsailing in it--we got to the point we were very lazy sailors, so we bit the bullet and got the trawler, which has all the speed of an average sailboat, but 3x the room and none of that pesky tacking business.
Click to expand...

Sarah, I have heard of some brave people using these for open water sailors. Not me, it would be a great Catalina Island and coastal cruiser tho. I will use it for lakes. I really like the larger motor part of the equation. I will sail alot on Lake Tahoe. The weather there can change quickly for the worse - you really need some power to get back in safely-

TP It is an interesting boat with good room in the cabin. I sailed on one last year. It was a blast!

MP - there are alot around. I am hoping to find one close by and "cheap". I missed one by a couple hours - excellent shape, went for $12,000.
 
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