Dinghy Sailing

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Sake On The Beach.

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The elderly gentleman pulled his Force 5 out of his garage and took it down
to the beach where he beat the pants off of the young upstarts with their fancy
shiny new Lasers. Afterwards he sat contentedly drinking sake on the beach
while a fresh breeze from the west blew his hair like the tell-tales of his old sail.

For Puffy: Saketini
2 1/2 oz gin
1 1/2 tsp sake
1 cocktail olive
In a mixing glass half-filled with ice cubes, combine the gin or vodka with the sake.
Stir well. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the olive

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Photographic Proof That A Force 5 Is Not A Sunfish.

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A Sunfish and Force 5 hanging out at the beach drinking Mai Tais after a
hard day of sailing.

Puffy, both boats were built by AMF. But as you can see from the photo,
old as it is, there is a clear difference between them. The Tillerman wouldn't be
caught dead in a Force 5, but for some unknown reason he loves the goofy
lateen rigged Sunfish. I think it stems from his many trips to Club Med.

Mai Tai (Pineapple variation)

  • 1 ounce light rum
  • 1/2 ounce triple sec
  • 1/4 ounce Rose's lime juice
  • 1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice
  • 1 1/2 ounces orange juice
  • 1 dash of Grenadine
  • 1/2 ounce dark rum

Shake all but the dark rum with cracked ice.
Strain into old-fashioned glass.
Top with dark rum.
Garnish with a Maraschino Cherry

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Damn You Tillerman!

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I've become obsessed on finding a Laser.
Other boats won't do. How did you brainwash me?

Truth be told there a lot of terrible boats on the used
market. I know, I must have looked at half of them.

How old is this boat? I believe it was built in the 60s.
(note: Beware when no mention of the boat's age is
in the ad. Also, beware when the photo looks like it is from
a manufacturer's website or is a distance shot.)
How about the sail? Original.
Hmmm, the transom looks pretty sketchy.
I used an outboard on it all last summer, she's
solid.

God knows I don't want another project, just a nice
used Laser. Can anyone help me?

Some of you have asked me about using the Banshee
as a Summer play toy.
Banshee downwind = pearling = swimming. It's fine
for the Winter when there is less wind. No me gusto.

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No One Is Picking Up My Call From The Darkside.

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No Lasers to be found. What's a guy to do? Look at scows?

I found an Melges 16 up at Clear Lake on Craigslist.
It looked promising at $700, so I threw a line in the water at SA and came back
with a definite don't buy from a scow guy who said the boat was an old warhorse
from the sixties that should be put out to pasture.
He pointed me toward an MC up in Sac-town.

Isn't it a big Laser that needs a few more blokes to carry it to the water?

I'm starting to think Hobie.
Puffy, she is one of those multi-hull watchamacallits that loves the beach.
I found an '82 Hobie 14 on Craigslist that has no soft spots, new running
and standing rigging for the same price as the Melges.

Should I take the plunge or wait on the beach for a
Laser to wash ashore?

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Shhh!

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Don't Tell The Tillerman.

I want to buy a used Laser for some excitement over the summer while I build
my boats.

The damn things can be so much fun to sail.
The trouble is that used boats are few and far between.
Is a 1980 boat worth $1,000? That's a 27 year old boat!

If you know of a good used Laser please contact me:
jtrouse at gmail.com

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Hi Joe, Streaker? Phantom? You've Got To Be Kidding Me? What About A Contender?

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Hi Joe:

I'm writing in response to the query about recommendations for a singlehanded boat.
My answer: why hike when you can put yourself out on the wire?
Edward's Dad-In-Law needs a Contender! It saves your back and knees a
load of grief, and with the trapeze, weight is not as much of an issue as it is with
the Finn. There are still several active Contender sailors who are near their 60s.

The early Canadian fleet featured a bunch of homebuilt Contenders that are
still sailing, so it would be a great winter project. There's also a pretty good
used boat market. The class has also moved to carbon rigs (so there's no
chance of becoming a dinosaur fleet), and there are solid fleets all over
Europe, Australia, and we're bringing it back in North America.
The 2008 Worlds will be in Kingston, Ontario.

Some links:

http://ica.contenderworld.de/

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5341076536249820244&q=contender+denmark

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8132468469133809309&q=contender+denmark

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7343625481025308679&q=contender+denmark

And the mother of all great racing videos:

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-8638397849528913806&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=garda+contender.mpg

I've also attached a picture of one of the earliest Canadian homebuilt contenders
(looks nice doesn't it?), and a more modern action shot from the US Contender
class site. The skipper is Gil Wooley (getting to 70 but still kicking butt).

Cheers,

Stephanie "Tetley" Mah
KC47



It's very uncanny, but the woman in the above photo looks like my cousin
who lives in the Channel Islands.

Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie, you are an agent provocateur. Shame on you for
stirring the pot!.........Not really, this is fun, in fact it could be endless. Whose next?
Any multi-hulls out there for Edwards older gentleman?

Check out this thread on SA.

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S P A C E G H O S T!

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Nick wants you to know that the Phantom is not your Grand Dad's Mirror.
Hi Joe, A look at the modern Phantom! Regards, Nick
PS Please post a better pic of the Phantom!

http://flashstar.zorpia.com/zShow/zShow.swf

I'll give it to Nick, that's a pretty cool boat. I wonder how it would do on the bay?
A big thank you to Nick for the photos. Cheers mate!

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Old Macdonald Had A Finn, E-I-E-I-O

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There be a horse on that sail matey.
Philippe Kahn sailing his Finn between Diamond Head and Koko Head, Honolulu,
Hawaii, June 2002. I have it on good authority that Philippe's favorite boat
is a sailing outrigger canoe.

Old Macdonald had a Finn, E-I-E-I-O
And on his Finn he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O
With a "moo-moo" here and a "moo-moo" there
Here a "moo" there a "moo"
Everywhere a "moo-moo"
Old Macdonald had a Finn, E-I-E-I-O

Old Macdonald had a Finn, E-I-E-I-O
And on his Finn he had a pig, E-I-E-I-O
With a (snort) here and a (snort) there
Here a (snort) there a (snort)
Everywhere a (snort-snort)
With a "moo-moo" here and a "moo-moo" there
Here a "moo" there a "moo"
Everywhere a "moo-moo"
Old Macdonald had a Finn, E-I-E-I-O

Old Macdonald had a Finn, E-I-E-I-O
And on his Finn he had a horse, E-I-E-I-O
With a "neigh, neigh" here and a "neigh, neigh" there
Here a "neigh" there a "neigh"
Everywhere a "neigh-neigh"
With a (snort) here and a (snort) there
Here a (snort) there a (snort)
Everywhere a (snort-snort)
With a "moo-moo" here and a "moo-moo" there
Here a "moo" there a "moo"
Everywhere a "moo-moo"
Old Macdonald had a Finn, E-I-E-I-O

Photo: Pegasus Racing

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Hi Joe, What About A Phantom For The Older Gentleman?

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Space Ghost!

Edward here's another boat thanks to Nick. Let's read his email:

Hi Joe,

Great site! (Flattery will get you everywhere!) Thanks! What about a Phantom?
It’s light at 61kg and really very stable............
(Nick, who are you fooling? Does the name Haversham mean anything to you?)
and can be built at home plus is roomy inside for the larger gentlemen!

I sail a Phantom and have sailed many boats and it’s by far the best single handed
non trapeze boat I have sailed with 79 boats at the nationals last year thus a great
following and growing.

I am 6 ft and 14 stone and do ok as you don’t need to be a 17 stone giant to
sail one anymore which is mainly due to the fully adjustable carbon rig which
makes a huge difference. The national champion last year was 14 stone and
this was sailed in F5-6 conditions for 2 days and F1-2 on the last day.
There are now many guys sailing Phantoms at the front weighing in just
over 12 stone.

It truly is a great boat to sail and I would personally recommend this boat
to anyone. The only negative is most of the following is in the UK with a few
boats in South Africa.

Anyway just thought I would let you know! I have nothing to do with the
Phantom Association just rate the boat highly! Please take a look at
www.phantomclass.org.uk

Kind Regards,

Nick Orman

PS Thanks for the site has given mucho enjoyment and I have even been in a
picture on the site and not in a Phantom! J

Great email Nick! Especially the parts that stroke my ego.

Oh Nick, did you say something about stable?

More on the Phantom.

The Phantom dinghy was designed by Paul Wright and Brian Taylor in 1971.
They wanted to produce a single-hander that was exciting to sail, manageable
and at the same time affordable to build. It isn't possible to design a boat that
will accommodate all weights, even in these days of 'wings' and equalisation
systems. As there were already boats on the market for the lighter helms (the Laser)
they decided to design a boat that was both comfortable and fast for larger sailors.
A Phantom sailor shouldn't weigh less than 10 stone, and is most suitable for
those in the weight range of 12 -18 stone(76 -115 Kg).

The Phantom has a hard chine hull with a deep 'V' bow, a flat run aft, and
planes easily. With her lightweight hull and large rig on a stayed mast she has
a high power to weight ratio, but is stable and responsive. There is no trapeze
or spinnaker and she can carry a wide range of helm weights

The Phantom class association and the designers view the development of the
class in a proactive manner always providing that care is taken not to outclass
older boats. Latterly the design has been modified to incorporate self draining
cockpits and carbon spars. Additionally the design allows freedom in cockpit
design and sailors are therefore able to develop cockpit sail and rig control
systems that suit their individual requirements.

The Phantom can be 'home-built' from plans available from the designers using
the stitch and glue method. Alternatively it can be obtained professionally built in
GRP foam sandwich, or wood.

Isn't a Phantom a poor man's OK dinghy? We all know that an OK
is a poor man's Finn. So what does that make a Phantom?
I'm just kidding..no I'm not..yes I am..no I'm not..yes I am.
No hate mail, especially from Nick.

Update: Nick responds, "A cheap OK dinghy which is a poor man’s Finn!??
The Phantom is a boat the Finn sailors would sail if the Finn was not an
Olympic class! The Phantom is a much better boat to sail!
Lighter and faster and far more responsive plus a superb social scene!"

Edward, more to come.
A big thank you to Nick, warm beer and marmite.

Links: Go Sail | Phantom Class Association | Phantom Owners Group

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Dear Joe, I Need A Boat That An Old Guy Can Build And Sail. Any Suggestions?

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Edward has inspired me to write about boats that one can
build at home. Here's his email to me:

Joe,
My father-in-law is itching for a new project and
driving 3+ hours each way to Berkeley to work on my
boat isn't the best use of time.  We've contemplated
getting a trailer sailer to work on (he has lots of
room) but just recently got to thinking that building
a cool dinghy would be a better use of time.

We have dinghies for the kids so it would really need
to be a singlehanded and easy to sail boat for a
gentleman on the business side of 60.  Who is 6'3".
Probably mainsail only and relatively easy to find
plans for.  What would you recommend?

Thanks Edward, I'll send you some ideas over the next
few days.

How about a Streaker?

The Streaker dinghy was designed by Jack Holt in 1975 and was first launched in
November of that year. His rationale was to design a 'light weight Solo' as he was
finding it difficult to haul his Solo up the slipway as he got older.

It is a lightweight single handed dinghy designed for both racing or cruising. It has a
single sail that can be easily rigged and controls lead back to the cock pit allow it to
be easily adjusted whilst a float. The hull weight of only 48 kg makes launching and
recovery easy.

The Streaker Class Owners Association (SCOA) was formed in 1976 and since
then the class has grown steadily and there are strong fleets nationwide, with sail
numbers now fast approaching the 1580 mark and SCOA membership totaling
more than 140, spread over at least 70 clubs in the UK.( and 1 in the Philippines.)

The Streaker is an easy boat to handle no matter how inexperienced the helm
might be, it offers extremely lively racing performance in a very broad range of
conditions, belying her relatively modest Portsmouth Yardstick of 1162. A benefit
of the low hull weight means that onshore handling is easy to handle, even allowing
it be popped on the roof on most small family cars without any problem.

More suggestions to follow.

Links: Go Sail | Streaker Class Owners Association

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Boat Of The Day.

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It tastes like Laser!
Today's boat is the Impulse, a high performance Australian 4m single handed dinghy.
From the class web site:  Made from fiberglass or wood it is the ultimate one man or
woman monohull. You can make it yourself, get someone else to build it
or buy it secondhand.

With a competitive yardstick of 118, you will make your Laser friends
envious as you leave them in your wake.
Hmmm, I wonder what the Tillerman or his agent think about that
statement?

Boat suggested by Anonymous.

Links: Australian Impulse Association | Impulse 545

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Oh My God, Say It Ain't So Joe!

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Not another freakin' Laser! Yes boys and girls, evil does exist in the world.
It comes in the night and appears on the beach in the morning. Evil's name is Laser.
It is a cancer that can't be removed by Al Gore's carbon credits no matter how
many trees you plant. Bonnie, don't submit to the evil! Think beach cat or
sailing canoe... you're from Hawaii, how about a sailing outrigger? Philippe Kahn's
favorite boat is a Hawaiian Sailing Canoe.

Damn that Tillerman and his plans for world domination!!!!!

Baby this ain't Long Beach!

Evil provided by: The Tillerman | Live Sail Die | Rooster Sailing

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