Hello all! I have boated for many years around Long Island's north and south shores. I always wanted to learn to sail. A couple of years ago I found a small sailing dinghy for a couple hundred while driving through a local neighborhood. I happened to have cash in my pocket and an empty hitch on my truck. The following weekend, with absolutely no clue how to sail, I dropped the little ZEF into the bay (actually used a ramp in a channel, OMG!) and learned quickly that I was not ready. After bouncing off the docks and channel mud a few times trying to tack out of the channel, I did well for about the first 20 minutes and then the afternoon blow kicked up. With all of the whitecaps everywhere and the wind kicking me in the seat, I walked back at least a mile in the shallows pulling the little ZEF behind me. 20+ was no place for a wannabe sailor in a 12' dinghy. All in all a great day though, I had a blast.

This year my family asked if we can get a small runabout to play on the bays, tubing, skiing and stuff. We decided to wait until next year for financial reasons. So I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get them out sailing. The ZEF is a bit uncomfortable, small and slow but my wife and younger daughter enjoy it. I figured something a bit larger and more exciting would be the ticket for teenagers.

A brief search and I found a G-Cat 5 meter for sale. Went and picked her up a few days ago, brought it to the beach the next day and rigged her up. That is where she sits right now. Unfortunately I did not get the cat on the beach until late afternoon Sunday. After sorting through all of the rigging and struggling to step the mast it was close to dusk.

I must admit, she is intimidating. That mighty mast and main sail can make a nub cower. The boat is in nice shape, sails seem really nice (though I never touched nice new sails), hulls appear solid, rigging is all working and pretty clean. The tramps seem dated but I jumped up and down on one and it held me fine (210+). I will change them but probably over the winter.

Anyone have any tips? I will be cruising the family around a lot but will also try and solo sail. I will start in light wind as I don't want to tip and scare the crap out of the family and turn them off to sailing. Is this boat going to hold us and gear at 600 pounds? No need for speed just stability. I know my 12 year old daughter will want to go just us for more fun but I need to gain confidence first.

Go out with some one who sails and is willing to coach. You may find someone on this forum near you. We go out of Madison CT. Learn the boat before taking kids out,. Don't want to taint them, by making an error and dumping everyone. Don't ask me how I know this..

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John

Nacra 5.0
CT
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Here you go.



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Ron
Nacra F18
Reservoir Sailing Assn.
Brandon, Mississippi
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welcome to the club!
You have a great family friendly boat..


sure I have lots of tips for ya

#1 Don't ever jump on your tramp - Besides ripping the fabric you can rip apart the attachment points (i.e. break up your deck lid),

#2 If your gonna have kids on the boat, make sure you all know what to do when things go wrong (i.e. capsize or get into trouble)

#3 carry a waterproof vhf radio to call for help if you need it (cell phones aren't a great choice if your in the water unless they are in a real good drycase)

#4 I would strongly recommend you find some local cat sailors and ask them for advice, watch them rig, ask them if they can take you out sailing and show you the ropes (or even better, find a pro and take some lessons)

#5 I personally wouldn't recommend sailing with young crew until you know the boat pretty well and they have to be good listeners to be on my boat

#6 4 people and 600 lbs is WAY over what the boat was designed for. It's a 1 or 2 person boat. How are you going to tack and switch sides with 4 people on this cat? If your answer is "The front tramp" ... well it's great for light weight gear and incase you need to get up front to fix something but sailing with weight forward of the front beam is very tricky/technical and down right hard to do for anyone in some situations (about impossible to get off the beach or tack with weight in the wrong place)

My quick tip: a catamaran will accelerate very quickly and will go exactly where the sails are trimmed to point it: that main will overpower the rudder with ease. A big problem I had as a beginner was getting off the shore safely in any kind of breeze. Once you're out in the water you have room to mess up without an issue, so take a few moments to plan your beach exit and think about taking it out on jib-only especially if you have to navigate traffic. Cats also sail backward very well by pulling the jib clew across to the windward side - a neat trick in an offshore breeze.

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H16 back in the day
SC17 right now
Bradenton, FL
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Family sailing.

Everybody wears a PFD all the time.
Everybody's comfortable enough in the water to put on a PFD, walk out into it and float.
Teach them about sailing. Understanding what is going on adds to the excitement on board.
Explain the wind wheel and how to trim the sails for each type of reach.
Make sure they know why it is called the boom (it's the last sound you will hear when it hits your head).
Choose a good day to take them out the first time, and come in if it gets hairy.

I screwed this up years ago, and it took more than a decade to get my kids back on the boat.
Nothing happened, but they got scared in a lot of wind, and tears flowed.

Thankfully, my son gave it another chance, and will race in the Tri-Point with me for the fourth year next month.



Edited by klozhald on Jul 23, 2016 - 04:24 PM.

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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And my 20 year old daughter Stephanie says she's tired of consequent seconds & wants another go around in the Tripoint. We like this race as it's like 4 races in one and last leg is screaming reach home. 4 hours is about enough time in the washing machine also. Race committee puts on a great program, too. Pete



Edited by pbegle on Jul 24, 2016 - 01:56 AM.

pbegle

And my 20 year old daughter Stephanie says she's tired of consequent seconds & wants another go around in the Tripoint.

See you both there!
I think we are all gunning for Bob Martinez.
Should be a great battle!
Cutter is crewing with me, and my brother Jim (my crew last year) may crew for Martinez.



Edited by klozhald on Jul 26, 2016 - 09:37 PM.

--
Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
--

Thanks for the tips gents. I am not crazy, I would never take my kids out to learn or test something like this, that is what my wife is for. My family has grown up around the water and beach, we are careful but adventurous. After spending much time going through everything in detail and sucking up all the info I can I was ready to go out Saturday, unfortunately winds were 25 knots with big gusts and white caps everywhere. Hit the water Sunday with my brave wife. Spent a long morning practicing. Certainly different from a dinghy. Had a really good time, these boats are a blast. We sailed over 20 hours already. Holds the family weight fine as long as we're just cruising. Though if I balance the weight towards the rear we can even have some fun. But with just my daughter and I, WOW! Big ear to ear grins all day.

Thanks for the tips gents. I am not crazy, I would never take my kids out to learn or test something like this, that is what my wife is for. My family has grown up around the water and beach, we are careful but adventurous. After spending much time going through everything in detail and sucking up all the info I can I was ready to go out Saturday, unfortunately winds were 25 knots with big gusts and white caps everywhere. Hit the water Sunday with my brave wife. Spent a long morning practicing. Certainly different from a dinghy. Had a really good time, these boats are a blast. We sailed over 20 hours already. Holds the family weight fine as long as we're just cruising. Though if I balance the weight towards the rear we can even have some fun. But with just my daughter and I, WOW! Big ear to ear grins all day.