I have the opportunity to purchase a Prindle 18, which is in excellent condition. However, I mainly sail solo. Is the Prindle 18 suitable for solo saling? I am thinking especially of righting the boat on my own after capsizing - something I do rather frequently! I weigh just under 80 kilogrammes.

Many thanks for any advice

Peter Laubscher
peter@tlm.co.za

I think if you have some exp sailing, you can handle this boat. you should look into a righting bag if you saili solo (or other righting device).

My friend sails a p18 and i have been on it. it sails well. He put a front beam / tramp on it and it is rock solid. it does not tack quickly, and is heavy but a fine ride.

Dear Andrew

Many thanks for your fast response.

Your advice is much appreciated.

I spent tome time checking out the righting systems and I think that a righting pole is the best way to go. One never sails at your best if you are nervous about being able to right the boat.

The place where I sail is notorius for powerful winds.

I have sailed on and off for many years, but have yet to perfect the art. As a friend of mine says, experience sometimes means doing the wrong thing over and again for thirty years in a row!

Cordially

Peter Laubscher

my pleasure... keep us posted and please post pictures of your new cat when you get it :)

I'll certainly post a few photos - then again, my wife may post a few photos of her beating some sense into me for wanting to spend money on another boat!

Peter

andrewscott

I think if you have some exp sailing, you can handle this boat. you should look into a righting bag if you saili solo (or other righting device).

My friend sails a p18 and i have been on it. it sails well. He put a front beam / tramp on it and it is rock solid. it does not tack quickly, and is heavy but a fine ride.

Ive been curious about putting a front tramp on my Prindle 18. Do have any pictures of how your friends is put together. I have no idea where to start.

--
Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
--

Quarath

Ive been curious about putting a front tramp on my Prindle 18. Do have any pictures of how your friends is put together. I have no idea where to start.

sent you a few in PM.

Hi Peter : Call me" too conservative" But, if you live in a high wind area, on the P-18 you always want to sail with crew . I owned a P-18 for 4 years (I own the P-19 now) & sailed on the ocean off Brooklyn NY where we have those Southerly sea breezes the roar into the vacuum created by the hot (North)land mass every day all summer long ! With great physical effort you will be able to right the P-18 cat solo with the soloright or other similar devises . I never had success with the water bag & I am 185lbs with alot of muscle .. If you spend most of the time soloing , & if you have the bucks purchase an A cat or a Taipan 4.9 or other light weight cats capable of being sailed solo or with crew & can be righted solo . Good luck ! Bill

Dear Bill

Many thanks for your advice. I think you're right. Where I sail, we get a tremendous amount of wind, regualrly in excess of 25 knots, and often a lot more than that. Much as my heart is drawn to this Prindle [and my wallet to the amazingly low price!] I think I would be asking for lots of trouble going this route. Think I'll look out for somehting more manageable.

Many thanks fot all the posters on this forum who are so helpful with their expertise.

Peter Laubscher

Why not find a friend to sail with you, if you have a constant crew you will become a good sailing team over time and can go out in the high winds that you have where you live. Going out solo in those conditions (25 plus) on any boat will just be survival sailing only.

Thanks Hullflyer, but my schedule doesn't easily fit with that of the other folks at the club, who are mainly interested in racing, for which I am generally unavailble. My other friends prefer the firma of the beach to the terra of the waves.

Cordially

Peter

i agree.. 25+ is no condition to sail solo in (without a chase boat)... Also an A-cat is out of the question in those winds... you will end up in OZ...

It takes a team. I can get the kids and wife to go if the wind is 10 or under, and the water is warm. All the other days (which includes all of May and October and half of June) I solicit crew.

I have about 8 regular dudes that I email; of the 8, usually one turns out. Most of the 8 have no sailing experience other than with me. If no one shows, I go it alone, unless the winds are really big.

Try and find some skier/snowboarders, I think the thrills are similar (all the fun is on the edge, going fast as you can without tipping over).

Buy a couple of used wetsuits on Ebay for your team, these guys don't have squat, I tell them to buy their own booties.

My team building effort built to the point last year where I went sailing on a 32 foot Hunter with the guy that lives across the street from me. This year I found a guy that lives in the neighborhood who needs crew on a 40 footer, he also owns a scow (which I really am interested in).




edited by: kgatesman, Apr 01, 2009 - 01:07 PM

Dear Fellow sailors

Many thanks for your kind advice and encouragement.

Yes, one can end up in some far away places for all the wrong reasons. Our powerful summer winds are on shore, so that's not too bad, but the winter storm systems are decidedly off-shore and the Antartic beckons. One of my previous cats was an elderly low performance no-name brand affair which actually did quite well under such conditions, but sadly, one winter's off-shore gust took it through the large breakers just a bit too ferociously and she finally called it a day.

Cordially

Peter Laybscher
peter@tlm.co.za

One solution for solo-sailing on 25+ days is windsurfing. When conditions are reasonable, enjoy the grace and performance of a long waterline; and when it goes nuclear, bust out the board. Works great for me

Good point - our neighbouring bay does indeed fill with windsurfers as the wind freshens, and as it nears gale force, the sea comes alive with windsurfers turning summersualts in the the shore break. However, I don't think I'm up to this! I'll have to find a gentler, calmer place to learn.

Cordially

Peter Laubscher