I'm glad you wrote your story.

I haven't any comments, except maybe that I think that the old
standard wooden Folkboat is not very suitable for ocean sailing. I the
main problem, I think, is that the boat has an open (not selfbailing)
cockpit, so it can get swamped and sink. I remember one that went down
in the Kattegat some (30?) years ago. Apart from that it is definitely
not a comfortable boat for ocean sailing, even if it does not leak
(from above or below). The boat is small and the freeboard is low, so
in combination with the open cockpit, you will have water swashing in
the bilge running up the sides often - even if you pump a lot. And the
accommodation (if you can use that word) is not very comfortable, even
if you are young.

I still consider the folkboat a seaworthy and nice boat, but it is not
build for or suitable for ocean sailing. If it was modified with a
selfbailing cockpit, I suppose it would be fairly secure to venture
into open water, but even if it was tight all over, you would have to
be able to live with the simple and cramped accommodation. But - the
boat is build for coastal cruising and racing, and it is basically a
very seaworthy boat - compared to other "halfdecked" boats build for
that purpose. The soundness of the basic construction is underlined by
Haslers use of a modified folkboat for the cross Atlantic races.

I guess most of us have done some foolhardy things in our youth that
we would not do today, but at least the experience did not keep you
permanently beached.

Peter S/Y Anicula


"Frank Maier" skrev i en meddelelse
om...
"Jeff Morris" wrote:
So this was in a Folkboat? I'm guessing from the vintage it was a
traditional
wooden clinker version. I'm impressed - although its a very
seaworthy vessel,
they are rather short on comfort. I sailed one a fair amount for
several
seasons, including my friend's initial delivery from New York to
Boston, when
the pump had to be manned 15 minutes every hour if we were heeled
to port. A
great boat when it in the groove!

Exactly! We got our daily aerobic conditioning from manning the
pumps!
Wettest keelboat I've ever sailed on. (Actually, I think that was my
first comment about the type over in that original thread.) Nice
memories to assemble into a story for y'all - thirty-five years
after
the fact, while sitting in my warm, dry home, having a hot chocolate
laced with Bailey's Irish Cream before retiring to my warm, dry,
king-sized bed with my lovely wife. Comfort can be good!