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#12
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1st Sailboat
It's a shame the world has changed so much that kids can't do the same
kind of thing today. Will videogames and websurfing provide the same kind of character building, not to mention fond memories in later life? Agree. Trains at Christmas provided me fond memories. S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster" Trains are a winter sport |
#13
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1st Sailboat
We lashed telephone poles together, used an sapling or something for a =
mast stuck between the logs...even had a tent on it...was so heavy the = sail was really auxiliary to poling it..took several days to sink but we = had fun in the meantime... --=20 katysails s/v Chanteuse Kirie Elite 32 http://katysails.tripod.com "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." - Robert A. Heinlein |
#14
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1st Sailboat
Who are U--------- Batman?
Right, old chum! RB |
#15
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1st Sailboat
Agree. Trains at Christmas provided me fond memories.
The Express to the sanitarium no doubt. RB |
#16
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1st Sailboat
Sunfish . . .quickly followed by a Mercury class sloop . . .then . .. .
..and so on. Used to do powerboats until gas went up to 50 cents a gallon . .. MST |
#17
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1st Sailboat
Joe,
Good story. I too, have a memory of my first boat that is some thing like that. I've posted it before but you give me a chance to post it again. At my age we do like to re-tell favorite stories. My first boat was an "Old Town" canoe, with a damaged bow. I brought it for $10.00. I was twelve years old. The year was 1938. 10 bucks was a small fortune, in those Deoression Years.My father almost killed me. Anyway, it was a 16 foot canoe. I sawed 4 foot off the bow and cut and installed a stern transom out of common lumber. Turned the boat around and intalled a mast in what was the stern. The mast I used was a pole my Mom used to jack the cloth line up in the middle. She damned near killed me. I made Leeboards and a rudder out of a scarp piece of 1x10 plank All my hardware was brought in Woolwards five and dime store. a brass pulley for the mast, five threaded eyes ( Used for keeper for hook & eye latches) By this time it started to look like a sailboat and my parents started to help. Mom donated an old muslin sheet for the sail and Dad purchased two bamdoo poles for booms for the Lateen Sail. I mounted the mast with a 1x4 board with a hole drilled thru the center, the size of the mast and fastened to the gunnel with brass washers and bolts. I also mounted the Lee-boards to the gunnel the same way. ( I had no idea of center of effort and I wanted to be able to adjust their location) The Rudder mounted two eyes into the stern and two into the rudder, held in place by a brass brazing rod (Dad was a Plumbing Contractor) he also provided the sheet lead for the tips of the leeboards, to make them sink. After a few capsizes she got balanced out and I'm here to tell you she sailed like a Witch. She was a Master Piece for a Twelve year old boy. It was a source of Pride and Hate for my Parents. We lived in Huntington, New York and Bobsprit can attest to the tide run at the Inlet to Huntington Harbor. I could sail thru it, hugging the shore while other better built sailboats had to power or wait for the tide change. That first boat really had an affect on my life.It made me a sailor. I wasn't afraid to go anywhere on Long Island Sound with that boat, Which I did. Caused me to get the "Old Man" foot up my ass on many occasions. It made me join the Navy in WW2. In 77 years I've never lived anyplace that wasn't near water where I could sail. Ah yes, sweet memories; And "I'll Drink to That!!!" Ole Thom |
#18
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1st Sailboat
Thom Stewart wrote:
That first boat really had an affect on my life.It made me a sailor. I wasn't afraid to go anywhere on Long Island Sound with that boat, Which I did. Caused me to get the "Old Man" foot up my ass on many occasions. It made me join the Navy in WW2. In 77 years I've never lived anyplace that wasn't near water where I could sail. Ah yes, sweet memories; And "I'll Drink to That!!!" Ole Thom Great story Thom! Sounds like you sailed more in one day with that canoe than Nutsy has in his life. Cheers Marty |
#19
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1st Sailboat
teen age friend and i find styrofoam hull from one of those old kool cigarette promotions (you gotta be old to remember those). jury rigged it out. hauled it to the gulf on top of car sailed five miles downwind along the beach. walked back to get the car when we discovered that our craft would go to weather approximately 1 degree less than 90 each tack. valuable lesson #1learned - some minor study into the physics of sailing necessary when doing our jury rig. dog claws hole through hull before modifications can be made. Vessel #2 - we obtained a pirouge (spelling?, cajun canoe) full of splits. started to glass it over prior to rigging for sailing. valuable lesson #2 - a chemistry lesson. the catalyst actually is a necessary component in the polyester resin. somewhere that boat is still waiting to cure. Vessel # 3- 17 ft wooden home built. Lightening class sails. we rigged at the last moment (when marine stores closed) before departing for Chandeleur island approximately 27 miles offshore. Nice trip out. squall with gusts of 50 knots coming back next day. vaulable lesson # 3 - regarding tensile strength. aluminum body screen door turnbuckles from Sears are never suitable for standing rigging no matter how small the boat. Will give credit to divine intervention on this one for getting back partially dismasted but alive. Boats four and five - Columbia 24, Columbia 8.7 Boat six - looking now Never had as much fun as with those first three. nor learned as much On 17 Nov 2003 17:06:42 -0800, (Joe) wrote: We made it in Ft. Worth. Lived near Benbrook lake. On a Hot Hot summer day 1967 we found a sheet of corrigated tin. Me and my friends bent one end in to a bow shape and we scraped tar off the highway to seal the bow seam together. The stern we just cut the tin like a comb and bent the teeth ends up to form a stern sealed it with highway tar as well. Made a mast from a closet rod. It was a square rigged with bed sheet sails. Had a great time sailing the lake. Bad part was we had no keel and could only go down wind. 1 mile sail= 3 mile walk pulling the boat back around the lake. Between that and soapbox derby on the spillway we stayed busy that summer! Took 30 years for me to get my next sailboat. And You? Joe MSV RedCloud |
#20
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1st Sailboat
Capetanios Oz wrote in message ... On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 00:01:01 -0000, "Donal" wrote: Capetanios Oz wrote in message .. . Hmm so you didn't know what you wee doing then either! Correct. Why do you ask? 'twas a statement. Technically correct, ... as usual! Are you going to tell us about your sailing experience in the Solent? I haven't been able to find anybody who had a crewmember who wore a Greek Fisherman's Cap. Regards Donal -- |
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