1st Sailboat
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 |
1st Sailboat
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. I've seen a couple of corrugated tin roof boats. Did you put in a frame amidships to give the "hull" a shape with more stability than a semicircle? I sailed with my family from a very early age, then crewed on OPB's and by about ten, through great virtue & charm, found my self often skippering those OPBs. But I also experimented with building my own boats with materials at hand, IIRC the first one was a couple of pallets nailed together into roughly the shape of a milk carton on it's side, and covered with tarpaper. Actually it sailed pretty well, it would beat a Sunfish but not a 505. My cousin and I also adventured all over Barnegat Bay in a derelict rowboat that we found and 'repaired' and added a bedsheet sail. 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? Fresh Breezes- Doug King |
1st Sailboat
"DSK" wrote in message ... 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? My first vessel was a raft. It consisted of an 8 foot square wooden palette which a butcher's fridge had been delivered in. I assumed that it would float just fine, so I didn't bother to attach any flotation. I set off on my big adventure with another 7 y/o who lived across the road. I had a 6-8 foot pole to propel the raft with. We went out onto the lake in a fairly strong offshore breeze. We very quickly found that the pole wasn't long enough, and that the "raft" didn't float very well. I can remember kneeling on one corner of my "raft" (which would sink under my weight) with the water up to my shoulder as I tried to reach the bottom with the pole - so that I could try to get us back to the shore. I don't remember how we got back in. The other 7 y/o has never gone on a boat since, and to this day she still blames me. Regards Donal -- |
1st Sailboat
The first one I owned was a Sunfish in San Diego while I
was in college. We used to sail down the cost from Del Mar to La Jolla, pull it out and have lunch, then hitchhike back with the boat. The first boating experience was with a toy sailboat on a pond in the Chicago area. After that, I started actually sailing on a lake in the Sierra Nevadas. I can't recall what kind of dink it was. "Joe" wrote in message om... 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 |
1st Sailboat
Took 30 years for me to get my next sailboat.
Holy cripes. RB |
1st Sailboat
DSK wrote in message ...
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. I've seen a couple of corrugated tin roof boats. Did you put in a frame amidships to give the "hull" a shape with more stability than a semicircle? I think we had a couple of boards/ seats that helped. I sailed with my family from a very early age, then crewed on OPB's and by about ten, through great virtue & charm, found my self often skippering those OPBs. But I also experimented with building my own boats with materials at hand, IIRC the first one was a couple of pallets nailed together into roughly the shape of a milk carton on it's side, and covered with tarpaper. Actually it sailed pretty well, it would beat a Sunfish but not a 505. My cousin and I also adventured all over Barnegat Bay in a derelict rowboat that we found and 'repaired' and added a bedsheet sail. It's a shame the world has changed so much that kids can't do the same kind of thing today. Yeah, Today they would have rescue helos hovering over them damanding they be rescued. Just as much fun or more is we would use the lakes 100 foot + spillway as a soapbox track, It was a blast unless you rolled and wrecked , many time me and my brothers came home covered with asphalt rash. Today they would go ballistic if you tried something like that at a govt controlled dam. Will videogames and websurfing provide the same kind of character building, not to mention fond memories in later life? No its going to make a bunch of overweight fat ass liars like the blobster. Fresh Breezes- Doug King |
1st Sailboat
DSK wrote in message ...
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. I've seen a couple of corrugated tin roof boats. Did you put in a frame amidships to give the "hull" a shape with more stability than a semicircle? I think we had a couple of boards/ seats that helped. I sailed with my family from a very early age, then crewed on OPB's and by about ten, through great virtue & charm, found my self often skippering those OPBs. But I also experimented with building my own boats with materials at hand, IIRC the first one was a couple of pallets nailed together into roughly the shape of a milk carton on it's side, and covered with tarpaper. Actually it sailed pretty well, it would beat a Sunfish but not a 505. My cousin and I also adventured all over Barnegat Bay in a derelict rowboat that we found and 'repaired' and added a bedsheet sail. It's a shame the world has changed so much that kids can't do the same kind of thing today. Yeah, Today they would have rescue helos hovering over them damanding they be rescued. Just as much fun or more is we would use the lakes 100 foot + spillway as a soapbox track, It was a blast unless you rolled and wrecked , many time me and my brothers came home covered with asphalt rash. Today they would go ballistic if you tried something like that at a govt controlled dam. Will videogames and websurfing provide the same kind of character building, not to mention fond memories in later life? No its going to make a bunch of overweight fat ass liars like the blobster. Fresh Breezes- Doug King |
1st Sailboat
That's right. It's impossible for someone to be satisfied with a
sailboat for more than 10 minutes. "Bobsprit" wrote in message ... Took 30 years for me to get my next sailboat. Holy cripes. RB |
1st Sailboat
Capetanios Oz wrote in message ... Hmm so you didn't know what you wee doing then either! Correct. Why do you ask? Regards Donal -- |
1st Sailboat
"Bobsprit" wrote in message ... Took 30 years for me to get my next sailboat. Holy cripes. I always think that it is interesting to see Bob trying to join in to a sailing discussion. Intersesting, and yet a little bit sad...... Regards Donal -- |
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