On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 01:47:57 GMT, "Bob Crantz"
wrote:

What sailboats are considered cult sailboats?



Thistles ( did I spell that right?) At least I lived close to a fleet
of them and most of the members acted like cult members.

What sailboats are considered cult sailboats?




Frank Boettcher wrote:
Thistles ( did I spell that right?) At least I lived close to a fleet
of them and most of the members acted like cult members.

They are like cult members, and they have strange religious
beliefs too. I've had Thistle sailors actually complain to
me that 12 knots was too much wind for a good race!

DSK

"DSK" wrote in message
...
What sailboats are considered cult sailboats?




Frank Boettcher wrote:
Thistles ( did I spell that right?) At least I lived close to a fleet
of them and most of the members acted like cult members.

They are like cult members, and they have strange religious beliefs too.
I've had Thistle sailors actually complain to me that 12 knots was too
much wind for a good race!

A friggin' pansy, he was. I've raced Thistles in over 20 kts. It wasn't
really fun and we didn't fly the chute, but it was doable. The sailor who
complained to you was obviously one who failed to keep his boat upright
while tacking or gybing. The Thistle has no deck, so it will ship 200
gallons of water on a careless tack. That essentially puts one out of the
race, despite having several Supermax Elvstrom bailers in the bilge to get
rid of that misbegotten water.

Max

Thistles ( did I spell that right?) At least I lived close to a fleet
of them and most of the members acted like cult members.


They are like cult members, and they have strange religious beliefs too.
I've had Thistle sailors actually complain to me that 12 knots was too
much wind for a good race!


Maxprop wrote:
A friggin' pansy, he was.

No, just a skinny person with another skinny person & a kid
for crew.

... I've raced Thistles in over 20 kts.

Not sure if I have or not, at least the high teens though. I
would say (from the vantage point of a couple decades later)
that it was fun while it was happening, but caused a lot of
pain soon afterwards.


.... The Thistle has no deck, so it will ship 200
gallons of water on a careless tack.


According to Microsoft, that's a user-option feature!

As for Lightnings status as punishers, they're not as bad as
Thistles (and not as fast in light air), but a Lightning
crew... and to some extent, the skipper... must accept a
certain amount of pain to sail the boat actively. Another
great user-option feature, the centerboard as guillotine...
if that doesn't get you, the vang will try next!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 01:47:57 GMT, "Bob Crantz"
wrote:

What sailboats are considered cult sailboats?



Thistles ( did I spell that right?) At least I lived close to a fleet
of them and most of the members acted like cult members.

Did they shave their heads and cut off their testicles?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven's_Gate_(cult)

Amen!

On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:36:09 GMT, "Bob Crantz"
wrote:


"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 01:47:57 GMT, "Bob Crantz"
wrote:


Did they shave their heads and cut off their testicles?





No, just refused to acknowledge the existence of any other sailing
craft.

Did they shave their heads and cut off their testicles?



Frank Boettcher wrote:
No, just refused to acknowledge the existence of any other sailing
craft.

Could be equivalent... if you think about how many Thistle
sailors are basically saying that sailboat design has not
advanced since 1948...

OTOH the Thistle is possibly *the* best light-air sailboat
ever designed, a performance characteristic that I hope to
never put to the test... again, I mean

DSK

"DSK" wrote in message
...
Did they shave their heads and cut off their testicles?



Frank Boettcher wrote:
No, just refused to acknowledge the existence of any other sailing
craft.

Could be equivalent... if you think about how many Thistle sailors are
basically saying that sailboat design has not advanced since 1948...

There have been some improvements, especially in seat/flotation tank
configurations and in spar design, depite having that silly square section
through the deck. Running rigging has changed as well. About the only
thing that is typically seen as advancements in other OD classes but not in
the Thistle is deck configuration, for obvious reasons.

OTOH the Thistle is possibly *the* best light-air sailboat ever designed,
a performance characteristic that I hope to never put to the test...
again, I mean

Scow sailors might be quick to disagree. A scow heeled to weather in light
air has less wetted surface area than anything afloat. Pull up the bilge
board until there is just a nub protruding, and you've got a tough boat to
beat, even with a Thistle.

Max

"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:36:09 GMT, "Bob Crantz"
wrote:


"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 01:47:57 GMT, "Bob Crantz"
wrote:


Did they shave their heads and cut off their testicles?





No, just refused to acknowledge the existence of any other sailing
craft.

We campaigned a Thistle for four years, during the early 80s, and I never
encountered anyone with such an attitude. Thistle sailors tend to be
clannish, but they readily accept outsiders and visitors to their fleet
races. We were always looking for crew, but we never mentioned "rail tail"
before taking them aboard.

Max

They sailed these---

http://www.cometclass.com/


"Bob Crantz" wrote in

Did they shave their heads and cut off their testicles?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven's_Gate_(cult)