wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:09:05 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote this crap:

A motor is not a necessity theses days. A motor is not needed. A motor is a
convenience in a sailboat. Anybody who really knows how to sail and knows
his
sailboat's perforamance can do anything under sail that he can do using a
motor.

I've got a 35 foot sailboat. How do you propose getting in and out of
the dock without a motor?


Good GRIEF! What a silly attitude. A 35-foot sailboat can be
pushed out of a slip by hand for gosh sake. If wind and current
is against you, have you ever heard of warping it out? Duh!

Imagine if your lazy attitude was in place 200-250 years ago
in the age of sail where very large vessels plied the seas and
the ports without the hint of an engine on board. Did freight
and passengers not get delivered before the age of steam
boats?

Not to mention picking up a mooring ball.

OMG. I pick up my mooring float all the time with a boat hook
totally under sail. It's a matter of sailing up on it on a beat then
pinching up, then heading directly into the wind letting the
sails luff while the vessel fore reaches up to and comes to
a halt at the float. It's a matter of knowning how one's vessel
handles under sail. It's a matter of knowing how far she fore
reaches prior to coming to a standstill.

I can see me now, pulling into a busy harbor with very little wind on
a holiday weekend. It can be done, but it's a huge inconvenience to
all the other boats going in and out.

You should be able to sail your 35-footer in light winds. If you
can't then you should be practicing. I sail into harbors more
often than not. About the only time I don't sail into harbors is
if there is a narrow fairway into them and a headwind that
makes it difficult or impossible to beat into the harbor.

A real sailor works wind, current and traffic conditions with
aplomb. No fuss, no muss. Actually, my boat handles BETTER
under sail than under motor power. The power is more
balanced instead of being all at the prop which is aft. Can you
heave-to under motor power, for example?

Hell, I can sail into a harbor, heave-to and drift down into the
spot where I wish to anchor. Then I drop an anchor on the upwind
side, then I drift back with about 150 feet of rode cleated off. Just
before it snubs up hard I then I release the backed headsail and
quickly sheet it in on the opposite side. The vessel then sails off
on a beam reach which quickly tightens up into a close reach
and then a beat until the anchor line pulls the head into the wind.

Then I drop another anchor pay out about 100 feet of rode and
cleat it off. Then I drop the sails and drift back between the
two anchors. Then I pull in the rodes as needed to lie evenly
between the anchors, Bahamian style. All without a motor all
without having to worry about lines getting wound up on a prop
or prop shaft.

This is what sailing is all about.

--
Sir Gregory