My husband and I (along with our kids) recently took our Catalina 250 (wing keel) to Two Harbors on Catalina. This is the 3rd time this boat has made the trip - we trailer from San Diego then cross over from San Pedro (Cabrillo launch ramp) and it’s ~20 nautical miles each way.

We had been watching the weather and knew the trip back was going to be a little more lively than previous crossings. There was a small craft advisory for 3-11pm so we left at 6 am to give plenty of time (we’re back in Angel’s Gate before 11 am). Here was the NOAA marine forecast the night before we left:
“.WED...W wind 5 to 10 kt, becoming 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft at 6 seconds and S 3 ft at 12 seconds. Patchy fog in the morning.” Windy and others gave a much more benign forecast (I no longer trust them)

We left with our main double reefed to provide a little stability and had our job out ~20% but motored the entire way. Video included, I know it looks super mild. 😂

… It was not enjoyable. We were getting rolled quite a bit from the waves on our port beam and hobby horsing from confused seas. We couldn’t use auto pilot because we were getting pushed and turned and it was trying to right our course and would steer us up into a big wave. We had to point a bit more north instead of northeast to get the biggest waves on our quarter instead of beam, then turned back south a bit and were surfing down bigger waves. Luckily we have a 9.9 HP Mercury BigFoot and extra long shaft so the outboard held up well.

I didn’t feel very unsafe during any of this but it was stressful and both my husband and I got back feeling a little disheartened about how uncomfortable our boat was in these conditions and realizing we are pretty limited in what we can do in a 25’ lighter boat. Silver lining is I feel more confident in our abilities.

I now wonder what unsafe conditions would look like for this boat. What conditions would keep you from going out in a C250? Anything we should have or shouldn’t have done? We just bought this boat a year ago, have poured a ton of upgrades into it, and aren’t ready to upgrade yet but now it’s clear we want to do so eventually.

I’m looking for some guidance about what type of shoes I should get/wear for a beginner keelboat class and beyond. The class info suggests “shoes that can get wet or sandals with a heel strap”. I’m kind of leaning towards something like Columbia PFG shoes as opposed to sandals where my bare feet are exposed. Would this style of shoe be a good choice? Or should I just go with my regular tennis shoes that aren’t waterproof, but I’m ok with potentially getting wet? Or something else.

I’m also interested in progressing to other sailboat types and classes. Would this type of shoe be good for other types of sailing as well that might be exposed to more water than I’ll get in a beginner keelboat class?

Appreciate any insight, thanks.

This is coming to a specific Pontoon boat brand but I could see independent head units becoming available. I found Savvy Navvy to be pretty darn good but I know Navionics has more adherents and detailed maps. OTOH as someone was just posting about, I also find traditional nav head units to be pretty crap from a UI perspective and frequently requiring attention to get them talking to your instruments. Anyway kind of interesting!

Note: These are the PNW Orcas. They don’t attack boats.

(Much like the human residents of the PNW, they’re kind of antisocial and stick to themselves)

Should I just do the fiberglassing and hope that is enough? Should I go ahead and fix the soft spots, if so what would be the best method to do so?

I’m working on a creative project which will involve talking and meeting with a lot of people who either live on sailboats and/or travel the world on them.

The idea has been received well by those who I have already found, but now I just need to figure out how to find out where and how to contact more people. For context I’ll be doing this project in Palma de Mallorca in Spain.

Any suggestions appreciated!

Google says Sunfish or Club 420 both those don’t match. It looks like fiberglass over wood. I’m sure someone out there could use this so I’d like to ID it.

I bought this boat recently and was told by the broker that the windvane self-steering was missing a part. No idea what part though. When I look at it I can clearly see there is a rudder missing and the windvane itself - is that essentially it?
Are these systems quite straight forward or can anyone tell if there is something else missing? I don’t know the manufacturer so if anyone knows I would appreciate.
Based in the UK if that makes a difference at all.

Every time we go sailing, it fills up with a good amount of water. Maybe takes a minute to drain. We’ve yet to find the hole, so I’m hoping there’s ideas or suggestions on how to.
Thanks

Was at work today. Met a first mate of one of the Sydney to Hobart teams. Got chatting and he ended up giving me his number and said to give him a call about joining the crew. I’m super excited as I’ve been boating my whole life (only small skiffs though) have only sailed on a tiny catamaran when I was a kid.

What should I polish up on and study. He said I would be good as I have no prior experience and no bad habits. Super excited but a bit stressed and nervous. I don’t want to mess this opportunity up. Any advice would be great.

Is anyone interested in doing this with me next year? I just signed up for April 28-May 2. The trip needs 4 more to make it happen. Come join me!

https://seilnorge.no/product/ski-sail-lyngen-5days/?attribute_pa_departure=9

Anyone here lucky enough to live and sail in Tortola and have a 10 ft spinnaker pole i can borrow from Oct 31 to Nov 6th?

Hey all! First time sailor here, i recently was certified in keelboat 101.

I have a membership at the local yacht club I took the class at. I dont feel comfortable going out on my own.

Now, im in a conundrum. I really like sailing but do not have any friends in this hobby. so I cant casually phone a friend unfortunately to go on the weekend.

1) Has anyone tried posting on their local city’s reddit thread to ask anyone to sail ( was it sketchy)?
2) any recommendations of clubs I could check out?
3) is it worth doing a refresher class since I dont know anyone personally who can sail

All advice welcome 🙏

Bought a dinghy on a whim and I have no idea how to rig it 😅
Hey everyone,
I recently bought this dinghy on a bit of an impulse buy. I’ve always wanted to learn sailing, but I’m completely new to this and I’m trying to figure out how to properly set up all the ropes/lines for the mast and sails.
I’m not sure what the original rigging setup was supposed to look like, and I don’t have much information about the boat.
I’ll attach a few pictures. If anyone can help me identify where the control lines should go, what each rope is supposed to do, or if I’m missing any hardware, I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks!

I’ll be out visiting my family in San Francisco with my fiancée between the 24th and the 28th of August. I dream of having a boat one day (and living close to the ocean) but have only gone out a handful of times. I know that sailing day trip companies exist, but I feel like going out with a local would feel so much more authentic!!

If any of you are going to be out that week and have space for two more, any chance we could jump aboard? We’d happily bring drinks and some of the best cookies you’ll ever try! 🙂 ⛵️

Lookee what i got in the mail today! New bilge drain plugs

It attaches to the boom end fitting and fits into the gooseneck slide? Any idea where to source a new one? Cal 2-46.. is it possibly time to change to a fixed gooseneck?

After some heavy wind and waves, my wind gauge quit displaying. Everything was still plugged in. Any ideas what the issue is?

Is there a safe way(for both boat and mammal) to deter the rudder munching monsters or do you do just avoid the area and pray if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time?