HankD

Thanks for all the generous offers. The thing I love most about being a part of this sailing sub-culture is how helpful everyone always is towards each other. My friend and I travel light and I think we could cram our gear in a few dry bags and manage. I'm going to have a lot going on around that time but if at all possible I do intend to come. I'm a self taught sailor, learned through reading and trial and error, it would do me a lot of good to soak up some knowledge from you old(er) salts = P. When it gets a little closer I should know something more concrete and I will sign up. Also where can I learn more about the BEER cruise? Is it in driving range for me? (Mobile, AL). The NC challenge and OBX 130 also look like a lot of fun. The FL 120 will be a good start for me to dip my toes in with these challenges. My biggest concern is the age and condition of my boat. I spent the winter repairing soft spots so the hulls are solid at least but I'm pretty sure the standing rigging is original (no signs of fray or oxidation though) and the sails are starting to look like something out of a Popeye cartoon.....all they are missing is some of my underwear sewed into them. On a side note my Senior Demo project is also sail boat related, feel free to have a look if anyone is interested. http://hankdaniels.wordpress.com

O.o I'd really like to join you guys on this. My new list of accomplishments is to do the FL 120 right here in my back yard, then the TX 200, then the Everglades challenge. The only problem is that I finally graduate with my undergrad in Information Technology like 1 week before this cruise starts. My life is in chaos with graduating, job hunting, house hunting, and starting graduate school. If I am able to come I really won't know until last minute. My boat is older and I'm fairly inexperienced so I want to work my way into these challenges slowly starting with the FL 120. My next question. My weekender is still not ready and probably won't be for some time. If I'm not busy with class/work/family I'm sailing my 18' Hobie Cat.....so I'm wondering will I be totally out of place coming with you guys on a catamaran? Thanks, Hank

Yeah, I work in downtown Mobile and I don't think I'd want to be on the bay today. The wind is howling down here.

Just my two cents, but personally I would not skimp on the fiberglass or the epoxy. My weekender hasn't hit the water yet but it's been an unfinished project drifting around for some time now getting rained on occasionally and even getting rained IN a few times. I have a mini cup that is only a little older than the weekender and looking at how the unprotected mini cup has aged compared to the weekender with it's 6 oz cloth and Raka epoxy there is no question in my mind that it was worth every penny. As fun as the mini cup was to build and sail I wouldn't do it again simply because the glass and epoxy makes it too expensive (used sunfish's are cheap) and without it you either have to take VERY good care of it or consider it disposable. I love building boats but I love sailing them more. They are all a pain in the butt to keep up so my advice is to do everything you can during the building process to lessen the amount of maintenance you'll do on days you wish you were sailing. Give RAKA a call. I think I ended up with $96 in glass and $130ish in epoxy to do the whole boat.

I had a snark sunchaser II until recently when I sold it and bought the Hobie 18. I never once capsized the little boat but I actually "submarined" it once. Went out with 4 adults in the 12' boat including myself. It actually performed very well until I was heading in after about 6 hours of sailing around the islands. We were on a run and sailing wing on wing. The crew was a bit pushed forward in the boat due to the tiller taking up so much room. The combination of weight too far forward and the force of the sails pushing the bow under caused the bow to dig in and I'm pretty sure the boat was completely underwater. A quick jerk of the tiller changed my course and brought the boat bobbing back up. My wife bailed it out underway and we all made it in safe and with a good laugh. I miss the Sunchaser but Hobie has introduced a whole new world of sailing to me (and delayed the launch of my weekender).

I would like to wish you guys a safe journey, and if you find yourselves in the Mobile bay / Dauphin island area on a weekend I'd love to sail out just to say hi and see your beautiful boat in person.

Hahahaha @ PAR. When I was 17 I suddenly took an interest in sailing...I honestly can't remember why. I grew up on the water in various types of boats but no one in my family sailed and I had never so much as stepped foot into a sailboat. My interest in sailing lead me to the journal of one man that worked for NASA during the Apollo missions until they shut them down. He then wrote a word processor for his mac that Apple bought from him. After that he bought a 30ish foot sailboat and took off all around the world keeping a journal as he went. I wish I could find this journal again if anyone has any idea what I'm talking about let me know. Ever since then I've been hooked on building boats, sailing, and generally driving my wife crazy talking about it all. I can't remember what exactly drew me in but I will say that after 100 million viewings of "The Endless Summer" and "The Endless Summer 2" I think I decided since the waves on the gulf coast are too crappy to surf most of the year I better find something else to do. I started building boats when I was 19 and I just can't seem to stop (much to my wife's dismay).

Haha, you know it's funny because throughout the process of building this boat I spent whole afternoons just looking at it. Get out all my tools, make a few measurements, mark a board or two,....then just sit there and stare at it for the rest of the afternoon. Half finished boats are like a campfire, after a few drinks they just suck you in and mesmerize you.

I'm not sure if this has been done before but I would be very interested in hearing everyone's stories as to how they got into sailing. My suspicion is that most people started sailing as kids with a parent/uncle/whatever. My story is honestly a bit of a mystery and I'll be happy to share it if anyone is interested.

Oye.....after I took that picture of my weekender I left the mast laying on the ground out front exposed to the sun with only half a coat of spar varnish = /. Now it resembles a fish hook. Two steps forward.....one step back. I wasn't really happy with that mast anyway. I think I'll make a birdsmouth mast now and coat it in epoxy rather than spar varnish. I'm too young for a moaning chair so I think I'll head to my moaning bar stool.....which is probably why I'm in this position to begin with. Come nightfall when it's time to roll my tools up I might be a bit inebriated ;D

Sure did, and it's all I can do to not call in sick and take it out for a whirl = P.

Hello Larry, Good to meet some of my fellow gulf coasters = P. Wow, thanks Andrew I actually went to Metal Supermarkets website a few days ago but their store locator was taking to long by zip code so I searched by state and pulled up one way up in North, AL. It's good to know there is one in Pensacola. Honestly though this project is on hold until I find the time. I picked up the hobie 18 last night and it should be ready for water by this weekend = D. Thanks for all the help.

Konrad and Barry both gave a lot of great advice but just to reiterate what they said I'll throw in my two cents as a completely novice sailor not really qualified to help anyone. In my very limited experience (I've never sailed a vacationer) a few important things I have learned on my boats is to (as Barry said) not go hard over on the tiller, and (As Konrad said) pull the jib over at the right time. If I neglect the jib I find it occasionally catching me in irons and dragging me back over. This only seems to happen in certain conditions which I am not yet experienced enough to identify. Another thing that I find myself doing is pulling in the sheet and letting the weather helm do as much work as possible without adding any resistance from my rudder. Once I feel that I am at the point that my boat is heading up into the wind and is only going to lose speed I tip the rudder a bit to get the bow to cross the wind. At this point my wife has already adjusted the jib (as soon as it loosens up and starts to luff she pulls it over so she doesn't have to fight it). At this point the jib fills and seems to bring my boat on around. Again, I'm still a novice and learn something new everyday. I've had no formal instruction and all that I've learned from sailing has come from a combination of reading and being too gutsy for my own good.

While at lowes today I scoped out the conduit and I can see the 2" EMT working for the mast and the 1" for the spars using compression couplings with a dowel inside to stiffen up the joints if necessary. I might have to put this project on hold though since I'm still trying to finish my weekender and I'm almost certainly buying an 18' hobie cat tomorrow. If I don't get the hobie I might have to scramble to finish the mini cup just so I can get on the water this weekend, lol.

Thanks for the help so far. I think I might try the EMT conduit. It's pretty heavy but it's pretty cheap and readily available. Any more suggestions are more than welcome. I seem to remember PAR suggesting someone use the gray PVC UV protected conduit and pour it full of expanding foam....that's an interesting alternative if I can find the two part foam at a decent price. Here is a picture of my weekender as it currently sits. There is still a lot of finish work to be done....I'm sick of sanding and I'm pretty sure my neighbors are too = P. I just sat the mast, grab rails, bowsprit, etc... up there for the photo. I'm still in the process of sanding, painting, and finishing.