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[which_chick]

Bought boat. Paid the asking price, as it was a good price for what I was getting. The boat is a 1980 Laser, the trailer a 1999 Kittyhawk. The seller could maybe have gotten another two hundred or so out of the sale if he'd wanted to work at it and sift through buyers, but he didn't get gypped -- listed the damn thing on Sunday (25) and had it sold, cash in hand four days later. Pricing to sell is essential for the speedy getting-rid-of-boats.



For the non-boat-oriented among us, this is a sailboat. It is a relatively small, unstable, uncomfortable sailboat that holds precisely one person. It does not have a motor or oars but depends instead on one big sail to make it go. It does, by all accounts, go right nicely once you figure out how to keep it from falling over into the water. Mostly, it appears that the person in the boat sort of leans out of the boat to keep it from falling over. The process of leaning out of the boat in a vain attempt to counterbalance the wind against the sail is called hiking. (No, I don't know why. There are no mountains involved.) If you do not do this, this hiking, it appears that the boat falls over into the water with alacrity and enthusiasm. The books have pictures.

I weigh more than the boat does and will probably be able to flip the thing back upright in two or three tries. (This may be an optimistic assessment of things. I'll let you know after the holiday weekend. At least it's July and the water will be warm.)

The boat was immaculate, well-maintained, and showed minimal wear and tear for being twenty-six years old. Mast step does *not* leak -- I filled it with water and stared at it, daring it to leak. It did not. It also has the metal insert in the bottom of the mast step. Yay. The deck was quite firm and unmoveable everywhere I pressed. The hull, while not pristine, was unobjectionable with minimal scratches from being drug up on beaches. I can live with those. There are a few crinkles on the bow, but it's gelcoat crazing and not anything serious.

The boat weighs probably 140, which is not hideous. (This is a guesstimate from lifting the boat with another person. I had the transom, seller had the bow. Factory-direct new boats weigh about a hundred and thirty pounds. Older boats can get heavier if there's water in them.) The boat moves very easily on its trailer and boat + trailer weigh about half of what the red lawnmower trailer weighs. This is helpful because schlepping the boat to the sandy, shallow water where I can put it IN the water will not be a hideous proposition and schlepping it back to the garage it is going to live in will also not kill me. Yay!

The mast parts appear to be straight and the lines are two to three years old and in decent shape. When not in use, the boat was stored indoors on a trailer (Trailer was designed for the boat, supports it at three points under folded deck/hull joint -- this is better for the boat than other methods of supporting it.) when not being sailed. Sail is used and will be more used before I learn to sail the damn thing. It's functional but not new and I'm okay with that. The boat also (fortunately) came with several reference materials showing how to put the boat together and what it should look like assembled. This is probably going to be helpful. Putting the boat together does not look easy. There are a lot of parts.

I wonder what the weather is going to be like this weekend? Maybe I can take my new boat out and go swimming. (The boat tips over rather a lot if you sail it inexpertly. All of the books mention this as a feature and offer step-by-step pictures of how to put the boat back right side up in the water after it's dumped you in the water. I don't think they're kidding about this.)

But... don't you need to register the boat with the state? Nope. Boat is being used entirely on private property and has no motor.

Where are you going to find water? I have water. Water was never the limiting factor. Water suitable for mucking about with the boat is walking distance from my house.

Do you have any idea how to sail a boat? None at all. Not a fucking clue. I believe wind is involved.

What is your general plan of attack, then? I'm going to take all the boat parts and the most informative book to the beach. I am going to put the boat together so that it resembles the numerous, clear pictures in the book. (This may take some time.) Then I am going to put the boat in the water, climb into the boat, and see where things go from there. I'm sure it will be educational. I'll keep you posted.

Comments

[which-chick.livejournal.com]

Centerboard. The hard chines in the Sunfish hull make it more stable and less likely to flip in the first place. In the Laser, the hull is a smooth curve from the flat bottom on up -- so it flips easier and can flip over on you while you are trying to stand it back upright.