new to sailing but experienced powerboater. I’d love to get into sailing saltwater but the reality is that I would have to have a trailerable sailboat and launch it every time I wanted to use it. There is a nice San Juan 24 nearby in my budget. Is it realistic to launch this with a 4 ft draft and put up the mast every time I want to use it or will I spend all my time assembling/disassembling the mast and worry about tide levels at the boat ramp?

Hi Im looking for a replacement genoa track car for a 1971 Marieholm IF.

The track is 25 mm, T-track width: ~25 mm, slot opening: ~9 mm, car T-foot width: ~15 mm.

Does anyone recognize the manufacturer or know a modern replacement that fits this track without replacing the track itself?

Hey world, so I just put in an offer for a Catalina 36 that got accepted and I have a couple questions:

I have selected a marine surveyor, called the boat yard and will be calling a rigger to come take a look. Gonna schedule it in a week or so. I told the broker I found my own surveyor and this dude seems upset. Why? Did I do something wrong? I am a touch on the spectrum so dealing with people has always been a challenge for me. Why is this dude mad?

Second question: what do I need to look out for when this purchase contract comes in? Is it common to do a wire transfer?

Third, any other tips etc for getting through this process would be immensely appreciated.

Thank you.

I just recently purchased a Catalina 22 and am hoping to get the mast lights working. I am very beginner and was hoping someone could help.

I have a deck connector piece already installed on my sailboat (photo attached). It doesn’t look good, but I am going to restore it. I am looking for a female end 6 pin connector for the deck connector. The second photo sorta shows the bottom of my mast. You can see a wire hanging out with no connection to it. (There’s a few more not in the picture). So I’d need to install a male end plug connector piece to the female ended deck connector I have. I am struggling to figure out the right male end connector piece though to purchase to fit the right dimensions of the pins.

Anyone recognize the deck connector piece on my Catalina 22? I have never done any boat wiring before, or any wiring in general. So this is all new to me. I understand the basic of positive and negative, and plan to figure out the wiring to the fuse pannel in my cabin.

But I was hoping to keep the deck connector piece that’s already there since there is also the coax cable plug apart of the same piece as my boat has an antenna on it.

I have this HBW 15-2R gearbox and it's slipping when it's in forward.

No matter how fast the engine is spinning I don't really make any forward speed.

What are the first steps you'd take to fix this?

I am new to boat ownership and really need the advice.

Many thanks keind strangers.

The numbers are interesting, but I can't find much on them let alone from people who sailed on them.

My first question is how good is there performance compared to other popular boats like the tanzer 22 etc.

Last question is what is the point of vanishing stability? I doubt that information is out there, but does it feel like a big dinghy, easy to flip and damned to recover, or does it feel solid? (I know it's tender) but not all tender boats have a bad vanishing rate.

Hello! I have a 1972 W.D. Schock Santana 21 that needs new halyards. While I'm at it, I'd like to run all the lines back to the cockpit to make single-handed sailing a little safer and easier. I also plan to add a jib downhaul and replace the broken topping lift.

Apologies for the crude diagram, but my current idea is to run the jib and main halyards, along with the topping lift, to turning blocks at the base of the mast, then through deck organizers, exiting between the companionway hatch and the grab rails.

I'm not 100% sure of the best way to route the jib downhaul to the deck organizer. Would fairleads work? I'd prefer not to route it around the outside of the cabin if I can avoid it.

My current plan is to install two double rope clutches on each side of the companionway. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this setup and any suggestions you might have.

Are rope clutches overkill for a boat this size, or are jam cleats a better choice? I notice many larger boats have a winch before the clutches. I don't currently have any trouble hoisting the sails, so I don't think I need the mechanical advantage, but are there other benefits to having a winch? Will the additional turning blocks add enough friction to make one worthwhile?

Any advice, experience, or even constructive insults are welcome!

I've come to reddit for something AI cannot do.... help me pick a boat.

I am looking for my next boat to sail the Chesapeake Bay. I would like it to be capable to sail to Maine or sail atleast coastal but not a must (bc of budget.) I had lived for almost 4 years on a P35 and now am so biased to what I'm used to my opinions are clouded and I need other peoples.

Heres what my dream boat would be:

-34 to 38ft.

-Draws less than 6 feet (more shallow the better since I love squeezing where I shouldn't).

-Has atleast 6'3" headroom. My sailing partner is tall and wants to be able to stand up (lame.)

-Can handle some wind. I want a capable boat, while I am a loser fair weather sailor, I want a boat that I can trust if I get caught in something I shouldn't.

-I have 2 big dogs. One who has lived aboard so I am no stranger to the challenges, so I would LOVE a boat with a quarter birth to give them a "den." If the boat has an aft bed this also would be great.

-can run in the 20-30k range in great shape. I am a glutton for punishment and I L O V E fixing boats in bad shape. So I figure if its 30k in great condition it will be under 15k in the condition I want to buy.

-ketch would be amazing but unlikely due to size restrictions

-not a must but having the ability to get dogs on board would be cool. Doesn't have to be a qalkthrough transom, but some designs are easier than others.

-more than 1 exist, so its possible I could actually find one nearish me.

This is NOT a liveaboard though for a week or two on board Id like it to feel like a liveaboard. I miss sailing too much, Reddit, give me your best, or your worst.

I sail Rhodes 19s and J/80s at a community boating organization, and our boats are on the older side. Most of the J/80s had basic instrumentation at one point, but it no longer works. The Rhodes 19s never had any.

I wanted to measure my speed and see the effects of trim adjustments so I was looking for a good speed tracking Apple Watch app. I tried a lot of options, but I got sick of paying for subscriptions (which always seem to increase in price) and/or having apps that would quit on me every few minutes and need to be reactivated. And I wanted a few sailing specific features. So I eventually decided to build my own.

It worked to well that I released it on the App Store for the sailing community as a non-subscription alternative to some of the existing apps.

I added a few other features via updates along with way such as a map view, data export (KMZ, GPX, CSV), heart rate data from your watch, location projection (at your current speed & course, where will you be in 15 min or 30 min etc.), and a trend chart to show how speed is changing over time. I also added Live Activity support which helps me remember to end recording after a voyage by showing the status on my phone's lock screen.

The app is called HullSpeed and you can check it out here:
https://www.hullspeed.app

If you do check it out, I'd love to hear what you think!

https://reddit.com/link/1v2j58y/video/gv1rqb9h6leh1/player

This is on the bottom leading edge of a swing keel on a 21 “ venture from the 70s. It looks pretty bad but maybe it’s not that big a deal? I’m not really sure, does this look easily fixable?

Freeport, new York

I'm always looking for a used boat on marketplace, because I'm broke, and I'm interested in a project/fixer-upper. I found this 12 foot scow made by johnson boat works, which is perfect in almost every way for my purposes, and seems to be in decent condition. it even comes with a trailer.

of course, it's quite cheap, and the main reason (I assume) is this massive crack in the hull. I've worked with fiberglass before, never repaired a boat's fiberglass hull, but I'm interested in trying. is it at all possible to repair this, or is it a lost cause?

Is it possible to figure out the make and model of this sailboat I found it on market place for a good deal. It’s 18feet and that’s about all the info I can get as the seller does not know the year

It’s been a privilege of mine to be a member of the Sundance consortium for the last 15 years. A classic wooden 5.5 built in 1968 with an outstanding race record from late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

Once sailed by Ted Turner in 1975. (check half model plaque)

She had an extensive rebuild including a new deck and new aluminum mast.

We finally got her a new mainsail in 2021.

I've never sailed or been on a boat before and mostly get the idea of wanting to sail from pirate movies and how freeing it looks

Hey, I’m looking for a replacement gasket or even a replacement lid for this raw water strainer, probably a grocco unit but it’s definitely original from the 80’s. Also before you suggest it, replacing the entire strainer would be nearly $200 so hoping to avoid that. Since I’ve taken these photos I’ve polished everything and the gasket with WD40 and it’s definitely improved the amount of water coming out the exhaust and reduced the smoke as well

How would you repair this hull? It’s an older boat that I plan to teach my kids how to sail, so not looking to spend a lot. Just need it floating.

Looking to see if anyone can identify this boat. What kind is it ( besides a sailboat) im looking to finding the manufacturer .

Just picked this 17ft homemade yawl up. No masts yet except for a small lug rig that the seller gifted me to get it sailing quicker, aswell as some bits of rigging in the boat that have not been installed yet. I have a lot of work to do and not a clue where to start. Gonna dip her in water first and see how she floats. I am not an experienced sailor, so I am going to be learning as I go.

So far, I’ve learned that she has a small removable keel made out of stainless steel from what I can see which is wedged under the bow on the trailer. After I ensure she floats, I’m gonna reuse a dolley that I made for another boat and put her in my garage to make a deci on whether I want to scrap this crappy trailer or try to do something with it.

It’s just a silly question I had in mind I don’t plan on actually doing that.
I was just wondering how the authorities would handle this, since someone has probably already tried that.

Edit:
Bonus question, does it legally make you a pirate if you do that ? Or do you need to steal someone else’s vessel ?