From: jfh@cs.brown.edu (John F. Hughes)
Subject: Re: Re: Impressions/wrinkles/sailing skills
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 12:58:59 GMT

In article <2670160@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM> bsmith@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (Brian Smith) writes:
>In rec.boats, gerald.belton@ozonehole.new-orleans.la.us (Gerald Belton) writes:
>
>    Brian, would you please share with us your insights on cruising in small
>    boats?  I have recently purchased an old South Coast 23 which I plan to
>    spend many weekends cruising with my wife AND children.  So far we have
>    only used it as a glorified day-sailer, but we are looking forward to
>    this spring when we can get out for longer periods.  It DOES seem a bit
>    cramped, though.
>
>Not quite sure what kind of information I can give you as this kind of
>thing tends to depend on the personalities of the people involved and
>what they think of as fun.  For instance, the previous owner of my
>boat bought it under the mistaken impression that his wife and two
>teenage kids were going to love it.  The whole family was going to
>learn to sail together and it would be great fun.
>
> [lots of excellent suggestions deleted]
>
>Take food that is easy to prepare.  A stew that just needs heating and
>throw in some cans of vegetables.  Break yourselves in slowly to
>cooking on board.

I read a rather good book that pointed out that meals are a tiny fraction
of the cost of owning a boat, and that it's a good investment in crew
happiness to eat dinner ashore one night in three, or even two nights in three.
Unless you are enthusiastic about camp-cooking, or you happen to like
anchoring in utterly out-of-the-way places (I confess that we do), this
is a fine idea.

>If your children are older, make them responsible for sail changing,
>trim, reefing, etc.  And don't hog the tiller.

My father used to muse about his father, saying "I was never sure whether the
old man was a great teacher or just completely lazy, because he basically had
*me* do everything on board." The result was that he (my father) grew up
loving sailing, and afraid of almost nothing. He made his share of mistakes,
but that's to be expected. I might also advise on one more thing with regard
to family and doing things on the boat: let the kids do stuff, and let them 
do it *wrong*, without correcting them or yelling at them. They'll figure it 
out after a while. At the very most, talk about things over dinner and say
"You know, when the wind is coming right across the side of the boat, you
don't really want to have the sail pulled all the way in---it makes the boat
slower." You may be surprised at the answer, which is often "I *know* that,
but it's lots more *fun*." I cannot overemphasize the importance of letting
people have fun.
  People who come sail with me know that I never raise my voice about anything
unless it's matter of safety. And they seem to keep coming back...


>If your wife likes to sail, well and good.  If she wants to relax, let
>her.  Don't make her do all the *chores* and let her see the boat as a
>place to get away from all that stuff.

Also, if she's a non-sailor, don't push her to get interested in sailing. 
Saying "Why don't *you* try navigating, dear?" may only serve to make her 
feel less competent. Far better to let all the non sailors in your family
discover the joys of sailing through osmosis, so to speak.

-John
Newsgroups: rec.boats