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adrianZR200
Deckhand

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USA
3 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/12/2010 : 14:25:23

hey guys, just purchased a 1979 Catalina 22 and took it for a sail on Saturday for the first time in MY LIFE!!! I had no idea what I was doing but within a few hours of playing with it, I was able to figure out all of the rigging and everything else for the most part. I have never sailed before and it was a great challenge. I must say that I did enjoy it very much. the wind can be a bit tricky at different times of day, it shifts a little. but i love a challenge!

there came a point that I caught a lot of wind which made the Rutter, or tiller I think, useless and the boat simply turned into the wind by itself. thats when i took a s**t. I had my keel retracted. I am not too familiar with the terminology but am slowly learning as I read threads.

any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated considering that I will probably not be taking any lesson!

Edited by - on

Even Chance
Captain

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USA
393 Posts

Response Posted - 08/12/2010 : 14:40:25

Welcome, Adrian.

1. Keep the keel down ALWAYS when you are sailing. That will help you not "round up," which is what happened to you.

2. Take some lessons! Or find someone local who can mentor you.

3. The tiller is the horizontal stick that turns the rudder.

4. Pick up a good basic sailing book -- Chapman, or the Annapolis Book of Seamanship, or Herreschoff's book, or the like. They'll help you learn terms and basic practices.

5. This forum will be a good help too.

Fair winds and following seas!

Edited by - Even Chance on 08/12/2010 14:44:39

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 08/12/2010 : 14:41:08

Sometimes it pays to take lessons, but if thats not in the cards, you can still learn from others.

Find someone else in your area with a similar boat, adn ask if you can go out with them for an afternoon. Also welcome them aboard your boat for a tour and a sail.You can learn an awful lot by listening and watching someone who knows what they are doing. Just avoid using the word "I" when they are there to help you.

Finally, read everythign you can. It is good you found us, but I believe there is also an active C-22 community online. They will know your boat as well as anyone and will help you too. Don't just read the computer though. Your boat was built in 1979, and has benefitted from new technology ever since. Before she was built, folks were sailing for a couple hundred years. Books by anyone from the Vikings up to the last Volvo Ocean racers will help you learn about sailing, although some are more valuable than others. Many recommend "Royce's Sailing Illustrated", although it didn't do much for me. The Dummies book on sailing is actually pretty good, and I really like this book: "The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing by David Seidman" http://www.amazon.ca/Complete-Sailor-Learning-Art-Sailing/dp/0070571317/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b#noop for its illustrations as much as its text. It is a very clear "how to" type book.

Edited by - Prospector on 08/12/2010 14:42:49

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 08/12/2010 : 14:48:13

Welcome.

Read Seidman's book before you attempt Chapman's. Chapman's is certainly the authority but can be a bit intimidating. It weighs as much as your keel. (OK, that might be a bit of an exageration

).

What Brooke meant to say was the tiller is the horizontal stick that turns the rudder. The rudder turns the boat.

There's a lot to be said for jumping in the deep end first! Good luck with your adventure.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 08/12/2010 : 14:51:01

Welcome to the world of sailing.
Find a friend who can give you some lessons. Crew on someone else's boat, preferably another C22, and learn from him/her. Check out the Catalina 22 National Assn. website, fleet roster, and find a fleet near you - contact them. Sailors love to pass on their knowledge.
Go online and order a beginner's sailing book from US sailing or the American Red Cross, or check one out from your local library. Learn the terminology. Also, remember the NO-GO zone (45 degrees to each side of the wind direction - you can't sail there)
Go out on a fairly light air day and experiment. Remember that it doesn't take much movement of the tiller to produce a very significant change in direction.
Specifically regarding the C22: It's a great beginner's boat, very forgiving. After you launch the boat and get it tied up to the dock, lower the swing keel. The winch handle is just inside and below the main hatch (called the companionway). After raising the mainsail, be sure to unhook the pigtail. That's a short wire attached to the backstay (wire coming down from the top of the mast to the back of the boat) that holds the end of the boom up. you don't want to go sailing with the boom still tethered to the backstay. Remember that steering with a tiller is the opposite of steering with a wheel; you push the tiller in the opposite direction from where you want to go.
Rudder is with 2 "d's" not "t", and it is the blade in the water behind the boat. The stick you hold that is attached to the rudder is called the tiller.
When the wind picks up, the boat will naturally try to turn up into the wind. The rudder is one of the opposing forces. If the rudder is getting overpowered, try letting the main sail out a little to release some of the pressure.
Enough for now!

Edited by - dmpilc on 08/12/2010 14:54:19

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9082 Posts

Response Posted - 08/12/2010 : 15:59:39

Hi Adrian... I don't mean to keep you off the water, but the first rainy (or ridiculously hot) day you get, pick up any beginners' sailing book from the library, west marine, or wherever, and go through it. There are some very, very basic things you should know so you don't hurt yourself or somebody else. For example, the difference between a tack and a jibe. Once you've figure that out, avoid the latter and stick to the former for a while. It means planning ahead a little on where you're going to go, but that's part of sailing--you don't just point the boat and go wherever you want.

Keeping the keel down is very important--at least when the sail is up. That's primarily what allows a sailboat to go up-wind. But another important function of the C-22 keel is keeping he boat upright--it is the primary ballast, and the lower that weight is, the more leverage it has against capsizing (and for keeping the sail up against the wind).

I second (third, fifth...) getting a sailor to go out with you or sailing on somebody else's boat. It'll all come together pretty quickly, but there are some basic principles that are not intuitively obvious to people who've never done it. I've taught more people than I can remember--most in a matter of an hour or two for the basics, such as the right way to raise and lower the sails, how to figure out what to do given the wind, tacking versus jibing, fundamental sail trim, reacting to gusts, etc. Professional instruction is even better, but not absolutely necessary--especially for someone with your moxie.

All the best with your new adventure!

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 08/12/2010 16:06:33

tyztoy
Deckhand

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USA
24 Posts

Response Posted - 08/12/2010 : 19:06:38

I agree with the friends part. I bought a Catalina 25 and had nver anything to do with sailing before. I went out with someone else on their boat, then had some people go out the first time on mine to help get it rigged, etc. Then all on my own. It's great. You can do it. Have fun but be careful!

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 08/13/2010 : 04:00:10

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by adrianZR200
 . . . thats when i took a s**t . . . I am not too familiar with the terminology . . .
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I think you've got the terminology down just fine.

Edited by - on

djdurrett
Navigator

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124 Posts

Response Posted - 08/13/2010 : 07:21:32

Where are you sailing? We may know someone...

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9082 Posts

Response Posted - 08/13/2010 : 07:22:26

He's in Miami...

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5904 Posts

Response Posted - 08/13/2010 : 07:36:21

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by OJ
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by adrianZR200
 . . . thats when i took a s**t . . . I am not too familiar with the terminology . . .
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I think you've got the terminology down just fine.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Yeah, I'm also very familiar with that sailing term, having used it many times, especially when scared witless!

Edited by - on

superbob
Navigator

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USA
200 Posts

Response Posted - 08/13/2010 : 10:12:56

Last October a huge puff of wind caught every sailor on the lake by surprise. Up to that point there had been little of no wind on the lake. The sudden gust of wind was contained in a large group of low hanging, dark clouds that had been working its way onto the lake (estimated by those on the lake to be 40-50 mph) turned our boat 180 degrees and in the process snapped every plastic sail slide on the main. A Catalina 22 to the southwest of us was knocked over and sunk all due to (a) an experienced skipper and (b) a swing keel that was retracted. Dollars to donuts the Catalina 22 skipper now remembers to swing that keel down.

Edited by - on

adrianZR200
Deckhand

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USA
3 Posts

Response Posted - 08/13/2010 : 10:33:52

hey guys, I will definitely be taking your advice about having an instructor/experienced person to go out with me. As he stated earlier I am in Miami, FL and am planning on joining a local sailing club in hopes of meeting new people/sailors. Thanks for the spell check (rudder got it). I do not know anyone that sails for that fact that most people my age (23) are going out in 40ft center console with three super charged engines :) I am confident that joining the sailing club should help me tons... Thank you all for the advice and time!

Edited by - on

jbkayaker
Captain

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USA
299 Posts

Response Posted - 08/13/2010 : 11:24:53

Quote:" I do not know anyone that sails for that fact that most people my age (23) are going out in 40ft center console with three super charged engines :) "

Miami must be more affluent than I thought. I was on a 43 footer with twin Caterpillar engines a few years ago. After running about 9 hours at 17 mph it took over $750 of diesel to top off the tanks again. Not many twenty-somethings can afford to do that on a regular basis even without other boat expenses.

Edited by - on

KD4AO
Navigator

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USA
202 Posts

Response Posted - 08/13/2010 : 11:29:21

Hi Adrian, if you run into trouble finding a sailing club, I can recommend one a little north of Miami in Lighthouse Point. It is called Hillsboro Inlet Sailing Club and is a great club. We were members several years ago and had some great times. It has some rather famous sailors in it such as Gary Jobson of ESPN and Americas Cup racing fame. A friendly club can go along ways toward increasing your enjoyment of sailing. Good Luck.

Edited by - KD4AO on 08/13/2010 11:30:35

adrianZR200
Deckhand

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USA
3 Posts

Response Posted - 08/13/2010 : 12:56:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Miami must be more affluent than I thought. I was on a 43 footer with twin Caterpillar engines a few years ago. After running about 9 hours at 17 mph it took over $750 of diesel to top off the tanks again. Not many twenty-somethings can afford to do that on a regular basis even without other boat expenses.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

It was more of a figure of speech but when the parents of these kids have a little extra disposable income they take care of all of the expenses that a boat come with...

Ill take a look at the club in lighthouse point if I cannot locate one closer...Thanks

Edited by - on

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