Any boater or sailing enthusiast's ?

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oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
I learnt to sail in a Wayfarer.đź‘Ť
Lovely boats. I often sailed single handed. My only near miss was when teaching a novice out in the Sound which has very fluky winds. I was only a few weeks out of hospital after losing a kidney and should have had more sense.When we got hit by a gust she held on to everything and the water was nearly over the gunnel. Fortunately her foot slipped, she lost her grip on the tiller and the boat came head to wind with no problem. I don't think she heard me yelling to let everything go. If we had gone over I was dead for sure.
 

Lozz360

Veteran
Location
Oxfordshire
I have a request today to get a price for someone to have his motor yachts fuel tank internally polished !!!

I was tempted to offer him some pledge :laugh:
I know this thread is a few months old, but I presume he was asking for the fuel to be polished following the winter lay up?
 

francovendee

Ăśber Member
I'm another with a Mirror. I had it given to me 12 years ago in a very poor state. It was touch and go whether to repair it or scrap it. A lot of work over a winter but worth it.
I only sail it on local lakes but apart from the boom being a little too low I love it.
I don't use it enough really as given a choice between boat or bike the bike usually wins.
When I lived in the UK I kept a small sailing boat at Keyhaven, a most lovely place.
I've still got fond memories of sailing across to the I.O.W with a friend who's now sadly ill with dementia.
 
Location
Rammy
I have a dinghy, a Mirror. Haven't used it for a few years, in fact if anyone wants it they can have it :smile:

Currently stored in Crosby, Merseyside.

Andrew

Don't tempt me! Black Ewe wouldn't be happy!

My Wayfarer being pursued by an Enterprise in the Diorlinn in a Round Calve Island race. View attachment 532726

A wooden masted Enterprise! excellent - I had E-2694 for some time, it was my uncles but had sat un-used for a number of years, my dad and I did it up and I used it, but not as much as I should have as I was scared I wouldn't get it back up if I capsized it or I'd turn up at the sailing club and no one else would so I couldn't take it out.

It got loaned out to a few of my uncles friends after I'd gone off to uni, someone wanted to do it up and was told that was fine, but if they changed their mind / thought it too much work to return it - they found it too much work and burned it.

I learned to sail in Toppers, tried lasers but I just fall out of them!
Worked at a watersports centre for a summer job at uni and a number of years ago took a Wayfairer down Coniston to Peel Island swallows and amazons style :biggrin:
 

oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
Don't tempt me! Black Ewe wouldn't be happy!



A wooden masted Enterprise! excellent - I had E-2694 for some time, it was my uncles but had sat un-used for a number of years, my dad and I did it up and I used it, but not as much as I should have as I was scared I wouldn't get it back up if I capsized it or I'd turn up at the sailing club and no one else would so I couldn't take it out.

It got loaned out to a few of my uncles friends after I'd gone off to uni, someone wanted to do it up and was told that was fine, but if they changed their mind / thought it too much work to return it - they found it too much work and burned it.

I learned to sail in Toppers, tried lasers but I just fall out of them!
Worked at a watersports centre for a summer job at uni and a number of years ago took a Wayfairer down Coniston to Peel Island swallows and amazons style :biggrin:
Great dinghy the Wayfarer and they undertook some North Atlantic journeys from Scotland to Iceland as I remember and a few books were written about cruising in them. My own one had a metal centreboard as I often sailed single handed out off Ardnamurchan Point and the west of Mull.
 
Location
Rammy
Great dinghy the Wayfarer and they undertook some North Atlantic journeys from Scotland to Iceland as I remember and a few books were written about cruising in them. My own one had a metal centreboard as I often sailed single handed out off Ardnamurchan Point and the west of Mull.

I never took to them quite in the same way I did the enterprise, the ones I sailed were owned by the watersports centre and if you went over you had to be towed in to have the boat pumped out as the bouncy tank across the back prevented bailing by simply getting up speed, the one exception being the Wayfairer World where the rear tank was angled so a bit of speed would slop some over the transom. In contrast the Ent had transom flaps.
 

oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
I never took to them quite in the same way I did the enterprise, the ones I sailed were owned by the watersports centre and if you went over you had to be towed in to have the boat pumped out as the bouncy tank across the back prevented bailing by simply getting up speed, the one exception being the Wayfairer World where the rear tank was angled so a bit of speed would slop some over the transom. In contrast the Ent had transom flaps.
The Wayfarer had a big buoyancy compartment at the stern which also doubled as storage and more buoyancy under the foredeck. I also added bags on each side as where I sailed if you went over you were very much on your own. I never put her over but had a near miss with a learner I was teaching in the middle of the Sound of Mull. If we had gone over on that occasion I was dead for sure as I was only 6 weeks after having a kidney removed but fortunately the learner slipped and let go the main and tiller. The boat came head to wind and sat there no problem.
 
Another Mirror owner here. Like many other Mirrors it was being given away and was in poor order. All repaired now and sails well.
I was given an old wooden Enterprise before the Mirror.
I had plans to repair it until I found the rot was too extensive. Even the wooden mast had separated into two halves.
I felt sad when I cut it up with the jigsaw.:sad:
Sailed various boats since the 70's and my favourite was a GP14. Far better than a Wayfarer.
Had a Drascombe Lugger for a while. Very safe but slow and boring.
Lasers were fun and the topper we had was indestructible, had years of abuse when the kids were small.
 

derrick

The Glue that binds us together.
One of my fireballs.
Sticky fingers.PNG
 

Exlaser2

Veteran
Sailed mostly lasers and supernovas in my 20 years on the water . At the moment my wife and I have fleet of two British moths , a Comet and a Lightning 368. Moth is the top pic, comet the bottom one .

561172

561173
 

snorri

Legendary Member
I think the first sailing vessel we sailed as young lads was an airborne lifeboat designed by Uffa Fox to be slung under an aircraft and dropped into the sea beside any casualties from downed aircraft. There were two in the area which people had acquired and rigged in a manner which provided a faster performance for day sailing/racing.
The most enjoyable sailing was crewing for a number of years on Sonda, a classic vessel...
http://www.harrisonbutlerassociation.com/PhotoArchive/SondaMcGruer/Article3027.html
 
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Colin Grigson

Bass guitarist - Bad News
Location
Slovakia
I’ve just bought my twins a new Optimist each. They’ve been sailing at the local club for a couple of years now so hopefully they’ll keep it up. I used to sail with my dad, crossing the channel often and the Bay of Biscay a few times. Not in a large yacht either ... a 26’ Westerly Centaur - lots of fun :becool:
 

Gunk

Guru
Location
Oxford
I crewed for my old man when I was a kid. He had an ancient wooden Firefly, we were so uncompetitive it was comedic but they were happy times!
 
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