The Complete Trailer Sailor
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How to Buy, Equip, and Handle Small Cruising Sailboats Written and Illustrated by Brian Gilbert International Marine / McGraw-Hill Camden, Maine ■ New York ■ Chicago San Francisco ■ Lisbon ■ London Madrid ■ Mexico City Milan ■ New Delhi ■ San Juan Seoul ■ Singapore Sydney ■ Toronto Copyright © 2009 by International Marine. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978-0-07-159360-1 MHID: 0-07-159360-8 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-147258-6, MHID: 0-07-147258-4. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. 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Contents Acknowledgments v 3 Evaluating Trailerable Sailboats 29 Introduction: Thinking Smaller 1 Where to Look 29 Affordability 3 New Boats 30 Simplicity 4 Used Boats 30 Practicality 5 Fixer-Uppers 31 Surveying a Used Boat 31 PART ONE 4 Trailers 50 FINDING YOUR SAILBOAT Matching Vehicle to Trailer and Boat 50 1 Thinking about Your Boat 7 Parts of Your Trailer 52 How Big? 7 Trailer Tongue Weight and What Kind of Sailing Do you Controlling Sway 59 Want to Do? 8 PART TWO Can You Move It? 9 OUTFITTING AND HANDLING Can You Store It? 10 YOUR SAILBOAT Can You Afford It? 12 5 Equipment 62 Do You Have Time for a Boat? 16 USCG-Required Equipment 62 Optional Equipment 69 2 Understanding Sailboat Specs 18 Boat Length 18 6 Towing and Rigging Your Boat 86 Beam 19 Towing 86 Draft and Keels 21 Rigging 88 Displacement 23 Launching Your Boat 98 D/L Ratio 24 Mast-Raising Systems 99 Ballast 24 7 Knots and Lines 104 Sail Area 26 Bowline 104 Rigging 27 Cleating a Line 105 iii iv CONTENTS Coiling and Securing a Line 106 PART FOUR Other Knots 110 MAINTAINING AND MODIFYING YOUR SAILBOAT 8 Getting Underway and Sailing 113 13 Maintaining Your Sailboat 169 Setting Up the Headsail 113 Frequent Washdowns 169 Attaching the Headsail Sheets 118 Preventing Water and 17 0 Leaving the Dock 118 Mildew Belowdeck 172 Sailing 125 Gelcoat Maintenance 175 Sail Trim 129 Teak Maintenance 17 7 Docking 134 Dealing with Corrosion Picking Up and Dropping Maintaining Your Electrical 182 a Mooring 135 System Anchoring Techniques 135 Bottom Issues—Blisters, Barnacles, and Painting 186 Best Practices for the Prudent 187 Mariner 138 Running Rigging Outboard Maintenance 19 0 PART THREE Trailer Maintenance 192 MORE SAILING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS 14 Modifying Your Sailboat 19 4 Building a Navigation Tool Rack 19 4 9 Rules of the Road 14 0 Installing a Midships Cleat 19 6 Basic Rules 141 Installing Cockpit-Led Halyards 19 8 10 Weather on the Water 145 Altering Course 146 PART FIVE CRUISING IN COMFORT Preparing Your Boat and Crew 146 Shortening Sail (Reefing) 147 15 Personal Comforts On Board 202 Lightning 14 8 Cooking on a Small Boat 202 Sailing Downwind in Strong Fresh Water 203 Winds 14 8 Personal Gear 204 What about the Bathroom? 205 11 Navigation and Piloting 15 0 Navigation Tools 15 0 The Trailer Sailboat Gallery 208 Measuring Time 154 Boats Currently in Production 208 Plotting a Fix 154 Used Sailboats 230 Danger Bearings 156 Can We Turn on the GPS Now? 157 Epilogue 243 Sailing at Night 158 Appendices 245 Bibliography 247 12 Emergencies 161 Internet Resources 249 Medical Emergencies 161 Index 254 Crew Overboard 162 Risks to the Boat 165 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS any people have helped with the production of this book in various ways—some tangi- ble, others invisible but no less valuable. At the top of the list is my wife Karen. Her help, M advice, and support I will always treasure. Tied for second is my young son Kyle, who has taught me far more through the years than I will ever teach him. I love you both. I am also indebted to friends who, through the years, helped and taught me things about sail- ing, often just by being there and sharing experiences. My first real “crew,” Mark Kennedy and Suzanne Shurbutt, remain steadfast friends, though we don’t get the opportunity to sail much any- more. My slipmate Larry Lee was always ready to lend a hand or share a tool, and Rick and Barbera Barber became close neighbors after Hurricane Hugo destroyed our marina. I learned much about sailing from these wonderful friends, and remembering time spent together always brings a smile. I am also deeply appreciative of the many people I contacted seeking opinions—people like John Bell at ACR Electronics, Bill Goggins and Kathy Weishampel at Harken, experienced Bahamas sailors Matt and Mindy Bouldoc, author John Rousmaniere and the members of the Crew Overboard Symposium committee, photographer Eric Martin, and sailor Bill Klein. Finally, of course, I am endlessly grateful to the production team at International Marine— specifically my editors Bob Holtzman, Ben McCanna, and Molly Mulhern. While writing a book is a huge undertaking, turning it from a computer file and stack of drawings into the book you’re reading is a difficult task (more so where I’m involved), and this book wouldn’t exist without their hard work and support. v This page intentionally left blank INTRODUCTION Thinking Smaller t is difficult to describe sailing in the pages time and lots of saving, I convinced a bank to of a book. Just what is it anyway? Sport? loan me the money to buy a Catalina 27, which IHobby? Pastime? Lifestyle? In fact, it’s any I would live aboard. The economies of boat and all of these things, and more. For me, sail- ownership at age twenty-eight pretty much ing can be described as nothing short of a pas- kept me in the marina while I worked to pay sion. I wanted to sail even before I ever set foot for the boat. I dreamed of sailing to exotic on a boat. places in a bigger, stronger craft, while in real- It started with my father. Mom and Dad ity I took weeklong cruises twice a year and both worked—a lot—to support a family of sneaked out for the occasional weekend sail. four, keeping the bills paid and groceries on I loved my boat, but in truth I was lonely. On a the table. But they still managed to rent a cot- boat that size, there’s not enough room for even tage at the beach once a year for family vaca- one person to spend much time—and 24/7 is tions. I remember walking on the beach with pretty much out of the question. After five years, I my dad one year and stumbling upon an old sold my boat and used the money to pay for Sunfish pulled up in the dunes. “Oooh, look, graduate school.