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Onboard sailing refresher on an E32

mikenberger

New Member
Hello fellow Ericson owners! I am new to the forum and a recently purchased an E32. My boat is located near Solomon's Bay, MD. I am interested in getting some refresh onboard sailing lessons from someone who is familiar w/ Ericson boats. I learned on a much smaller boat and would like some more experience with someone is more knowledgable. Can anyone make a recommendation of a person in the area? Any advice would be awesome. Thank you very much.

Michael :egrin:
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Hello fellow Ericson owners! I am new to the forum and a recently purchased an E32. My boat is located near Solomon's Bay, MD. I am interested in getting some refresh onboard sailing lessons from someone who is familiar w/ Ericson boats. I learned on a much smaller boat and would like some more experience with someone is more knowledgable. Can anyone make a recommendation of a person in the area? Any advice would be awesome. Thank you very much.

Michael :egrin:

Welcome aboard Michael.

I would try contacting the ASA and ask for a local instructor to take you out on your boat. Might be easier than looking for an Ericson owner.
 

mikenberger

New Member
Welcome aboard Michael.

I would try contacting the ASA and ask for a local instructor to take you out on your boat. Might be easier than looking for an Ericson owner.


Rick,

Thank you very much. Good idea on contacting ASA. Will do!

Best regards,

Michael
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Ready to Cast Off.....

Hello fellow Ericson owners! I am new to the forum and a recently purchased an E32. My boat is located near Solomon's Bay, MD. I am interested in getting some refresh onboard sailing lessons from someone who is familiar w/ Ericson boats. I learned on a much smaller boat and would like some more experience with someone is more knowledgable. Can anyone make a recommendation of a person in the area? Any advice would be awesome. Thank you very much.

Michael :egrin:

Welcome Aboard!
If you need to gain current experience with a largish sail boat with an inboard auxiliary engine, and you are experience-limited in sailing and maneuvering under power... I agree that some lessons would ramp up the learning/confidence curve a lot.

Watching our yacht club members deal with boat-handling in our 150 slip marina, I have a formed an opinion or two over the decades. :rolleyes:
Strictly "IMHO" a wise move is to practice slow-speed docking and undocking your new boat under power. This is the oft-ignored skill that will give you real confidence the soonest and spare you some painful collision and insurance arguments.

Once out on open water you will need to get comfortable with raising sails, reefing them, and develop an 'order' to putting them away and preparing to return to your dock or mooring.

I hope that some searching will turn up an instructor or two to choose from.
In pondering how to approach this problem, I got to thinking (go ahead, laugh...) :) that one course of action would be to contact someone locally who deals with boaters having trouble handling their craft... like the local BoatUS towing affiliate. I guess I am biased, but our local Vessel Assist skipper, who operates a tow vessel with his wife, is an all-around nice guy and awesome at handling his boat. He knows most everyone in the business.

Such a person might know an instructor or three.

Of course, nothing will ultimately take the place of time spent at the wheel or tiller. What you want to avoid is being "that guy" that we see out there year after year colliding with other boats and docks and complaining about his boat, other boats, the wind, the water....... everything except his lack of learning.

Finally, never approach any dock any faster than you might possibly hit it! :)

Book Learnin' can help too. I have not taken a formal course but have friends speak well of the Coast Guard Aux. courses. I have taken a navigation course though, and it was both fun and interesting.

Keep us informed and ask questions. As Yoda might put it: "help you we will, but ask you must"
and of course his classic: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

Regards,
Loren
 
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bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
never approach any dock any faster than you might possibly hit it! :)

I "met" my next door neighbors at the marina last weekend. He apparently has not gotten that memo.

I was sitting on the boat fussing with some things when they steamed into the waterway and turned into their slip at about 5 knots.

I had just enough time to think "oh, crap, this is going to be bad" when they hit.... the cheap rubber inflatable tied across the end of their slip. Apparently there for exactly that purpose.

Inflatable folded in half, then slowly sprung back. Boat stopped without hitting anything hard. Skipper stepped off and made up his lines. Apparently all SOP.

Skipper is a mechanical engineer at a Large Airplane Manufacturer (tm) in the area. In a thick eastern-euro accent he told me that he's "calculated" that this is an efficient way to dock.

And it probably is... at least until that inflatable pops.

I needed a drink, just from having watched it.
 
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toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
I have seen ad copy where a local ASA school offers classes on "your" boat. Apparently it is a pretty common situation.

Re: Docking practice, when I moved up to "the big boat" I found a row of dolphins in a quiet backwater and tried a few approaches every time I went past them. But every new combination of wind, current, and dock configuration offers new "learning opportunities."

If the marina allows it, padding your berth is not such a bad idea. One guy near me has bolted fenders lengthwise all along his finger. (And if they don't allow it, I suppose you could float a string of them in there.) Others have wheels installed at the outer corners. They don't have to haul in or deploy their fenders because they leave them at the dock!
 

fool

Member III
https://asa.com/online-sailing-course/

Basic knowledge and terminology.

https://asa.com/news/2016/04/12/docking-under-power-drills/

Demonstrated drills you can watch and then practice. Practice makes perfect but only if prior proper planning is used to prevent poor performance.

Tip: practice docking often and in the early morning before the prevailing winds rise, don't forget to check the tides. Docking being both exits and entrances from your slip/mooring/anchorage.

http://cgaux.org/boatinged/

Is another resource, and:

http://cgaux.org/boatinged/class_finder/index.php

And then there is my teacher:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Hard_Knocks

Cheers and welcome aboard,

Max
 

rbonilla

"don't tread on me" member XVXIIIII
:clap::clap:

I "met" my next door neighbors at the marina last weekend. He apparently has not gotten that memo.

I was sitting on the boat fussing with some things when they steamed into the waterway and turned into their slip at about 5 knots.

I had just enough time to think "oh, crap, this is going to be bad" when they hit.... the cheap rubber inflatable tied across the end of their slip. Apparently there for exactly that purpose.

Inflatable folded in half, then slowly sprung back. Boat stopped without hitting anything hard. Skipper stepped off and made up his lines. Apparently all SOP.

Skipper is a mechanical engineer at a Large Airplane Manufacturer (tm) in the area. In a thick eastern-euro accent he told me that he's "calculated" that this is an efficient way to dock.

And it probably is... at least until that inflatable pops.

I needed a drink, just from having watched it.
 

Navman

Member III
docking

Coming in hot and slamming into a purposely placed inflatable may seem like a well thought out if rather iffy solution to the alternative ( learning how to control your vessel and dock it correctly). However well this may work out at the owners home slip. I sure would like to be there with a camera when tries to dock his boat in a marina or restaurant as a visitor. I am sure the entertainment value would be priceless. When I first brought our E-38 home, I put her on the "t" dock and surveyed my slip and how to approach it. As the approach was pretty confined, there would not be much room for any mistakes. I then took my boat out and practiced the necessary maneuvers I would have to do to back her into the slip (going in bow first was not an option due to the short finger pier). I practiced going from forward to reverse and how the prop walked the boat, went around mooring balls, found out how it handled and responded in forward and reverse to stopping and gunning etc.
After practicing how the boat handled, and was confident, I calmly backed down the fairway and did a big "J" hook right into the slip with no problems. Quietly tied up and stepped off. No high anxiety for me thank you.
Take your time, learn how your boat handles, check the current and wind, and once you get to know how she handles you will develop the confidence needed to dock her in almost any situation.
Good luck and remember its supposed to be fun, so learn what she can do and you will both be the happier for it.
 

bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
When I first brought our E-38 home,... I then took my boat out and practiced the necessary maneuvers I would have to do to back her into the slip

I did the same thing. Upon receiving the keys to my E-32, first task was to move her to a temporary slip ...which was a downwind approach without much straight-line approach space. I spent two (very happy) hours in the middle of MDR, making slow downwind approaches to a harbor marker, slow-speed approaches to a vacant T-dock, ghosting in neutral to gauge tracking at low speeds, backing to a stop (and backing away from a stop) to understand the way the stern walks, etc. *then* I went to put her in the new slip.

Every time I go out, I learn more about this boat's handling. I highly recommend your approach of "structured" practice, where you have a targeted scenario (dock configuration, current, wind, maneuvering room) and focus on what it will take to land - under control - in that scenario. It's a great way to build up an encylopedia of useful knowledge.
 
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