But how can I find someone to come sailing?

[oldmanofthehills]

Have never tried reefing hove-to with a furler, does that work? I usually just do the lame motoring into the wind thing. I realised the importance of a little pre instruction after a line ended up in the water

Heaving too works just as well or just as badly with a furler. My old boat would not heave to in as stable manner with the genoa fully out, as too much sail up forward. New one seems better at heaving to despite 155% genoa

On old one I just furled in most of sail and hove to primarily on main. A bit slower and only done for lunch or repair stop

 

[Stemar]

Every boat's different when it comes to heaving to. Some are fine with a full genny, some like it rolled in a bit. Some like the main pulled in, some prefer it eased off. Mine is pretty kind. I mostly just leave whatever sail I have for the conditions close hauled, tack and forget to switch genny sheets. She just sits there.

 

[half tonner]

Single-handing is the great liberation and a 31 footer would be ideal, but you'll probably need at least a first season with a crew to get used to the boat and being a skipper, etc.

That deals with the technical side of things. As to the company side of things, you know what the answer is: a dog!

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last thing you want on a boat is a dog. Cuts down how long your trips can be , gets in the way & serves no practical use whatsoever.
But I fully agree with single handed sailing. You will find many cannot get the time off that you want, Have to be back early, cannot come the days you want etc etc. They become a real pain. if you sail to marinas you can have a faily good social life by meeting people in yacht clubs etc & if you sail X channel it is surprising how many people you meet on a regular basis. Some marinas-( I expect Chatham does) have groups who organise cruise s in company. If your wife is a social animal that might persuade her to come along in the summer.

 

[half tonner]

Having a wee and parking in strange places is the most difficult bit about solo sailing so far for me. I prefer company usually, but mostly due to living alone on a boat in the first place.

I find arriving in new ports SH the best bits. One learns how to handle the boat & it is always a new experience seeing a new harbour.
In my 20s I watched an old man sail up to a mooring, luff up, stroll forward with a boathook, catch the buoy & tie up in among loads of other moorings at Burnham.
I felt it looked so neat that I decided that if I could not sail as fast as the other boats I would at least learn to handle the boat better than them . In most cases I think i did. Once one gets confidence it makes going into new places so much more fun & takes the stress right out of it.

 

[Jay Bee]

And on the practicalities of singlehanded mooring, is it better/easier to catch a mooring buoy at a yacht club or to try to berth her in a marina? Which one is more foolproof?

 

[half tonner]

If one lives near Chatham, where the Op says he wants to keep the boat, then a boat in the med is a no brainer. How much better to nip down to the boat, fiddle with a few ropes , chat to another berth holder, possibly go for a sail , or not, depending how the mood takes one. Then one morning decide to sail round to Dover & over to Boulogne or Dieppe for a couple of days. then back home so the wife does not moan about one being away too long. Go to Lowestoft if the wind is blowing the other way.
Can always go to, say Ostend & the wife can come overon the train for a long weekend & spend the time shopping & dinning in some of the restaurants. Might even take her up to Middleburgh if the weekend in an extended hot bank holiday. She can get the train home without that wet cold trip back to Chatham & there is no flights to book & it can all be "spur of the moment" stuff.
Sail to the Channel Islands & she can come over on a flight with a couple of friends- has the OP any offspring? Great place for shopping & lounging without the hassle of getting to the med & all short term planning. Can be quite warm at the right time of the year.

 

[half tonner]

And on the practicalities of singlehanded mooring, is it better/easier to catch a mooring buoy at a yacht club or to try to berth her in a marina? Which one is more foolproof?

Then you have the hassle with the dinghy & less socialising.

 

[PabloPicasso]

If you are already competent to sail (and don't need crew to help with what to do) then flying solo is great for focusing the mind, you'll learn faster and it will cement your knowledge. More than if your crew knows more than you and you end up relying on them or they distract you.

Its a different mental/spiritual experience as well being out at sea alone, I love it, though some people really need other people with them for company so it won't be for everyone.

But if you rarely expect to have anyone on board or maybe one other you might be better to start smaller, you can go anywhere in 26ft yachts and they are easier to learn to single hand on, everything is lighter and quicker to do which if you're single handed and tacking up the medway or thames most of the time will make a hell of a difference.

Yep, 26ft is what I sail, Often on my own. Wouldn't have been my first choice when I started but I absolutly love it now!!

I can find guests an inconvenience, but like crew when racing.

 

[PabloPicasso]

This.
Not because you're Billy No Mates, but because that way, you can take along people who don't know what they're doing. You wouldn't be the first person to want crew to help handle the boat, then get out there and, when you rely on them, find they've no idea or sense.

In normal times, I'd agree with Crewseekers and local sailing clubs, but these aren't normal times. If the vaccines prove effective against the new varieties of covid, we may be getting back to some semblance of normality by the start of the season, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.

If you've got a rough idea, the best way to learn would be to do a Day Skipper Practical, but I guess that isn't going to happen for a while. If I found the boat I wanted, I'd watch a few Youtubes on parking your boat, then go out on a calm day and spend a few hours pontoon bashing, trying the different techniques. Then learn how the sails work on your boat, and try them, again, on a calm day. Once you're confident with them, it's time to actually start sailing. Oh, and you'll want a VHF licence, if you haven't got one.

The one tip I can give is ALWAYS think through what you want to do and how you're going to do it - and what's plan B if it doesn't work. What's the wind doing? What's the tide doing? How does my boat react in these conditions? How deep is the water, here, and over there? What about that muppet bearing down on me? - Or is he the stand-on, and I'm the muppet? After a while it becomes instinctive, but it isn't when you start.

Pontoon bashing is a funny phrase, as the goal is very much not to bash the boat into the pontoon

 

[half tonner]

Yep, 26ft is what I sail, Often on my own. Wouldn't have been my first choice when I started but I absolutly love it now!!

I can find guests an inconvenience, but like crew when racing.

If finance is not an issue for the Op then the larger craft gives a much better working platform. Better in rougher water. & better if several crew do decide to join. I went from 26ft to 31 ft & the difference was soooo much easier.Travel time from destination to destination is greatly reduced. 100 miles can often be done in 18 hours with a 31 ft boat. Which is really just a long day sail. bit different with a 26 ft one

 

[Adios]

If finance is not an issue for the Op then the larger craft gives a much better working platform. Better in rougher water. & better if several crew do decide to join. I went from 26ft to 31 ft & the difference was soooo much easier.Travel time from destination to destination is greatly reduced. 100 miles can often be done in 18 hours with a 31 ft boat. Which is really just a long day sail. bit different with a 26 ft one

You went from 26 to 31 after you'd served your time in a smaller boat though, do you not think there are advantages to starting small?

Considering the OPs crew situation and experience the only reason I don't recommend he buys an 18-20ft boat is his age, in case his joints are bit stiff or he's too used to comfort. The reason being he says he's new to this, I supposed he's crewed on charter boats in fair weather? Correct me if I'm wrong but if that's right he reasonably thinks a boat ought to be roughly that size despite not needing 6 berths. But in reality he probably should stay in the Medway for a good while and gain suitable caution about venturing further, sort of caution that comes after hitting F5 wind over tide in the estuary in a smaller boat.

I think the bigger the boat the bigger the water is needed to get any feeling of accomplishment, you allude to that difference as well but mention it purely as an advantage. I spent 2 full time summers sailing an 18ft sailfish steadily between London and North Norfolk and every creek in between. Then I had an Offshore 8m and went from the Orwell to London in a single hop and realised I'd just made my cruising area dramatically smaller. Then I needed to go across the sea for it to feel like an adventure, but I was ready by then so it was about right.

But what's the benefit of a bigger boat unless experienced and crew available? Where are any of us going in a hurry or needing to go far? Tacking up the river with a foresail you can sheet in in seconds without winching (much) means single handed tacking might happen vs realistically likely to get pretty bored and tired of winching and end up motoring in rivers and feeling like he needs to get out to sea, where he could find himself beyond his abilities in terms of seamanship. A smaller boat encouraged me to learn much before I'd left fairly sheltered water where help was never far off. Probably loads of other good reasons to keep it small for a couple of years. My best sailing summer was the first, a 330 mile trip over 6 weeks full time in a 13ft fishing boat with just a cuddy and tent cover, but thats another story and I was young enough, but i learnt a hell of a lot of respect for the sea and weather, while never being very far from land.

Maybe a good condition Corribee? IMO get all the safety gear but NO chart plotter for a good long while ;-)

 

[half tonner]

Stay in the Medway? I could not wait to get out of the Crouch. in 18 months & I was visiting the Dutch canals
People spend far too much time wallying about,. Get out & do it. That is how you learn.
Depressing place to sail. Tidal issue . Overpriced marina, Broken jetties, Flat boring views, Knackered buildings. Rusty barges moored up .Heaps of gravel. Even the bridge to Sheppey looks out of place. Lovely

 

[Adios]

Stay in the Medway? I could not wait to get out of the Crouch. in 18 months & I was visiting the Dutch canals
People spend far too much time wallying about,. Get out & do it. That is how you learn.
Depressing place to sail. Tidal issue . Overpriced marina, Broken jetties, Flat boring views, Knackered buildings. Rusty barges moored up .Heaps of gravel. Even the bridge to Sheppey looks out of place. Lovely

yes the crouch isn't very interesting once you've been up and down it a few times but I think the medway is a lot better. Quite a lot of variety in places to visit and if he had a lifting keel there are really a lot of drying out options. Up the swale, build up to round the island, up the thames, over to havengore. Loads to learn. Funnily enough another thread someone was asking for an ideal east coast boat but wanted it for going on longer trips and across the sea, sure then a bigger boat and forget the bilge keelers. But if someone asked what sort of voyages would a beginner with no crew aim to do in the first year of sailing who would say you want a boat suitable for going to Holland?

Funny though how we all see things differently, I love the rusty barges and knackered buildings, agree about the new bridge though.

 

[Concerto]

Having sailed on the Medway since 1965, with periods elsewhere including the Solent, I still find it a good river to be based on. Berthing costs are far lower than the Solent. It is also quieter and more sheltered. This makes it a good river to sail on for a beginner, but the river has twists and turns that make it an interesting one to race on as you learn to cheat an adverse tide. Having full access at all states of tide means you can sail locally or further afield to places up the East Coast, out to North Foreland for Ramsgate and along the South Coast or to go foreign.

For OP Jay Bee, I think it is a wise river to choose and Chatham Marina is the best place to berth. Perhaps he could provide a little more information on his experience and budget, so we can offer even better advice for his potential purchase of a yacht.

 

[Concerto]

Chatham Marina lock is currently closed until 22 Jan for annual maintenance. This is a photo of it being maintained in a previous year and one with Concerto ready to enter the Medway. The floating pontoons to moor against make locking in and our very easy. Generally they can take 4 yachts, or 6 if they are very busy and there are 2 locks in and out every hour. At high water there is normally a period of free flow. The lock is manned 24 hours a day and has full access at all states of tide (except for an hour on very high water spring tides as they can be higher than the interior gates) for virtually all boats..


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[Resolution]

I wouldn’t give up on your wife yet. Second-hand models can be unreliable, as with cars.

Are you speaking from experience?

 

[LadyInBed]

Peeing - Cut the top off a 2 or 4 pinter milk container just above the handle and pee into that, then easy to empty it overboard.

 

[Stemar]

Peeing - Cut the top off a 2 or 4 pinter milk container just above the handle and pee into that, then easy to empty it overboard.

Top tip: Sand the cut edges to make sure they aren't sharp before use...

Pontoon bashing is a funny phrase, as the goal is very much not to bash the boat into the pontoon

No argument there, but that isn't how it starts

 

[Babylon]

last thing you want on a boat is a dog. Cuts down how long your trips can be , gets in the way & serves no practical use whatsoever.

I value my dog's opinion over your's.

BTW when I arrived in Gib from Falmouth, there was a singlehander who'd just come in from the Canaries with his bitch aboard.

?

 

[Stemar]

I value my dog's opinion over your's.

BTW when I arrived in Gib from Falmouth, there was a singlehander who'd just come in from the Canaries with his bitch aboard.

?