Possible FAQ?

[Guest]

Hi all,

Following on from my earlier posting as a novice sailor...

Someone mentioned having an FAQ of novice/newbie questions, I'd be happy to collate the information if people think it would be a good idea - it would certainly be of benefit to myself, that's for sure!

Sample questions I have:

What clothing is needed for say weekend crewing?
What is the bare minimum of experience needed? (What do people really mean when advertising for "Amateur Crew"?)
etc etc etc

Please either post your questions and (hopefully) answers here or PM them to me and I'll collate them and make them available somehow.

Cheers

Ade

 

[kimhollamby]

Info gleaned here on the forums should really be made available again via the forums. We can easily set up a read only FAQ if there is sufficient interest and scope.

Associate Publisher ybw.com websites kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[Guest]

Thanks Kim. If there is interest in it, do you want me to collate it, or you?

I think from a personal point of view it would be great to have, I've got a whole host of questions which have probably been asked so many times before, or I'm too embarassed to ask.

eg. Followiong on from the clothing question, where is the best place to get it? Second-hand or new? How much should you spend? Etc etc...

 

[Guest]

Kim - as a first-time boat buyer, I had to ask some pitiful beginners' questions on the subject and I got some really helpful answers about the process, the sort of things I should be expecting and looking out for, so I'd be in favour.

You know what they say about growing your business... (a little bit of free consultancy there? ; -)) )

But I do agree with the point made by some of the old hands posting to Ade's thread, which that it was a good discussion, which a lot of people enjoyed (I got my two pennyworth in, after all) - I'm sure FAQs could be added without damaging the forums, but it's a point which probably needs some thought.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Hello all I am not sure if it is a goog idea I have taken the trouble / pleasure to go back over all posting and from reading FAQ you get lots of diffrent answers. depending who`s on line some are funny others tecnical. and some,bloody daft But that IS the pleasure of reading these posts.If we had Faq and the edited answers, it would quickly get boring .And I think people would stop posting, just reading the same answers and bugger off. well thats what i think anyway And I like posting the bloody daft answers before someone else says it All the best Bob T

Bob T

 

[coliholic]

Ah Robert, but you know how to search and what to try to search for. A total newbie coming here might well appreciate a FAQ page just outlining those sorts of things. For example, if you're a total newbie and you stumble across this site and want to know the best antifoul to use in, well pick somewhere and whether you should strip all the old off first. If you knew how to do a search, you might get some of the answers, but then you'll also gain some expertise in how to best phrase a question and which forum to use and of course the answers you get from the search, may then prompt a "more intelligent" (and I hate to use that but I'm sure you get my drift), follow up question.

I also think that the first few posts can be a bit daunting. I know when I first posted here 3 or so years ago, I'd never posted on any forum anywhere before and I was absolutely sh***ing myself that everyone was going to take the mick. They didn't and I stayed, but it was a very emotive experience and I think takes a lot of courage esp if you're new to both computers and boats.

No I think if there was a FAQ area where you could get some of the basics, it might well help convert some more of the lurkers into regulars. And surely that's what we all want?

 

[Mr Cassandra]

If you haven`t got the courage to post a question you should never go to sea, but take up kniting [ I said i like to give daft answers ]Cheers Bob t .ps only my mother called me robert and only then ,when i was naughty .Come to think about It she never called me bob ?

Bob T

 

[david_e]

Newbie's should learn from that most respected breed of whom most newbie's eventually fall foul of - that is; our dear old friendly expert broker! After all, who will buy all the old heaps of scrap if the newbie's don't? The broker will re-assuringly answer all their FAQ's in that time honoured tradition "Tell them what they want to hear" and then, without leaving the office armchair, miraculously demonstrate the true sailing qualities of each boat. nuff said?

Seriously, FAQ's are far to broad an issue to be covered in FAQ's and so many things change that they probably wouldn't be able to keep up.

 

[davel]

Kim,
there seem to be sufficient examples of common questions that keep on coming up to validate the need for an FAQ page. For instance:
- Copper based antifouling
- Cleaning teak decks
- Cleaning GRP
- Which boat for a beginner
- latest shoe fashions
etc etc.

Perhaps the FAQ page (if/when it exists) could also over a very visible "Search" facility as well.

Dave L.

 

[AndrewB]

Avoid FAQ\'s please.

(How to use the forum excepted).

I think they'll stifle fresh comment on a subject. Moreover FAQ's can't contain personal opinion which is often as interesting and relevant as the 'facts' on many issues.

What you DO need is a decent indexed archive system to allow newcomers to easily access past postings on subjects like "what anchor should I choose".

 

[Nikolai]

Re: Avoid FAQ\'s please.

I suppose You are right.
Doing so would be convenient for the beginners.

Nikolai, Moscow

 

[Guest]

Re: Avoid FAQ\'s please.

I was thinking more along the lines of FAQ's for "New to Sailing" rather than "New to boat owning". Simple (or not so simple) things like what clothing to wear, where to get it from, what would your average skipper expect from his crew etc etc

 

[Guest]

This is absolutely right - I came along as someone definitely at the lighter end of experience, looking for answers to questions that were coming up as I was getting more and more involved with sailing

I was very wary of posting at first, because so many people on this board are so deeply versed in the whole sailing world, but I must say that everyone has been, almost without exception, unstintingly helpful and friendly. Long may it last.

I'm about to make one of the biggest financial decisions that I've made in the last decade (buying a boat), and I've come away a lot wiser and better-armed than when I arrived - not least about the activities of yacht brokers! And I'd also like to nod in the direction of the person who said, on another thread started by Ade, that it goes to prove that sailing is not an elitist hobby, but one anyone with a bit of imagination can get involved in.

But you must see that because you all come across as very knowledgeable and involved, it can be a bit unnerving for newbies.

 

[AndrewB]

Re: Avoid FAQ\'s please.

Nice to hear from you - hope you won't stay a 'beginner' (on this forum, that is) for long!

I see you sail in Karelia. That's a sailing area that no-one here knows anything about. Do you cruise, or race? It would be most interesting if, some time, you could post describing the type of sailing you do, and what it is like in Karelia. The Scuttlebutt forum is more suitable for such a posting.

 

[Nikolai]

Re: Avoid FAQ\'s please.

To my regret, I don't know what is the The Scuttlebutt forum You mentioned.
Shortly here is some details about me and my sailing practice.
I only cruise, don't race. My boat is a 18-ft plastic "compromise" sloop built by the "Avangard" plant in Petrozavodsk some 8 years ago. I sail it only on vacation (since I live in Moscow, and Onego Lake is 1100km north of it) with my family and friends. What is the sailing situation there, I certainly will tell later (now I'm a little buzy), if only it is really interesting to kolleagues here in forum.
I'd be glad, anyway, if so.

Nikolai, Moscow

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Re: Avoid FAQ\'s please.

Pleased to here you say, colleages, not comrades .You are very welcome.But a lot of the replies posted are not serious answers . [ we say tongue in cheek ] joke. I am going to sail up into the sea of Marmara to istanbul and maybe if we have time into the black sea this season Is this far away from your base. all the best Bob t

Bob T

 

[coliholic]

So Robert you naughty boy, you should've put your proper name in your profile then shouldn't you?. Now go to bed early and STOP doing that you'll go blind, you've made me drop a stitch now you naughty boy.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by coliholic on Thu Jan 17 22:41:09 2002 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

Re: Avoid FAQ\'s please.

I'm with you here Andrew. Such a system would also be useful for regulars. It is not uncommon for me to want to refer back when a subject, not relevant at the time, becomes relevant at a later date.

 

[Nikolai]

Re: Avoid FAQ\'s please.

Hey, do you really think all russians always say "comrades" to everyone?!
It is a kind of mistake, if You do! But I like the word, and there isn't anything bad when somebody calls you "Comrade Bob T", for example, or even "Tovarisch Bob T" (smiling). By the way, there aren't many russians here, I gather.
I guess, the quality of my english will be enough to tell jokes from serious answers... Thank You anyway!

Nikolai (Moscow)

P.s. I have been at the Black Sea many times fish-hunting, but never sailed there

 

[Guest]

Re: Avoid FAQ\'s please.

Fyzkultprivet!

By the way, yesterday I saw an enormous Russian flag flying over Portsmouth harbour: "Shtandart" visiting Gunwharf Quays.