Sailing Skills Transfer to a Dinghy?

[dylanwinter]

Just do it.
I did it and it was wonderfully successful.
Yes I did fall over a bit. And you do tend to bash your shins a lot in a small dinghy.

However dinghies are all different. I never capsized my Heron or my clinker dinghy. If you are getting a more tender one the first thing to do is practise capsizing in a controlled manner. Getting back in is the hardest bit for old men.


buid a duck punt

£100

one bloke built one in 18 hours

mine took a week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3t9So-yJYw

 

[Searush]

Never done any training, but from my experience of both dinks & cruisers, I can offer a little advice about the differences.

1/ Everything happens MUCH faster in a dinghy, there is much less room for error.

2/ Trim is very important, both of sails (and not just trim of the sheets) & where you sit, even the centreboard is adjustable.

3/ You need to be pretty agile in a lively dinghy, but higher freeboard & bigger boats make for easier sailing. I sail a laser & a GP14. The laser isn't particularly fast these days, but at 66 I have to work hard to keep it sailing well & getting under the boom is an art. The GP14 is almost as quick as the Laser, but a proper little yacht & excellent for taking the G-Kids out.

4/ Expect to get wet, just to launch off a beach you need to wade into the water & will usually go over your wellies - I wear shorts & beach shoes.

5/ As Lakey & Dylan say, at least read up how to right a capsized boat & practise somewhere safe. Once you get the hang of it, you will know when you are going in & should be able to right her & carry on sailing without getting wet.

6/ Get a bouyancy aid for dinghy sailing, auto inflating lifejackets can make it really hard to recover from a capsize. Old clothes & a cag will do if money it tight, but I use a wetsuit jacket & shorts & some wimps seem to need a dry suit.

7/ Think carefully about which dinghy to get for learning & how you will use her. Trailer? Car top? mooring? It won't be that hard to recoup most of your initial outlay if you buy well, look after her & decide to upgrade.

 

[cliveshelton]

Most sailors do it the other way round. However if your wind sense is good you'll have no worries. Do the one to one day and then experiment yourself. Capsize is a part of dinghy sailing which you will have to get used to. For me, the absence of that risk was a revelation when I came to yachting. It took me at least a year to stop the dry mouth heeby geebies when sailing in brisk weather in my first yacht. Have fun and wrap up warm!

 

[ProMariner]

Definitely, option 2. You will save a whole seasons trial and error. If you are sailing a double hander, your crew should do the level one course too. Even if you know the names of all the gear, you will much better understand how to use it. You will meet others, instructors and students, which will broaden the interest in the club. You will have a lot of fun on the course, too. One tip for the course: don't admit to having sailed before, and don't wear any yachty gear when you turn up, or the instructor will latch onto you when asking questions and doing demos first, to be avoided.

There are many skills you will learn on dinghies which will follow onto yachts to good effect, but alas, the opposite is not the case, even the most proficient cruiser can look very out of shape in a dinghy with a bit of breeze, get a sound knowledge base, and build on it at your own pace. Think about signing up for dinghy level 2 after the first course too, and also take up any one to one training you get the chance at, it's all good, many folk survive years of sailing cruisers badly, but in wee boats you can get into difficulties quite quickly, you need a rock solid base of experience to enjoy it safely, and avoid scareing your crew.

 

[iCs]

I'm with Searush.

You WILL end up in the water. Do as I did, and make it warm water! I learned dinghy sailing in Egypt!

 

[ctva]

Anyone with any sailing experience, yachts or windsurfers will find the basic intro to sailing of a Level 1 course pointless. All the talk of capsizie practice, MoB, lee shores, rigging, launch & recovery is laughable.... that's covered in Level 2 and higher. Level 1 is to introduce absolute beginners to sailing and by the end of the weekend will have a basic understanding of how it all works, some steering experience and at most, sailing across the wind and tacking. You would be board. Most centres and clubs jump straight in with a Level 2 course as that covers all the basics mentioned above.

My advice would be either join a club and crew in some fun races or get a session of 1:1 tuition with a view to getting advice from the instructor as to what if any further tuition you need.

 

[Skylark]

Here are the RYA definitions:-


Level 1: Introducing you sailing with all you need to know to get afloat under supervision
Assumed knowledge: None
Minimum duration: 2 days
Course content: How to sail in all directions, including an awareness of launching and recovering
Ability after course: Able to sail in light winds under supervision



Level 2: Setting out the foundations of sailing for you
Assumed knowledge: Sailing skills to the standard of Level 1
Minimum duration: 2 days but is often combined with the Level 1 course into a 4 or 5 day course 2 days or equivalent
Course content: Rigging, launching, sailing in all directions. Capsize recovery and essential safety knowledge
Ability after course: Able to sail and make decisions in good conditions

For about £5, why not buy a logbook; it shows the full dinghy sailing syllabus.

 

[NigelCraig]

Just to give you another example, after I bought a solo to avoid boredom on the endless weekends as a "topper parent", I did a level 3 which was excellent and just about pitched right. Although I am still near the back of the fleet club dinghy racing, my sailing of larger boats has vastly improved.

 

[michael_w]

Lakey you need to get in over the side, not the stern. You'll find in any wind the boat bears away and sails off into the distance with you hanging grimly onto the transom! As you bring her upright, slide in over the sidedeck, if you're quick she won't capsize on top of you.

 

[laika]

buid a duck punt

I would suggest that someone for whom the Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre is convenient and local is unlikely to have a garden or garage and building a duck punt in a studio flat in Hackney might raise objections from the landlord...

I did a couple of the "twilight evening sailing" events at DSWC some years ago which were my first introduction to dinghies. This fell into the "having a laugh" / "trial and error" category but I think the big boat experience and years of having been sat at anchor watching other people having dinghy sailing lessons helped in pointing out what bits I was particularly clueless at. Not having any special use for dinghy sailing qualifications and (by virtue of the bigger boat experience) an idea of some questions to ask, I'd opt for option 1 (and may do that if I have to work in docklands again).

Note that DSWC's self-described "world famous barbecue" used to have no vegetarian option, so bring your own sandwiches if you're going to a "dinner included" event and you don't eat meat.

 

[soapbox440]

I would suggest that someone for whom the Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre is convenient and local is unlikely to have a garden or garage and building a duck punt in a studio flat in Hackney might raise objections from the landlord...

This much is true - unfortunately I wont be building my own dinghy any time soon, as much as i like the idea of building a Dix PaperJet!

Thank you all for the feedback - I have booked a 1-on-1 class for next month. Hopefully this will either show I have a basic understanding and let me get out on the water, or I will get very wet going nowhere and look at doing the course.

I may sail up the caledonian canal in a dinghy one day!

 

[markhomer]

This much is true - unfortunately I wont be building my own dinghy any time soon, as much as i like the idea of building a Dix PaperJet!

Thank you all for the feedback - I have booked a 1-on-1 class for next month. Hopefully this will either show I have a basic understanding and let me get out on the water, or I will get very wet going nowhere and look at doing the course.

I may sail up the caledonian canal in a dinghy one day!

I would go west to east if I was you trust me raced up n doon loch ness twice , its always honking , though if your unexperienced in those winds going downwind (heading east) not much easier , unless you drop sails and drift which some folks ended up doing after numerous capsizes , and that was in cats !!!

Loch Ness Monster race - puts hairs on yur chest

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/search.aspx?q=loch ness monster

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

You need to be on your own, make a few mistakes and then able to recover; that's the best way to learn and appreciate dinghy sailing. IMHO dinghy sailing is "real" sailing; unlike yachting.

 

[Lakesailor]

Lakey you need to get in over the side, not the stern. You'll find in any wind the boat bears away and sails off into the distance with you hanging grimly onto the transom! As you bring her upright, slide in over the sidedeck, if you're quick she won't capsize on top of you.

You write a good joke.
I'm a senior sailor, not an acrobat.
The frp Solos float very high. No way I or anyone that I know can get in over side deck. Maybe we are too old.
Solo sailors (according to the association web site) make a recovery rope with a loop in to act as a step up to aid getting back in. After sorting my recovery rope I could get in over the transom in moments using it.

Anyway, flogged it now.