Will somebody please give dancrane a real boat .....

[dunedin]

.............. perhaps an old wooden Heron or something as a project to do up.

Seems to be getting obsessed by the virtual boat hunt - and trying to think up oddball virtual changes to dis-improve good racing dinghies

Perhaps we should start a competition to name a dinghy not yet been covered in these posts

No offence mate, just teasing about your long vacarious boat hunt

 

[Marakei]

I love Dan's contributions to this forum.

Someone should give him a boat, 'cos he's a deserving cause!

 

[Greenheart]

Kind thoughts, I thank you for them.

I'm edging closer to ownership. But I'm still at the stage of remembering sailing in various boats which, for various reasons, weren't quite what I wanted...and I often liked the looks of other boats, better than those I had the use of. This knowledgable gathering on the forum has helped me separate my dreamier suppositions from the facts about how rigs and foils and ropework and hardware all fit together...

...and on balance, while I've made myself look a nutter en route, I've actually picked up a great deal which two years of unsatisfying boat-buying, sailing, modification and trading-in, might not have done.

If I have in any way entertained, amused and interested other contributors, and perhaps spread around some of the answers to my questions, that can't be bad. I often realise that I already had some sense of how the physics of sails and wind operate, but answers from wizened old hands and high-tech 49er crews alike, all add a healthy chunk of well-reasoned help to my understanding.

If nothing else, it's good to know (as I push a trolley down a supermarket aisle in pursuit of SWMBO) that I may not be the only bloke there who's thinking about buoyancy, or chain catenary, or how a Laser would behave under a Finn rig, or whether I could fit a window in the floor of a dinghy for entertainment...(cripes! I just realised I wrote 'widow' instead of 'window'. That's another thought entirely...)

 

[Seajet]

Dan,

my g/f is a widow ( 3 times so I'd better keep an eye out even when asleep ! ) but she only has limited entertainment value if fitted to the bottom of a boat.

However I would get huge fun from attaching my ex' underneath a boat, preferably on something like a foiler Moth on a cross channel trip...

Your ponderings are always entertaining and indeed informative , and I'm sure you will have noticed I do the same; while I have a boat I'm very happy with, it's fun to think about things like dinghy cruising and the good and bad points of various designs, some of which are sadly slipping away from the modern day consciousness unless people like yourself mention them.

I still think the answer to your quest would be an old pub with a boatyard next door and alongside berths for a Salcombe Yawl, Osprey, Heron, Foiler Moth, Norfolk Oyster, International Canoe ...save a spot for me !

 

[lw395]

He'd still be like I am with cars, always wondering what to get next.
There are boats around for very little money he could do most of what he wants with.

 

[Moonshining]

...and on balance, while I've made myself look a nutter en route, I've actually picked up a great deal which two years of unsatisfying boat-buying, sailing, modification and trading-in, might not have done.

With respect it sounds like paralysis through analysis and you've missed two years of getting out on the water and having some enjoyment.

Carpe diem and all that.