My first time sailing Slipper, I was somewhat discouraged by her reluctance to tack, or at least, her reluctance compared to Slider, my 16 foot open beachcruiser. So, my first attempt at making her a snappier tacker was to cut a lot of area from the big skegs I installed to support the barn door [...]
Posts Tagged ‘sailing’
Avoiding First Launch Disasters
I’ve been desperate to try out my new little 14 foot cartop catamaran, but not desperate enough to tempt fate. For a first sail in a new sailboat (and particularly in a new design) winds should be fairly light. If you take a new boat out into even moderately heavy air, you’re asking for [...]
Honu Is Launched!
Slider’s first sistership hit the water for the first time on Saturday, February 20th, 2010. Dean Pacetti built Honu (Polynesian for turtle) at his home in Florida. I should mention that Dean was the second person to buy plans for Slider. At the time Dean bought his plans, I’d only completed half [...]
Dean’s Build
Dean Pacetti has sent me some more pictures of his build, which is nearing completion.
One excellent change he made in the plans was to add toerails to the fore and aft decks. I thought about doing this, but eventually decided I was too lazy. But I think it increases safety at very little [...]
Small Trip to Big Lagoon
This hasn’t been the best summer for sailing, though it’s mostly my fault. I’ve been a little under the weather for much of the season, and then there have been various other modest catastrophes that have kept me off the water.
But last week I decided I was going, come hell or high water. [...]
Fort Walton Beach and Destin, Florida
Most of this article originally appeared in Small Craft Advisor.
Name: Fort Walton Beach/Destin, Florida.
In brief: One of the premier cruising areas along the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
Where: Ramp at Liza Jackson Park. Map and Chart.
Ramp: Free, though nearby shallow flats may be unsuitable for deeper draft boats.
Weather at the base camp.
Northwest Florida has a [...]
