First Sail

We were able to sail our little boat a couple weekends ago. It was a nice warm day but the wind died down and we had to motor most of the time. We circumnavigated Mercer Island which is in the middle of Lake Washington. It was lots of fun although it would have been better if the wind had kept blowing. Kimberly did some fishing while we were out and got a couple nibbles but that was it. We are hoping to get back out sometime soon.

Ben the Navigator

Captain Kimberly

Mercer Island

Western span of the I-90 bridge

Having lots of fun

Seattle skyline from Lake Washington

Downtown Bellevue

One of the many mansions on Mercer Island

Eastern span of the I-90 bridge

Rigging the Boat

Today Kimberly and I went over to where I have the boat stored to see if we could figure out how to raise the mast and sails. I wasn't able to get the guy who sold me the boat to show me how to rig it so I had to figure it out as I went. The first thing we did was to raise the mast. I slid the mast back in the cradle until I could attack the base plate to the plate on the cabin top and attached the side stays. Then Kimberly stood in front of the boat and pulled on the main halyard while I held the mast steady. Once we got it standing up I attached the forstay and the mast was ready to go. All we had left to do was raise the mainsail and the jib and we were ready to go sailing. Now we just needed some water.

The mast cradle.

Getting it all figure out.

The plate on the cabin top that the mast attaches to.

Getting the base of the mast in place.

All hooked up.

Hmmmm... where does this thing go?

Where the boom and the mast meet.

I think I need another cleat with all these lines.

All ready to start racing.

Finally figured out how to rig this thing.

Just add water.

I think its a very pretty looking rig.

Buying the Boat

My wife and I decided that it would be nice to have a little sailboat. We wanted to be able to go day sailing on hot summer days and go explore the San Juan Islands and some of the local lakes. I looked around and found a couple small sailboats in the area that were for sale. One of them was a Siren 17 which is a little Canadian built sailboat with a drop down keel. The other boat I found was a Newport 16 with a fixed keel. Both boats were light enough that I could pull them behind my car and both came with fairly new outboard motors. I was leaning towards the Siren but in the end we wound up getting the Newport. I haven't taken it out sailing yet but so far I think it's going to be a great little boat.

Cute little boat.

Small and cozy cabin.

Parked outside our apartment.

My car had no trouble pulling it. I think the boat and trailer together weigh 1,100 lbs.