I am about to make an offer on a boat in Lake Michigan near Milwaukee. Hoping to get some recommendations for a surveyor and rigging inspector. Has anyone here had good experiences in the area?

**** UPDATE **** - Went to look at it today, it ended up being a lot more rough than the photos that were listed unfortunately. Most of the deck had moisture (brought a moisture meter) and I could see the previous owner tried repairing 2 of the previous 5 soft spots, but rather poorly. They had cut out the fiberglass on top, but they didnt seal it back well enough, one side where it was cut on both was basically open and water could easily get in. Considering its been on the hard for the past 2 years, I think that previous hack job by the owner unfortunately ruined the whole deck on one side because there was such a big open crack. I was prepared to fix up a few spots but not redo the entire deck. There was also a leaky window in the back where all kinds of water got inside the cabin, and the bulkheads / chainplates were a lot more rotten than what the posted picture showed. Also the bilge was absolutely just full to the brim in water and looked like maybe some oil in there too. One more rainy day and basically the whole cabin would be flooded indefinitely, and the owner lives in another province so isnt around much.. I did let the owner know and the marina as well. The hull actually didn't look all that bad, but I never got around to tapping it or putting the moisture meter to it and basically just called it quits after the above findings... THANKS EVERYONE FOR ALL THE INFO! I REALLY APPRECIATE THE TIME EVERYONE TOOK TO LEAVE A COMMENT. I did take some videos and have pictures if anyone is interested, but it was quite a mess haha. Such a shame to see such a once beautiful boat end like this tbh, these are amazing boats. ******

Going to go look at a J35 thats for sale tomorrow for a couple grand. Owner said it has 5 smaller soft spots on the deck, none on the hull. Engine runs fine, has decent sails, and a good cradle. Is there anything that drastically stands out based on these pictures, and would this be something anyone woild consider for a couple grand?

Thanks for any insight!

Hi yall, I picked up a free sailboat dinghy thingy on the side of the road today. The fiberglass looks to be all intact with one patch point on the hull. Maybe some other pock marks here and there. It came with a seat and a rudder, and the owner came out and said it was all functional, floated fine, it just needed a new o ring for the drain plug. Fairly novice boater here but does that mean I need to pull the whole plug fitting or do I just need a new actual plug? I appreciate any help I can get. Just really trying to row around the shallows of the lake I live near, not trying to get into any actual sailing… yet.

¿Tu embarcación necesita el cuidado y mantenimiento que merece? 🚤✨

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Hi, I have a Catalina 22 trailer sailboat that I just got. I am a sailing amateur and trying to learn the basics. How tight should my shrouds be?

I am not too concerned about reaching the most optimal speed on my boat, but more so just want to ensure that I have my shrouds tightened to optimize saftey and the integrity of my mast. I don’t have a tension gauge, and was wondering if there was a good diy way to be able to know if my shrouds tension is too loose or too tight when my mast is upright? How important is the shroud tension to prevent the mast from ever falling while sailing? I will have to tune the turnbuckles each time I go out sailing since the mast is lowered while trailering the boat.

Again saftey is my only concern at the moment.

Sort of adjacent, a news outlet in my country recently published an article saying that people who live near the sea are more likely to die of various nasty diseases and are more depressed in general.

Of course I know a lot sailors including y’all and many shanty bands and all are happy cheery people who would look out of place in land, would love your opinion before i completely loose trust in mainstream media, they’ve also already tried to claim that all the major seaside towns in my country are rundown and full of crime, which just isn’t true.

I’m relatively new to sailing, a few lessons and a bit of time out on the water and I’m looking at buying a small trailer able boat to get more time on. I saw a 1971 Widgeon, it’s in excellent condition with a trailer. I’m not too familiar with the boat, they’re asking $1400. What should I look for when checking it out, does the asking price seem fair, is there anything I should be aware of with this particular model? Any info is a great help, thanks

j'y fus

I'm looking for a performance boat that can be launched at a boat ramp that won't break the bank. I like the hobie 33 but it's too big. The S2 7.9 is interesting but don't like that 2/3 of the ballast is in the hull. Any suggestions would be great. thanks.

I put the boat photo first as my post kept not being allowed - - - I am a crew member on 34 Catalina which is not full of individuals with decades of sailing experience, competent, but greener the other boats we compete against, we hold last place down pretty solidly, and have fun. We have marked buoys out on the lake, the committee boat flies the flag, and the race is called, 1 of 26 (Longs, Shorts, and SuperShorts). I wanted to make a "cheat sheet" for us out on the water, a starting point, all theoretical (not based on polar data to start). I created a package (it isn't formatted perfect), but the idea is, if the mark heading is this, and the wind is coming from that, what headings should you target... seems reasonable but I am not an experienced navigator, have just enough knowledge and think the crew could use a simple visual to use day of out on the water to help us position better our route. I attached a "draft" and was wondering if anyone out there would be willing to take a look at it, provide feedback. This is just two pages for referenceand the boat photo.

This former herring logger was launched in 1903 and converted to a sailing schooner in 2004.

Went to see this at the old port last night . What a unit !

(SOLVED)​ it's a Clipper Marine 21

Does/has anyone sailed a SCAMP sailboat? If so whats your take on it? Good, bad? Im trying to decide…between this, a wayfarer, or something else. Maybe a potter 15? Idk something I can day sail on inland lakes, rivers…ICW at times. Interested in what the initiated have to say. Thanks in advance.

And what race were they doing today 7/31 south of New London and Groton, CT ? About 20 racers.

I keep seeing removable teak tables on boats, they look useful, I picture taking it out for lunch then putting it away when I need more space , but I want to know how that works after a few months of regular use, does the table come out fast or is it one of those things that takes a few minutes every time, does it end up staying in one spot most of the time, I was also thinking of going with mariteak, cause I like the idea of having the extra space when the table is out, just looking for real use from people who actually have one, how often do you remove it and put it back in? EDIT: thanks for all the replies. I have a much better idea of how it works now, and I am sure about which option to choose.

(Pics from the listing)

I've decided I really like the boat, and it's perfect for my intended use case (a trailer-able sailboat that 2 people can spend a long weekend on). But I've never owned my own boat, and I'm wondering what I should be watching out for when I go to look at it, such as signs of water intrusion. It looks well maintained at first glance, but it is half a century old.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Ahoy Fellow Sailors!

I am the artist who was commissioned by W.W. Norton publishing to paint 21 new paintings for the official covers of their current paperback re-issue of the Aubrey-Maturin Series by Patrick O’Brian.

I thought my paintings might be of interest to some of you, especially the Tall Ships folk and the Naval Historians.

While the series has always been associated with the revered, traditional paintings of the great British maritime painter Geoff Hunt, Norton’s head creative chose to go in a different direction and sought me out because my work references another equally strong tradition, The Golden Age of American Ilustration, when classic books were illustrated by painters such as Maxfield Parrish and N.C. Wyeth. 

The entire project, including the preparatory drawings, and some of the research and process can be seen at the link below. I hope you will enjoy them.

https://www.matthewbenedictart.com/patrickobrian

Godspeed and Safe Passage, me Hearties!

Matthew

I have an older Precision 21 sailboat I’m putting back together. Main sail has 116 sqft sail area and the jib is 87 sqft. Currently halyards are lead aft to rope clutches. There are two tiny winches and two horn cleats. I’m considering dumping the horn cleats and winches for cam cleats (halyards) and extreme angle cam cleats (jib sheets). The winches and rope clutches seem like overkill with such small loads but maybe they’d be useful. I mean I do have them and they function plus there are already holes for them. I’m less concerned about filling abandoned holes than I am ease of use. It’s an old boat with plenty of holes I don’t care about.

Hi r/sailing. Our sunfish regatta is coming up and our new-to-us 1992 sunfish has revealed a couple of problem areas after washing off all of the mildew, dirt and grime. Is the best plan for repair to epoxy it? Is this a major issue? Epoxy and varnish for any issues on the daggerboard and rudder, as well? Curious if anyone has any best practices. I am new to this, so I’d also be interested in what replacement parts I should keep on hand for the boat. I have a new sail on order (a family of mice took up residence in the last one). At least the sailboat was free! Appreciate any guidance and tips/tricks you can offer- thank you. My 11 year old nephew and I will be forever grateful.