Hi Ron,
Welcome aboard! Herb is just down the block compared to Lake Ontario. I bet I can top you're first time out story, if I can remember it at this point. I've probably got two important pieces of advice as a starting point. 1. When the snow clears put away your polarized sun glasses. . Sudden changes in wind direction or wind intensity change how the light reflects off the water making the water appear to change colors. . That color change is an early warning to skippers who can then react to the changes before they hit. (Get crew to a safer location, get the main uncleated, furl the head sail, etc.) . Polarized sunglasses by blocking reflected light minimize or eliminate color changes on the water surface and force you to be reactive not proactive. 2. Learn how to turn the boat in its own length to allow maneuvering with zero boat speed. . The boat will spin like a bandit starboard (clockwise looking down). . Against all logic, learn how to spin the boat to port. This takes twice the effort but works. . Dozens of bad docking scenarios can be easily overcome if you could just stop and turn the boat to a new direction on a dime . In fact the famous yacht club docking maneuver from the movie Captain Ron is just a variation of spinning the boat. . Typically I'll run a test for how the wind and current is going to affect my docking just before I get in alley and let the drift line me up. Which keel and what sail inventory do you have? Wing Tip is of course a wing keel but I've been dying to talk about how the boat sails with a fin keel owner. Do you have an auto helm? As Herb will attest it takes a little work to get the auto helm to relax enough to sail a C270 comfortably. The rudder is far more effective than the typical ST4000 install making it very twitchy. Phil Agur <http://www.catalina27.org/public_pages/profile270.htm> s/v Wing Tip C270 LE #184 MMSI 366901790 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ron Ginter Sent: Monday, March 01, 2010 7:31 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [IC27A] Newbie onboard Hi All, I've been lurking all winter and thought it was time that I finally introduce myself. I took possession of a 2004 C270 on Labour Day, and I'm thrilled to bits! I spent several years on a racing crew on a C&C25, but that was more years ago than I care to admit. In the intervening time, I always wanted to get my own boat, but was married to someone who made it very clear that if I ever bought one, I'd be alone on it. In the interest of marital harmony, I put the whole sailing thing on the back burner, and contented myself with riding my Ducatis. Now, that someone is an ex-spouse, and I'm finally free to realize my dream. I have a girlfriend/partner who is enthusiastic about sailing, and we're already looking forward to many happy hours out on Lake Ontario. The boat practically threw itself at me! When we went to have a "preliminary" look at a marina, it was the first boat we saw, and it was the size I wanted. Plus, it had just been reduced in price. We looked at several other boats, but kept coming back to this one. I put in a low-ball offer that was accepted, the financing fell into place easier than I expected, and suddenly I'm a boat owner! It's like new, and has been lightly used over its short life. I have much to learn, and have already picked up a lot of good info by monitoring this group. However, it seems that everyone has the C27. Are there other C270 owners besides Phil? Anyway, I will have many questions as spring rolls around. Back in September, we had wonderful weather in this area, so I got to sail for a month before having to put it away for the winter. I have never been the skipper before, and have only had to concern myself with my specific job on the racing crew, so there are large gaps in my knowledge now that I'm the guy in charge. I'll relate a couple of amusing stories about my first time out after the embarrassment eases a bit! <g> ...Ron (Oculus) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
