Thistle owners?

[Adelie]

My friend that sails and races Thistles finally responded. This what has to say:

"I haven't been sailing one lately but have double-handed them a fair bit although three crew is more typical. I wouldn't recommend single-handing one except for very calm conditions in warm water with competent rescuers standing by. Thistles are a challenge to launch/rig singlehanded. Two crew have a hard time in more then 8-10kts but a reefing or a cut down main could help. The centerboard doesn't pivot around a fixed pin and can fall out of the boat (same system as a Flying Scott). The hull doesn't have much form stability and once the rail is buried the boat easily floods (no self-bailing cockpit and many hulls have marginal flotation). It's challenging to self rescue with a full crew in any sort of waves and likely impossible single-handed."



A house is but a boat so poorly built and so firmly run aground you would never try to refloat it.

[Fiveslide]

I'm a dinghy sailor and I usually singlehand them. I love a light, fast centerboard boat, have three of them. Crew adds weight, weight slows you down.

I was surprised by everyone saying you need crew for this boat. Then I did some sailboatdata comparisons with other 17 footers. Apparently, the thistle carries more sail, a significant amount more, 25 to 30 percent more than comparable boats.

So, yeah, crew is probably a good idea, until you get experience.

Bungee the center board in, both of our faster boats have a way to keep the board down in a capsize.

Sent from my XT1080 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by tropicala

Someone from another group directed me here saying there were some Thistle owners but I guess I'm it.

Something to keep in mind when you post is the time you post.

Your first post was at 2020 west coast US time on a Sunday before a workday.
The folks here are starting to wind down and think about shutting off computers except the night owls like me.
The folks on the east coast are already mostly done and in bed.
The folks in Europe are still in bed and the folks in Asia are up but unlikely to know much about a US made dinghy unless they are expats.

The followup post was at 0627 west coast time so probably got the east coast folks at a decent time, and the post would persist on the timeline list long enough for west coast folks to catch over the next several hours.

[tropicala]

Thanks to all.

[sanibel sailor]

To revive a long dormant thread-
I have crewed in one Thistle regatta. Fast, exciting boat. I learned that swamping is slow.
I bought a derelict Thistle and have converted her into a nice little beach cruiser.
I singlehand, but she is a handful in anything more than 5-7 knots. I haven't sailed with crew. I have added three reefs and typically sail with one reef in, unless it is very light. Self bailing cockpit. Cabin and cockpit seats make her self rescuing and she self-rights from 80 degrees with the (ballasted original) centerboard down. A masthead float makes righting after capsize easy. I have been able to set and strike the spinnaker solo, but it is quite challenging.