My first boat

[irwinsailor]

My first boat was a 8' plywood sailing pram that I bought myself with money I made picking blue berrys. I was about 10 at the time. The man wanted $100. for it, he built it himself and it was to small for him. I offered $80. for it, he did not take it but after a few days he called and asked if I would like it for $90.. I said I did not know, I did not know what to say and I played dumb by accident, but it worked and he let me have it for the $80.. I used the boat until I was 14. I loved it. I would have continued to sail but the death of my mother forced the sale of our house when I was 15 and I moved to my Dad on the farm many miles from the lake. I have never sailed that boat again. I do still have it in the garage in pieces but I can rebuild it. I have loved the water as long as I can remember. Now I start what looks like the biggest adventure of my life!

[Gisle]

When I grew up my parents had a 18' plastic fishing/leasure-boat with an outboard. I used it a lot going waterskiing in the summers.

After studies and getting a permanent home of my own in 1994 I purchased a 1964-model 24' wooden fishing/leasure-boat with a one-cylinder diesel inboard engine (the kind you have to wind by a crank to start).

I had several great years with that boat - taking friends in the local scuba club diving in the Oslofjord on a weekly basis for long periods - also in the winter. Scuba diving is actually best in the winter in my area due to much better visibility (20-30m) than in the summer (1-20m).

I sold the wooden boat in the spring of 2001 when I decided to go for the 43' catamaran.

[Pisces]

My first boat I got when I was about 11, it was also wood, about 14 foot, no motor, no oars (only paddles) and a HUGE hole just above the waterline on the starboard side. No leaning or much frantic bailing. That boat was heavier than all get out but I paddled it everywhere. Finally saved enough money from babysitting and mowing to get an aluminum runabout with a motor. Used to to take that boat to the bus stop. When I got back from school instead of going home, I would head out into the gulf. After all the paddling in the wood boat I thought the aluminum boat was fast (it wasn't!), but it did throw enough wake to have the marine patrol show up at my house more than once. Nothing worse than being grounded from your boat. Over the years I've had runabouts, a 23' Wellcraft, pontoon, 10' Jetwind, Catalina 22 and MacGregor 26. Now searching for the "perfect" 35 to 38 footer.

[irwinsailor]

I would like to hear what others of our group remember about their first boats.

My first boat? Well, I was on other peoples boats most of my childhood, well before I was old enough to know I was supposed to be a land animal
When I was 15 I found a cold molded boat similar to a laser washed up on the salt flats in SF Bay. No rig, No rudder, and it was far better at keeping water in than keeping it out. I used to paddle it around the lagoon where I lived, and used it as a swim platform. Because most of the time it was at or above the surface, I guess it would be considered a boat.
My second boat was a 26' Rienell Sloop I bought about 15 years ago, but that is a another story

[Mary]

An 8 or 10 foot hollow pre-Sailfish version of a sailfish. Sailed it off beachs in Connecticut. We'd flip it and flip it, until we lost the dagger board. Then I'd pull the boat, w/tired friend on top, in to the beach to find where the dagger board washed up. When it was level with the water, it was time to beach it, unscrew the plugs, and drain it out. This was at 12 and 13 years old. Then, a Dyer Dhow dinghy, sailed on Naragansett bay at 14 years old. Always solo and most fun when there was a lot of wind. I stripped and repainted both of these at my father's direction. Good summers!

[leeway]

First boat was a 14' Sears aluminum fishing boat, mid '60s. My dad bought the boat, and a buddy of his had a 5 hp outboard. We fished a lot in that boat, which is still at my mother's farm, having been used for every purpose imaginable, including as a sledge for hay in the winter from one barn to another (dragged by snowmobile).

Many a good time in that one, which has never even had a name.

[swagman]

We were brought up on the south east coast of the UK in a coastal village. As kids we spent each 6 week summer holiday down on the beach swimming - and maybe thinking about talking to the few (seemed to be very few) girls around.
The beaches in that part of the world are all tidal, and in the UK as one often finds long 'breakwaters' built out - some of concrete - to help retain the sand.
It was no different where we were, at a place called Minnis Bay in Kent.
In my 13th year we'd spent the morning swimming and were sitting watching those few girls, plus shading our eyes to watch the very few boats that transitted across 'our' bay. But we all sat up when we saw a powered open catermaran - around 16 foot long with a big outboard on it - hurtling round the corner and racing directly across the bay right in freont of us - only 100 yards offshore.
We all knew he was not a local for his heading, along with the falling tide, meant he was about to try and cross one of the submerged concrete breakwaters at what seemed to be 20 knots - and with what we all knew was maybe 3 - 6 inches under his keel.
The inevitable happened.
When we all waved frantically, the couple on board just waved back.
10 seconds later they hit with a real crash - and simply slid over the submerged concrete- and sank!
Swimming out to try and help two fully dressed adults get ashore may have seemed silly - but we did - and as they sat on the beach wringing water from trousers etc - they explained they had just purchased this boat along the coast in Margate and were taking it up the coast 15 miles to Herne Bay.
It had not cost them much, they said most of the value was apparently in the engine - so a deal was struck.
If we 5 x 12 year olds could salvage the engine for them - we could keep the boat!
It actually was not too hard. The thing was settled in only 10 foot of water, and the tide was still going out - so we dived to tie a rope to the outboard, had another local adult dive to uncrew it for us, and collectively we dragged it back to the shore. We weighted the submerged hull with big lumps of chalk to try and keep it stationery as the tide continued to go out - and as the sun set our new jointly owned boat began to appear before us.

It was a heap of rubbish.

Home build superstructure in plywood with two fibreglass drop tanks obviously from the local air base (which at that time was a USAF base).

But we loved it.

We drained the hulls with using short hoses as siphons, stuck two plastic bags across the two fractures in each hull with Bostik, and for the rest of the summer we paddled that device up and down the beach (and kept replacing the plastic bags) until our arms dropped off.

It only lasted that one summer and got turned into a pile of jetsom when a late summer storm took it off the beach.
But it got me hooked - so despite it not having a sail - it was my very first boat.

JOHN

[capt lar]

First boats I sailed were turnabouts. Leaky fun. Submarining is what I remember most. First boat with my money was an International 210.

Larry

[BC Mike]

The first boat was a creation that my brother and I and two of the Gussie brothers built from scrap wood and tin roofing and tar.
I was the test pilot because I could swim. Wise choice. My mothers question latter in the day summed up the voyage. " Why is Michael all wet " Later I built a surfboard while my brother worked on a 12 foot plywood boat. Both were successful. We have owned quite a few boats since the first effort about 50 years ago.
Michael