Small boat, modest dreams

[Solani]

Greetings from a long-time lurker!

Next spring, I should be receiving my new NorseBoat 17.5. I know that’s tender size for many of you, but she’s gonna be a sweet camper/cruiser for me.

I live on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and there is obviously a lot of sailing open to me here.

Prior to retirement, I lived in northern New York, where I spent a lot of time backpacking in the Adirondacks and sea-kayaking Lake Champlain. Wanting to try sailing, I took a basic keelboat class in Burlington, Vt, and have been wanting my own boat since then.

I’ve spent a long time thinking about just what kind of boating I wanted to do, and have decided that the NorseBoat fits just right with an old backpacker’s idea of voyaging - mostly gunkholing around the Chesapeake, with occasional trailering to other interesting locales. More ambitious thoughts (circumnavigating the Delmarva peninsula, sailing up & down the east coast) creep in, too, but that’s way beyond my comfort zone now.

Anyway, hello to everyone!

[tkeithlu]

Welcome to the forum, Solani.

I spent part of my growing up sailing small boats in the Chesapeake, particularly near Rappahanock River. It's a wonderful place to sail -you get the wind from the Atlantic, but not the waves, and there are bunches of little coves.

[Don C L]

Welcome aboard Solani! Nothing wrong with small boats!

[TrentePieds]

Welcome Solani :-)!

What a refreshing approach to sailing!! Vast numbers of Scowegians, meself included, had their first taste of seafaring in boats of this type. "Joller" such as this are ubiquitous in the Scowegian inland waters, and they enable young men - and their sweethearts - to enjoy to the fullest the joys of "gunkholing", which is the standard thing for youths to do where I come from because the distances are small and the water shallow.

Should you be caught out in nasty weather, you run the boat ashore, drag her up the beach a bit, flip 'er over, and you have a splendid bivouac. Better than any tent :-)!

TrentePieds

[JPA Cate]

Actually, TP and OP, have a look here: Houses from boat hulls aren't new! https://www.google.com/search?q=Hous...hrome&ie=UTF-8

And, welcome aboard, Solani!

Ann

[Fore and Aft]

Solani that is a sweet boat, the best thing is that if it all turns to custard or you run out of time all you have to do is retrieve the car and trailer and you can be home so quick.
Have you read about Webb Chiles voyages in an 18 foot Drascombe Lugger?

Cheers
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Boo...-srp1-_-title3

[Jamme]

Welcome Solani!
Ah, the joys of small boats… Something magical about them, perhaps the fact that you are closer to the water and that you feel everything surrounding you so directly and so quickly…
One of the fondest memories I have of my days on the water is when, as a kids, my brother and I packed lunch and a water bottle and left for the “unknown” on a small 470 dinghy. Way out from the shore, 15 knots of perfect breeze on a crisp June morning, we were greeted by five dolphins: two to starboard, two to port, and one in the bow. In perfect formation, they played with us for a minute, before leaving us speechless for hours: it was there and then that we knew we had just witnessed perfection — if only for a few seconds…
I wish you endless fun gunkholing adventures in your small treasure.
Fair winds!

[fgd3]

You might want to check out Roger Barnes' dinghy cruising channel on YouTube. He's done a lot of the kind of things you are pursuing.


https://www.youtube.com/c/RogerBarnesMusings

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Solani.

[JPA Cate]

And a book for you, The Voyage of Jack de Crow, by A.J. MacKinnon. There's plenty of fun to be had with a trailer sailer.

We met a Canadian couple, who, for their annual vacation, bought an inexpensive trailer sailer here in Oz, and explored mid Queensland with it, and sold it before they went back home. I guess anyone could do that wherever they wanted to visit and explore.

Fair breezes,

Ann

[Solani]

Such wonderful replies; thank you all! I have a year to research, prepare & outfit before my new boat arrives. Right now I feel like I can scarcely wait - almost bouncing with excitement - but I know the time will go fast.

I loved all the links provided. Chortled over the ingenuity of the houses in Equihen-Plage, looked to see if my local library has either of the recommended books (alas, looks like it will be a purchase instead), and instantly hit that subscribe button for Roger Barnes’ YouTube channel.

I’ve learned so much by lurking here. I’m glad to be able to actually join the conversation.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Solani

Greetings from a long-time lurker!

Next spring, I should be receiving my new NorseBoat 17.5. I know that’s tender size for many of you, but she’s gonna be a sweet camper/cruiser for me.

I live on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and there is obviously a lot of sailing open to me here.

Prior to retirement, I lived in northern New York, where I spent a lot of time backpacking in the Adirondacks and sea-kayaking Lake Champlain. Wanting to try sailing, I took a basic keelboat class in Burlington, Vt, and have been wanting my own boat since then.

I’ve spent a long time thinking about just what kind of boating I wanted to do, and have decided that the NorseBoat fits just right with an old backpacker’s idea of voyaging - mostly gunkholing around the Chesapeake, with occasional trailering to other interesting locales. More ambitious thoughts (circumnavigating the Delmarva peninsula, sailing up & down the east coast) creep in, too, but that’s way beyond my comfort zone now.

Anyway, hello to everyone!

You might be interested in this facebook group...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/394973887921087

[Adelie]

Welcome.

[Jebtrois]

There is a guy here in Norfolk, VA doing the exact same thing on a Welsford Pathfinder that he built himself. His blog is called Log of Spartina
You may find him to be a wealth of knowledge for how he has outfitted the boat etc.
JEB

[MicHughV]

After I built my boat...I took a test voyage to the Chesapeake Bay.
What a delightful place.
You could spend a year there and not see it all.
It's a perfect place for a small boat.
It's perfect for a big boat too....but some places can be draft restrictive
Enjoy !!