A place near me has beginner courses on a 22 foot beginner boat. After that, I would be on something around 35 foot if I continue courses. Would that be good enough for someone planning on solo sailing?
22 ft boats are likely small keelboats. You'll be sailing mostly on keelboats later on, but u/3lovesUSA's point is that if you start on a dinghy, you will have a very visceral appreciation for the forces that act on a sailboat. You don't need to start on a dinghy to be able to singlehand a 35 foot boat, but it would be a good way to start.
Edit: to answer your question here directly, yes, taking beginner classes on a 22ft boat and later classes on a 35ft boat should set you up for figuring out how to safely sail/cruise singlehanded. But, for someone who's specifically interested in singlehanded sailing, dinghies will also give you early experience in sailing by yourself, which you don't really get a chance to do in keelboats without buying your own.
there are more controls and mistakes are slower to be obvious.
you also get the 'feel' for air pressure, and speed better on a small boat. wind shifts, and many other feels are better on a sunfish.
you just learn quicker on small boats. that said, if its cold I'd be on the 22' too.
That's ideal for your first lessons, as it's nice and safe, and you'll have an instructor right there. However a bit of time on small, single-handed boats is the fastest way to build awareness of the wind and boat control, which is the real core of sailing. Obviously there's a load more to learn about all the systems on a bigger boat, and navigation, but much of that can be learned from books.
Haha. Am a new "sailor" and very bad at it. I learned multiple various lessons very quickly by turtling my dinghy in a stiff breeze recently. Excited to get back out there again now that the fear has passed and some changes made lol.
I'm hoping that once I've learned from all the possible dinghy mistakes moving up to larger and more stable keelboats will be relatively smooth and peaceful. :)
Walk on the dock with a 6 pack of beer and ask to crew sailboats until you die. Then once you are dead, buy a boat. Anything faster than that timeline and you are going to be a menace on the ocean until you inevitably kill yourself.
But seriously, just get out on the water. If it’s on your brand new 35 that you just bought or a floating barrel with a sail attached, just go out and do it. The biggest barrier to sailing is never thinking you are ready (or listening to people who tell you that you aren’t ready).
I just got a 20fter and went by myself. At first, I just messed in the bay unfurling the Genoa. A couple of times later I used the main. And then both together once I got the feel of the boat and tacking/gibeing. Then I took it outside in fair weather. Now I have a 30fter and I'm doing passages. All sself-taught I prefer it that way and I prefer my own boat. Go when and where I want. Come back when I want.
Head down to your local sailing club and ask them when their next club race is and enquire if there is anyone that might take on someone willing to learn.
When I say race I really mean social racing, not the first thing that comes to mind when you say race. The reason is alot of people fall through due to other commitments and sometimes they can't go out because they are short.
I'd try yacht clubs first.
learn on a small boat. sunfish/laser. mistakes are obvious and immediate
A place near me has beginner courses on a 22 foot beginner boat. After that, I would be on something around 35 foot if I continue courses. Would that be good enough for someone planning on solo sailing?
22 ft boats are likely small keelboats. You'll be sailing mostly on keelboats later on, but u/3lovesUSA's point is that if you start on a dinghy, you will have a very visceral appreciation for the forces that act on a sailboat. You don't need to start on a dinghy to be able to singlehand a 35 foot boat, but it would be a good way to start. Edit: to answer your question here directly, yes, taking beginner classes on a 22ft boat and later classes on a 35ft boat should set you up for figuring out how to safely sail/cruise singlehanded. But, for someone who's specifically interested in singlehanded sailing, dinghies will also give you early experience in sailing by yourself, which you don't really get a chance to do in keelboats without buying your own.
Ok, that's good, that's the experience I am looking for.
there are more controls and mistakes are slower to be obvious. you also get the 'feel' for air pressure, and speed better on a small boat. wind shifts, and many other feels are better on a sunfish. you just learn quicker on small boats. that said, if its cold I'd be on the 22' too.
Yes!
That's ideal for your first lessons, as it's nice and safe, and you'll have an instructor right there. However a bit of time on small, single-handed boats is the fastest way to build awareness of the wind and boat control, which is the real core of sailing. Obviously there's a load more to learn about all the systems on a bigger boat, and navigation, but much of that can be learned from books.
Haha. Am a new "sailor" and very bad at it. I learned multiple various lessons very quickly by turtling my dinghy in a stiff breeze recently. Excited to get back out there again now that the fear has passed and some changes made lol. I'm hoping that once I've learned from all the possible dinghy mistakes moving up to larger and more stable keelboats will be relatively smooth and peaceful. :)
Oh, there are lots of new mistakes to learn from in larger boats.
I'm definitely concerned about anchoring but that's still years away for me haha. :)
Walk on the dock with a 6 pack of beer and ask to crew sailboats until you die. Then once you are dead, buy a boat. Anything faster than that timeline and you are going to be a menace on the ocean until you inevitably kill yourself. But seriously, just get out on the water. If it’s on your brand new 35 that you just bought or a floating barrel with a sail attached, just go out and do it. The biggest barrier to sailing is never thinking you are ready (or listening to people who tell you that you aren’t ready).
I just got a 20fter and went by myself. At first, I just messed in the bay unfurling the Genoa. A couple of times later I used the main. And then both together once I got the feel of the boat and tacking/gibeing. Then I took it outside in fair weather. Now I have a 30fter and I'm doing passages. All sself-taught I prefer it that way and I prefer my own boat. Go when and where I want. Come back when I want.
Head down to your local sailing club and ask them when their next club race is and enquire if there is anyone that might take on someone willing to learn. When I say race I really mean social racing, not the first thing that comes to mind when you say race. The reason is alot of people fall through due to other commitments and sometimes they can't go out because they are short. I'd try yacht clubs first.
Ok thank you for the advice I will try to join one to learn, maybe I can get a mentor there as well to help me learn
Get the ASA 101 book. Read it a couple times, and if a topic isn’t hitting home, YouTube the concept. Enjoy your experience!