First season outing nerves

Cutwater28GG

Cutwater28GG

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 14, 2016
Messages
1,996
Location
seattle
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Cutwater 28
Vessel Name
Living The Dream
I’ve owned our boat for 8 years. And sailed for many more before. But I’m always a bit nervous taking the boat out again after the winter.

Anybody else feel this?
 
Cutwater28GG":bt7u7n81 said:
I’ve owned our boat for 8 years. And sailed for many more before. But I’m always a bit nervous taking the boat out again after the winter.

Anybody else feel this?
Click to expand...
I alway make the first overnight trip on the boat a sea trial. No expectations, stay relatively close to home. Work all the systems to find anything that needs repair.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
we use our C30-CB 365 days a year, but I still get butterflies every time off the dock - I chalk it up to nervous excitement about the adventures to come, and that I'm a generally anxious person 🙂. You can be very prepared, know the weather and tides, have all of your maintenance done, and still something (natural or mechanical) may go wrong, and you just have to take it as it comes... I agree with Martin to stay close to home and use your first trip of the season as a sea-trial if you don't use the boat all year round.
 
dbsea":1xxwxwks said:
You can be very prepared, know the weather and tides, have all of your maintenance done, and still something (natural or mechanical) may go wrong, and you just have to take it as it comes...
Click to expand...
"Everything on your boat is broken, you just don't know it yet." Lol 😛
 
Thanks for that cheery thought, I am supposed to take possession of my c-288 next week
 
I always have day one anxiety too. I'm never sure if all systems got through the winter OK.

This year went well with the exception of an absolutely catastrophic failure of the boat hook!
I have a three section boat hook in the cockpit. When my wife went to use it, it came apart in her hands. Must have had water in it and frozen, internal parts broken. Fortunately I keep a second one on board.

Boating is an adventure.

-martin610
 
I am always a bit nervous about coming into the marina slip for the first time each season, particularly if the marina staff are not around. This year will be a bit more nerve wracking than normal because I am still recovering from knee replacement surgery and am no where near as agile as usual. Hopefully by the end of the season things will be better.
 
I’m not sure if I’m more nervous about the first launch of the season or the 550+ miles of towing needed to get to the launch ramp. I hate towing the boat through Portland and Seattle metro areas! Fortunately we only tow up once and tow down once each season.
This year I’m extra nervous with new 3/4 ton truck and new to us boat. We’ve never ramp launched or retrieved the C-28 before either. And moving from a super simple key turner ignition to this fancy new electronic start dual helm system is adding to my tension. I’m guessing that the C-28 handles a bit differently than our former R-25 Classic as well.
Splash is on Sunday morning. Will be glad to have it all behind me. Our 200 hour service is scheduled first thing Monday morning. The next 9 days of cruising will be limited to Anacortes and the San Juan’s just to be on the safe side.
Fingers are definitely crossed!
 
I have the same C28 Al. I installed a guide rod on each side of the trailer near the aft cleat of the boat, out of 2" PVC and marked the rod with felt pen giving the depth the trailer should be in the water for launch and retrieve at 58" off the ground. I also try to retrieve at the less steep part of the ramp which is near high water at my ramp. When retrieving I park the trailer fairly close to the float and guide boat on by hand then winch it up to the rubber. The boat does slip back a few inches as the trailer is at an angle and the boat level. I also had to move the winch on the trailer as forward as possible to get the correct tongue weight. I have a triple axle EZloader trailer. good luck and great boating.
 
Mikey, I have similar guides on our EZ Loader trailer. My concern about launching is the clearance from the anchor to the roller on the winch mast at the bow. Installed a Rocna 10 kg anchor and a larger Kingston bow roller. This set up gives plenty of clearance between the boats bow and the anchor tip at the expense of the reduced winch roller clearance. It will be interesting to see exactly how the boat’s bow rotates as the stern starts floating during launch.
 
Been making a habit of first time out each year to always have a handheld radio in addition to the onboard vhf radio. Also I have a list of the area harbors I'll be cruising and also list those harbormasters phone numbers in my phone. Also phone numbers for any bridges I may encounter.

Stuart
 
Al I also replaced the anchor that is in the way when winching the boat up to the rubber so the anchor is stored in the anchor chain locker when not in use. I also install the windshield cover when trailering to protect from bugs and rocks.
 
Not every time I am on the boat. Just every time I leave the dock. Every time I start getting comfortable it seems I have an Oh No! moment. I just try to be prepared. Always take a short shakedown cruise each season. Practice docking. Review all the safety stuff, Fire, Radio, Signals etc. Helps.
 
yep chickened out today. was blowing 20knts in the marina.


glad its not just me!
 
scross":36pw1oyw said:
I’m not sure if I’m more nervous about the first launch of the season or the 550+ miles of towing needed to get to the launch ramp. I hate towing the boat through Portland and Seattle metro areas! Fortunately we only tow up once and tow down once each season.
This year I’m extra nervous with new 3/4 ton truck and new to us boat. We’ve never ramp launched or retrieved the C-28 before either. And moving from a super simple key turner ignition to this fancy new electronic start dual helm system is adding to my tension. I’m guessing that the C-28 handles a bit differently than our former R-25 Classic as well.
Splash is on Sunday morning. Will be glad to have it all behind me. Our 200 hour service is scheduled first thing Monday morning. The next 9 days of cruising will be limited to
Anacortes and the San Juan’s just to be on the safe side.
Fingers are definitely crossed!
Click to expand...

Update: Towing up to Bellingham went fine. Traffic on Saturday better than average. Launch on Sunday had issues but simply resolved. C-28 handling very different than R-25 Classic. Kinda like comparing Toyota Camry to BMW M5.
 
After 7 - 8 dockings with our R23 I had the most miserable fail this morning with two maintenance guys watching from my slip. Docking is always stressful enough but hard to tune out the on lookers when things start going south. We have the finger pier on the port side while making a left into the slip so the tendency is always to end up way too far to starboard. Totally missed it today and ended up on a diagonal that I had to back out of. Mentally I know what to do. The execution sucks in the heat of the moment!
 
RThorn":3bs9337r said:
After 7 - 8 dockings with our R23 I had the most miserable fail this morning with two maintenance guys watching from my slip. Docking is always stressful enough but hard to tune out the on lookers when things start going south. We have the finger pier on the port side while making a left into the slip so the tendency is always to end up way too far to starboard. Totally missed it today and ended up on a diagonal that I had to back out of. Mentally I know what to do. The execution sucks in the heat of the moment!
Click to expand...

Hi Randy,
I was there, but I did not know that was you or I would have stopped and said hi! Did not see much but heard some as I was over working on the boat.

I know exactly how you feel, been there. Just be confident knowing there is no shame in “going around”. Better to back out and try again than scratch the boat. More than once or twice if needed. Ignoring the well meaning but distracting shouted directions is really hard also, I have no remedy for that one. The slips are tight there and judging where the boat’s momentum will take you when you start that turn is a learned skill. Your “miserable fail” is actually a skill building learning experience, view it as such. I am right there with you so don’t berate yourself, we are all learning.
 
RThorn":2c7xz1r2 said:
After 7 - 8 dockings with our R23 I had the most miserable fail this morning with two maintenance guys watching from my slip. Docking is always stressful enough but hard to tune out the on lookers when things start going south. We have the finger pier on the port side while making a left into the slip so the tendency is always to end up way too far to starboard. Totally missed it today and ended up on a diagonal that I had to back out of. Mentally I know what to do. The execution sucks in the heat of the moment!
Click to expand...
Who cares what others think when you’re docking. A part of being a good captain is knowing when it ain’t right and aborting, getting out into safer water and trying again. Maybe several more attempts are needed. There is no shame in that.

There’s also no shame in taking help from those on the dock.
Docking is nothing more than a controlled collision. But it’s often a grey area between controlled and uncontrolled. Lol

I’ve had a lot of challenges docking on our SE Alaska. The more you do it the better you get. And even then, I make mistakes and back out and try again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
IT ALWAYS WORKS OUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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