My O'Day 22 Sailboat Blog

The Post and Courier from Charleston, SC reported today that a Laser sailor was run down by a tour boat in the area. Tillerman at the Proper Course Blog also talked about this today.

Although I don’t do a whole lot of dinghy sailing but the times I have done it, it has happened to me more than once. No being completely run down by a power boat but have come across power boaters who have no regard for right-of-ways when it comes to small sailboats.

I was sailing a Capri 13 out of Santa Barbara harbor one day and was basically on collision course with a powerboat coming out of the harbor.This guy could clearly see me but he had no intention of altering his course. I had to gybe in the last minute just so he wouldn’t run me over.

It was not an honest mistake and he wasn’t even the least bit sorry about what he did. I know that because as he past me going at about 20 knots while churning up a 3 foot wake, he looked at me and threw up his arms like it was my fault for getting in his way.

Since about a year ago I have been shopping for a dinghy for my sailboat and just to horse around in the harbor. I decided to go with a Walker Bay due to its durability, flexibility and low maintenance. Since the O’Day is only 22 feet long I went looking for the smallest dinghy Walker Bay makes and found me my first 8 footer last November. It had a homemade camo paint job that had been peeling off for some time so I started looking for something a little more easy on the eye.

Ever since the first one I have been keeping my eyes on craigslist to see if there are other good deals that pop up. Sure enough I find them from time to time and have been upgrading as I go. The first upgrade was to a slightly newer one with an almost complete sail kit.

It was great to take it sailing in lakes and inside the harbor but I still wished I had a motor to putt around with when I get the urge to pollute just a little. So the search was on to look for a small motor that was reliable and light since the dinghy can only handle upto a 2HP motor.

Although my first dinghy came with an older 2 hp motor, I had to sell it to get enough money to buy the second boat with the sail kit. Looking for the right motor was not an easy task as everyone was looking for one and good deals don’t last long. Just last week however I saw an even newer Walker Bay 8 footer go up on craigslist that came with a tube kit. The seller had an asking price well below the market value and I was able to jump on that and get in on this great deal.

With the optional tubes now the dinghy is capable of handling a much heavier motor so I decide to give my 6 HP Tohatsu a try that I use on my O’Day since it weighs about the same as a 4HP which is the maximum recommended motor for this dinghy. I went to the launching ramp today at my lunch break and got her in the water with the long shaft motor and it worked great.

The longshaft and the heavier motor noticeably weighed the boat down but it was still able to push it around a a comfortable speed without to much lifting of the bow if I position my body weight correctly.

It seems to help if I position the motor shaft at a slight tilt instead of all the way down.

It isn’t ideal for the boat but I didn’t have to spend a lot of money on another motor so it worked out great for me. Now I have one of the most versatile dinghies available that rows well, sails reasonably well and motors comfortably well. What else can a sailor ask for!

Last weekend I took the Walker Bay dinghy home and rinsed her down a little. This little boat is pretty great. Since its completely made of plastic it means it will be around years after I kick it. A little garden hose cleaned it right up after a few months of neglect in dry storage. The O’Day is not so fortunate as I have had to spend a couple of days getting her ready for the summer. Even then there are still some more work to do before she will be ready.

I decided to take the dingy out for a little row in the harbor while I had a couple hours free on Sunday afternoon. The Ventura harbor is relatively small but has a pretty decent shopping right along the docks. I rowed between the banks and the boat docks right next to the restaurants and shops and saw some cool photo ops. Here are some I decided to share with you.

My view at the middle seat

The famous Dragon Lady Junk Boat at Ventura Harbor

The calm and smooth water between the banks and the boat docks

Look at these cute little swallows in a nest under the gangways!!

I pulled up to the public fishing dock at Marina Park at the other end of the harbor and took a photo of the dinghy. The boat docks near the center is owned by the city of Ventura and they offer both adult and youth sailing programs.

Tillerman at Proper Course is a competitive Laser sailor and he recently blogged about the larger and keeled big brother of the original laser, the SB3. Although the O’Day 22 is not a performance oriented boat and my modest sailing goals are mainly cruising the California coast, I must admit that a light yet stable keelboat with such a huge sail plan that planes in relatively light air makes my saliva flow and pupils dilate just a little.

Even since I played Virtual Skipper 4 during my sailing hiatus and piloted the digital rocket sled, I’ve been dreaming about sailing a planing, keeled sloop. The SB3 is similar to the Melges 24 but a couple of feet shorter and a little less expensive (relatively). The big problem is that it is not that readily available in the US.

Here is a little video of rigging the SB3

Sailing the SB3

One day I will own a fast keelboat. One day.

Back in July I posted a entry about wanting to build a dinghy. Things got a little crazy for work and life so projects are sort of put on the back burner. However, the desire (I dare not use the word ‘need’) for a dinghy did not fade. I began looking around for one that is suitable for my purpose. I was looking for something small enough so it wouldn’t look weird to tow behind the boat. That means anything bigger than 8 ft was going to look like a vessel assist tow-job every time it is dragged behind a 22 ft sailboat.

Not wanting to spend a lot of money (~$500), I was relegated to looking at used dinghies. I also wanted a versatile boat so I can row, motor and maybe sail it in protected waters when I had limited time to take out the O’Day. That pretty much narrow me down to small prams, Sabots, Fatty Knees and Walker Bays.

The choice became even clearer when used Fatty Knees were hard to come by in my price range and I wanted something that was low maintenance: The Walker Bay 8.

I really like the look of the lapstrake hull and the composite polypropylene construction. On the Walker Bay website they call it a “specially formulated composite materiall”. I don’t know how special it really is. As my buddy Andre calls it, “It’s made of kayak plastic”.

I found one fairly quick after posting a want-ad on craigslist. A seller in Ventura had one that is not the most pleasing to the eye. Functionally it is perfect but the owner prior to him had used it as a hunting boat and decided to spray paint it camouflage.

I didn’t mind the look and the price was right with oars and a little 2 hp Johnson motor.

The Walker Bay 8 turned out to be the perfect little dinghy for me. It rows fairly easily and it is very light weight. at about 70 lbs. It stores easily next to my O’Day 22 without any issues. I can easily take it out, strap it to the top of my camper shell and take it out for an afternoon in the harbor. The motor ran strong though it is a bit of an older model. It did not come with a sail kit and they run for quite a bit of money new. The keel has a built-in wheel that allows me to wheel it down the launch ramp with ease.

The rowing performance is decent for a boat this size. There is a keel that helps the boat track but since it is only 8 ft long, I have to correct my course from time to time when I row. With only one person in the center seat the balance is perfect when rowing. The carrying capacity is rated at 440 lbs. theoretically I could have a second person on board but I will have to try it out with someone to find the perfect positions to balance the boat.

Motoring was great with the 2 hp Johnson with the only issue being the seating requires me to reach behind to control the steering and throttle. That is pretty typical though with most small dinghies. A tiller extension would help greatly but I have also found that keeping the motor locked in the center position and turn by dipping the oars in the water is a good way to maneuver the boat. It also is quite a bit more fun to do that versus cranky the handle of the motor.

I have looked into stripping the paint off of the boat but it does not seem to want to come off without a fight. I would hate to have to spray another layer of paint on it just to cover up the old flaking paint. It is just delaying the issue to another day. polypropylene seems to do OK with acetone but it is laborious and acetone evaporates to quickly for it to really strip the paint effectively. Looks like I will just have to deal with having an ugly dinghy.

When I eventually plan an overnight trip or a day trip that requires anchorage I will see how she it in tow. It has a built-in bow eye but it doesn’t seem to be too strong. I will probably setup a tow rig that utilizes the oar locks in the equation to take the stress off of the bow eye.

I would have to say I am pretty happy with this purchase and really enjoy getting on the water in between sails even if its just in the harbor admiring other people’s boats. I will hope to find a good deal on a sailing rig and post another entry about its performance under the rag soon…..