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My boat has a Wing keel that doesn't move. It only drafts 2.5 feet. Up here on these mountain lakes, the bottom drops away near the edge of the water so there's plenty of depth under the keel even when the bow is on the beach. Of course, it's not like that everywhere so we have to find spots where this is possible.

@odysseyofjason Oh wow, that's honestly impressive how you can get the wing keel so far up there! Inly reason I asked is because I have a swing Keel and I am always a little sketched when bringing her into the shoreline lol Nice boat though man!

Wow that's very cool . Thanks for letting me in on some local know how. I need all the help I can get 😃

No, I use a dedicated 4:1 pully setup without the cam cleat so it can spin freely in both directions. This way, you can let it back down if something snags. I use 2 cheap "double pulleys" from the hardware store.

Thanks for your advice.

Cape Lookout island. NC

I recently got a free O'Day Daysailer I that needed hull repair. Got it fixed up. I want to take it down and do some sailing on the lower Neuse and perhaps Core Sound and Back Sound around Harkers Island, basically the sound side of Cape Lookout National Park. How is camping in that area?

@@gordonipock9385 There's cabins on Cape Lookout Island and you can camp on the beach. You have to have a permit and the privately owned ferry across is a bit expensive but it's worth it . . . As long as the bugs are turned off. The no see-ums and biting flies can ruin the experience entirely. Usually they're not too bad unless a storm has recently gone thru.

When I was a boy I used to go net fishing on Bay River with my father. Bonner Bay was a favorite place. The problem I remember was mosquitoes. If flies and such are a problem I may try anchoring offshore on the sound side and trying to sleep on the boat. If you are upwind of the mosquitoes they can't bother you. Are the no see-ums only present on the beaches? I don't think I've ever had to deal with them.

My Catalina 22 will NOT go under that bridge. We tried it when the water level was very low back in February. I thought it would fit so I approached the bridge very slowly. It's hard to judge looking strait up at it from the cockpit. My masthead light caught the very bottom edge of the concrete beam. I was able to reverse quickly but the light was destroyed. Another foot and we would have made it.

Nice !! We try to go as often as possible. The weather has other plans a lot of the time.

That’s a lot! She must point well.

Well, It all depends on how steep the ramp is and also which type of keel your boat has. A swing keel would require less depth than my Wing keel. Our local ramp is not very steep so I have to back all the way until my front tires are in about 4" of water and my back tires (35's) are mostly (~75%) submerged. When we launch from steeper ramps, the back tires are maybe 25% submerged and the front are high and dry. We're always in fresh water so it's not that big of an issue as long as your rear axle has a breather hose routed up high so water doesn't get into the diff.

Yeah, I’m still sailing …. Not so much this time of year but I’ve got some new head sails so I’m excited to get back out there. I’ve been working on a video for a while. I’ll try to get it finished. Thanks for checking in.

This is Lake James, NC. You're right, it was last spring. Thanks for watching 😊

It's not too bad as long as the trailer bunks are set up correctly. Just line it up as close as possible and the bunks will guide it into position. I usually back the trailer close enough to the dock so I can walk the boat onto the trailer from the dock.

Well that's awesome. 😃 I know other sailing channels have encouraged me to get out there myself. If it wasn't for TH-cam, I would have never took up sailing in the first place. I'm glad I could pay it forward a little bit.

The sky's the limit I suppose. The most we've done is 3 nights because we start to run out of provisions and our Ice has mostly melted. We almost always have enough for another night, especially if we caught enough fish to offset one of our dinners.

20 years ago people used to camp out on the lake all the time. The islands were popular places for camping, but I know now that you you aren't allowed to be on them after dark. This is a popular lake, and over the years the state and Duke Power have cut deals regarding how it is to be used and real estate development. They have added more state park areas, and I think you are only supposed to camp overnight on these campsites. I wondered if they had any rules about people just cruising around on larger boats and staying overnight on the lake. You would be on your boat, not the lake. I ask because I have the itch to get a small cruiser, something between 19 and 21 feet with a weighted keel. My main reason is its easier to solo a boat with a weighted keel, and I solo all the time, and I also thought it would be fun to stay on the lake for a few days at a time; also I thought I would take a bigger boat to a bigger lake, such as Norman, or even do some coastal cruising on the sounds. So I'm thinking about the same question for Lake Norman, too. I saw three people on James yesterday on a good-looking catamaran.

Yeah, they keep you on your toes for sure. I sail on lakes a lot so it's almost always gusty. I've been looking for a deal on a Hobie myself. I've never sailed one but I know it would be fun.

Glad you liked it !!! Maybe I'll get some fishing tips from your channel🙂

It tows pretty good as long as you keep it light weight. Just the battery for the trolling motor makes a big difference. It doesn’t fit on the bow

Thanks Steve

Hey Steve !! I got the Bimini from a website called National Covers. The dinghy is a "Walker Bay 8" that I found on Craig's List. Glad you like the channel 😀

Nice to meet you too. Thanks for letting us use your Sidewalk Chalk 😄

Hey, sorry I missed your comment. Hope everything went well. Those bunks are curved and sweep upward at the front but I’ve seen lots of different set ups.

Ha Ha, Thanks, I've had lots of practice. I used an OSMO action cam in the dinghy. It has really good stabilization built right into the camera. I was amazed when I saw that footage for the first time.

Glad you like the vids. The tarp is 12 x 24

My bimini mounts to a special car (looks homemade) that runs on the same track as the jib car. Here's a link to a pic on my instagram : instagram.com/p/CrWy4e0Li4f/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Spring and Fall is the best time to sail around here. Better wind and fewer people. I'm sure there's lots of beautiful lakes closer to where you are or somewhere in between. That's a long way to tow a C-22.

@@odysseyofjason Thank you. I want to start out West and work my way across the country sailing the many lakes and waterways. I'm retired and looking for adventure. Out here (San Diego) a big adventure is to sail to Catalina Island (what the boat company was named after). It's 6+ hours from San Diego and less than 4 from San Pedro/Long Beach. All open ocean sailing. You use your radio to be safe (big transport ships in the channel).

Also, I am thinking about getting a small cruiser, if for no other reason than to get something with a weighted centerboard to make soloing easier, something a little over a thousand pounds, like a Mariner 19 or MacGregor/Venture 21. It's amazing how much more a 22 weighs than a 21.

Hey Gordon. Glad you're back in action😎 I usually don't sail much in mid summer... No wind, Too Hot. I towed my sunfish to Avon NC on the Outer Banks last week. Broke the rudder in the surf on my first try. Went to ACE, bought a drill and a coping saw and fixed it. The next day I sailed it all around on the sound side and got my wife on there with me for the first time ever !!! It was absolute magic ! ! ! You can email me your # here: odysseyofjason@gmail.com and maybe we'll get together.

Glad you liked the video. I hope you find a nice boat !!

Yeah. Its just right for 2.

We did. Found a really nice lake in SC with plenty of room to sail. ⛵😎 Video coming soon.

Thanks Man. We enjoy being out there 😃

Nice !!! Glad to have another Catalina 22 in the armada.

That's the "topping lift". It's used to hold up the boom when the sail is lowered. I use it a lot when we're anchored or motoring to lift the boom up out of the way for more headroom in the cockpit. It will also prevent the boom from crashing into the cockpit should the main halyard come loose while under sail.

@@odysseyofjason Thanks a lot for the quick reply. I also have a cable coming down from the backstay which I assumed was a topping lift. Although that needs to be disconnected while sailing so won't help if you forget. I saw a video of someone installing a "boom kicker" which appears to be yet another way to support the boom? All very confusing for a newbie, especially when everything has a few different names?!!! Thanks again and great vids!!

@@dvanolpen Yeah, my boat has that cable from the backstay too. I call it the dangler. I only use it to help with rigging the boom. Once everything is set up, I disconnect it because if you forget and raise the sail with it still attached, it can be a pain to unhook it.

Yeah, we’re not setting any speed records over here 😅

Yeah, I made it. I made patterns with some old sheets and just kept adjusting till I got it right. I sewed a 3/8 rope around the bottom to help it lay flat against the deck.

Glad you liked it 😊 The specs say 2.5 feet but I think it may be a little deeper. We usually have it loaded down pretty good though.

Nice, They're a lot of fun but they do provide quite a workout sometimes.

Hey Thanks Man. Glad you like the videos. We're lucky to have some nice lakes close to home.

She's a 1990. Yeah, It's the "New Design"

This is on Lake James, NC. You should check out Jocassee Lake due north of Keowee. You have to pay to launch and to park over night but it’s a beautiful lake with room to sail.

@@odysseyofjason Thanks. I have also heard of Jocassee but wasn't sure about launching sites. My son was there and said it was very clean. As I said, wasn't sure as I heard that there aren't any homes allowed on it , so didn't know how that affected the boating. Thanks again for your time. Jeff

@@zenbuilder8801 No homes = clean, clear water and lots of cool places to go ashore. The only place you can launch is from Devil's Fork State Park but they have 3 separate launch sites. One has 3 ramps and some super nice docks. The other 2 sites have 2 ramps each but no dock.

@@odysseyofjason Thanks you the reply. jeff