Introduction To Sailboating Fun

The thrill of a new way of life for you and your whole family is here, now, with sailboat living. Because sailboat living is family living picnicking, camping, day cruising, leisurely sailing in the sun, racing, and fishing. It is activity and luxury and adventure that everyone can enjoy.

This new kind of fun and relaxation is all yours when you take proud possession of your first sailboat.

"But why should I buy a sailboat?" you ask. "A motor boat is much faster and will always get me there."

Wait! Where are you going and what's your hurry? Forget the deadline you're missing the boat! A time to sail is a time to relax; a time when only the wind is boss. Remember that, and don't be frightened. It's easy and it's fun to learn the rudiments of sailing, especially in a sailboat small enough to "feel" what to do. From then on it's just a matter of practice, every hour of which is enjoyable. Actually, many people begin boating "in sail." It provides an excellent foundation for basic seamanship needed to handle any type of craft expertly, including power boats.

Sailing is an ageless sport that is open to all. There are rich sailors and poor ones, female and male, old and young. A sailboat is perhaps one of the best investments for his children a father can make. Skippering a sailboat builds character. It teaches responsibility, dexterity, ingenuity, and good sportsmanship. It attracts companions with equally high ideals. Young sailors are rarely trouble-makers. Actually, anyone who is willing to apply himself or herself can become a sailboater, and a good one. Age, plus or minus, is no problem.

Let me make one point clear right away you can't learn sailing only by reading this book or any other. But the fact remains that anyone who wants to sail will find some basic book knowledge helpful. Another thing, nothing will stop an "old salt" from wanting to say a few words to the beginner. The trouble is, most of us old salts don't stop with a few words, and before we're through the eager new sailor may be bewildered by diagrams with arrows and dotted lines, and afraid the whole thing sounds rather complicated and difficult. Sailing isn't hard to learn but it's easy to make it sound hard.

To simplify this book, I have kept nautical terminology to a minimum. (A nautical purist will cringe at my obvious omission and sometimes misuse of nautical language. For example, a boat, in good nautical circles, is always referred to as "she," never "it." But, to keep things simple, I have called a boat "it.")

I truly hope that this book will offer a few techniques of sailing that will help the beginner as he learns in his boat. The whole world of skillful sailing, the truly complicated and beautiful world of all the finer points, the area that makes sailing an endless fascination and one you never entirely conquer this I have concealed. You don't need to know it to learn to sail a boat and enjoy the new era of sailboat living. It's a world you will (if you have the desire) enjoy discovering for yourself.

GEORGE D. O'DAY Boston, Massachusetts

Day Sailer. Overall length: 16½ feet; beam: 6 feet; sail area: 145 square feet.

The Kitten a 10-foot sailboard with a 3-foot beam.

Nothing could be easier than a Kitten to ready for the water. The eleven important parts are identified as follows:
1. Hull
2. Mast (2 pieces)
3. Boom
4. Daggerboard
5. Sail (a tack; b foot c clew; d luff)
6. Rudder
7. Tiller
8. Traveler
9. Downhaul
10. Eye pads
11. Sheet

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