First Sail in Seattle

Posted By: Scott Shaw, P-23 Seattle, WA
Date: 7/18/08 1:37p.m.

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Well after a few months I finally got my boat on the water at Lake Washington. I had been dreading rigging, launching, and retrieving the boat by myself, but as with a lot of things, the anticipation was much worse than the event. And there was a MacGregor owner there that helped me retrieve the boat which was really nice. I had talked with him earlier and helped him connect his roller furling when he was setting up his boat. He'd never heard of a Precision before. As far as the sailing, there wasn't much wind, barely enough to fill the sails, but that was fine with me on my first sail by myself. I took a few pics and will post them. It was great just to finally get the boat on the water. I do have a couple of questions. I was wondering how loose the bolt that connects the mainsheet to the boom (bail?) should be. I realize the bracket needs to pivot, but it seems very loose. I would guess there is at least 1/8 inch of play in it, and possibly as much as 1/4 inch. I took a picture of it but it realy doesn't show how loose it is. If it needs to be tightened, how is that accomplished? Also, the main halyard makes a terrible screeching sound going up and down. It sounds like there is a pulley inside the mast that needs some lubricant. Could that be the case, and if so how do I access it? All in all it was a good day. I didn't damage myself or the boat so I'll deem it a success. I'm still learning but taking it slow yesterday seemed to work out ok. I'm sure I'll have more questions as things progress, but as always this forum is a great tool for learning and information. P.S. I tried to post the pic of the bail but I don't think I did it right. The link to the pic is below. http://picasaweb.google.com/hondapilot1/Sailing/photo#5224431751665509346