Advice on a non-wooden boat

[bholderman]

Greetings,

Here's my briefing, I have experience on tall ships, sailing on a regular basis. But when it comes to small craft, I virtually know nothing, but want to learn, both as a personal enjoyment and understanding the wind. Plus, in the future I want to build wooden boats, this has some wood features and might give me a first step at least in regards to repair. Thus, I came across this locally on craigslist for $350.00. Would this be a decent intro both in regards to repair, and once finished, a decent trainer? The description is below with pics.

She is a 62 fiberglass monohull Flying Junior Dutchmen
12'. The pictures will explain for themselves what come with the boat and the mast suffered an accident in which it was snapped in two. I put it back together as best I could and returned it to it's original shape; however, never put it too the test. All the original hardware and rigging are together and registration through 08 has been paid for both vessel and trailer.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p267/bradholderman/flyingD/DSCN0297.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p267/bradholderman/flyingD/DSCN0299.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p267/bradholderman/flyingD/DSCN0298.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p267/bradholderman/flyingD/DSCN0300.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p267/bradholderman/flyingD/DSCN0301.jpg

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[WillW]

I'd say go for it. You should sail in the summer and build in the winter. This boat could give you some experience before you spend several years building something you don't really need or want.

A couple of points:

- This is a small boat, for protected waters. Large waves, high winds and large powerboats could make your experience extremely unenjoyable and dangerous.
- To ensure your safety, take a dinghy sailing course first thing. They usually have a crash boat to get you of trouble.
- Don't take along family members until you know what you're doing. Nothing scares the wife and kids more than a skipper who's not in control.
- The broken mast - if you're not sure about the repair, you could make a new one using one of the WB articles. It could be your first project.

[soba]

Hey Brad,

I used to race Dutchmen and Junior D's when I was a teenager. They are great boats, but they have a few idiosyncrasies.

Before you take it out, make damn sure that the bouyancy tanks are well sealed. Especially the plugs! A Jr.D is next to impossible to right from a capsize if the (woefully inadequate) bouyancy tanks leak at all.
Aluminum masts are cheap and available for Jr. D's, and I would invest in one. I have found that aluminum sails "sweeter" with most performance dinghies. Although it is true that paddling a Jr with a broken mast is easier than, say, a Shark, it is simply more fun to sail than paddle. Ne?

Jr D's were a popular sail trainer before 4Twinkies (Int'l 420) became the boat of choice. With a bit of tuning and a half-competent crew, they will plane with a roostertail of water coming out of the board case. Lots of fun! Easier to rig than a twinkie, too. They are a wet ride in a wind, compared to similar size dinghies.

Oh, and I'd invest in a rudder retainer clip. Most Jr.s are built without them, and it is NOT fun have your rudder pop off while planing before a squall...take my word for it.

Have fun! They are easy boats to maintain and fun to sail!

*stone cold soba*

[donald branscom]

Very nice boat. Looks like the seats may have flotation inside.

You will have a lot of fun in this boat !

Don't forget your safety gear.

[bholderman]

I appreciate the feedback. I guess if I was to go ahead and get it, I have one more question. Is there a fiberglass equivalent to the Wooden Boat forum?

[bamamick]

'dinghy anarchy' section of Sailing Anarchy to ask any questions about Flying Juniors you want. There are dozens of alumni of high school and college sailing that can tell you every single thing you need to know about that boat.

They can be a rough crowd but if you seem sincere they'll warm to you. Tell them 'Red Dragon' sent you (hee hee. That should be good). The first thing you need to know is to call it an FJ or a Flying Junior. FJ would be better. They'll take it from there.

Mickey Lake

[Bruce Hooke]

Keep in mind that this is a racing boat. If your idea of a nice day on the water is lazing along with a beverage in one hand and the tiller in the other hand, you might want to consider a different style of boat.

This is a picture of a Flying Junior on a plane:

http://www.gis.net/%7Ecartwright/NLGYC/images/2005/FJplane2005.jpg

It is from this website: http://www.gis.net/~cartwright/NLGYC/homepage.htm

It is also worth noting that while some of the repair tasks you will encounter will be similar to wooden boats (especially if you want to build wood-epoxy composite boats), there will not be huge amounts of crossover, especially if you have in mind traditional wooden boats. In many ways, if what you want to do is learn useful boatbuilding skills, I think you might be better off doing some non-boat woodworking if you can't at this time really dig into building or working on a wooden boat. On the other hand, if you mostly want a fun boat to sail then this boat might well be a good way to go.

[Tom Hunter]

When I was a kid I spent countless happy hours fooling around in a sunfish sailing in the rip off Nobska point.

Buy the boat, go sailing. Your not 15 so stay out of the big tide rips.

You will learn a lot about boat handling and things like watching for puffs. For $350 you can't go wrong.