(click any of these pics once for large and again for full size/res.) The family that sails together… Second practice sail for them after completing our Start Sailing course (Basic Keelboat, ASA 101). Saturday, November 5.
Do we have the longest season in the northeast? Probably. We usually hang in there until the overlap of sailing and snowsports – and start again before all the slopes are closed.
Killington opened awhile ago for skiing and riding. True, it’s only a few trails and some walking at the end to download. We have it a little easier. Fewer boats, but same waters and routes. No hiking. Launch still whisks you out and back in less time than John Cheetah could have recited this post. (Okay – maybe a little more time than that. But fast.)
Swiss sailor, Alex, who came to check out the Sailing Club on Sunday 11/5. He was not disappointed: happy camper aboard our Swedish Folkboat. The Dockmaster took a quick turn at the helm and snapped this before surrendering. We had over 20 knots that day and with a single reef and working jib, the helm was perfectly balanced.
We got folks out both days last weekend, November 5 and 6. Should have gotten several parties out this Sunday the 13th but skeleton crew and an illness shut us down. We’ll get out this coming week and see what weather and the haulout schedule bring thereafter.
Director & Dockmaster (and HBIC), Captain Stephen Glenn Card, enjoying the ride on the Folkboat that day. Note the spray from the leeward bow and general sea state. Confused waves caused the boat to move around more than the last windy sea trial, but she still felt amazingly stiff and in control. Deploy full sail and she’s quite fast in the light stuff too.
So, how much time do we have left? Who knows. But if we run out, there’s our Coastal Navigation courses, our Virgin Islands trips (BVI), and of course, snowsports. Our HBIC* pictured above is a PSIA/AASI certified snowboard instructor, and loves teaching. If you or someone you know wants to get started, or get over the hump (or back on the horse if you were tossed on your arse), hit us up and he’ll talk to you about your goals on the snow.
What do you do when you arrive at the marina to solid whitecaps despite no fetch?
FOLKBOAT!!!!
Bean meaning to really sea trial Silent Reach, our International (Swedish) Folkboat, in some snotty stuff. But, didn’t get around to it. The two guys below were more than willing to give her a whirl, so off we went in 17-25 yesterday (which was slightly down from what we arrived to but still no slouch). Fittingly, it was Columbus Day…
Rigging up the ol’ Folkboat. Full main and small jib; about hoist sails in about 20 knots (17-25 during the sail).
Small jib; full main. They wanted to reef it in keeping with what we teach. “If you’re thinking about reefing, you should have done it already.” But this was a sea trial of a stiff, ocean capable boat. So, no reef.
Didn’t really need it. Sometimes we buried the rail in gusts, but even then, the boat handled well despite some extra weather helm. The main thing was that this boat just ate up the heavier stuff. We didn’t feel the waves at all. The boat sliced through them effortlessly, and with a lot less spray than we’d anticipated. In the cockpit, it was bone dry. (We kept the camera phones secure anticipating getting wet, so no pics while underway.)
Beam reach, 20 knots? Almost no heel. Boat just sailed itself. Downwind, I was able to go forward with such ease to tie up the jib after dropping it that I caught myself not even holding onto anything. It’s a surreal experience on a boat this small. It just charged along like a surfaced submarine or something. Reminded me of a Soling, only more stable.
(Solings were often used in the Olympics as the 3-man keelboat with spinnaker. They were common in sailing schools for a long time as well. Folkboats are also raced with chutes.)
Long Island Sound is a light wind region, you say? You’re right. We’ve already sailed her in zephyrs and light to low-moderate breezes and, surprise – she moves in light winds, too. A truly pedigree sailing vessel.
Our Folkboat is available to our Sailing Club members, and for rent by our graduates and select well-qualified non-graduates. Come and and experience fall sailing on her!
We tried her out last weekend, and liked her… so we got her. Say hello to the newest acquisition in our fleet…
“Silent Reach,” our International Folkboat. To the left is a C&C 34. Very good – but very different – boat.
We’ve seen these boats around for a few years – and by around, we mean the world. Or at least the hemisphere. But these boats get around, literally and figuratively. “Silent Reach” was built in Sweden by the preeminent manufacturer of this class, Marieholm. We first saw them in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) at Biras Creek Resort. Then, back at the ranch on City Island, we saw the very one you see pictured above and learned what they were. And now she’s ours.
So, what’s the deal with Folkboats?
Born of a design contest in Sweden in the 1940’s
Over 5,000 have been built (prolific)
Over 4,000 are probably still sailing (whoah)
They started out as wood but became fiberglass in 60’s and onward
Traditional design with full keel
Point very well and are super seaworthy (circumnavigation-so)
Popular all over
We sailed Silent Reach on a light wind weekend day with some motorboat chop. The wind was a little stronger when we were rigging, so we used the working (small) jib. Despite the smaller sailplan in light wind, and a dirty bottom, the boat pointed well, sailed fairly fast, and was maneuverable for a full keel design.
The next time out, after closing on her, we had more wind. So what did we do? We used the larger jib (genoa)! This is one stiff boat. Yet, she’s lively and fun to sail. Can’t wait to see her true pedigree when we clean her bottom.
International Folkboats are also known as Swedish Folkboats. They’re popular in Scandinavia of course, but they get around the world. We’ve seen references to a Transatlantic and a circumnavigation so far. That means these are ocean-capable boats, yet, they are fun on inland waters too for both daysailing and pocket cruising. The previous owner of Silent Reach sailed her to Block Island a few times.
Here’s a sister ship with the same color cabin top/deck and similar hull color (Silent Reach was the same red originally but had recently been repainted professionally)…
A Marieholm Folkboat, apparently in Sweden, that’s basically identical to ours. (This one sports a dodger over the companionway.)
The one above is sailing with its working jib. Here’s one under genoa:
This one appears to be in a race, almost at the layline for the next mark. She’s spinnaker equipped so might be about to pop the chute.
The boats were originally wood with wooden spars (masts and booms). The Marieholm ones that are prevalent are all glass outside except for the tiller. This makes them lower on maintenance yet still appearing quite traditional. The interiors have a lot of wood.
Engines could be inboard or outboard apparently. Ours is o/b. They were designed to have the engine in a well in the transom (see the hatch under the tiller in the shot above). Some put them on the transom too, as shown with the red sister ship further up.
What will we use her for? The sheer joy of sailing. She’ll predominately be a daysailer. She can be overnighted as well, although space is a little tight belowdecks. Ours has an Origo 2-burner stove and a porta potti. Nothing fancy, but with the V-berth and two settees, there are places to sleep. And being very stable, she won’t rock around as much as a lighter fin-keel design.
Plan of the International Folkboat. Elegant, traditional design.
Despite being a more classic design with traditional transom and full keel, there are performance elements to the Folkboat. Note the fractional rig. The boats have adjustable backstays, for crying out loud! Plus, sliding gooseneck for the ultimate in shaping ability, and a cunningham for tweaking that shape. Large mainsails with manageable headsail choices make for performance and ease of handling.
“Silent Reach” will be available to our graduates (and well qualified outsiders) to rent as well as to our Sailing Club members. Come see, and sail, an example of sailing history that won’t go out of style!
Two articles on Folkboats…
Good Old Boat (The Folkboat: Little Beauty with a Big Heart)
Yachting World (‘Did you sail that thing here?’ – solo across the Atlantic in a Folkboat)
On August 30th, a group of 10 kayakers was basically run over by a NY Waterway ferry that was backing out of its Manhattan slip into the glare of the sun in the western sky. Several were injured; two seriously. It’s all under investigation of course. Not many other facts have been reported so far and thus it’s hard to piece it all together.
The kayak company involved claims to not have had a collision before in its 20-year operating history. But the incident does beg some questions…
Was the kayak group being reckless, passing close by an active ferry dock?
Did the ferry sound a proper signal and post a proper lookout?
Are New York Harbor and the Hudson & East Rivers even suitable environments for kayaks and stand-up paddleboards?
There’s been a large increase in kayak and even paddleboard activity around Manhattan recently. It’s cheap, easy access to the water. But the water moves – fast. There are strong currents that make real sailboats stand still against the skyline while sailing full tilt. Then there’s the traffic.
“You have every single marine traffic situation that is known to man, every single day. You have high speed ferries of different sizes that have different routes, you have pleasure craft, you have ocean liners, you have commercial dredges. It all exists here. You see kayak and paddleboard people on the Hudson River with a 3- or 4-knot current at dusk — it’s insane.”
-Captain Frank Crescitelli, fishing charter captain (“Fin Chaser”) based in New York Harbor. (As quoted in the NY Times article referenced below.)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch (New York Sailing Center’s location on City Island, half the length of Manhattan away from it but light years away as far as the boating and sailing environment), we have the Touring Kayak Club near our moorings. They launch from their own ramp in City Island Harbor. Sometimes, I think they stray a bit far from their base, but the traffic conditions are far more manageable and predictable here. Plus, currents can usually be swum against, so paddling against them is a cinch.
TKC is a private membership club that no one seems to know much about. The last time I checked, they were wait-listed. At New York Sailing Center, we are planning to introduce kayaking and perhaps boardsailing (“windsurfing”) in 2017.
As for NY Harbor and the Rivers, it’s hard even for non-capsizing sailboats to manage all the logistics and stay safe on, much less enjoy, the waterways. We keep hearing of collisions and capsizes – yes, capsizes with non-capsizing sailboats! Why? They push it. They fly spinnakers without enough experience, training, or regard for weather. So, they flip ’em. And, sometimes sink ’em. Seriously? Yup, so just say no to SUP…
“It’s a super-accessible way to get exposure to the waterways, where there is a really undiscovered part of New York City; there’s a mystique to it. But if you’ve never experienced a 40-knot vessel coming at you with a kayak, that’s a problem.”
-Elias Vaisberg, who runs kayak fishing tours out of Staten Island. (As quoted in NYT article referenced below.)
The quotes above were from the NY Times article about it on August 30 titled “Recreation and Commerce Collide on New York’s Crowded Waterways” by Sarah Maslin Nir and Eli Rosenberg. The previous day, there was an article titled “10 Kayakers Rescued from Hudson River After Collision with Ferry.” We have not provided links because when we pasted them into the post, they keep trying to embed and all that appeared was a portion of the call-out photo with no actual link or text. So there.
If we’re going to try to sell you here, we’l teach you something too.
We have room in a Start Sailing course, which started today (Monday, August 22). This is learn-to-sail/Basic Keelboat (ASA 101). Come join for either or both day 2 and day 3 for a refresher. $225/each or $375 for both. Need certification? Can add that on for reasonable fee. Contact us to discuss the options or sign up.
Now, for a teaching tidbit…
How to: ‘Heaving-to’
If it’s good enough for Olympians, it’s good enough for you. Here’s what it looks like…
What did the US women’s 470 team do when there wasn’t enough wind to do much at all (and racing was on hold)? Why, they hove to, of course!
‘Heaving to’ is making a sailboat drift in a controlled manner. It won’t sail fast, and it won’t cross the wind. Once set up, the boat is self-tending. That frees up anyone on board to deal with other stuff, or just chillax. It’s a critical safety skill and also a super-convenient one for non emergencies.
The idea is to get the jib (front sail) ‘backed’ or ‘backwinded’ by forcing it to the side of the boat the wind is coming from. This turns the boat aggressively away from the wind. To fight that, the boat is steered back into the wind. When timed correctly, the rudder (steering fin) and the jib fight each other to a stalemate, and the boat just says, “I’m done” and obediently lays sideways to the wind. It drifts sideways and forward, or diagonally downwind.
Most sailors learn the concept easily, but most also don’t learn how to execute it reliably. Some overnight expert or Captain Crackerjack started a trend of teaching how to heave to like this: “Tack the boat and then tack back.” (Tacking is turning toward the wind and continuing across to the other side of it.) The idea is that one stops the boat from tacking and fights the backwinded jib with the rudder.
The problem is that more detail is needed. It’s not complicated however, and here’s how to do it reliably on any sloop rigged boat.
Get the boat aiming upwind (close reach, or preferably close hauled.)
Tack the boat, but not the jib. (Leave it be.)
Stop the boat on the new close hauled course. Not easy with backed jib.
Once you’re steady on that course, luff the mainsail completely.
The boat will head down. Gradually fight it with more rudder as needed.
When that won’t work anymore, CONGRATS! You’re hove-to.
The boat will lay on a beam reach or sometimes a little lower. Secure the helm, and do whatever it is you wanted to do by heaving to. (Like wait for wind as the women in the photo are.)
A few more details…
The jib or genoa might have to be adjusted slightly to get the best lay. That’s measured in inches, not feet. With an overlapping genoa, the clew should be near the shrouds on whichever side – fore or aft – works best for the boat at the time. Play around with it and watch the boat’s heading change slightly.
If the main is undulating softly, leave it be. If it’s really luffing hard, play with the headsail trim to get a better angle. With a genoa, trim in more to better blanket the main. Or, just drop the main if need be and especially if you’re going to remain hove-to for awhile, as when riding out a squall.
Trimming in the main will make the boat sail on a close reach. You’re not hove to. You’re sailing with a backwinded jib. You can do it, but you lose most of the benefit, and the boat will not likely be self tending.
What if you need to heave to but have to stay on the tack (side of the wind) you’re already on?
Simple. Tack the jib but not the boat! Or, if that’s too much cranking, head down until the jib is soft enough to trim in easily. Then head up to back it.
So, forget about “tack & tack back” and just heave to like an Olympian.
Caleb Paine was in fourth place going into the medal race in the Finn dinghy class on Tuesday. He led at every mark and took the race – and took the Bronze medal in the process.
Sailing equivalent of a victory lap. Caleb Paine celebrating after securing Bronze.
The Finn is a large singlehanded dinghy, used as the ‘heavyweight’ men’s singlehanded class. It’s had a very long reign in Olympic sailing – uninterrupted since the 1952 Games. It’s arguably the hardest boat to sail well in the world. It’s certainly the most brutal.
This was Paine’s first Olympic appearance. He skipped college to pursue competitive sailing, and apparently it paid off. Congratulations!
Two other Olympians who wound up with significant fourth place stats in their classes have a lot in common…
Sail the same boat (Laser)
Live in the same country (Italy)
Share blood relatives
Who are they?
Gintaré and Robert Scheidt…
Yes, her boat says 2012 – but she was indeed in the current 2016 Games too. This pic syncs well with the next one…
So, they sail they same boat, although Gintaré’s rig is the Radial (smaller sail and bottom half of mast). They represent different countries (Gintaré is originally from Lithuania). They are married with children, and live together in Italy. Gintaré was fourth in the medal race (7th overall), and Robert won the medal race which brought him to 4th overall. He won one of the earlier races but also had some poor outings.
Had he Bronzed, he would have won his 6th Olympic sailing medal in two classes – the Laser and the Star class doublehanded keelboat, which are as far apart as actual boats get in the Olympics. Only the sailboard class (RS:X) is further removed from the Star. Two Golds, two Silvers, and a Bronze – in two very different boats. This writer can’t think of a better Olympic sailing record. Elvström won 4 golds in two dinghies, the Firefly and the Finn, but I think Scheidt’s record is even more impressive.
Here’s hoping that the US women’s 470 team converts their 2nd place in overall standings into a podium finish. To be continued…
Want to watch live and also get some replays? Here are links to NBC’s streaming page for sailing. Most prior days’ coverage are available but the last two weren’t last time we checked.
http://stream.nbcolympics.com/sailing-day-3 (First day of replays that are actually available on demand. Edit the number to try the day you want. Was working up through day 8 last time we checked and tech difficulties for days 1 & 2.)
US Sailing, our country’s organization for sailboat racing, announced yesterday that things were looking good for Team US on the Olympic sailing front. “Five sailors are in the top 10.”
That’s lame! Guess we suck at sailing this time…
Well, it’s lame for us in the historical scheme of things. We have tended to be the country to beat. But the rest of the world is getting more competitive in the sport, which is a good thing.
There are numerous sailing classes for both men and women in the Olympics. They range from the RS:X sailboard (‘windsurfer’) to the Star class double handed keelboat. Most boats are boardboats. Right now only the Star class has a keel.
( – aside: there was a Star fleet at the Stuyvesant Yacht Club on City Island for decades. They dry-sailed them. This writer got on one for a few races a long time ago when a skipper needed a crew. That’s some hard-core boat! But like many pedigree platforms, it can be sailed on a more casual than Olympic basis and still be enjoyable.)
So; who’s good from the good ‘ol USA..
Womens 470: Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, currently in second place!..
Finn: Caleb Paine, 4th place, 5 points out of Bronze so could medal…
Kudos to Great Britain’s Giles Scott, who has already clinched the gold. The medal race is on Tuesday, limited to the top 10 contenders, so this is definitely worth watching. Easier to follow than the whole fleet. Cheer Caleb Paine on to Bronze!
Brazilian hometown favorite Robert Scheidt was doing very well in the Laser class. He was second for awhile in the standings, but disappointing finishes in later races dropped him down. Scheidt is one of the winningest sailors in Olympic history, with 5 Olympic Medals in the sport. He’s taken two gold, two silver, and a bronze, and these are spread out over two totally different classes: the singlehanded Laser dinghy, and the doublehanded Star keelboat. That’s very impressive in my log book. In fact, I can’t think of a better Olympic sailing record. Super kudos!
And then there’s his wife! Gintarė Scheidt (Gintarė Volungevičiūtė-Scheidt) represents Lithuania in sailing. The two met at a training event and later got married. Gintaré was Lithuania’s standard bearer for the opening ceremonies. The two live with their children in Italy.
So… if we’re not exactly the standard setters this time, which countries are sailing more consistently?
Britain, and France. They’re solidly in the top ten in almost every event. As mentioned, Giles Scott had the Finn Gold wrapped up before the final race. France medaled in both mens and women’s RS:X sailboard events, so that’s impressive.
Want to watch replays and be ready to stream live when racing resumes (probably on midday, Tuesday August 16)? Here you go…
(update:NBC’s replay links are currently just saying “Coverage has concluded” for days 10 and 11. Lame. But maybe that’ll sort itself out.)
This is the link for racing on Sunday. Monday saw poor conditions with a lot of cancellations, and the replay seems to not be available for anything they did air. But you can edit the number “8” in your browser and substitute anything smaller, and you’ll get the replays for that day’s racing. Very hard to find otherwise. Footage is excellent. It’s mostly real video, with occasional graphic race course overlays. Sometimes they give real-time graphic renditions of the fleet instead.
You’ll probably have to sign in with your cable provider the first time but then be good to go.
Shortly after it says Schedule and Results in bold, you’ll see a list of all the sailing classes for men, women, and the one mixed class – the Nacra catamaran. There you can choose the class whose standings you want to see. Or, further down, you can browse by calendar date for individual race results or to see what’s coming up when starting Tuesday the 16th.
…or is it no location? Or too many, so a school is confused about where it is?
Do two (or three) wrongs make a right (location)?
Wonder what percentage of you get the GoT reference of this post’s title. (If you don’t get GoT, let us know and we’ll bring you up to speed.)
Hint…
Wings over water – on sailboats and soaring dragons. Final scene of season six finale, Game of Thrones.
WTF am I talking about? Sailing schools who are geographically challenged and are either so confused they don’t know where they are – or want you to be so you sign up for their school at one of their dubious digs.
Example: a school is named after a geographic location. An island. They had to move from that island to a neighboring state. They still reference teaching at that original island in their blurb on the ASA School’s page. But a girl has to cross a river to get to them. (oops; there’s another GOT reference…)
Another example: a school has three locations, none far from the others (and all in our state). One moved across the bay it’s located in. Map page still shows it where it isn’t. At least it’s the right bay. One is entirely new. It’s listed on the ASA page as being in a particular Bay, where they say the sailing is Great. But a school is not in this bay. It is in another, far away, and the sailing is not in this tiny bay. A school sails in an inlet on an ocean. (And a school cannot hide from that ocean’s swells.)
What do we care? We like good old fashioned, straight up honest advertising. Plus, we’re very proud of our location. It’s extremely accessible from so many places, both by public transit and car. The area is insanely good for teaching sailing and just enjoying a day sail or a cruise.
Some schools have multiple locations. Some locations have multiple schools. Tiny little City Island, barely a mile and a half long, has historically been home to two sailing schools – sometimes just one, and for a time, three. Plus, it has two college sailing teams. Both those universities have campuses on Manhattan. But, they sail out of City Island. Finally – we have three yacht clubs on the Island and the vast majority of their members’ toys are sailboats.
We have had opportunities to add a satellite location at the “bay on the ocean,” on the Hudson, etc. We have always declined. Not worth having a location slightly more convenient to Manhattanites, or to spread ourselves around hoping to capture another demographic, just to take clients’ money and give them a piss-poor education and experience that, if they even learn properly from, they’ll soon outgrow.
Today, at noon, we have Laser racing. Awesome little boat that is one of the most important classes in the history of the sport. Well worth checking this out, and also sailing one yourself at some point. Most America’s Cup skippers in recent history were winners in Lasers at some point.
The medals above are NOT from the Olympics. They are from the local/regional level in Long Island Sound/NYC. But they are so kewl. That’s the boat as profiled on each medallion. Check out the live coverage or recaps as the Rio Olympiad rolls along and you’ll see why this boat rules.
We recently came across this review of our learn-to-sail boat, the Beneteau First 21.0. It’s sometimes called the First 210. Many Europeans call it the Baby Ben.
One of our Beneteau First 21.0 sloops at New York Sailing Center.
It’s the smallest sailboat made by the largest (and oldest) sailboat manufacturer in the world. It’s two and a half editions, or generations, or models old depending on how one defines that. Started with the First 21.0; became the First 20. (Boat didn’t shrink.) Then, Beneteau and ASA (American Sailing Association) teamed up to produce a slightly modified version – that’s the “half” to which I refer – called the ASA Trainer or First 22. (Again, the boat didn’t grow.) The chief difference on this one is that they made a smaller cabin and larger cockpit.
A pair of ASA First 22 sloops duking it out somewhere. Note sail number: “20,” same on both, leftover from Beneteau’s standard production model – the First 20. They’re all the same size boat.
But, all versions have these things in common:
Hull. (Boat body) The size and shape are the same.
Keel. (The fin that stops the boat from going sideways and from flipping over.)
Rudders. (Steering fins.) Yes, plural. There are two.
Rig. The spars (poles that hold the sails up, out, etc), and basic sailplan, are the same except for the squared-off top of the mainsail on the newer boats.
Bob Perry, a highly esteemed naval architect and author, with a regular column on design in Sailing magazine, penned this article some time ago. Here are his words, and some pics we saw fit to slip in…
Perry on Design: the Beneteau First 21.0.
(Bob’s prose appears below in quotes. Any editorial notes I couldn’t resist are indented in parentheses as I’ve done here.)
“Let’s go small and look at a trailerable boat. This one is from the board of Group Finot and built by Beneteau. It is a very different approach, abandoning tradition and going after speed and convenience with modern design features.
ABOVE: Blueprint of the Beneteau First 21.0, showing the swing keel in both extremes of its range. This is a ‘high aspect’ design: the sails and the keel (foils) are tall up and down, and short fore and aft.
“The benefit of this type of boat is the ability to move easily to exotic or semi-exotic locations for regattas. The 210 will make a great daysailer or a camp-style cruiser. While trailerable sailboats are seldom examples of refined design, the First 210 shows design innovation aimed at sparkling performance and eye appeal. This boat is also unsinkable.
Keel fully retracted, a First 21.0 on its trailer and ready to roll.
“With an LOA of 21 feet, the First 210 shows a modern, round bilge hull form with a very broad transom to give it dinghylike proportions. Look carefully at the plan view, deck layout or interior. Note the location of maximum beam. In most modern designs the maximum beam is located at or around station six. If you use the same system of establishing stations and break the 210’s DWL into 10 segments, you will find the max beam around station nine! There is even a curious little hook in the deck line right at station nine. The result of this shape is extreme maximization of the small volume available in 21 feet and a wide platform aft to optimize the righting moment effect of crew weight.
(We’ve always called this boat a big dinghy with a keel on it. A dinghy is a sailboat that can flip over and requires the crew’s weight on the rail to hold it down. The Beneteau First 21.0 is very sensitive to crew weight, and reacts immediately to changes – but it won’t flip over if the crew fails to react. That makes it ideal for learning and training.)
Bird’s eye of the Beneteau First 20 plan. Note how wide the back, or transom, of the boat is and also the twin rudders on the back. All this is the same configuration as the First 21.0.
“The extremely high-aspect-ratio centerboard (ed. note: it’s a ballasted swing keel, not a centerboard or centerboard keel) is housed in an odd shaped nacelle below the hull for a board-up draft of 2 feet, 3 inches. Almost every appendage is a candidate for “ellipticalization” these days, and I find it interesting that the designers have ended this board in a sharp point. In profile, the rudder looks ridiculously small until you realize that there are in fact two rudders. They are canted outboard at 15 degrees. With this extreme distribution of beam aft a normal rudder would pull almost clear of the water at high degrees of heel. With the two rudders, when the boat is heeled one of the rudders will still be at an effective working angle with the water. This is a slick way of reducing the required draft of the rudders. Note that the draft of the twin rudders is the same as the draft of the board housing. The rudders are linked through the member at the top of the open transom.
A First 20 in fine form upwind. Note the rudder barely touching the water. The other one is all the way in and fairly straight, meaning it works well. When a sailboat leans to the side, its rudder loses some effectiveness and this twin rudder design reduces that.
(The design was great by itself, but what puts it over the top is the twin rudders. Sailboats lean to the side naturally, as shown in the pic above. The more they lean, however, the less effective their rudder (steering fin) becomes. It loses its bite on the water, so it has to be held to one side to go straight. This creates drag and further reduces its effectiveness. But the twin rudders on the First 21.0, each one angled outward, become straight when the boat heels a normal amount, and when the boat heels too much, the rudder angle isn’t bad. This makes for a forgiving feel that allows students to learn from mistakes rather than be confused or overwhelmed by them. And that makes them better able to sail any boat afterward.)
“There are no overhangs on this little packet. The bow profile shows a hint of concavity to allow some flare into the forward sections. There is also a tiny amount of tumblehome in the midsection with a moderate BWL.
“The shrouds are taken to the deck edge allowing a small jib to be sheeted inside. The mainsheet sheets to a single attachment point on the cockpit sole. All halyards lead aft to jammers within easy reach of the helm. The spar is deck stepped with a hinged step. The interior is a one piece GRP molding with small sink and one burner stove. The portable head is under the V-berth. The small interior space is divided by a trunk that carries that top of the swing keel. A hinged leaf table is attached to this trunk. The four berths are all adult sized.
“On deck, the swim ladder and outboard bracket fit neatly between the twin rudders. The two cockpit lockers contain a space specifically for the outboard fuel tank. The bubblelike desk is striking and set off by a varnished mahogany toerail.
Closer view of the newer ASA First 22. Larger cockpit, smaller cabin, and Stars n Stripes graphics are the key differences between the original First 21.0 and this version.
“The First 210 appears to combine careful styling with performance and safety. The general approach to this design is similar to the Mini-Transatlantic Class, but the boat is not as radical in proportions as a true mini-transat racer. Beneteau’s tooling of molded parts is as good as any in the business and their approach to finish and style is perhaps the best in the business. These aspects combine to ensure that the little 210 will be a standout.”
(“Mini-transat” refers to the Mini 6.5 class boat: 6.5 meters, basically the same as the first 21.0. It’s a serious racer. How serious? They are raced singlehanded across the Atlantic – with spinnaker. No shit. They have twin rudders like the Beneteaus. This class is also raced doublehanded for some regattas.)
Black & white is so timeless! Here’s a great shot of the First 21.0 flying along while flying a kite (spinnaker). Note the simple, spacious cockpit, balancing well with the open deck space making it easy to go forward to moor, anchor, rig a non-furling jib (which is best for learning to sail), etc.
We love this boat, and while they’re fewer and farther between, and much more expensive to buy than the boats more commonly used in sailing schools (J-24’s and Sonars come to mind), they’re worth it as they just work better for teaching.
“Don’t take our word for it!” Everyone says they have the best boat. But this is the only design ever endorsed for sailing instruction by a national sail training or sailing school organization such as ASA or US Sailing.
