Hi Mark!
So I've bought my first boat this year (a Pearson 26), and gotten deep into local racing (not with the Pearson). My recommendation is, if you're gonna teach yourself to sail, don't do what I did. Instead, buy something small (< 19 ft), used, and trailerable. Here's why:
Books will teach you a fair amount of what you need to know, but experience is essential. The maintenance book you want is Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual.
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Do that for a year, get really good at it, and then start shopping around for your first cruiser! Catalinas are absurdly popular, and parts are plentiful.
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Sailing is an ABSOLUTE BLAST. Welcome!
I'm not going to pretend to know if you assessed the situation correctly but this:
> This is a run just outside of the main pistes
and this:
> My friend in the orange has been riding this area his entire life, and assured me
Are two huge reasons that people die in the backcountry. If you're off piste like this everyone in your group should have a beacon, probe, and shovel at minimum. If this is a thing you do often or want to do more in the future, then I would recommend at least reading a book like this.
To me, diffusion of responsibility and thinking "well he knows what he's doing and is ok with this" is not something I want to bet my safety on. Gaining knowledge for yourself so that you can make your own intelligent decisions is the best way to go.
Hopefully this didn't come across as a lecture, just trying to provide the right information. Like I said, your friends decision could have been fine, but if you read up on it a bit you'll be able to at least know what to look for and make a judgement of your own next time you end up in this situation.
If nothing else, at least remember this for judging if something is steep enough to slide.
Kilian Jornet recently released a book with training plans, history, and science behind training for trail running and mountaineering. I found it to have many good tips and many interesting stories.
https://www.amazon.com/Training-Uphill-Athlete-Mountain-Mountaineers/dp/1938340841
And if you're not familiar with ultra distance training, the book will change your world
There's a fantastic book written by a man who spent 76 days at sea. He floated in a raft, purifying water and eating what little fish he could catch.
At night, he couldn't see or hear the sharks. But he knew they were there from the hard bumps they'd give the raft.
No motor. No communication to anyone. Just endless black sea and sky, while sharks kept him up at night.
If you take your time and do your research, you can make incredibly functional and beautiful wrappings. That being said, manufacturers of the hot garbage we see here aren’t going to pay for the time and knowledge it takes. “The Ashley Book of Knots” was my first resource on knot tying and line work. It’s pretty dense but if you are interested in doing anything with rope, this book is amazing. I am sure there are great YouTube channels out there too.
You can definitely get out in the whites and stay out of avalanche danger, staying below tree line and staying on low angle terrain. If you want to venture into some of the bigger lines in the presidentials, you'll want some training and partners who know what they're doing. Also, study the avalanche conditions put out by https://mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org. They update daily, so you can follow how weather conditions affect the snowpack. And take an Avy 1 course.
Get this book by David Goodman https://www.amazon.com/Best-Backcountry-Skiing-Northeast-Classic/dp/1934028142. It's a great starting point. It's not all downhill, there are some xc tours as well.
Good beginner tours are Mt. Cardigan, the Sherburne trail, and Moosilauke Carriage Road.
Since you seem to be already committed to this path: buy and read: Inspecting the Aging Sailboat.
But I echo other comments that "buying a sailboat before you've even been in one" is a bad idea up front, and putting the cart before the horse. Some folks assume that to go sailing, you must buy a boat, and this just isn't true. It's quite possible to learn to sail and get lots of opportunities to go sailing on "Other People's Boats" without ever buying a boat.
The best course is to learn to sail, sail on a number of boats, discover what kind of sailing experiences you like, and *then* proceed towards buying a boat.
EDIT: make sure you're reserving plenty of money for repairs. Even if you provide your own labor, old boats inevitably need a lot of work. The cheaper the boat is up front, the more money you're going to need. Don't make the mistake of assuming that if you paid $X dollars for a boat, the most it can cost you in repairs is $X.
Inspecting the Aging Sailboat (The International Marine Sailboat Library) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0071445455/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_aAWNFb39NE4TW
Or a marine surveyor would be very useful.
But that seems like an extremely good price. Beware of scams, but I would buy it if I were you.
Not surprising considering how many baddies Don starkell and his kids ran into whilst paddling to the Amazon from Bronx park in Winnipeg
The ropework is great. See https://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford-W/dp/0385040253
Just for comparison, I'm always taken aback by the battery capacity hams think are good. My boat house battery bank is 675 Ah and I'm planning to up to 900 Ah next replacement cycle. Granted I run refrigeration, freezer, navigation electronics, and lighting as well as radios but still - I can go a pretty long time between charges. *grin*
73 es sail fast de dave KO4MI S/V Auspicious
Under the Black Flag. https://www.amazon.com/Under-Black-Flag-Romance-Reality/dp/081297722X
This is more fluffy, but it has pretty pictures: https://www.amazon.com/Real-Pirates-Untold-Whydah-Pirate/dp/1426202628/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=whydah+book&qid=1625648042&sprefix=whydah&sr=8-3
I keep these quick reference cards with a hank of 550 in my bag..
https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Knot-Outdoor-Knots-John-Sherry/dp/0922273227
“Training for the uphill athlete ” is good place to start for venturing into the world of ultra running. It’s basically a college course all encompassing ultra running and other Uber endurance sports.
This is the Bible:
Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual: Including Inspecting the Aging Sailboat, Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair, Sailboat Refinishing, Sailbo https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071462848/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pXGeFbZZTF2S2
Also good:
Marine Diesel Engines: Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repair https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071475354/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bYGeFbNVKM8AV
I’m from the east as well. Before I moved I found a lot of backcountry in the Adirondacks. Specifically the store “the mountaineering” was a big help in steering me along with this book: Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast
FWIW I loved it there but now do different stuff in the North West (Alaska/Yukon)
There was a guy who made it 76 days in the Atlantic and he happened to be a bad ass survivor type. His sailboat got RAMMED by a WHALE (that was a TIL for me) and capsized but he had a life raft.
The book is called Adrift and it's a quick read.
But it goes deep into all the things he had to do. Solar stills were the main reason he didnt die, also he caught some huge fish (Dorado) and made fish jerky. I think there was a mild shark attack as well.
Probably too late now, but I would really recommend reading Inspecting the Aging Sailboat by Don Casey.
1) US Army Survival Manual (FM 21-76) : Great to keep in a Go bag if you have to hoof it. Rather comprehensive survival guide for all climates, goes over edible/poisonous flora, fauna, trap and shelter building, etc etc. It's an excellent resource, highly recommend.
2) Pro-Knot reference cards : the only other reading material I have in my go-bag is a collection of knot-making flashcards. Sold on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0922273227/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The cards are very small-profile and waterproof. If you ever have to tie a knot and you don't know your knots, it will be a life saver.
Would be good to pick up a couple books by Don Casey. “Inspecting the Aging Sailboat” is a very brief book and will give you lots to think about: Inspecting the Aging Sailboat (The International Marine Sailboat Library) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071445455/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6FJ574B1ZEW90X8875H5
Just did mine in January. The online coursework is a great pre cursor and has a ton of the info from the in person part. Reading this book before hand really helped nail down a lot of concepts and made the course make a lot more sense for me. https://www.amazon.com/Staying-Alive-Avalanche-Terrain-Tremper/dp/1680511386/ref=nodl_
Started up Bolton; then Bolton Backcountry; then expanding out to things like Teardrop trail. There's a good book - https://www.amazon.com/Best-Backcountry-Skiing-Northeast-Classic/dp/1934028142
:)
Don Casey has two useful books, still in print and readily available, I believe: Inspecting the Gimg Sailboat, and Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance (which may actually include the first title). I believe they are aimed more at larger boat systems (including electrical, engine maintenance, etc.), but the sections on rigging, deck repairs/recoring, etc., should be useful to anyone.
Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual: Including Inspecting the Aging Sailboat, Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair, Sailboat Refinishing, Sailbo https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071462848/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_J8K6W7ER51EVNWNGAB59
Buy and read this book if you want to do more touring: https://www.amazon.com/Staying-Alive-Avalanche-Terrain-Tremper/dp/1680511386/ref=nodl_
The reason why it is important to learn is because the only person responsible for your safety is you. You need to be able to assess terrain and conditions and make decisions for yourself. Having an experienced group is awesome, but they aren’t infallible (see the Loveland pass avalanche a few years ago for a prime example).
Kinda echoing all of what has been said here. If there's any one thing you can do, read avy reports from the CAIC (https://www.avalanche.state.co.us/) and avoid slopes >30 degrees. Meet people, especially those who know what they are doing, go to Friends of CAIC, Friends of Berthoud Pass, and other backcountry meetups. It is a very welcoming community and we want to share our knowledge because we don't want to read a report about one of our own gone because they did something stupid/were ignorant about avalanche danger. Fear is healthy and good. When you go into the backcountry with no fear/respect for the mountains, that's when you die. Certain ski areas (Loveland, A Basin, Copper, etc. all have uphill access where you can go early am and skin up and practice touring safely). Get your touring setup and take an AIARE 1 course ASAP, I recommend doing it through Colorado Mountain School. Read this book and study it, then apply that knowledge. It will keep you alive. Start small and if you don't know, don't go. The mountains will always be there, and you can always ski them another day. The backcountry is a beautiful, exciting, fun, and peaceful place, but it can have significant consequences if not respected. And lastly, if you really are getting after it, you just are gonna have to drop some dough. Name of the game unfortunately. Also P.S. please don't boot up the skin track :)
You may want to pickup Don Casey’s book Complete Sailboat Maintenance Manual. It’s a great resource and has an entire section on inspecting an aging sailboat.
https://www.amazon.com/Caseys-Complete-Illustrated-Sailboat-Maintenance/dp/0071462848/ref=nodl_
I used to have a Catalina 22 and a 30. Both were easy to handle and fun to sail. I’m sure the 27 will be the same.
Good Luck!
That combined with whatever documentation exists specifically for your boat means you probably won't fuck up anything bad enough to require multiple replacements in a short timespan.
That is a great book, but may I direct you to this collection of Don Casey's books instead...will tell you how to inspect the boat and then how to fix it up. Very handy.
I don't know shit about sailboats but I found out about this book today: Inspecting the Aging Sailboat (The International Marine Sailboat Library) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071445455/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_39YJJKQ69CAP1S0RA417