Hello from a new Hartley TS16 owner!

[Mojo]

Welcome mate!

Cheers
Mojo

[goanywhere]

How did you go goanywhere?

I've been out 3 times now Paul. The first time was good I took a mate who sails but not Hartleys, and we had some fun and games just getting launched. We were going to launch of the beach at the Largs Bay sailing club here in Adelaide, but the tide was very low and we didn't want to wait until midday for the tide to rise enough to get out. So we went to the launch at Garden Island. That was not much better. The low tide meant we had to back well beyond the end of the ramp, and had difficulties with rocks and holes. So we moved ramps and then had problems getting the boat off the trailer. We took awhile to work out that the centreboard was getting hung up on the rollers, so after hoiking it up as far as it would go and backing further into the water we finally got it off the trailer. Pretty nice going after that, but we had to navigate a narrow channel with the tide so low, so it was a mix of sail and motor. Then at the end when I tried to pull up the centre board the bracket on the mast support post came away. I had to jury rig some cordage arount the post through the block to be able to winch up the board. I learnt a lot on that first outing, but we came home in one piece. As for the sailing, the winds were variable, with some strong gusts approaching 20kt but both of us commented how stable the TS16 was even in the biggest gusts.

The second outing was at Goolwa. This time I had my wife along. (She's brave!) I thought I had the rigging sussed by now, and it only took me 45 minutes this time with some local ramp-side help . My plan was to motor out from the pier and then stop under anchor to raise the mainsail. I don't know why I decided to, but I thought I would try my hand at heaving to to do that, but I ran out of water and drifted into a private marina! Fortunately the friendly gentleman there understood I was a novice and assisted me to get away from the dock. My wife lost her nerve though and I thought better of sailing, so we just motored up and down the channel. That was nice, and my wife, who is not a sailor by any stretch commented that the boat felt stable and comfortable. (She says she will come out sailig with me after I have a few basics mastered!) At least we had no dramas launching or retrieving this time.

The last trip out was a fortnight ago. This time my mate who came on the first trip was with me again. This time we had no problems launching, but when I tried to start my motor the start cord came away in my hand! The knot pulled out of the spindle hole. So I took a sprint to the boat ramp office to see if anyone there could assist. No. So I asked whether there were any rules against sailing off the ramp, which apparently there weren't. So with mighty courage we hoisted sails and took of straight off the ramp. Worked a treat!

The sailing this day was fantastic! Lighter winds early and in the wider expanses we could practice our manoevres better. We made one mistake though. I decided it would be nice to run with the wind going out and tack home. Not a good idea. The wind and sea picked up quite strongly in the mid afternoon and tacking became a bit more of a challenge. Not knowing the finer points of sail trim yet we didn't sail particularly close upwind, probably about 50 deg. So our homeward trip took longer than we had planned. But the fun was when we got to the marina entrance. I decided to lower the mainsail and attempt to sail in on jib alone. I didn't want us overpowered coming into a busy marina. All was fine until we got to the breakwater, then the wind got all swirly and we just couldn't make headway. After a few tries I decided to play the "damsel in distress" card. A passing boaty was duly hailed, and as he approached I held up the outboard starter cord with a big grin on my dial. He kindly offerred to tow us in, which went off without a hitch.

Sorry, I didn't take any photos.I often forget to take shots, especially when I am concentrating on just surviving! I promise I will post some pics next trip.

My impressions of the TS16:

A very roomy boat for a 16 footer. Light and responsive in all conditions yet very stable even in the rough stuff. At no time did I ever feel like we were needing to work hard to deal with the conditions, even when the winds were quite gusty.

I need to learn how to heave-to in this boat. Every boat is different and it helps if you don't try it first time in cramped quarters .

I know this might send shivvers up some spines here, but I am planning on replacing the rig with a Junk rig. I love monosail rigs and all those wires and ropes get in the way for me. I'm a person who likes easy casual sailing in all conditions. (Please, no arguments about this, I have given this a LOT of thought and have my plans well set). The bermudan rig is great for racing but I am well experienced with lugs and sprits so that's what I am going to have on this one.

I can see that the TS16 if handled well could venture further into the rough stuff than many comparable day sailers, so I think that with the appropriate experience I can see myself sailing down the Fleurieu or across the St Vincent or even to KI in the future, weather eye permitting of course.

I noticed that she takes on a bit of water. In an afternoon I took on about 20 litres. On close inspection I notice some cracking around the CB trunk and chines. I plan to fix that over the next few weekends, so hopefully I will still get a good couple of months of sailing in before the cold weather sets in. I think I will install a bilge pump too just for good measure.

Cheers,
Steve.

[Rigsy]

Hi All,
I am also a new Hartley TS16 owner. I pick her up on Friday and I'm really looking forward to it. I've owned larger yachts and have cruised for a few years but we are really looking forward to a bit of racing and a bit of family sailing with a boat we can wash and put away without the horrific costs of berthing. This seems a great site so I will talk again soon and post some photos when I pick her up.
Happy sailing
Cheers
Rigsy