First time out on my Capri

flounder43

flounder43

New Member
I bought a 1988 Capri on Friday and took it out for the first time on Saturday. I had never rigged this boat before so it was slow going. I did use that UCLA sailing manual that was posted here, and that was very helpful.

The boat is moored on a buoy in Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. The wind was very light and shifty. It was probably good that the wind was light as it let me get the hang of things. On the other hand, with no steady wind direction to count on, I was caught by surprise a few times. One time, I was close hauled into the wind and suddenly, a gust came directly across from starboard. Wow, the boat does seem tippy. Lucky I had the sheet in hand and not cleated!

The second issue that I had was that the tiller has a tendency to go everywhere but straight. The posts about tiller tamers now make sense.

I'm glad that I read through this forum before I went out - the info was very helpful.
 
Shifty winds are synonomous with inland lakes (My lakes are in the mountains, boy to I know that well)...

Suggestion. Sailing with main-sheet in hand (but cleated), is fine, because when you are on the high side (just before a hike-out), the angle is such that just pulling on the sheet, uncleats it anyhow. My brother likes to refer to sailing without the sheet cleated kind of sailing as "sunfishing" as the typical sunfish has a mainsheet, with no cleat.

The capri 14.2 has a fast planing hull, a decent amount of sail area, and a centerboard... This defines tippy it is true, but also lends well to learning fast, and going fast. Even for those of us who have sailed a lot, though, the boat always provides a "good time."

If you are just learning the capri, Sunfishing is sufficient...

If you are new to sailing AND new to the Capri, then might I suggest sailing with just the mainsail, AND sunfishing until you are used to dealing with the puffs?

I am sure I speak for most here, we are glad you were able to get good advice here! Also feel free to add your own observations/changes/mods as you get them (and you will).
 
Sounds like you had a real adventure. Hope you enjoyed it!

I've been out 3 times now. The first two were good for learning but on the last trip I found myself in WAY too much wind. I really struggled. Guess I should take that reefing kit out of the box and install it. That day certainly justified the expense of an outboard motor - I was very happy to sacrifice my pride and motor back in to the dock.

FYI, I can't imagine trying to function without the Tiller-Tamer.

Now I find myself looking forward to some more light-wind outings to get my confidence back and continue to learn how to handle the boat.
 
Well if it makes you feel any better, was out Saturday with a friend of mine... Had him skippering... We just got sloppy on 1 tack, and the wind picked up (ever notice that only happens through a tack)...

Anyway, with him at the helm and me with my rusty crewing skills... We stood her right up on her side. Filled the cockpit with water (to the barney), just ever so lightly sprayed the top half of the main with water.

Fortunately, him and I scurried topside like instantly! This flattened us out, and restored our pride.

Sad part is we just blew the doors off a Siren... We walked right past him from literally a quarter mile behind, to 200 or so odd feet ahead of him. This was GREAT fun... He got a first hand look at our faux paux...

You can tell he has sailed a dingy before... Rather than raucous laughing, we got, "NICE RECOVERY!"

Freaking great day sailing.

It has been said before... but for anyone starting out, I will say it again... REEF FIRST, you can always shake it out. If you are struggling on the capri (most other boats I would NOT recommend this), and you don't have the reef points... then run with just the main... she'll do just fine.
 
Heh, that is pretty close to my first scare, but I was just short of filling it with water. One blast of wind and it was really tippy. In my case, it had less to do with strong winds than with a surprising puff out of nowhere on a very light day. I think the lesson that I took out of it is to watch the wind and get your tack timed right.

Seems like steady winds are easier for this amateur to handle.
 
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