Launched today

[alsantini]

Off The Wind is again in her element.  Floating in Pistakee Lake.  The ramp was a zoo today because there was a high school fishing contest.  Aren't these kids supposed to be in school not crowding my ramp?  I could not find a space to step the mast so I launched, motored over to my slip (1/2 mile away), and stepped the mast.  This Eclipse system is fantastic.  No sweat.  Walked back to my car and trailer only to find that someone hit the front passenger door at the handle.  Caved it in a bit.  Oh well.  I am ready to go sailing again.  Anyone up in the northern Illinois area has an open invitation.  Fair winds.  Who else is in the water?

[TedStrat]

Sounds great Al. Helios is not in yet - next Saturday if all goes well. Today would have been a perfect day to sail down here on Long Island - 10-12 kt winds and 75 - a far cry from this winter. I'm hoping I remember everything since last year was the first year with the eclipse. I will step the mast like I did last year at the ramp and take my time. It is a great system though.

[alsantini]

Great Ted.  I will bet you will get back in the swing of launching as soon as you get to the ramp.  I took my time also, and since I was in the slip stepping the mast, I put my phone, wallet, watch and car keys in the cabin.  I figured I was relatively water proof, but my phone and smart watch were not.  Of course if I had fallen off to port I would splash, to starboard I would splat on the dock. LOL
Enjoy and sail on.  We all need to post pics and sailing stories here to keep in touch with fellow Eclipse owners.  I am going to post the minor changes that I have made to hull 49 and hope everyone will chime in with their mods.   Way better to see what other Eclipse sailors have done that worked, rather than making the same mistakes.      Al

[BruceW]

Al, that's great! I've been wondering how you'd compare/contrast the Eclipse sailing as opposed to the P-21. I enjoyed sailing my P-21, but gave it up due to the mast stepping. Even with a nice spring system to make it easy, it wasn't as easy as a mastender. Ironically, I put a mastender on my Slipper 17, and probably could have put it on the Precision if I had known about Keith Scott and his retro-fit rig ideas. Oh well.

[alsantini]

Bruce.  Here are some of my thoughts on the P-21 vs the Eclipse.   The P-21 is an extremely competent sailing boat. I really loved how it handled, the large cockpit, ability to carry lots of sail, how it handled rough weather, etc. The Eclipse is just as competent but it has a smaller cockpit and the cabin is more cramped. The Eclipse is almost a foot less in beam dimensions. But it has virtually no weather helm and is really balanced. Fall of the Eclipse and it will sail away from you never to be seen again, whereas the P-21 will slowly turn into the wind and you "might" catch it. LOL The open transom on the Eclipse is a bit unnerving at first but after a little learning I love it. Getting into and out of the boat is a breeze either from the water or on the trailer and the outboard is right there within an easy reach. It took me a few sails to adjust to the starboard side motor location as opposed to the port on the P-21. Using a different hand to control speed seemed backwards at first but was easily learned. However the greatest feature of the Eclipse is how she travels and the set-up and tear-down at a ramp. My P-21 was with me for 13 years so it isn't like I did not like the boat, I just dreaded the stepping and unstopping of the mast in Spring and Fall.  I experimented with a mast raising system with the goal of being able to get it done by myself.  Eventually I made a system that worked but it still took me 1.5+ hours to get into the water, which I considered too much to actually be a true trailer sailor.  I am getting it done in on the Eclipse in around 20-30 minutes by myself.  Probably would not consider the Eclipse superior to the P-21  but certainly equal to the P-21 in sailing and way better in mast stepping and travel. Taking the Eclipse to Florida for the winter where I kept it in a storage yard and stepped the mast each time to sail was never even a passing thought for my P-21.  Interesting side note is that my wife seems to like sailing on the Eclipse better than the P-21.  The P-21 was perhaps a bit more tender and with the big 165% Genoa would heel over more, and she does not like sailing at any angle beyond maybe 10 degrees.  Both are very capable and well built boats that is for sure.  The Eclipse works for me, but maybe not for everyone.
Al

[BruceW]

Thanks, Al; I had a CP 19 back in the day, so I understand the basic size difference, although the Eclipse has some changes I probably don't know about. Anyway, thanks for the comparison!  I have a 23 now; it's a bit much for me until I take it out and get much better acquainted with it. Hopefully this year I will get the hang of it much better.

Bruce

[TedStrat]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Al. Looking forward to getting sailing again soon. I think the pics and mods are great idea. I will do some sailing this season with a go pro to see how that goes. Also, Waterwheels made some nice mods - screen, LEDs etc. which gave me some ideas.  it's good to see what other Eclipse owners come up with. We need to stick together! Hahah.