Well, I was going to build myself a nice 12' sailing rowboat, and I may
still, but...

I saw an ad for fiberglass hull for a Lightning class sailboat and I'm
going to take a look at it this weekend. The owner bought the hull as a
bare hull a few years ago, with the intention of buying the
pieces'n'parts to finish it off, but he never did.

I sailed a wood Lightning decades ago out of Milford harbor in
Connecticut. It was a lot of fun, and a step up from the BlueJays, which
was the "starter" racing sailboat for most of us up there.

Apparently *all* the parts needed to complete the boat are available
from a handful of manufacturers and vendors. The class is still active.

Here's a video of some Lightnings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dod5s...eature=related

It's a pretty simple boat, actually, and easy enough for two to handle.
I'm just a *tad* over the hill for any sort of competition.

Anyway, the price is right, the bare hull is "pristine," according to
the seller, and if I go for it, it'll keep me out of the bars I don't
frequent.

On Thu, 30 Dec 2010 21:57:13 -0500, Harryk
wrote:

Apparently *all* the parts needed to complete the boat are available
from a handful of manufacturers and vendors. The class is still active.

Here's a video of some Lightnings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dod5s...eature=related

It's a pretty simple boat, actually, and easy enough for two to handle.
I'm just a *tad* over the hill for any sort of competition.

The fact that the class is active will help maintain the value of the
boat if you finish it to class specs. If you have a local sailing
foundation for disadvantaged children, you could also think about
letting them borrow it once in a while. We donated our kids old Blue
Jay to a sailing foundation in CT that is doing a good job, and they
were very appreciative.

On 12/31/10 12:06 AM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 30 Dec 2010 21:57:13 -0500,
wrote:

Apparently *all* the parts needed to complete the boat are available
from a handful of manufacturers and vendors. The class is still active.

Here's a video of some Lightnings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dod5s...eature=related

It's a pretty simple boat, actually, and easy enough for two to handle.
I'm just a *tad* over the hill for any sort of competition.

The fact that the class is active will help maintain the value of the
boat if you finish it to class specs. If you have a local sailing
foundation for disadvantaged children, you could also think about
letting them borrow it once in a while. We donated our kids old Blue
Jay to a sailing foundation in CT that is doing a good job, and they
were very appreciative.


Thanks. I hope to eyeball the hull on Sunday. According to the owner,
he's had it in his garage under sewn-together cotton bedsheets since he
bought it new.

I know there's a Lightning fleet on the Potomac, probably more than one,
and I've seen a few boats up in Annapolis.

I really have to decide if I want to spend the hours finishing off a
nice sailboat or building a wood rower/sailing boat from plans. There's
no question the Lightning is a terrific sailboat, but it's a bitch to
row. I know *that* for a fact. :)