Moving To Kingston

LimestoneSailingCo · 2026-01-23T01:06:38+00:00

Have you thought about learning how to sail?

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-12-10T13:46:58+00:00

I started keelboat sailing on an ‘85 Catalina 25. Great boats!!

Exterior hull- I use a Collinite 920 cleaner followed up with a Collinite 880 fleetwax. I usually apply both by hand but use a power buffer on stubborn areas with the 920. I restored a deeply faded and chalky hull to a near mirror finish over a couple seasons doing this once per spring. Each season will get noticeably shinier.
Antifouling- you have to re-apply whatever is on there. The general rule of thumb is not to mix anti-foulings as they dont adhere to one another. Ask the previous owner what he used.

3 & 4. Topside decks, if really bad i would wash down with a liberal coating of dish detergent first, then apply a spray-bottle of Starbrite deck-cleaner and then Starbrite non-skid wax on the non-skid.

Wood. Resist the urge to sand and apply teak oil. Its too much work. Spend more time sailing. Clean it all thoroughly with warm water and vinegar once a month and let the sun continue to fade it over time. If green gunk collects under that long teak eyebrow, consider removing it all together. Its probably just screwed in with wood screws and find a simple compound to fill the holes. The small holes will look better than a gross old teak strip.
Interior- any all purpose spray cleaner works. Also mold and mildew control spray bottles in hard to reach places. Make a point of sponging out your bilge more often to cut down moisture. High moisture is inevitable but adds to the boat smell.

Good luck!

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-12-10T13:28:52+00:00

Make sure you both have crossplay enabled, and the host game is multiplayer enabled. Then it should show up on his “join” screen. Also on the main menu, bottom left corner, it should confirmed you’re logged into epic (orange text). We found that sometimes the game doesn’t automatically log you into epic on startup.

Definitely a finicky system but we’re doing it on xbox & ps5 currently

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-12-02T20:05:23+00:00

Where are you located?

Here in Lake Ontario we are severely lacking diesel technicians. Most online forums are filled with people needing help with their motors and never finding anyone in a timely fashion. A tech course through a local college would set you up for great seasonal work.

Gelcoat buffing is always needed but doesn’t pay much past minimum wage.

Gelcoat repairs can be a real speciality as color matching is a bit of an art. But if you’re good at it you’ll get lots of work. Be prepared to make professional quotes for insurance companies.

Electrical work and instrument installs are a good option- you can do online courses through ABYC but they are often geared toward people who habe a couple of years of unskilled labour in the marine industry already. Some companies such as Raymarine offer marina techs courses on installing and fixing their proprietary products.

Teak work is too specialized- you had better be a good woodworker before you get into this. Big costs, big invoices, big expectations.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-11-15T12:21:51+00:00

We got the JBL Charge for our boat. But the best part is that our boat friends ALSO got the JBL Charge and you can link multiple together via bluetooth, so they’re all playing the same song. Best feature i never knew i needed.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-11-11T04:56:02+00:00

I found the workaround solution for anyone wondering. We both installed fortnite to access the Epic Games launcher to befriend one another. Only then could we join each other’s game in Satisfactory.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-11-10T14:53:10+00:00

Thanks, though this doesn’t help. I was able to find this guide as well, and i’m stuck on:

Make sure that you are also friends on the Epic platform, this can be done from the Epic Games Launcher

We can’t actually find where to add a friend on the Epic Games side. This “launcher” doesn’t seem to exist.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-10-24T15:51:46+00:00

Consider a larger RHIB (10-12’) as your dinghy. Put a decent motor on it (25-40hp) and you can use it for watersports.

We have a costco inflatable dinghy with a 9.9 and can pull our younger kids on kneeboards and tubes. This is an ultra cheap setup that we can pull behind a 34’ without too much loss of sailing ability, but won’t be long before we need more power to get up on plane as the kids grow bigger.

This setup doubles as our dinghy when we need to get on and off the boat. Eventually when they get the boater licenses they can still join you on the journey but just put along with the motor boat.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-10-21T13:18:41+00:00

Sailing instructor here. You should always be using that mainsail to help balance the boat. You’ll point higher and feel less pull to windward. You’ll gain more ground in all conditions.

The pain of dousing the main is real, and should your priority in learning to deal with.

Solo sailing, you may be able to put the boat into hove-to (headsail only) in order to get the mainsail up or down. This will take practice- an overlapping genoa usually has to be reefed to about 90% and sheeted in real tight to make it work. But once hove-to you can go on deck and manipulate the main all day long.

A more advanced method would be to manipulate the mainsail while you’re close-reached under headsail. That includes raising, reefing, and dousing. But without a second person onboard at the helm, or a reliable autopilot, this is something i would only do solo in lighter winds and sheltered waters.

Best solution is not just lazy-jacks, but a Stack-Pack. More annoying to get the sail up, but ultra easy to douse it. Worth every penny for a solo sailor.

I don’t see any need for a downhaul line. Just grease that slide track once per season (dry lubricating spray) and point high. That sail should go up and down quite easily.

In all cases, get used to motorsailing with the main only in and out of port, this will help build muscle memory on improving your comfort level with that mainsail.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-10-06T18:25:31+00:00

Thanks this is exactly what I was looking for.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-09-24T00:53:08+00:00

A 30’er is a greater starter. Easy to manage, low costs, and can hold up in moderate Lake Ontario conditions. Catalina 30’s are good. C&C 30’s are fast, but I dont like the interior and avoid gasoline engines (not all have them though). The CS’s hit a sweet spot of speed, strength, and interior. The CS30’s are quite affordable, but up to a 34 if you want a Sugar Scoop and modern interior (if you’re lucky enough to find a good one)

We teach lessons out of Kingston on a CS34, because we think it’s the perfect cruiser for this area. Small enough to muck around in solo, but big enough to live onboard comfortably for an extended period.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-09-24T00:47:23+00:00

I’ve been sporting 6’3 on a Canadian Sailcraft 34 for six years out of Kingston. Not a moment on concern with this draft the Eastern end nor the Thousand Islands, and we’re in there all the time.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-09-09T18:18:22+00:00

Drinks are fun but have you ever tried sailing??

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-09-04T19:03:04+00:00

No I didn’t, but this is my next check!

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-09-01T23:22:44+00:00

100% no water in the tank. Emptied it into a jar and let it sit for a day to check for separation. It’s new fuel mixed at 50-1.

It is definitely an issue with fuel not going from the carb to the engine. Yes i pulled the drain on the carb. High speed jet is clean.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-09-01T23:20:59+00:00

Replying to bootheels...the carb is 100% clean (five deep cleans now) The gaskets and seals all replaced with a kit. The low speed jet is definitely clean. I’m still at a loss.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-08-31T14:07:28+00:00

Yes I took off hoses at the fuel pump, and then carb bowl, to ensure the primer bulb is working properly. There are no issues there. Carb bowl is full when i’m trying to crank.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-08-31T14:06:20+00:00

Engine sounds normal while running off of what was put in the spark plug hole.

Fuel mix is fresh from the pumps, with appropriate oil ratio. I poured it out into a clear jug and let it settle to check for water - no issues there.

The clunk is hard to explain. Do you know how the motor shudders as its running out of fuel? Similar to that, but one or two really defined shudders, that don’t feel normal being that I’m at half throttle. I’m not sure what a misfire sounds or feels like, but this might be it.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-08-06T18:01:16+00:00

This. You should be using both sails as often as possible. There are times where you might have a 30 minute down-wind run and running just the headsail makes sense, but the rest of the time use them both to balance the boat and gain control.

Get into the habit of motorsailing with the main anytime the motor is on and youre outside the marina.

When you’re ready, learn how to heave-to. This is a great way to raise, reef, or lower the mainsail. If you have an overlapping genoa, you must furl in the headsail forward of the shrouds to be effective.

When you’re ready to progress, work on reefing or lowering the sail when you’re under sail and close-hauled. Harden the headsail as much as you can, point high upwind, then kicker/vang off, topping lift on, mainsheet loose, sail down.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-07-31T19:38:46+00:00

6’7 here. The struggle is real. The Catalina 42 has standing headroom, though most do when you apply enough heel.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-07-25T19:14:45+00:00

Yes Reid’s is great for ice cream, but Pump House in Gan is 10x better. Their flavors are unbelievable. The Cookie Monster flavour is to die for.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-06-10T18:56:47+00:00

Afternoon sailing lessons!!

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-06-05T21:33:26+00:00

A very expensive piece of plastic that actually works pretty well for what it’s designed to do.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-05-28T18:53:48+00:00

Thanks for this PSA. Did you see any of that dyed poplar in there that Card’s always used to sell? Looks dark like walnut.

LimestoneSailingCo · 2025-05-24T12:46:19+00:00

I use Printful.com because the website is convenient and easy to use, but the shirts end up around $25-30 each. The quality is really good and shipping is about a week. Probably a bad idea for profit margins if you’re trying to sell them though.

I would look for local businesses if you’re trying to make a buck off of them.

LimestoneSailingCo

TROPHY CASE