New Owner Seeking Info

Smitty, I would guess 1334 was built around 1969. I crewed on 1328 when it was new and I was young, so this should be close. The factory could tell you precisely. The stainless crank is able to put a lot more torque on the halyard winches than they were designed for. The Scot use fairly low halyard tensions, so the ss cranks are expensive overkill, and can be easily mis-used by over-zealous sailors. Stick with the cast aluminum--they are cheaper, sink just as well as stainless when dropped overboard, will break if you over-load it, and develop a lovely patina over time from the polishing action of your hand.

My Scot is No. 367 and FSSA said that it was built in 1962. You can contact FS and they will tell you when it was built. R.Lewis Chin up

The stainless steel winch crank is used when setting the tension for the forestay with the snug or tight jib setup. The jib halyard is attached to the bow handle and then tightened as needed to setup the forestay. An aluminum crank would break so people resort to using steel cranks or socket wrench ratchet. For raising the main one should only use the aluminum crank although I sometime use the steel crank because I grabbed it first from the locker. The important thing is never to force the main up. It should go easy. Resistance often means something is wrong.

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Claus FS5074 Ames, IA

I bought my first and only sailboat 2 1/2 years ago as a complete novice.I had no previous sailing experience (time on the water). I did take a classroom-only course, but that was 15 years before I actually bought the boat! For me, gaining forehand knowledge of the principles of how a sailboat operates and what makes it go were very important. The boat seems very forgiving of the inexperienced sailor; I have had only positive experiences on my 2343.I did a lot of mainsail-only sailing in the beginning, and I always get the weather forecast the day before and carry a weather radio on the boat. I feel fairly competent now, and I do believe the boat itself taught me the most about how to sail.

The Scot is a great choice as a first boat. It is very stable and forgiving, and as it is said many times, easy to sail, hard to sail well. What that means, is you can get out and enjoy it right away but still find it challenging and rewarding as you get better. You have already experienced a bit of the Scot community, so you can draw your own conclusions on the people side. Economically, the Scot is a pretty safe investment, as you can find a used one reasonably, and the market to sell it is there if you decide to do so.

A Scot is a great boat for beginners. As said, you can sail it on just the main if need be. Would you sail on a lake or in a coastal area? The ideal wind range for a Scot is 2-18 mph, or so. If it is windier than that, you will find the boat, or any other boat with a large main, to be a handful. As your skills improve, you will find that the unruly days get easier. The heavy leaded centerboard really makes the boat want to stay on it's feet. It also depends somewhat on your crew. If you will often sail with two or three, or more, in the boat, then you can move the people around as ballast and handle more wind. If you would frequently sail single handed, I find it comfortable and fast up to about 10 or 12 mph. Over that and the "I wish I had a crew along" feeling kicks in. I almost always sail with two, but I have also had as many as seven kids when my daughters drag all their friends out. The Scot is fine for your knees. You don't need to duck low under a low boom, and the lack of hiking straps means you keep your butt in or on the boat. If you look at the big class events, there are lots of Scot sailors going very fast into their seventies and beyond. Did you find a spot to go for a ride? Phil Scheetz FS 4086