Olson notes
Hi Loren,
Thanks for your latest post.
Sorry for the delay in replying but I have been very busy putting
together a deal in the new company that I am working with. It is not a
lack of interest but rather a lack of time.
I had a few questions on the Olson 34 as I have only seen one quickly from
afar:
- Are all the models equipped with a wheel or was that an option or?
- Does the main have a bolt rope or is it held in the track with slugs.
- Have you done much racing with yours and do you know how the handicap and if it races well to the handicap.
I googled the boats and found one for sail for your asking price on The Boat Shop. Was that yours? Where are you located on the NW coast that you fresh water sail the boat. I have tried VC17 in Vanc and it is very much a disaster unless you dry sail your boat which some do
here but it would not be a possibility for me.
I currently have an Olson911SE and am looking to move up to a larger more cruisable boat also for my other half. Funny the way that works.
Bruce
Sorry for not replying sooner, but also have been rather busy.
(I once ran across a saying, something about "life is what happens to you while you are making plans." True, so true.)
Wheel was an option, and my guess is that about half of them were ordered that way. Ours has the wheel, but we would have been equally happy with the tiller. Plusses and minuses either way...
Main has slugs on ours, and since most owners ordered up sails separately there's probably no standard, per se.
I only race ours in a 21 mile cruising "race" once a season. We used to race smaller keel boats a lot, years ago.
I hear that our boat can hold its own even in the fast Level Fleet in the SF Bay with a nominal 99 rating for all the boats.
We sail in fresh water and I used VC17 on our last boat, a Niagara 26. Won a lot races, too.
Fast paint, but I did have to towel off the slime several times a season.
Rumor is that VC is not as good in salt water, though. Nowadays I used Trinidad SR, and get about three years out of a repaint.
Funny you should mention owning a 911SE. I have a friend at the club interested in finding one, maybe. In a fantasy world, you would buy mine, he would buy yours, and my wife would make me buy that E-38 she's been eyeing....
Cheers,
Loren