Thunderbirds are pretty cool. A great boat for the DiY back yard boat builder. Their PHRF rating isn't that bad, is it? I thought they're about the same as a Catalina 27 and much higher than a J/24.
The 10-hour introduction instruction that Jack talked about is great...I wish I had someone's undivided attention for 10 hours to learn about sailing basics. Learning to sail on a lake is easier, and harder, than along the coast. No significant currents, tides to deal with, potentially a lot less navigation expertise required, but you do have a lot more wind shifts to contend with due to terrain around the lake. When I first started sailing on a regular basis, on the east coast of FL, the weather would often change drastically during the afternoon when thunderstorms would typically occur. Sailing there provided a wide range of conditions to become familiar with how to handle the boat no matter what Mother Nature threw at you. Also, learning about the tides/currents when you wanted to transit through an inlet, sailing/navigating at night, choosing a proper place to anchor and doing it properly. All important things to learn about.
All this talk about sailing is making it hard for me to think about work.
