Did you know that you don’t need to own a boat to be a member of the Lake Saint Louis Sailing & Paddling Club, and you don't even need to own one to sail with us? We maintain a fleet of Sunfish sailboats, some of which can be found on the shores of Sailboat Cove near the Lake Saint Louis Community Association Clubhouse. These boats can be used on the little lake (Lake Sainte Louise) by our club members at no cost during the sailing season. In addition to casual sailing fun, the club-owned Sunfish are used for our lesson program, and for our occasional Sunfish regattas.

If you’d like to use one (or more) of the Sunfish, it is strongly recommended that you first attend one of our lessons before taking the boats out for the first time. Check our calendar to find the next lesson session.

The Sunfish are sitting on roller ramps in the cove next to the LSLCA Clubhouse lower parking lot. The process to use the club-owned Sunfish is as follows:

• Use of the boats is limited to Sailing Club members and their guests, and is free.

• The daggerboards for each boat are kept in the CA's golf shack, as the boats can not be sailed without them. Just go to the golf shack and let them know you would like to sail one of the boats. They should ask for your name (and possibly your LSLCA ID card), which they will check against the Sailing Club membership list (this is an up to date list of paid members for the current season). If you are not on the list, you will not be able to use one of the boats. Once you have been confirmed as a club member, you will may be asked to sign a liability release form and you will be given a daggerboard. The boats are not to be checked out without an adult, so junior sailors may not be able to check out a daggerboard without their parents.

• Take the daggerboard to where the boats are sitting, and pick out the Sunfish that you will be sailing. Check the boat to ensure that there is no damage, and there are no missing parts that would prevent the boat from sailing.

• Using the winch, slowly crank the boat down into the water. You may have to adjust the winch to allow the crank to let out the strap connected to the Sunfish by moving the ratchet latch to the “out” position (the lowest position - see image below). Do not let go of the winch handle unless the winch is set to the “in” (locked) position (the highest position - see image further below), otherwise the handle may begin to twirl very quickly. If this does happen, DO NOT ATTEMPT to stop the handle. Just wait until it stops rotating, and start cranking the boat down again, if needed. Once the boat is floating, you can detach the hook that was connecting the winch strap to the bow of the Sunfish. It is important that you do no set the hook in the sand, but rather set it on the ramp. It is also important that you do not let go of the Sunfish as you detach it from the winch strap. You can pull the boat up onto shore slightly to limit it from floating away, but keep in mind that the wind and water would love to take the boat out without you, so don’t take your eyes off the boat.

• IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FROM THE RAMP MANUFACTURER

  • Always keep a tight grip on the winch handle.

  • NEVER try to grab a runaway handle. Serious injury can result.

  • The ramp in NOT designed to let the Sunfish “freewheel” down the ramp.

  • NEVER allow children to operate the winch.

  • No person should be aboard a Sunfish while it is on the ramp.

• Now that you have your Sunfish, you just need to rig the boat and head out. If you need a refresher on how to do this (or have never done it before), come to one of our lesson sessions, and we’ll be happy to help. Or contact us and we’ll try to arrange a time to meet to walk you through the process.

• Your boat is rigged, and you’re ready to sail, however please remember that a lifejacket is required for each person on the boat and should be worn at all times. Additionally, sailors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The adult need not be on the boat (as a parent or guardian, it is up to you to determine if your child can sail without you onboard), however you must be "supervising" the sailing.

• Please take care of these boats. Our ability to use them is dependent upon our ability to keep them in good condition.

• Once you have completed your sail, return to shore (the area where you began your sailing). Lower, roll and secure the sail, and raise the rudder out of the water (see images below).

  • It is imperative that the sail be tightly secured to protect from winds catching the sail while on the ramps. It is also critical that the rudder be out of the water when the boat is on the ramp, so please tilt the rudder up out of the water before pulling the boat out of the water. It is the responsibility of each sailor to ensure the boat is stored as well as (or better than) it was found. Be sure to tightly roll the sail up to the boom, and then secure it with mainsheet. Do not just fold or bunch up the sail before securing it. This will not only leave lots of wrinkles and folds in the sail, it will decrease the life of the sail (see image below).

Attach the winch strap to the bow of the Sunfish, and crank the Sunfish back up to the top of the ramp. Again, you may need to adjust the winch by moving the ratchet latch to the “in”, or locked, position (the highest position) to allow the strap to be pulled up the ramp, and locked in place to prevent the boat from slipping back down. Do not let go of the winch handle unless the winch is in a locked position, otherwise the handle may begin to twirl very quickly. If this does happen, DO NOT ATTEMPT to stop the handle. Just wait until it stops, and start cranking the boat up again.

• This process is easiest if done with two people (one person cranking, and one person guiding the boat so that it stays centered on the ramp), however if you are alone, we recommend cranking the boat up halfway, then lifting the back of the boat to get it centered on the ramp, before going back to complete cranking the Sunfish all the way up.