newbie to larger boats, but lots of sailing experience
I appreciate your post and have more questions relative to my personal quest for a larger sailboat.
I've sailed Hobie 16s for decades....racing them, rebuilding them, selling them but have very little experience with larger monohulls, electronics or motorized boats. I recently was certified with ASA for basic sailing and ocean cruising up to 30 footers. I'm very skilled at historic home restoration and have basic skills with car repair but want to sail more than work on my boat. I live right on the Straits of Juan De Fuca and in sailing paradise which is why I moved here a year ago. I want a sailboat primarily to day sail but also to cruise the San Juans/Pugent Sound/Canadian Islands/eventually venture out into the Pacific and provide myself and/or my partner a place to get away. Our winds are pretty light here most of the time. My lady does not sail but has the desire and I have the ability to teach her. I'm 6'3" and prefer not to be bent over in the cabin or folded up in the berth. Our budget for purchase expenses and getting her into shape for something to last us for a decade or longer is UP TO $50,000.
My questions are:
1. Should I get an entry level boat that trailers for a couple grand (Catalina 22) and avoid the mooring fees then move up in a year? I'm afraid I will get bored quickly and not be challenged as well as not sail as often due to the effort of setting up and tearing down the rigging. OR should I get something that will challenge me immediately and avoid having to buy and sell another boat along with the efforts of getting it in the shape I want?
2. What are some good brands and size boat for my needs? I tend to like the blue water, full keel, classic lines of boats like the Cape George and they were/are made right here.
3. What is a good draft depth to stay under?
Thanks for the conversation!
--Christian
Prior response:
An O'day 23 is a nice boat that would serve you well for what you've described.
MUCH has been written on this forum in response to new sailers like yourself looking for their first boat. Opinions vary on how a newbie should choose their first boat.
A few observations:
-As a newbie, you are NOT able to properly evaluate a 23 foot sailboat. Sail condition, deck condition (water penetration into the wood core), and condition of standing rigging are just a few things you won't be able to evaluate, and problems in these areas are expensive to fix.
-A $1,000 boat or even a free boat can eat a huge hole in your wallet.
-I would highly recommend you use a professional yacht surveyor to inspect the boat. Inspect it as best you can by yourself and then hire the best surveyor you can find. It'll cost you a few hundred. Post a query here to find out who's best in your area. That may seem like a lot of money, but you will spend so much more if you buy a boat with issues. And I mean soooooo much more. Not only will it cost you money, but it could turn you off to sailing, which would be even worse.
-$1,000 boats have issues. That's why they're not $5,000 boats.
-Sure, you could give it your own personal inspection, fork over $800 that you've negotiated, and have yourself a real gem, that just needs a power washing and some fresh fuel. And when you have it ready to go, I hope you'll sail it up and visit my unicorn ranch on the moon.
-It's just a big fiberglass thing, and fiberglass is easy to repair! Like I said, stop by my ranch anytime.
-If $1000 is your budget, get a $1000 boat. That'd be something like a nice Sunfish or a Butterfly, etc..
-If you want a 23ish sized boat, spend the loot to get one, and get one that's been maintained and can hold up to the scrutiny of a good surveyor. I recently sold a 2004 Precision 23, and the buyer used a surveyor. Smart buyer. I sold it for $18,500. Well maintained boat with fresh sails and a good value for the buyer.
-A 23ish is a terrific way to get started. Not too much to handle, but still has some "big boat" attributes...primarily, a toilet. And a cabin for whatever you might want to do in a cabin with your girlfriend. But seriously, a great sized boat to allow you to get a real feel for sailing and sailboat ownership.
-A common theme on sailboat forums is for a newbie to post a query just like yours and ignore the advice of people who have been at this for multiple decades (4 for me), get the inexpensive old boat, and then return to the forum with questions on how to either fix it or get rid of it. Okay...that's an offensive thing to say, because you DID ask the right questions, and there's no reason for me to make any assumptions about someone I don't know. Still, there's nothing wrong with relating what I've seen happen over and over.
-If you're serious about sailing (and your should be), and you want a 22-23 foot boat, find a NICE one. Something well maintained, with sails that aren't ready to be thrown away, an engine that starts and runs smoothly, and shows pride of ownership. Probably gonna be more in the area of $4k to $7k as you look at vessels from the 70's and 80's that are well maintained.
-You said you're not looking for a project boat. That's fine, because even well maintained boats have plenty of projects for you to do. I recently got a beautifully maintained 1996 Catalina 28 with only 200 hours on the diesel. I keep a maintenance log of everything I do and you'd be amazed at how many pages are filled after only one season. Align shaft, change engine oil, refinish teak in some areas of interior, change fuel filters, compound and polish topsides and portions of deck, new anchor chain and rode, tune rigging, replace batteries, apply new vinyl name registration numbers and hull stripes, and fix every hatch and porthole so they don't leak. It goes on and on and on. Oh yeah, and replace genoa...ouch!
Best of luck to you. You've already done the single smartest thing a sailor can do: CONSULT THIS FORUM. Some of use are just blowhards and some of us are highly experienced, which is the usual mix on any forum dedicated to any subject. You'll sort it out.
PS: You asked whether parts are hard to find. Answer: no
For the most part, sailboats don't have parts that are peculiar to them. There are exceptions to that, but they are few. The rigging, winches, cleats, hatches and so on are standard items. If you make Fords by the millions you can afford to have parts made for your product, but if you make O'days, and you're LUCKY to sell a few thousand of your product, you use standard stuff. Availability of parts should be at the very bottom of your list of concerns if it should be on the list at all.[/QUOTE]
. I have 2 different friends with a combined 40 years of experience behind them in boating and will not make a purchase until they give the ok on it, I just want to get somewhat of a handle myself before I bother them. 
