my brothers and i are planing a sailing trip starting in NYC and ending in the caribbean somewhere. we plan on this trip lasting for 2-4 years. we have all just started sailing and we know little about boats. i are looking to buy a sailboat 4o feet up to whatever. what boats should we be looking at buying? any help you can send my way would be great.
around the world
- Thread starter KHearst
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Go to the library. Do some research.
There's literally a ton of books, some written by people with a lifetime of cruising experience in small boats, some by dreamers who are lucky to have survived and now consider themselves "expert". Look at the publication dates of your reference material too: Joshua Slocum is interesting reading, but hardly relevant to your needs. Good luck. Hope you do the trip.
There's literally a ton of books, some written by people with a lifetime of cruising experience in small boats, some by dreamers who are lucky to have survived and now consider themselves "expert". Look at the publication dates of your reference material too: Joshua Slocum is interesting reading, but hardly relevant to your needs. Good luck. Hope you do the trip.
Go sailing....
get on as many boats as you can, and see what you like and don't like. Sign up as crew for current owners. You might want to start out with some Wednesday night beer can racing, and then graduate to some off shore trips with some known or well-recommended skippers. While I agree that you should also read as much advice as you can about boats, nothing, I repeat, nothing takes the place of actual experience. For example, you can get a bigger boat for your money if you are willing to buy an older design. However, until you live on both a new and an older design, you won't be able to appreciate the tradeoffs.
get on as many boats as you can, and see what you like and don't like. Sign up as crew for current owners. You might want to start out with some Wednesday night beer can racing, and then graduate to some off shore trips with some known or well-recommended skippers. While I agree that you should also read as much advice as you can about boats, nothing, I repeat, nothing takes the place of actual experience. For example, you can get a bigger boat for your money if you are willing to buy an older design. However, until you live on both a new and an older design, you won't be able to appreciate the tradeoffs.
A steel hull maybe
If you plan on starting in NYC and ending in the Caribbean, then my guess is that you plan on your first leg to cross the northern Atlantic. From what I've read, you have to worry about ice up there. Running into ice up there in a normal strength hull may cause major problems. I hear that steel hulls are the perferred where ice is an obstacle. If that is going to be your first leg, I suggest you read up on typical weather info. You MAY find that there is a small window for good sailing weather up there because it can get pretty rough and you don't want to be 300 miles from shore when it hits. Each part of the world will have it's own weather windows and if you plan on going around the world, I would do a lot of research on the windows. Note: A window is the prime good average weather for sailing. Doesn't mean you have to sail then, just that it's the best time of the year on average and that's what you want for a green skipper like you and I (yep...I'm green too...only a few years day sailing and no blue water sailing. That's why the windows are importatnt to me).
If you plan on starting in NYC and ending in the Caribbean, then my guess is that you plan on your first leg to cross the northern Atlantic. From what I've read, you have to worry about ice up there. Running into ice up there in a normal strength hull may cause major problems. I hear that steel hulls are the perferred where ice is an obstacle. If that is going to be your first leg, I suggest you read up on typical weather info. You MAY find that there is a small window for good sailing weather up there because it can get pretty rough and you don't want to be 300 miles from shore when it hits. Each part of the world will have it's own weather windows and if you plan on going around the world, I would do a lot of research on the windows. Note: A window is the prime good average weather for sailing. Doesn't mean you have to sail then, just that it's the best time of the year on average and that's what you want for a green skipper like you and I (yep...I'm green too...only a few years day sailing and no blue water sailing. That's why the windows are importatnt to me).
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