An older Catalina 22
You can find them used almost anywhere, often under $5k and sometimes under $3k. Resist the urge to buy new sails. A $15 roll of sail repair tape will keep the old sails alive for another year or two. A set of new sails, if you REALLY need them, will set you back about $1K, which is still not bad. Proper safety gear and other essentials will add another $500 to $1000 (don't skimp here). Add another $200 or so a year for insurance. Find somewhere to leave the boat in the water so you can sail whenever the opportunity arises. Finally, get on the boat and sail it every chance you get. This is ESSENTIAL. Since you didn't invest a lot in the boat, you won't feel compelled to spend a lot of time maintaining its appearance. That means you'll spennd more time on the water instead of tied to shore. You also won't feel badly if you bump into the dock, run aground or scratch the topsides. However, keep your gear in good working order. Most sailors love talking about their boats with fellow sailors (which you have now become, by virtue of ownership) so you'll have ample opportunity to hear about, see and possibly sail on other boats. Use it. In a year or two, you will want to sell your boat, either to move to something bigger or to quit sailing. Either way, you should be able to recover most of what you spent when you sell. Add that to the $20k or so that you still have left (hopefully in some kind of interest bearing account) and you'll still have most of your $25k. If your boat doesn't sell right away, your money won't be tied up in it, so you can move ahead with getting something really nice. Alternatively, you could spend the $25k on a nice 28 to 32 foot cruiser, lose interest in six months after you discover that your wife really can't stand sailing, and sell it to me for half price just to be rid of the damn thing... That's just my two cents. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
You can find them used almost anywhere, often under $5k and sometimes under $3k. Resist the urge to buy new sails. A $15 roll of sail repair tape will keep the old sails alive for another year or two. A set of new sails, if you REALLY need them, will set you back about $1K, which is still not bad. Proper safety gear and other essentials will add another $500 to $1000 (don't skimp here). Add another $200 or so a year for insurance. Find somewhere to leave the boat in the water so you can sail whenever the opportunity arises. Finally, get on the boat and sail it every chance you get. This is ESSENTIAL. Since you didn't invest a lot in the boat, you won't feel compelled to spend a lot of time maintaining its appearance. That means you'll spennd more time on the water instead of tied to shore. You also won't feel badly if you bump into the dock, run aground or scratch the topsides. However, keep your gear in good working order. Most sailors love talking about their boats with fellow sailors (which you have now become, by virtue of ownership) so you'll have ample opportunity to hear about, see and possibly sail on other boats. Use it. In a year or two, you will want to sell your boat, either to move to something bigger or to quit sailing. Either way, you should be able to recover most of what you spent when you sell. Add that to the $20k or so that you still have left (hopefully in some kind of interest bearing account) and you'll still have most of your $25k. If your boat doesn't sell right away, your money won't be tied up in it, so you can move ahead with getting something really nice. Alternatively, you could spend the $25k on a nice 28 to 32 foot cruiser, lose interest in six months after you discover that your wife really can't stand sailing, and sell it to me for half price just to be rid of the damn thing... That's just my two cents. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
