entry level rookie

[Lance]

Wow

Thank you very much for all the great advice. It is a lot to consider. I have bookmarked this site and when we finally make a move (may-ish) I'll be sure to post here and tell you what we did. Lance

 

[John]

bigers better

Hi Lance I think If you are thinking of a larger boat you should get one now! There is a big differance in boats.I think us guys are willing to suffer more with a smaller boat then the girls are.I started my wife on a hobbi cat and she liked that untill we took off up the lake on one leg with the baby hanging on.I would bungy cord him on so we wouldnt lose him.{2years old} We trailered that year and my wife kept getting hit in the head with the mast and she was getting tired of that.The next year I talked her into a dock at the boat club and i went for a C22 and things where pretty good we sailed that for 4years and never did a days worth of work on that boat.bought it for 1800 sold it to a dock hand at the club for 100 down and $50 per week untill spring1993.But I got my money back.Then I was save ing for a bigger boat and doing some work on the house ect 2years later I bought aC25 nice boat it had a out board new sails and we trailered around for a year , docked for a year , then baby #2 then #3 came and my boat went. years later I have a C30 and life is good again But I dont think its anty harder to sail a 30' then a 22' if nothing elce It get easer.There is more up keep and mooring fees dock fees ect but I use my boat every weekend and it is big enough for the 4 of us + hound dog If I was on the 25' my wife would not be happy anty more she is 38 now and she is getting cranky.I would get a boat that wont break the bank, that is in good shape and start there. once the girls get to see in the C30 they wont want to go smaller now my wife is likeing a C36 and she told me that the 36 could be the one.But I want to skip that one and go for aC42 or a Morgan 43 I ve seen a bath tub in the morgan and my wife loves to bubble in a hot bath.2 more years and Ill show her the tub and she will think that the morgan would be the perfect sailing machine then I will go biger.My mooring cost is $2250 per year (went up 750 this year)haul out and winter storage with winterizing $1300 insurance$700 optional coolstuff$2000+- Go for it you only live once keep the girls happy and allways let them think they picked the boat.after all what is there not to like. John

 

[Tim]

That's what I am doing

Lance:I bought a 1986 H23 cheap last year ($2,000) and love sailing it. I was a Hobie sailor years ago. The H23 is the largest boat that I can reasonably sail out of the slip in our neighborhood and also keep it in the water all summer long. We sail in the James River. I can catch a quick sail after work during the week. I am looking at a couple of H34s. The big drawback is the boat will be kept in a marina that's a 25-30 minute drive from the house; but the sailing is better. I may wait a while though. For now we are booked to bareboat charter a 42' Oceanis with SunSail in April for a week. That will be our bigger boat for the time being. Chartering is a good way to get the feel of sailing a bigger boat.Tim

 

[Scott]

Bigger is probably better for you!

I assume you want to sail in the ocean up there in Portland so I think the worst thing for you to do is fool around with a 22' - 25' foot boat. Maybe for the lakes up there it would be fine, but in salt water? The ocean is cold, conditions can be treacherous, your summer is short, and if you want to keep your "lady" interested in you, the worst thing to do would be to scare the #&%@ out of yourself and her on a small boat in the ocean! Maybe I'm wrong, but take a look around at the size of the boats in the marina where you want to be and see what's there.Don't trailer sail if getting a slip or a mooring is a reasonable option. Nothing will put a damper on everyone's fun faster than rigging a boat from a trailer. I owned a Hobie, too. I loved to sail it but never used it when I had to keep it on a trailer, so I sold it.When my wife and I shopped for our first cruiser last summer, we looked at boats 26' and under for lake sailing and soon realized we wanted a 27' boat with a fixed keel (which is about the reasonable size limit for our small lake). We also realized immediately that if we were buying a boat for the coast, we would have shopped up to 30' for our first boat. There are plenty of reasonably priced older boats in great shape on the market.You don't make it clear if your budget is really limited or if you are just not sure about the commitment. I would think that since you've sailed in the past, you would know how much you are going to be into it (maybe you are not sure about your wife or girlfriend).Don't worry about the learning curve in handling a slightly larger boat. I'd be way more worried about risking my life in a boat that is inappropriate for the sailing conditions that you should expect to encounter! You have unlimited cruising grounds up there in beautiful territory. Don't put yourself in a small, cramped boat that shouldn't take you outside the harbor!Good luck shopping!

 

[abe]

I belonged to a sailing club before buying..

that way I learned what kind of boat I really wanted when I grew up. I skipped the smaller boat and bought the larger boat once I realized that this was something I was going to do for the rest of my life.abe

 

[Dirk H]

Starting Out

to me sailing is recreation, and I don't want to spend a great deal to see if I'm going to like something. If you buy a smaller boat, one that needs a little "love" you will learn a lot not only about sailing but, also maintenance and repair and you won't have a ton invested. If you like it, great!!! move up. there is always someone looking to get into sailing and not wanting to dip too deep into the savings acount. I started with a 19' Sandpiper a great boat, but too small for my wife to overnight on. We moved up to a 26' MacGregor, I thought I wanted to trailer sail. That lasted a couple of years before I realized that I did not want the headache of rigging and putting away all the time. now we have a small cruiser type sailboat 26 foot Nash not new, still not a lot invested but, good headroom and galley and head aboard, it suits my mate a lot better. Have fun deciding and let us know.

 

[Dirk H]

just an afterthought

Just wanted to share a picture, nothing like open water and a breeze!!!

 

[Calif. Ted]

I would suggest you take a class from ASA or

US Sailing school to get your feet wet as it were. If you are interested in cruising many places have a week or two long "cruise & learn" course where you can get the basic certifications & learn a lot about boats and their systems. It's also a chance to see if you really like sailing without you being the one responsible for the safety of the boat and all abroad.I worked with a guy who planned on retiring to a motoryacht for years, discovered he got seasick easily and ended up chucking it all (no pun intended). Just the other day I watched someone who is an semi-pro level windsurfer turn green just sitting on my boat at the dock in about 5 minutes. Spend some time on as many boats as possible before investing heavily. Rent a lot of small boats to practice your sailing skills on or buy an inexpensive small boat for a starter. You may bump into a few things with your first boat & it don't sting quite as much if it's not a the queen of the marina to start.

 

[Thom Hoffman]

Neighborly Experience

Lance, there is a wealth of wisdom in the prior responses. From just up the road, let me say that having owned/sailed in everything from an 18' trailerable to our current 34 footer, I've learned and had different experiences with each of them.  We outgrew the trailerable pretty quickly and a larger boat allowed more coastal exploring. However, I miss being able to sail some of our larger inland lakes. It, like most things in boating, is a trade off. I DON'T miss traffic jams at boat ramps or the pain of stepping/unstepping the mast for my weekend sails. I know there are hundreds of places to explore in your/out back yard (the salt water one)and a small boat would be plenty good to do that with while you're figuring out how sailing fits with your life and developing some basic sailing skills. The local chapter of the U.S.Power Squadron has course offerings; I'd also taken a course over at SMTC/SMCC years ago.  One of the posts made note of not scaring the *&#! out of your 1st mate or otherwise subjecting her to unreasonable hardships of sailing. Have that engraved somewhere. In this regard, bigger is better, safer, more comfortable, and in short, comes closer to mimicking a travel camper vs a tent. It's a matter of what you (two) are likely to be comfortable with in all regards. Lastly, if you'd like an opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of spring commissioning on a bigger boat, let me know--the snow should be gone in another 4-6 weeks! But really, if there's anything I can do to help as you move along this process, plese feel free to e/m at your convenience.

 

[Lance]

contact

Hi Thom. Thanks for the advice. I'd love to contact you when we run into more questions; however, I couldn't locate you in the owners directory. If you happen to see this post, drop me a line at:lbdavis24@yahoo.comThanks again.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Good Luck Lance

I just bought my first cruising boat last year. I started with a Hunter 22 (excellent boat). My wife and I cruise it and we have been out on it for 12 days straight. I was dry sailing my boat (keeping it on a trailer) but this year (second cruising season) it is going into a wet slip. There a benifits to both methods of keeping the boat, but either way there is still a bit of maintenance on the boat.If you have a local yacht club near by you that has a racing fleet, it is good experience to crew aboard a boat some. That way you will be with experienced sailors and you learn extremely quick. You will definately learn about points of sail, sail trim, and other important things. I raced sailboats (from 14 feet to 37 feet) for 10 years and it is amazing how quick you pick things up on a good racing boat. The things that you learn while you are crewing you will put to use on your boat when you sail.Good luck and I hope that you find a great boat. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at cpd032@hotmail.com