Hello everyone… A couple of months ago I posted on the topic above topic trying to find out: “What would it be like to live on a sailboat?” and “Is it feasible to do so?”. I got a lot of good feedback from the members of this forum and I was excited to hear that my dream wasn’t so far fetched. I’m a new officer in the Navy and after I complete OIS (basic training for officers) in late June I will be moving out to San Diego. I am still interested in living on a sailboat, but now that I’m past the “should” I do this… and I’m moving into the “how” can I do this phase. So as such I have a few questions for anyone out there who might be willing to help me. 1) Timing is critical when I get out to San Diego. I figure I will have to find a place to stay for the first month while I begin looking into boats and getting myself sailing lessons (I suppose it would be good to know how to sail if I’m going to own a boat). What is the best and fastest way to learn how to sail in the San Diego area? I intend on continuing learn after I get the boat but what I need first is a quick “crash course” in sailing so I can get the boat and have somewhere to live. 2) The other thing of course that I will have to move quickly on, or at least at reasonable speed on, is finding a boat. What kind of time should I be giving myself to find a boat, get it financed, get it insured, and be able to close the deal? How should I go about beginning to look for a boat. Also should I go through a broker or am I better off buying from a private owner? What are the pros and cons? If I should go through a broker are their any in the area that people here could recommend? 3) Do I need to get a slip before I close the deal on the boat or is getting a slip something that you do afterwards. I recall in my last series of posts someone mentioned that the Navy has their own private slips for members of the military. Is this a good place to begin looking for a slip and what do I need to think about when looking for a slip (I recall that someone mentioned many marinas in the San Diego area don’t let people live on their boats… so I should watch out for this). Is there anything else that I need to be aware of when slip hunting? 4) Is there anything I can be doing right now that would help me prepare and streamline this process when I get to San Diego (beginning to contact brokers, reading books on sailing, etc). As I said I’m trying to move as fast through this process as I safely can without endangering myself or putting myself at risk of buying a boat that I shouldn’t. Thanks everyone for reading and for any help you can give. -Levin