Introducing Myself

[DavyBones]

Greetings Everyone,
In some of the other forums I am a part of there are places to introduce yourself and I didn't see that here so I figured I'd offer my own intro here.

I'm in the market for my first sailboat now and came across the MacGreggor line. There are a few I started with looking at between the 17' - 22'. Of course the more I look the more I find, & the more I like so as I started to fall for the Ventures, it now seems to be expanding with so many other nice options out there.

I have dreamed about sailing for quite a while and been close to buying a cat many times, but somehow have always strayed from it. Now as I recently realized how "affordable" a pocket day-cruiser really could be (perhaps with a little elbow grease & some TLC), my journey begins. I'm anxious to get my little floater but want to be smart about it too, so I joined this forum to begin my dive in, after finding some great posts on the boat(s) I'm looking at and a sea of knowledge, wisdom & and advice seeping at the seems. I need a swing keel (I think) and a cabin, and I'm currently trying to figure out what I actually want to do with it, to help determine the size a little better. (rule of thumb for sailing waters like Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, being able to stay inland more as well, etc...??) Multi-day trips are already being talked about and possible bareboat chartering in the future if this 17, 22, or 25 can't handle what we want to throw at her. (once I'm able to handle it, of course)

Additionally, I'm from the Detroit area & not far from Lake St Clair. There are some sailing schools around and I'm unsure if I should take a class before getting my boat (highly suggested by my significant other - she wants to take lessons together) or get what I find when I find it and get it ready for spring, learning as I/we go... or what may be the best method of learning to sail properly. I didn't really budget $500 - $1000 for lessons along with the purchase of boat. From What I'm seeing, $1000 difference in a boat could be 500 more hours working on it! hahaha (which at this point, I don't think I really have to spare) So any advice on that aspect would also be appreciated.

Thanks for reading and any areas of the forum you'd recommend. I'm find way too much to read already, before even joining, and look forward to knowing some of you and learning yet another new trade / past time / hobby... lifestyle.
cheers,

-bones-

 

[kloudie1]

Welcome Aboard, Davy..
Advice is to try some on for size.. I think you'll find that 23-25 feet will probably suit you just fine. There many some fine little pocket cruisers out there (many from the late 70's, to mid 80's) in O'Day, Catalina, Venture/MacGreggor, Hunter.. MANY more .. If you can find a friend locally who you can sail with a bit before taking classes, that would be a plus.. Going straight to a class is OK but sailing with a friend is less formal and usually more informative for an overview and some of the language. Also you may generate lots of questions for the teacher that way.
The "Boating Safety"class I would recommend as soon as possible as it goes into the road rules and the safety items that ya should be familiar with.. The on-line stuff is OK but the local Power Squadron usually puts on a course that, while deficient in sailing, is good for face-to-face learning of the COLREGS (rules of the road) ..
Again.. Welcome

 

[Indysailor]

Welcome!
You may have many more boats to choose from than those of us in the barren lands of bass boats and pontoons, and as you can probably surmise, money saved up front in purchase price may soon be eaten up in repairs and fixing the deferred maintenance. Most of the major little cruisers you'll see around are relatively good boats, so the biggest difference between one and another is going to revolve around the people who had them last.

I would recommend trying to find people who will let you sail, crew and/or learn on their boats, which will allow you to experience more than a couple brands. You may want to buy a little board boat for the interim until you decide on that pocket cruiser; it's hugely important to be able sail when the mood strikes you, rather than when someone else can schedule it. Or find a sailing club that will let you rent a small boat (it probably requires taking some lessons and getting certified- i.e., US Sailing's small boat certification).

 

[finding41]

Take a look at these threads before you get a boat smaller than 26'.
I thought I wanted a 17' originally. Boy am I glad I did lots of research! I decided on the Mac 26D. I would also take a 26 S or X.
Note all 26' long. Just enough room! Just.
I joined a yacht cub and take members out as crew and that has tough me so much!

Here are the threads.
http://forums.macgregor.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=144415
http://forums.macgregor.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=144850
Welcome and good luck.
Oh; Boats get cheaper in the winter....

 

[RAD]

Welcome aboard and although I came from a LARGE power boat my first sail boat was a 24 Bristol and was the perfect boat to learn on, I had navigation rules under my belt so now a I had new learning curve and I had crewed many times for a friend but now I needed to know why I was doing something....I read a lot of books and asked a lot of questions and just went out and did it and had a lot of fun that was 13 years ago and I'm still reading,learning and still going out but on a bigger boat.
The best thing about these forums is you can do a search for a question or just ask and you find the answer

 

[Steve Dion]

Don't forget that if you purchase a trailerable boat you will need a tow vehicle.

 

[DavyBones]

Yes I'm quickly realizing that a 21' is on the small size of what I'm looking for and probably a minimum. The more I open my eyes to it the more 25-26's I find. Thanks so much for that tip.

This summer i ran into some folks the lead me to a local race group on Thursdays, but my work schedule would never allow me to get there with them. I learned today that they meet on Sunday afternoon now (as of Sept 1) and we (GF & I) are planning to be there this weekend to see what we can find. "Everyone Welcome. We Want You" touted on their website so I'll be sure to take advantage of all the information and experience I can while there! They seemed genuinely open to helping me get started now that I think back to meeting them; a solid first impression.

I LOVE the idea of a board boat and was wondering heavily about that, and whether or not it was worth getting my feet wet with. Ironically, i stumbled across the site today for PUDDLE DUCK RACERS too, and can't express how much I like this sort of DIY thing, though I'm sure not QUITE the same, hahaha. http://www.pdracer.com/
And with a board-boat it'll surely curb my craving and help me wait out the winter for the right deal, as they DO in fact get cheaper when people can't sail and have to put them away for the season. :-o

Finding41, as for the "Just enough room! Just." comment - duly noted, thank you. I was actually in Ingersol a few months ago and stopped at a couple nice little pubs in London. Nice little town. I especially liked the tap selection at Chauser's... thought the parking lot guy might as well have taken my entire checking account! hahaha

Excellent tip on the rig to trailer the boat too. That's another small part that has also kept me away from it for a while, which was recently rectified as well; towing package, trans cooler and all...!! :-D

Well guys and gals, thanks for the warm welcome and great insight. More to come, I'm sure