New to sailing.... Looking for a first boat..

PaulK · Jan 25, 2022

Brexit has made buying boats outside of the UK much more exciting. If you are just starting out it might be best to look closer to home first. Look on Yachtworld for boats in your price range.

jssailem · Jan 25, 2022

Welcome to the SBO Forum.

Your choice of boats of a reasonable age (20 years and less), appear beyond defined budget of £25,000.
A quick search only yielded 1 boat that is with in your limits.

At €13,000 it would leave some funds available for deferred maintenance and a little in your pot for cruising.

1980 Beneteau Evasion 28 Motorsailer for sale - YachtWorld

Find more information and images about the boat and contact the seller or search more boats for sale on YachtWorld.

www.yachtworld.com

While this boat happens to be in Croatia, I do not think that will make boats cheaper. Boat pricing is a lot about age and condition. It is often best to be able to see the boat to determine the condition. This happens best (in my experience) with the boat close to home. You can go aboard, inspect and determine if it is the boat for you. Otherwise there is a considerable gamble.

Your budget is one that will likely have a boat smaller than 36 feet and more than 30 plus years. The boat will likely need to be cleaned up and repaired to assure it is seaworthy to meet your sailing needs. If you are going to just park the boat and use it to live-on then the requirements are less. It just needs to be floating and have the space/features that will make it a livable home. Who cares if the sails are good, or the engine runs. It just needs not to leak.

jssailem · Jan 25, 2022

Here is some perspective. I bought a 1974 boat that is good as a coastal cruiser her in the Pacific NW. 35 feet. Ok for a solo sailor. A bit tight for 2. 3 really close friends maybe if thinking of being on the boat for more than a weekend. Cost was £4500. I have refitted her and to day invested about £17K. While she is sound and can sail our waters, I still intend to invest another £5K to make her a bit more pretty (i.e. paint and bling). She will be great for me. But when I decide to sell her, I do not expect she will return the financial investment I have made. She will have returned the experiences I wanted her to give me. No price can be put on that.

All that is to say the cost of owning a mature boat is way more in repairs and maintenance than in up front price.

Stu Jackson · Jan 25, 2022

thevoyager said:
Any other good sites to check?

Definitely.
Try here:

Need advice on first sailboat purchase - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Hello everyone, Ive taken the basic keelboat course and plan on taking the basic coastal cruising course in April. I would really like to buy my first sailboat this Spring. All of my sailing during

www.cruisersforum.com

Happy hunting.

Benny17441 · Jan 25, 2022

Boat designs vary in between the continents, I would suggest you look closer to home. For starters shore power here in the US is 120V and you folks use 240V. As far as Ocean Crossing capabilities it is the Sailor rather than the boat that crosses Oceans. It will cost money to purchase the wrong boat so my recommendation is to do some sailing in other's people boats until you learn what you want, and then make a list of "Must have" and another of "would like to have". Do not compromise on your first list of "must have" unless there is the capacity to add it on right after the purchase. On the "would like to have" list there will be some flexibility and there is where you start making boat price considerations. If interior space is a priority for you do not compromise on it. Have seen many people compromise on their priorities because of price or "would likes" to later regret it badly, either loosing money in a trade or the constant aggravation of not having something needed. Do your homework and look at a lot boats (better to let a good one go than latter regret not having looked enough). Good luck.

Scott T-Bird · Jan 26, 2022

How handy are you and do you have a partner? I'm thinking that the You Tube channel "Sailing Uma" would be a good model for you if you have skills and help. They purchased a 1972 Pearson 36 that was headed to the junk yard. What they did with it is nothing short of amazing. But they are an unusually smart and motivated couple. If you have what they have in terms of ability, then I would suggest that you carefully observe what they did. They started with a simple concept much as what you describe and you certainly have more financial resources than they had starting out.

The problem is that we often hear from people who say similar things but may be over-stating their desires. "I've never been sailing before, but I want to buy a sailboat and sail around the world on $10,000". It's the biggest cliché on the forum. What if you were to say, "I want to buy a sailboat that has good bones and re-build it. My budget is £25,000 to spend on the boat and improvements. BTW, I'm motivated by restoring the boat and I have exceptional DIY skills". You'd get some excellent recommendations.

What if you were to say, "I've never been sailing before and I want to learn. I want to buy a boat and go sailing as much as possible. My budget to go sailing is £25,000." Again, you'd get excellent recommendations, but with an entirely different focus and much different recommendations.

Right now, your focus seems scattered and the budget too small for an all-encompassing goal, except that you hint that there is no budget.

Here is a great summary of a purchasing strategy that might interest you.

https://sailinguma.com/our-boat/

jssailem · Jan 26, 2022

thevoyager said:
Catalina 30 32 (other sizes)
Pearson 365 (other sizes)
Hunter 37 (other sizes)
Ericson 38 (other sizes)

This group gives you a good mix of solid built and very good coastal cruisers. There are many more that are local builds by English, Scottish, and Baltic sea builders worth exploring.

Stu Jackson · Jan 26, 2022

For someone in your location, try this forum, too:

Practical Boat Owner's Reader to Reader

Share practical, hands-on information. Hosted by Practical Boat Owner.

forums.ybw.com

sail sfbay · Jan 26, 2022

Suggest buying a good quality starter boat within your budget locally and that will get you sailing immediately.

Davidasailor26 · Jan 26, 2022

thevoyager said:
What would this mean...

"GAIL WARNING is a shoal draft model with centerboard, allowing her to venture where other boats her size cannot."

That model has a centerboard that hinges up and down instead of a fixed keel. It means when you’re in shallower areas you can pull the board up, and when you’re in deeper areas you can let the board down for better performance. There are merits to that but also some drawbacks, mainly in terms of maintenance complexity. You’ll find that everything with your boat choices come with compromises.

I’d recommend finding a boat in your budget that fits well for living on and maybe coastal cruising. In your budget starting there will probably give you a better chance of success without being over-extended. Use that as an opportunity to learn sailing and boat specific maintenance. After you have more experience you could probably sell the starter boat without losing too much on the boat itself (except for what you put into the boat as improvements), and you’ll have a much better idea for what you want going forward. Like I said all boats have compromises - Right now you don’t know what compromises you can live with and what would be dealbreakers for long term living aboard.

markwbird · Jan 26, 2022

You might consider expanding your age range. That will open up the possibilities in your price range tremendously. Older doesn’t necessarily mean worn out. You’re passing on a lot of great boats.