Share Your Experience - need help selecting a boat

[John]

Speaking as an expert

I'm an expert on this particular question because I'm so new to this whole world, which means my situation is still pretty close to that of the original poster. My wife and I bought our first boat about a year and a half ago. We got a 1982 30' Catalina for something like $14,000 and sailed it in the SF bay for a year. I think it was the perfect boat for me and what we wanted and needed. It was big enough and roomy enough but also inexpensive enough. It wasn't too big for me to feel comfortable bringing it back into our berth. I was strongly advised to get a boat with a diesel engine, vs. gas (the Atomic 4). This is what we did, but there's another issue I'd raise here: After a year we sold the boat. No sooner did the new owner take full possession of the boat and motor it down the Alameda estuary than the engine blew out on him. Although "legally" I had no responsibility for the boat anymore and there was no prior evidence that the engine was about to blow out, I still felt partly responsible and ended up paying half of what it costed to install a new outboard engine. But not every seller might do the same. What I've since found out is that these older, smaller diesels are cooled by direct sea water. Maybe this isn't such an issue in the Great Lakes, but on the coasts this means that salt water is flowing through the engine. Not a good thing. I would advise anybody to make sure that the engine has a heat exchange. Probably all you more experienced sailors take that as a matter of course, but us newbies don't necessarily know about that detail.Anyway, I think that a good, production boat of about 30' is a good start. Here in the Bay area, Catalinas are pretty popular and it was easy to sell the 30 when the time came. Also, unless a person is extremely wealthy, money matters. What if a new sailor finds that they don't like sailing that much or it's too time consuming? I think it's better to start with a boat that's not too expensive, which usually means one in the 25-30 foot range.Anyway, having been there pretty recently, that's my view.

 

[Rich (P303)]

Skies the limit...

If you can sail a catamaran, you can sail anything! Don't let the size slow you down. I bought a 30' and I have the 3' itch after a year. Your biggest problem will be all the other cr@p that goes with sailing... navigation, engine and year to year expenses. $5,000 a year should do it as long as no major repairs are needed.I sail in Maine... so I went with a modified keel with a skeg hung rudder to shed off some lobster bouys. I would opt for a fin keel if I was sailing the Great Lakes... diesel engine... wheel or tiller (your choice). When you figure out what boat you want... look at as many as you can... take your time (at least a year) and offer 25% less what their asking.Happy Hunting,Rich

 

[seadaddler]

Sure You Can

I was told the same thing when I sold my Hobie cat and got a290 Hunter and its true if you can sail a catamaran you can sailanything is what the sales man said.Yes you should be able to do it but we did take lesson's any way andit was the best thing we both ever did,its different sailing a 30 footerwith an inboard diesel and wheel but it did help my wife learn to sail and she is pretty good at sailing our 36 Hunter.We are cruisers and don't race but did some racing on other boats,what wouldI do different looking at my first boat.Get involved with some kind of sailing club and learn more from them,get a boatthat I can race and cruise and build more experience and learn more.Get involved more with other sailboaters,its more fun doing more with othersailboaters,unless you rather be a loner.You can learn so much more with being involved with other cruisers and racers.Nick

 

[Tsehum Pete]

Singlehanding a Larger Boat

JK,My Bene 390 is easy to sail alone. All lines are lead to the cockpit, both main and genoa furl, the Autohelm works well and the boat is in good shape. Embarking and docking in a cross-wind present the only issues. Usually someone on the dock will take a line. When alone I always use jacklines and always wear my Mustang auto-inflate PFD. A well-set up 45 footer should be as easy to single-hand as a small boat. Go way bigger but take things twice as slowly and pre-think through every on-board action. If you sail a bigger boat plenty, your confidence will build quickly.Pete

 

[Warren Milberg]

I personally think the Catalina 27

with an inboard Universal diesel, would be a great way get into a "bigger" boat. With over 6,600 made, there are lots of choices, including ones with outboards. This boat is a great sailer, easy enough to single hand and big enough for a family to cruise on for a week or more. It has great performance and is a really fun boat to own and sail. It also has a decent PFRF race record if your interest moves you that way. My guess is that you could get a mid-80's model, with decent sails and equipment, for $10-12k. Late 70's would be cheaper, of course. My guess is that you would keep this boat for about 5 yrs or so and begin to look a bigger boats. But you would have a lot of sailing fun in the interim, learn about handling larger boats, gain valuable experience, and get an understanding of using and maintaining a diesel -- things that will last you a lifetime of sailing.

 

[Benny]

Milwaukee? Brings back memories of the frozen

tundra. I attended Marquette University for a couple of years and sailed Lake Michigan in small boats. Never got used to being cold and wet. The water in that lake never warms up. If you intend to to sail to Mackinac island and beyond, I would recommend at least a 30' boat as the lakes are quite deep and weather can get nasty. I compare lake crossings to offshore passages. Catalina and Hunter have some sturdy 30' models dating to the 70's that can be purchased rather inexpensively. I think your best bet would be to look and see what is available for sale in Chicago.

 

[newly anonymous]

three rules

1. Don't purchase any boat you haven't fallen in love with.2. Don't purchase any boat your wife hasn't fallen in love with.3. Don't purchase any boat you haven't had surveyed.The rest is all fluff, although Warren's advice to begin with a Catalina 27 is worth a second read.. And anyone telling you to limit your selections to full keel boats is giving you lousy advice.

 

[RAD]

my 1st sailboat

Was a Bristol 24 with an outboard and it was a great sailing boat with a lot of cruising features of a larger boat but we needed a larger boat cause our family grew and every time I was rafted next to my friends 30 Catalina I was amazed how much more room on there boat for 6 foot extra, so we started to look for a 30 Catalina with a shoal draft cause of the water restrictions where I sail and could not find what I wanted although there were plenty of 27's and I knew that I needed to go large and ended up with my present 32 ODay and I will tell you that at first its a little scary docking cause of its size but in no time you get real good at it and the size issue won't matter.(I remember the first day docking the 24 and it was scary)Another thought is that we spend a lot more time on the boat having a lot of stuff aboard that wouldn't fit on a smaller boat and it's our floating summer homeHappy hunting and welcome aboardBTW we fell in love with the ODay the first time I saw it and forgot about Catalina's that I had my heart set on buying.

 

[Paul356]

Milwaukee

Milwaukee is a great place to sail. My wife and I have had boats on the big lake since 1976. As to comfort, the water was up to 70 degrees much of this summer; but of course it stays in the 50s or 60s until July 4 or so. Which means you'll want a dry boat. Generally that means bigger and/or newer. Older boats tend to have lower freeboard, and bigger boats are just drier. We had a Santana 22 for many years in Milwaukee, moved up to a Tartan 27 and were amazed at the difference in terms of comfort and wave handling. Now we have a H356 and of course that's light years ahead of the trusty old Tartan in terms of comfort, staying dry, staying warm, etc.A 30-footer would be good, although 27 will make it, too. A friend recently bought an older S-2 9.2, and it's proven to be a very nice Lake Michigan boat. I think something like that is a good possibility for you: sturdy, comfy, easy to handle, age well. Newport is another good one in that size and age range. In addition, there are many, many Hunters, Catalinas, Bene's, J's, etc., around Milwaukee and in Chicago. The Michigan shore also has several large dealers. I'd get on Yachtworld.com and start looking. The market favors buyers right now. You'll have plenty to choose from.I endorse a fin keel over a full keel, but waves are steep on our freshwater ocean, so you'll still want to look for a hull with an easy entry, rather than flatish, to reduce pounding. Having had all power options -- gas inboard, diesel inboard and gas outboard -- I can say without hesitation you'll be happiest with a good diesel inboard. I'm glad to talk more about sailing in Milwaukee, and boats, and anything else sailors talk about in the winter. Let me know if you're interested and we'll figure out how to meet off line.

 

[Scott21120]

Paul - where is your boat now?

We were at Cramer last year, but went to Southwind this year. Email me offlist if you can - sefuller at wi.rr.com

 

[r.w.landau]

I second john's list of three and add one,

don't buy a boat you haven't sailed!r.w.landau

 

[jk]

Thank You!!

Wow - I'm terribly grateful to each of you for your feedback. Have just returned from the Holiday weekend and need to start digging into your feedback (there's enough here for a few weeks - again - thank you!)May start another thread on a few of these topics - and will probably email a few of you directly.Again - thanks. We wish you all fair winds & following seas.