|
|
10-07-2016, 16:45
|
#1
|
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 22
|
New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Hi guys, my wife and I before long are selling our home and all of our belongings, buying a sailboat and hitting the ocean. I know exactly nothing about sailing except that wind pushes the sails on a sailboat. Extremely entry level novice.
We will have about a 15k spending limit on a sailboat and I've personally been looking at O'Days, Hunters, an Catalinas, but would love to hear what you guys think. I'd love to buy a sailboat for 8k and put 8k in upgrades in to it.
We think we prefer fiberglass boats.
I personally like the 80-83 30 foot Catalinas I've found. What do you guys think? And hat is a tall rig, what's its purpose? More sail, catches more wind and travels faster?
Is a 83 Catalina sea worthy for Florida to the USVI? Obviously I'll only be around Florida for half a year learning how to sail and will slowly progress to the Bahamas and maybe in a year or so make the voyage to USVI.
Is a 30 footer a decent size for my wife and I, or would it be just a fast and efficient a little more roomier to get a 33-35 footer?
One or two sails?
|
|
|
10-07-2016, 17:06
|
#2
|
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 22
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
I also just realized there was another section this thread would have been a little better suited for. I'm new as of 10 minutes ago and headed for the first thread section it fit without scrolling further down and seeing some of the other sections.
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 10:20
|
#3
|
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Oakland, CA
Boat: Freedom 38
Posts: 2,503
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Welcome! You might also do a search on "new to sailing" on this forum. There's been lots of advice (harsh and helpful both) for others who've had the same dream.
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 10:57
|
#4
|
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Orlando
Boat: Hunter Passage 42
Posts: 194
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Not sure where you are located. BUT, you should go look at boats - with your mate. Talk with owners, brokers, and anyone that will give you a minute.
Generally 30 foot is pretty small to be on all day every day for the foreseeable future. Also it's pretty unlikely that you can find a seaworthy boat for 8K. Or can upgrade for that amount. Though there are bargains around.
2 sails.......? Maybe you mean the difference between a sloop(and variants) rig and a ketch. The ketch has two masts. Far the most common is the single mast with a jib in front and Mainsail behind.
Agree with gamayun that there is lots of info on this site for you.
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 11:23
|
#5
|
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Bahamas/Florida
Boat: Solaris Sunstar 36' catamaran
Posts: 2,686
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
A tall rig has, as you surmised, a taller mast, which results in more sail area. This results in a boat that will sail faster in light air, but will require reefing more often when the breeze gets stronger. For a novice I'd recommend the standard rig, unless the boat in question had a reputation for being unusually slow.
__________________
Sail Fast Live Slow
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 11:25
|
#6
|
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Lower Chesapeake Bay Area
Boat: Bristol 27
Posts: 10,425
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
You might want to sail a bit first to see if you even like it........
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 12:06
|
#7
|
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: home town Wellington, NZ and Savusavu Fiji
Boat: Reinke S10 & Raven 26
Posts: 1,228
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Quote:
Originally Posted by Usmc_
Hi guys, my wife and I before long are selling our home and all of our belongings, buying a sailboat and hitting the ocean. I know exactly nothing about sailing except that wind pushes the sails on a sailboat. Extremely entry level novice.
We will have about a 15k spending limit on a sailboat and I've personally been looking at O'Days, Hunters, an Catalinas, but would love to hear what you guys think. I'd love to buy a sailboat for 8k and put 8k in upgrades in to it.
We think we prefer fiberglass boats.
One or two sails?
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by thomm225
You might want to sail a bit first to see if you even like it........
|
You took the words right from my keyboard Thom. Why would you want to give up your entire life when you don’t even know if you’ll like sailing? But there are so many people that come to this forum that express the same sentiment. It strikes me as very strange.
One sail or two? Why not 3 or 4 or 5 or more?
And the OP posts preferences for fibreglass boats, as well as some specific sizes and brands. I don’t want to knock your aspiration USMC but what are your preferences based on? Certainly not experience, training or education.
Please, please, before you commit your life to this plan go and learn to sail and get some miles under your belt. Do a few overnight cruises so that you know what it’s like just trying to make a coffee on a sail boat when you’re bashing into a seaway. Find out how bad you suffer from sea sickness. Volunteer to crew on a few offshore trips.
And especially find out how you feel when you’re cold and wet, have hardly slept for the last 3-4 days, there’s a huge, howling wind and you’re looking up at huge waves as they crash towards you. Cos it’s not like a car, you can’t just stop at the next hotel for the night.
Dude a lot of people find that they hate the actual sailing, (or their partners hate it, or their kids hate it) and so never leave the dock.
__________________
Grant Mc
The cure for everything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea. Yeah right, I wish.
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 12:29
|
#8
|
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: West wales
Posts: 85
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Quote:
Originally Posted by thomm225
You might want to sail a bit first to see if you even like it........
|
Very true
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 12:56
|
#9
|
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Palm Coast Florida
Boat: 2018 Seadoo GTX 230
Posts: 1,059
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
I for one hate sailing on small sailboats. You could not give me a 30' sailboat.
At about 35' they start to make sense to me. The boom is high enough not to knock anyone into the water as the boat sails on. There is enough floor room for your feet without stepping on the lines.
Those small sailboats heel over way too much and way too easy for me.
You really need to join a sailing club and try it 1st.
Sent from my SM-G360V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 13:24
|
#10
|
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Seattle
Boat: Tartan 30 & Columbia 26
Posts: 170
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Quote:
Originally Posted by Usmc_
I know exactly nothing about sailing except that wind pushes the sails on a sailboat.
|
I just gotta be a smartass and chime in here.
Sorry USMC, but you got that one wrong. If that were true, then how could a sailboat sail into the wind (which they do)? And how do some sailboats sail faster than the speed of the wind? This actually all makes sense once you understand how sailboats work.
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 14:04
|
#11
|
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: home town Wellington, NZ and Savusavu Fiji
Boat: Reinke S10 & Raven 26
Posts: 1,228
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Quote:
Originally Posted by wristwister
Sorry USMC, but you got that one wrong. If that were true, then how could a sailboat sail into the wind (which they do)? And how do some sailboats sail faster than the speed of the wind? This actually all makes sense once you understand how sailboats work.
|
I expect most noticed that little error too.
__________________
Grant Mc
The cure for everything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea. Yeah right, I wish.
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 14:39
|
#12
|
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Trunk (boot) of my car
Boat: Tinker Traveller...a dozen feet of bluewater awesomeness!
Posts: 1,230
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Well, apart from craigslist, this sampling from yachtworld should get you started on some boats to look at: (Sail) Boats For Sale Florida FL
Hopefully that link works.
The Dufours and the Cape Nebe available in FL might be interesting.
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 15:09
|
#13
|
Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: aboard, cruising in Australia
Boat: Sayer 46' Solent rig sloop
Posts: 28,400
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Hi, usmc,
I see the larger boat folks are involved. A 30 ft. boat is okay for two people, Jim and I sailed a Yankee 30 from San Francisco to Hawaii and back in 1983. We found it to be a little tender for extended passage making, and chose a 36 footer to come away in. The Catalinas were not built as strong as the Yankee, and Jim actually had had to modify it before doing offshore work. [What I'm suggesting here is you investigate the Catalina owners forum, and learn what issues you would need to address before taking one offshore. However, since much of the world's sailing is light airs, I'd keep the tall mast idea, reefing's not a big deal.]
Just for your information, even 20 and 22 ft. boats have circumnavigated with couples aboard. After a sound hull, rig, sails, and motor, your main concerns are water storage, and food storage.
I think your budget is a little low.
However, being seasick is no fun at all, and even life threatening (due to dehydration), so I really want to re-enforce that you and your good lady do some sailing first. See if you think it's enough fun to warrant spending a large portion of your life doing it. A lot of cruising is fixing your boat in foreign ports, it's not all mai tais in the sunset. Your first gale can be pretty scary.
Ann
__________________
Who scorns the calm has forgotten the storm.
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 19:13
|
#14
|
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 22
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
Hey guys just got a chance to get on here. Looking forward to reading all your replies. Thanks
|
|
|
11-07-2016, 19:18
|
#15
|
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 22
|
Re: New to Sailing, any info will be helpful
We just upped our limit to 20k after further research last night and today. I'm still learning the ropes on this forum. I guess there is no reason for a forum if everything has already been answered lol. More like a sailing Wikipedia site.
In your opinion what type of sailboats would be decent for 15-20k? And thanks for the clarification on tbe mast and jibs, that does explain a lot.
|
|
|
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Rate This Thread |
Linear Mode
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
Advertise Here
Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vendor Spotlight |
|
|
|