Aspiring Sailor

[essail]

Hello everyone, I've always wanted to get my own sailboat and go see all the wondrous places this world has stowed away. I had always thought it impossible due to cost, until recently. My Dad lucked out and got a 42ft 1969 Trojan that was, for the most part structurally intact with much cosmetic damage. Its a great project boat, for just a couple hundred dollars. So i realized you can get deals on boats, talked to a few friends(of whom I've in the past lived with cram packed in a small house for a time,) started looking for a boat(my father is also a master with construction and especially wood.) and gathering info. Thats what brings me to this forum. From what I've gathered so far, i need a boat with with a heavy displacement, a thick hull, full keel, over sized rigging, small thick portholes, general design, the appropriate navigation gear, and such. I really want to accomplish this while i am still young and resilient. My plan is this; learn to sail on this huge lake in Texas on my fathers buddies 22ft sailboat( and make a point of it to head out during bad storms,) find a seaworthy sailboat that will sleep about 3 people, prep it with the right gear, Navi systems, communication systems ect, Sextant, physical maps, water treatment and back up water treatment equipment, add a set up for deep sea fishing, possibly take some appropriate classes, save up some back up funds, and gather my shipmates. Once i have done all this, I want to start off by sailing down the coast from Houston to Galveston and South Padre Island, then come back up to Houston and take a few skirmish's a couple miles out to sea to get a feel for the real deal. From there I want to follow the coast(out at sea, but with land in sight) from Houston all the way down to the tip of Florida, then, finally break off land and take my first stretch of open water to the Bahama's, roughly 100miles i think, then go from there(all the while relying on the bounty of the sea to provide food for me and my shipmates, i figure one catch is a weeks worth of food due to the size of the fish) . Now I think i have a good plan and a rather safe one at that for starts at least, but I am completely inexperienced. I think with the history of human seafaring and modern day technology this dream is somewhat achievable, but I would love any kind of input or insight on everything.
What kind of ship should i look for?(that a poor person could make due with, but would still stand up to the sea)
What should i avoid? (besides hurricanes and area's with dangerous people and light unstable ships)
What else should i get on my boat, or need on my boat?
What other questions am i forgetting to ask?

Again any input is appreciated. I think there is more to life then living for a paycheck, and i want to go for this, but I must be smart about it. =)

[hummingway]

Welcome to the forum essail. You've come to the right place. You might spend some time reading various threads. You will find lots of opinions on all the subject you are asking about.

[essail]

thanks! I am doing that right now =)

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Do a search for "bluewater" in the search engine after my signature and read the book recommendation and look over the links after my signature. Then if you have more questions fire away.
Good to have you here.
kind regards,

[essail]

JohnL,
Thank you very much for your post, very, very helpful so far. In the last couple weeks the two boats that have caught my interest most was a 32ft Maxi 95 sloop, and a 1986 22ft Catalina with tiller steering. Any thoughts? i noticed neither were on your list.

[Mark1977]

WELCOME ....

[essail]

Thanks!

[womensetsail]

Welcome essail! I would highly recommend that you take those classes too. Although you can learn a lot on the forums and will learn to handle your boat with practice and time on the water, I believe USCG classes are essential for rules-of-the-road, aids to navigation, and in my opinion reading and navigating a chart. Especially if you're coming down my way around SW Florida.

[Sam Plan B]

The truth is, the hull is about 10% of the total cost of a cruise ready sailboat. If you read a lot and do the work yourself you can save about 50% of the cost of a refit. The other issue is this, cruising is a skill that takes a long time to learn. If you leave the dock being as green as grass you will have to learn the skill before bad things happen that you will not know how to handle. Crew for someone first. There are lots of rallys these days. The Caribean 1500 is the first that comes to mind. Learn, learn, learn.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by essail

From what I've gathered so far, i need a boat with with a heavy displacement, a thick hull, full keel, over sized rigging, small thick portholes, general design, the appropriate navigation gear, and such.

There are indeed those on this forum who feel that heavy-displacement, full-keeled, overbuilt boats are necessary to face the rigors of the sea.

That shrinking minority isn't having half as much fun as the rest of us sailing fin-keeled, responsive boats with adequate light and ventilation.

Seriously. Your portholes probably won't need to withstand a nuclear blast. But it's nice to be able to let light and some fresh air into a boat, especially if you ever plan to invite women aboard.

[Sam Plan B]

I have lived aboard my Columbia 41 for the past two years. That includes two winters. During that time I have installed a propane system, a new galley stove, all standing rigging, rebuilt the rudder, polished the old diesel and cleaned the fuel tank, installed a new pressure water pump and water heater. Also, rebuilt two deck hatches and replaced all the saloon windows with 1/4" lexan with custom made trim rings. There is more but I will not press the matter. There are lots of livable (read cumfortable) large boats available for not much money. That is, a 40 foot boat can be had for $25k to $35k but they will require a lot of love. If you buy a light displacement boat that is the boat you will be sleeping on for a long time. There is some truth to the old saw, built for cumfort not built for speed. Cumfort is better.

[boatman61]

Welcome to CF.....
The Maxi's are a very strong and nippy sailboat...
John Vigors selections are all good boats but there are also many others out there equal or better... always remember.. just because one man loves mushrooms does not mean his brother does the same...
Bluewater Boat means different things to different people...

[essail]

So I've been keeping my ears open for boat deals in my area. i was at the dock the other day and was talking the manager of the docks, who my father is in tight with, and long story short i have the oppertunity to buy a 29.5' 1984 Seidelmann 295 for about 600 bucks. Its in a slip right now, and so i took a look around. From what i could tell it seemed pretty solid up and down, no give on the deck or below whatsoever, no weak spots, all the railing posts were still solid as well as the rigging, and had wheel as well as rudder steering(at least at one point in its life), has a jib, BUT is missing the main. Besides that the inside(though again, solid as a rock) needed a lot of work. It was originally done with some veneer and solid woods, which has a fair amount of rot damage. Now i'd assume some systems would have to be replaced as well a small motor hung on the transom, but water currently pumps. It would def be a project boat, However my father is a master with wood and is currently restoring a 42' 1969 tojan and would love to help me with the cosmetics.
What do yall thing about the Seidelmann's, can they stand up to the sea? I'm just in the considering phase of the buy at the moment, but it doesnt sound too bad. (as its pretty low risk in terms of money)

[hummingway]

One piece hand laid hull, 6'3" head room according to one thing I read. The price is sure right if you have the money for parts and the time to spend it.