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Old 18-02-2008, 17:54   #1
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Getting ready to get ready

Hello all,

My name is Patrick Kennedy, I live in Portland, Oregon (metro area) am 40 yrs old and am planning to at some point buy and boat and get out of the rat race. I would appreciate any advice on a good cruising boat for a taller person, I am 6'4". I initially (my very limited experience) like the pilot house types, they seem to have more headroom. Also, is it a good idea to take sailing courses or just jump in and get started? (I am taking coastal nav. classes)

Thanks, Pat
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Old 18-02-2008, 18:45   #2
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G'day Pat,

My advice is to get along to your local yacht club and put your name down as available for crewing for local evening or "beer-can" races. Best way to learn to sail is to sail, but you learn more if you sail with people who know what they are doing, and it will also give you achance to get the feel for different types of boats before you come to purchase
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Old 18-02-2008, 20:03   #3
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Hi Patrick- we're 'newby' full time cruisers, but started with the same dream that you describe. We were living in West Linn when the sailing bug caught us. Learned to sail on the Columbia from one of the Parks and Rec courses offered from time to time. One of the sailing clubs would also be a good option. In our case, we needed to get some experience in sailing prior to purchasing our cruising boat. Financially, not owning a boat would have been better for us, but we really wanted to have our own. On the river, we had both a Catalina 25 and a Newport 30. We trailered the Catalina to the San Juans for a bit more experience and vacation. The Newport was fine for sailing up and down the coast, as well as cruising up and down the river. We finally settled on a Tayana 37 for our cruising boat... but for reasons that pertained to us. On the river, it is a bit of a pig, it takes a while to tack, and it really likes the wind to get moving. In the ocean, it's fantastic. And for the last 7-months a great live-aboard.

Rather than decide on a cruising boat at this point in time, you may be better off in developing your skills, and then look at boats that suit your style a few years prior to taking off.

We left the rat race, and so far... no regrets.

Steve
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Old 19-02-2008, 00:46   #4
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Aloha Pat,
Threre are several forum members in your area and I hope they respond. I was born and raised in Salem but haven't lived there since '63 when I went off to see the world via the Navy.
I think Steve's advice is good and I know there are several clubs there in Portland that offer training and chartering. It would be a great way to get started and then you can get more of a feel for what type of boat you might be interested in. There are some shorter boats, i. e. 32 that have enough headroom for you but then again there are much longer boats that don't so shop around and see if you can make it to some boat shows. Didn't they just have one in Seattle?
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Old 19-02-2008, 05:20   #5
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Welcome from the peanut gallery… Can’t help a whole lot on the headroom issue, but I’ll just echo what others have been saying regarding getting your sea-legs… at this stage you may find it more expediant to crew than to buy, not to mention just a few weekends of crewing on a modestly well skippered boat(s) (of nearly any size) will give you invaluable insight when it comes time to actually purchasing your own… I was able to crew a few weekends over several summers on coastal cruisers and then did a bit of recreational sailing on Flying Scotts (don’t think I’ve seen one of those rascals in years), which at least prepared me to better ask the right questions when it came time for a sailboat purchase – didn’t make me any smarter (haven’t found anything that will do that…), but I knew how to ask questions – even if some of the answers I got went right over my head…
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Old 19-02-2008, 07:19   #6
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Find a club that is convenient to you and sign up for a course. Many would advise you to start in dinghy's. That would be good IMO but not necessary. Start in 22s or 24s. Get checked out in boats up to 30 and get some time on the water.

Later go to a few boat shows and kick tires.

The key at this point is to get out there, get some training, inject yourself into the social circle of your club and get as much time on water as possible.
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Old 20-02-2008, 13:51   #7
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Thanks to all for your replies, which leads me to my next humbly submitted question, (To those with local knowledge of Oregon) Which clubs would be recommended, geared to sailing in this area? It seems on one end there is the PYC which is pretty pricey to the Astoria YC which is much more affordable... Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Pat
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Old 20-02-2008, 16:01   #8
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I have no knowledge of Oregon sailing but I googled a few places.

Island sailing - Membership and dues seem pricey - They advertised non-member charters.

Island Sailing Club

Portland Sailing Center - Looks geared up to deliver classes. Couldn't find concise info about bareboat chartering althoug they state they offer it. Course prices seem reasonable.

Portland Sailing Center | Welcome!

Leading Edge Sailing - This place looks weak and I could locate that they only have one boat? They seem to offer the full line of courses.

Leading Edge Sailing, LLC: Expanding Horizons - Education, Adventure, Inspiration

Wllamette Sailing CLub - Looks to be focused on one-design dinghy classes.

Willamette Sailing Club - Portland, Oregon

Yacht Clubs - Here's a link to a collection of area yacht clubs. You can surf this list and see if anything else turns up.

YachtClub.com's Oregon Yacht Clubs
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Old 25-02-2008, 09:09   #9
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Hello Patrick,
I am now in the Bahamas with my wife enjoying the beautiful weather. In my case following a two week courses in Florida for advance sailing made a whole wolrd of difference in my confidence in sailing in unkwon area. i would strongly suggest a course in advance sailing with lots of practical exercises.
Good to be confident when in front of the wife hehehe
Cheers and good lock
Charles
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