Greetings from a Total Newbie

[kumgang]

Hi my Loved ADAX! This is me! And thanks to all for the warm welcome to her. As for me, please forgive my bad English. It's not my language (Spanish is), so I try to do my best.

[Adax]

Hiya darling Kumgang! Glad you made it over here. It is a fun and informative forum with great people.

[Ocean Girl]

Awe love, the universal language!
Cheers to you two and hope you have many adventures together.
Erika

[kumgang]

Thanks Erika. And you're right! haha, Love and music, the two really universal languages.

best wishes from the South

[Eleven]

Good luck to you both and what a strong combination of first languages for cruising. There are not many places where english and spanish aren't understood, if you smile a lot.
But looking for old timber boats is a mine field of rot, decay and a lot of very hard work. Take care, consider a plastic version of an older design, there are some decent ones about now, and as beginners perhaps the 'motor sailor' would suit you better. Just a thought.

[Adax]

Thanks Eleven for the thoughts ,much appreciated .

I think the wooden boat is here to stay . Both K and I like wood ,the solidness of wood etc . Plus K has friends who had and know wooden boats so we won't go into this blind. There is a thread called "Are you scared of wood?" somewhere on here and one of the first things the owner of the boat says is that there is nothing on his boat that cannot be replaced. That is how we imagined it and nice to have it confirmed by an already owner. And I hear that sanding tones the arms

The other problem with fibreglass/plastic boats is that they are much more expensive in Argentina and so a nice one is out of our pricerange . And neither can you import one because of import restrictions . There are some nice wooden motorsailors about ,but I would imagine that because of their weight and slowness we would need to use the engine rather a lot let´s say going up the Parana river and we would rather avoid disturbing the peace .

One thing K is considering though is an interim boat ,not oceangoing but a really good boat to learn on by all accounts . Friends know it and have given it the thumbs up in terms of how it was maintained . And it´s purdy ....

One thing we gotta do though is sell our houses which in this climate is proving difficult. Fingers crossed the right person calls today.

Have a great Sunday .

[kumgang]

Thanks Eleven for you nice words.
My loved one replied for me! hahaha, so I can't say anything else...but right, everything she wrote is what I think, at least for now, I mean, may be the day I am ready to buy the boat things can change (if no wooden boat seems ok, I'd choose a plastic one).
Thanks again for your message. I am reading some posts and this forum is really nice and friendly.

have a nice Sunday

[boatman61]

Adax.. I know what you mean.. a wooden boat makes friendly sounds.. the water chuckles against the hull instead of slapping, in fact the whole ambience is so much nicer.
Good luck with the sales... fingers crossed for you guys..

[kumgang]

Thanks for you nice wishes Boatman61!
Have a nice day

[Adax]

Yes thanks Boatman !
Love your quote by the way . Illusions - one of our favourite reads, too.

[Eleven]

Having good advice from experienced people will save you alot of trouble. Go with the wood, we have three good re-builds on our pontoon, all are/will be a lot of work but the results are good to see. One is near finished, an open fishing boat that now has a good cabin, cubby hole sleeping box in the bow. Great for sheltered waters. The best is a 30'ish ex-lifeboat, mayor re-decking, adding timbers, replacing some ribs, getting iron bolts out of timbers and replacing with the right stainless steel. A good craftsman but the hours, the hours he's spent on it. The third is an ex-admiralty launch, 1956, 45 ft six cylinder diesel and auxiliary engine. A lot to do on that too.
My thoughts for a motor sailor was for your early days at sea, to learn the sea, sailing, and at the right size not to expensive. I bought the boat I wanted, too big maybe, but sound, good breeding, lots of space for live aboard. So long as you love the boat you buy you won't go far wrong. Having things to improve will make the boat your very own.
Even adding cupboards, storage shelves, coat hooks, makes the boat YOUR boat. And that's what really counts. Happy days, hopefully on the water, not sat on the hard.

[Adax]

Thanks Eleven. You have some great projects going on there .Only yesterday I was looking at boats available in the UK Ireland . Some nice boats ,interesting designs and builds.not that we can import them , but it is nice to dream .
However, there are nice boats in Argentina too from naval architects Campos Parodi and Cibert for example .

[Ocean Girl]

Don't forget Argentina's history of incredible sailors as well..Vito Dumas is my favorite single hander of all time. I am still on the search for his book in English. Argentina is on my list of places to visit, very interesting place but I have not been able to like mate, I think that is an acquired taste.
Cheers,
Erika

[Adax]

Absolutely. Vito Dumas is one of the most amazing singlehanders. Kumgang sent me his book very early on and in spite of the mention of towering waves the sailing bug got ahold of me.

Hope you get to visit Argentina . It is literally and figuratively a great place. Buenos Aires is a wonderful,vibrant city for which one gladly puts up with mate. I got to like it, but it did take some time . Funny thing is I had prepared it the "wrong" way previously and liked it, the right way took getting used to.

PS: Amazon has the book "Alone through the roaring forties "in English.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Wood boats are great for liveaboards who will be constantly there to give them attention. They don't like tropical waters though so extra attention to hulls and haulouts are necessary. Also freshwater is the wood boat's enemy. Everything needs to be sealed extra well.
regards,