Hello everyone

[Heather66]

Hi there. New to this site. It looks great. I am sure we can learn a lot from everyone here. We are power boaters who are about to make the switch to sail. We hope to live aboard someday. So the BIG dilema is what boat to buy??? Any suggestions would be great! We are looking at Jeanneau, Hunter and a Beneteau at the moment, size range between 37 and 43.

Thanks in advance!
Heather

[Charlie]

Hi Heather:

Welcome aboard. You've certainly asked with a broad question. You'll find alot of opinions on that question. Because of the variety in types of boats in order to give you any sort of relevant advice it is important to know what the intended use of the boat is. Do you want to do costal cruising? Day sailing and liveaboard? Serious bluewater sailing? Circumnavigation?

At this point my only advice would be to sail as many boats as possible and use that as a foundation for your decision.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Heather,
Welcome aboard!! Hope you don't mind opinions 'cause you'll probably get a bunch.
My opinion is that you are looking at too large a boat and I would not choose any of those for open ocean passages.
I think 32 - 36 length on deck is more than enough unless you have a large family who can help with maintenance, handling and expenses. Fiberglass, cutter rig, diesel engine and aft cockpit are my favorites. You'll soon hear from those who disagree so standby for more messages.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[Pblais]

Sounds like you have an eye towards what you want. Having been power boaters you can surely use all that experience to start over with sail. You don't have to unlearn too much at all. Just some new things and you should fit into the boat just fine.

I think the key is to find what works right for you. We have 4,500 boaters here and we all have ourt own story. You'll find most of us think we have the way that works for us. It's not always an easy path, so if you need help figuring it out you can find a lot here.

There isn't one right answer and there are a lot of things that work for others that won't work for you. We are all different but we all like boating in all sorts of different ways.