My first boat ... a Jeanneau 50?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Should have learned in a helicopter!

I did actually, and you can stall a helicopter, but coming to a stop and backing up in a helicopter until you are experienced isn't easy

[robert sailor]

5000 parts in loose formation!

[Abgreenbank]

Must be something about a Jeanneau 50 and pilots, just been to Cholet to view my 50 DS on the production line, due for delivery in early May. It's my first yacht, apart from a Laser I had 30 odd years ago. Yes I have taken quite a few courses and learnt lots but a steep learning curve coming. Boat Insurance companies appear to like long haul commercial pilots, guess it's due to our cautious nature when it comes to preparation and our aversion to risk.
My view crack on, live your dream but be realistic in your expectations.
I think back to the mid eighties when I used to charge around at low level in bad weather at 420kts aged 22 in a shiny new Tornado GR1, .....is a 50 ft yacht too much, we'll I guess I am about to find out.

[BobnCamie]

Good for you. Learn on a 8' dinghy or a 75' boat, learning is learning. Next for you is an aircraft carrier or some such. Prove it to 'em.

[Southerncowboyz]

Thanks to everyone for all the posts. I've been working a bunch lately. I just finished ready Across islands and Oceans, by James Baldwin. It has strengthened my resolve to sail. I am having a lot of work done at my home, and I'm elbow deep in unexpected repairs and cost overruns. The plan was always to get the boat in 2015, but I just can't wait ... in the interim, I'm buying a 25 ft hunter, just to get on the water. I'm going tomorrow to take a look. The boat is so cheap, that I'm not concerned about resale. I just need to get on the water, and I haven't been since I received my license. I'm not certain that I want a Jeanneau 50 new. I think used would be a better choice, and depending on how these next twelve months go with the 'starter' boat, I will make a decision on length. My logic with length is I have a large family on both sides, but 50-60 feet of boat will still seem small. I do plan on flying thirty days on, and sailing thirty days, but I need a little more seniority at work to be able to do that, which should happen next year.

To be honest, I'm even afraid now to go sail the 25 footer. I once drove a truck many years ago, but after seven weeks of training was over, I was paralyzed with fear on my first solo voyage. I nearly quit, and if were not for a pep-talk from mom, I would have quit. With that being said, I'm not a quitter. The sea is still calling to me, and I do plan on sailing around the world in a few years.

I've considered buying a boat in Duluth, Mn, hitting all the major port cities on the great lakes, head up the St. Lawrence towards Newfoundland, or possibly higher, before making my way down the east coast, and long island and NYC, hugging the coast to the islands, towards the keys, and the southern towns in the US then through the Canal to the Galapagos and Coco Islands, hugging the west coast up to Alaska where I will stay a few months. I will probably rent out my home, and fly back and forth.

The first step was to get the license, now I'm buying a starter boat, and I will go from there. Thanks to everyone for all the input. The boat that I'm looking at doesn't have a furling jib, but I might retrofit that. It also doesn't have a spinnaker or pole. I just need to get on the water!!

As for safety, I started in a 152, but you wouldn't catch me in a 152 unless I had a kid that I was going to teach. A 152 is a total waste of time to me now. Anything under 200 knots indicated is a waste of time, but it wasn't that way when I was learning. Could I have handled a business jet from day one? Nope, but a 50 is not a business jet. With all that being said, I'm a little nervous still and I can's squash this fear.

I didn't proof read this, so forgive the poor sentence structure and poor grammar.

[Delancey]

Southerncowboyz-

Congratulations on the new boat! Big boats are big, and consequently that much harder to handle. Besides, most of the big boats I know are dock queens that never leave the slip.

I think that because your investment in the new boat will be minimal, you will find it easier to make the mistakes you need to make to learn to sail without concern for the costs involved and will benefit from that lack of pressure as a result.

All of this will contribute to your confident use and enjoyment of the bigger boat you will get when you are ready!

Good luck and happy sailing!

Cheers,
Delancey

PS. For the record I hold pilots in general with very high regard. If anything I have pilot envy, seems like a great career. My point was really there is no substitute for the learning basics.

[Southerncowboyz]

An update:

Going with a used hunter was the way to go. No education is as intense as baptism by fire. I could have purchased a bigger new boat, but I would have over thought everything and reasoned myself out of leaving the dock. I can show anyone how to play chess in 15 minutes, but the strategy takes a lifetime. As it is with a jet ... you can train a kid to manipulate the controls, but you can't teach logic. There is no substitute for experience. My little hunter is having the bottom painted, a new main sail installed, and the hank on jib is being converted to a roller. I have only begun to scratch the surface of sailing knowledge, but I embrace the skill set acquired specific to the sea. I plan on keeping the hunter 2-3 years, then examine where I am.

Where my boat is docked the current can be 2+ knots as the tide goes in and out 8 feet. I dock port side and using 20-30% power just to maintain position is normal (6hp outboard). Doing this solo after having my tiller BREAK and running aground on a sand bar on my MAIDEN voyage was nothing short of a spiritual experience. I travelled the ICW after midnight with a good friend, and it was nearly complete mental saturation at my low experience level.

I'm alive and kicking. I'm LEARNING. I'm LOVING. I have a long ways to go, but I'm further along than I was yesterday.


Thanks again to everyone.

Joe




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[JPA Cate]

Fear is your friend, it keeps you cautious.

Experience, with the 25 footer, will help prepare you for a larger boat if that's still where you're at when the time comes. Sometimes our dreams about a sailing life fail to include many of the realities. Not saying this is so for you. Just sayin". Last year a very sad series of posts from someone whose husband had the responsibility for repairs, and had to hire out all of them. A sailing lifestyle is far more costly the bigger the boat you have, and also whether or not you are comfortable with doing repairs yourself.

Ann

[Southerncowboyz]

Ann,

I choose to keep my boat 300 miles from my home on salt water. I don't want to be land locked. I have rebuilt car engines, so I can repair things, but the logistics of making those repairs is the difficult part. So far sailing is for me. So far, so good.

Joe


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[dMAC]

The OP should go for it. He is mentally equipped to handle it: accomplished pilot, methodical, cautious, willing to go step by step. He already knows he isn't going to be crossing oceans anytime soon. Big modern boats with furling sails, etc are really easy to sail. As the composition of the members of this forum illustrates so well, you don't need to be a rocket scientist or a world passage maker to competantly become a proficient sailor...just takes some sea time. If he can afford it and that is his dream he must go for it. After all, what's we all need to know our "QTR" (quality time remaining) and act.

[OldFrog75]

Congratulations on buying your first boat. By the time you're ready to trade up to a larger one you will have a lot more information upon which to base your decision.

Have fun and good luck

[Andy73]

Originally Posted by Southerncowboyz

An update:

Going with a used hunter was the way to go. No education is as intense as baptism by fire. ....

Joe - Congratulations on the new boat!

No matter what steps you take, a day sailing is better than a day at work

[Andy73]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Fear is your friend, it keeps you cautious.
...
Ann

Hi Ann,

I counter with this

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Frank Herbert

Nothing wrong with recognizing fear, but all it should do is give you an opportunity to double check your preparations before acting.

[captain-pat]

Try to afford the captain to go with the boat. He could be on your side, a coach with good advice and if you get bored pulling lines, he could bring you a painkiller to sip while you watch sunset. But the best would be to hire an hostess also.
Have fun!

[sailorbychoice]

I used to own/operate an 88' wooden ketch and have experienced a few things. So here are my answers to your questions;


1. How often do sails need to be replaced? Is the in-mast a huge advantage?
This varies upon usage, but I have a foresail on my 1968 Columbia 26 that is original...

2. Steel or composite or glass?
again up to taste, but for bang for buck and repair-ability, go with glass and learn how to make minor repairs.


3. How often does the boat need to be lifted and painted?
There are ways around this- but usually is wise to pull the boat out of the water at least once per year, but if you are in the north (because of tide variances) many frugal sailors beach their boats at high tide and let the tide go out allowing the vessel to lay down on a nice sandy beach somewhere, they they scrape and paint one side, inspect for damage, check the zinks etc, then allow the boat to float up on in coming tide turn her around and do it again with the other side... so if you are sailing on a budget- there is one hint on how to save money, lots of little tricks like that.

4. I plan on cruising both coasts. What type of a budget should I plan for expenses other than provisions and slip fees?
I have never sailed the West Coast as a civilian, or crossed the Panama Canal so don't know anything about the expenses there, but it is quite possible to follow the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW) all along the East Coast from Massachusettsa to Florida; a trip I have made a fair number of times, if you study the ICW charts you can find anchorages dotted all along the East Coast where one doesn't need to pay for dockage. DOCKAGE will eat you up. The more "heavenly" the area the higher the dockage. There was one A-hole in Key West who plainly told me that if he could charge for the shadow from a boat he would. On the other hand, for the most part you can not ask for better neighbors than live-aboarders. They are almost always ready to lend a hand with a project on your boat for the promise of a cold drink or a hot meal!


5. The boat will stay at the Marina while I go back and forth to work, so what kind of concerns should I have for a boat being unattended for extended periods.
In nearly ten years of boat living I have only ever had one instance of someone coming aboard my boat and taking anything. If you are in a mariina the best security is getting to know those who live and play around you. Marina folk tend to keep an eye out for each other, other than that a couple simple locks really should do the trick. Other than that security should be about the same as if you were shore side and living in a house or apartment- if you're going to be away for any length of time tell a neighbor and ask for one eye to be kept on your boat. It won't ensure badies won't mess with your stuff but you can't live 100% safe, can you.


6. What type of security systems are out there?
For a little extra get something that makes noise and let someone know how to a. shut it off, and b. how to contact you.

7. What is the preferred method of communication? HF, satellite when making a crossing or being out of sight of land. I know this is a lot, but any help is appreciated.
For safety; ALWAYS let someone know that you are getting underway, what your projected route entails, and that you expect to contact them by ____... and ALWAYS contact your contact person when you say you will, so if you are over do by a fair amount they can act accordingly.
Make sure your radio works well, satelite is even cooler, cell phones reach out 3-4 miles and do amazingly well in most cases.
Hope I've helped.
Alan