Utterly new to sailing, am in UK, where do I start?

[JustinT]

Hi all

I am not sure where to post this but I'll try here.

I am about to buy a 28ft sailing yacht 1982.

I am utterly new to this, what do I need to do to get going? Can anyone also recommend a good book for this info?

Thank you.

Justin

[HeinSdL]

Hi Justin,


There have been quite a few discussions exactly on this topic spread around this forum and many other forums (or is it fora, fori? :-) ) so it might be most efficient to search around a bit first. The answer to your question is so broad that it would be hard even to start and once the answers start coming in, they will be cut n paste of earlier discussions.


Having said this, if you were to supply some more details (eg which boat, how you are planning to move it once you have bought it with little experience, etc) I am sure there might be some immediate, specific hints and tips coming your way, to prevent the worst outcome on day 1!

[carraigdog]

Hi Justin
My experience is limited, but I won't buy until I get a bit more sailing experience first, I would suggest you try and get to an RYA training centre in the UK and do a sailing "taster course" or, if you have time ? the Qualified crew certificate (or if you can afford it ? go to the Canaries and do it in better weather) You could also try and sail with some friends if you know anyone who has a boat. Also, start reading up on maintenance and mooring costs implications before you pull the trigger

[boatman61]

Hi Justin.. Welcome to CF.
First where are you sailing.. this is important as some areas are mainly mud and sand so no biggie if you hit bottom. Others however are strewn with rocks.. bad news coz if you hit them your in deep dodo.
Is it a single keel or two keel boat.. this is important because if you get caught out by the tide, on one you fall over, the other you put the kettle on and break out the Dundee Cake to have with your tea or coffee while you wait for the water to come back.
Do you know how to navigate???
If not go to the RYA site and find a recommended school in your area, you will also need a.vhf radio operators license.
Enjoy..

[JustinT]

thank you, that's a good place to start

it's a single keel boat on a mooring in Scotland. I'll use it like a caravan until I work out more about it all. I won't move it until I l know what I'm doing.

I've read up on maintenance and I know the cost of the mooring.

[HeinSdL]

Originally Posted by JustinT

I am about to buy a 28ft sailing yacht 1982.

Did you already buy the boat? I would wait and get a little bit of experience first. Even not moving it while you are figuring out what to do, using it as a caravan, brings issues: on a mooring (I'm assuming on a buoy?) in Scotland needs some awareness from yourself of what is going on. Even tucked away in a berth requires you to be reasonably OK with managing your floating home.

It would be a pity if you were kind of overtaken by issues trying to achieve something (like living the dream) and you in the end simply walk away from an unmitigated disaster. Never experiencing the real pleasure of being/living on a boat.

[Uricanejack]

Books by Tom Cuncliff are popular in the UK aimed st the RYA system and very readable.
Easily found used on line.

Living on a 28ft boat on a mooring in Scotland starting in January,
Where?
Hope it’s a very well sheltered spot.

I’m Not in Scotland anymore. I am familiar with the west coast having grown up there.
Over the last few years 3 Live aboard on moorings in my local harbour have been lost in the winter months.
Be careful and have a back up plan if the weather is bad.

RYA Competent or even better RYA Day skipper, books, shore based course, or on line course. And practical courses are all very good starting points.
The Scottish sailing centre on the Clyde at Cumbria, is very well reputed.
There are other RYA trading centres in Scotland.

[syPhilos]

Originally Posted by JustinT

I am about to buy a 28ft sailing yacht 1982.
/
it's a single keel boat on a mooring in Scotland. I'll use it like a caravan until I work out more about it all. I won't move it until I l know what I'm doing.
/
I've read up on maintenance and I know the cost of the mooring.

Hi Justin, and welcome!

I don't know if you've already bought the boat, but I also think it might be better to wait a litle. Using a boat like a caravan costs money too (and not just the mooring), and you could maybe use a little more experience to make sure you're not buying a boat with issues or one that turns out not to be a good fit.

Buying a boat that needs more work then expected can become very expensive very quickly ...

If she's already yours then never mind and congratulations

[tarian]

Hi , welcome , get yourself onto the RYA website and look at their books and also their courses that they run they are plenty of sailing schools around Scotland , that will give you competent crew and day Skippers courses and there are RYA ONLINE courses you can do at home and are brilliant for basic seamanship.
Then get out on the water and have fun , no better place to learn sailing than Scotland were you will get tidal ranges, swell, great safe anchorages and oceans to sail in, with the added bonus of Stunning scenery and in the Summer that added bonus of experience all the seasons in one Day.
Please Please do not listen to those that say don't or this is folly a can do attitude and happy heart will see you through. If you would like help or general info PM me

[Paul Kelly]

Hi Justin

Assuming you buy the boat, there are several very important basics you need to know and practice before you even get your sails up.

1. How will you get out to your boat on the mooring? Is it by dinghy with an outboard or will you be rowing a dingy? If you have an outboard is it reliable? If it fails can you easily row to your boat or the shore. The trip in a dinghy to a boat on a mooring and climbing from the dinghy into the boat, can be the most dangerous part of the whole exercise.

2. Once you have got onto your boat on your mooring, do you know how to tie a secure Knot that will secure your dinghy to the boat or the buoy. If not learn how to tie a bowline. It is secure, easy to tie, easy to undo and the most useful knot you can know.

3. How is your boat secured to the mooring? Can you cast off easily? Can you also pick up the mooring easily and on your own?

4. Does you 28 footer have an engine? When was it last serviced? Is it reliable? Do you know how to start it and stop it? Do you know what to do if your engine fails? If not, do a diesel engine course (assuming your engine is a diesel). If your engine fails and you cannot re-start it, do you know what to do? Does your boat have an anchor? Do you know how to drop your anchor and also how to raise it? Does the boat have a VHF radio? If not buy a handheld one at the very least. Do you know how to use a VHF and do you have a VHF Licence? If not do the training!

5. What’s the mobile phone reception like where your boat is moored? If it’s awful you definitely need a VHF radio.

6. Will you be sailing on your own or with others? If with others do you know what to do if someone falls overboard and how to recover them? If not, there’s lots online about that. Study it carefully. Hopefully you'll never use it. But if you don't know how, a friend could die.

7. Do you have any experience of boat handling? If not, before you even think about getting the sails up and assuming you are confident in picking up the mooring, drop your mooring and motor slowly round wherever you are and practice picking up your mooring again – and do it again and again so if it’s dark or the sea is lively, you are confident you can do that. And do all your manoeuvring slowly.

8. Finally, what’s your mooring location like? Are there rocks, eddies, tidal effects? Do you have a chart for your area? Or are you better getting a chart on your mobile phone (be careful, Digital charts can eat phone batteries). Study the area you are sailing in and talk to other local sailors, if you have any. Identify the safe areas and the hazards.

If you can master all that, then you are ready to get the sails up and learn how to use the wind to get your boat moving without an engine.

Do everything slowly and keep practising until it’s second nature. And accept that things will go wrong from time to time and learn from your mistakes. We all make them!

Good luck!

[jmschmidt]

First, move to a tropical climate, then buy a boat there. There are usually plenty for sale there and cheap.

[AmberSands]

I’d recommend the post from Tom Cunliffe. YouTube is great for tips.

[Handsoff]

In South Hampton, First Class Sailing school. Start with Competent Crew certificate. Don’t do it in the winter. Too cold.
Good luck.

[desodave]

The usual recommended books ( in N America) are by Don Casey. One is This Old Boat which I see is available in a revised edition, and the other (which I have ) is Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual. Both are available from Amazon and may be available as ebooks as well.

[SJFK]

Hello shipmate
Welcome to a world of fantastic experiences. It will test your resilience, your bank account and perhaps even your closest relationships. But at the end you come to appreciate what a privilege it is to own and maintain a boat.
Go to all the boat jumbles you can; speak to all the folk who are selling their own gear many of whom have come to the end of their sailing days and are trying to recoup some of the cost. The real salts will take the time to talk to you.
Join a sailing club and talk to folk, go on other boats to look at their issues and problems and hear how they overcome them. Enrol onto a boat maintenance course if you can.
Above all else complete a RYA Day Skipper course and progress from there.

Fair winds