Sailboat Buying Considerations

[Whaubner]

I think you have a pretty solid plan.

Like many other folks we started a similar journey. the boat show">Annapolis boat show is a great place to see what the market is currently offering. Sail on as many boats as you can to see what you like and don't like. Classes, charters, friends are all pretty cheap ways to see what works and what doesn't. Also a good way to see if a Cat offers what you are looking for.

For years we sailed full time on a friends Freedom 32 coastal cruising, best sailing value I have ever had.

Our first boat was a Hunter 336, our 2nd was a Hunter 410. Production costal cruisers give you a lot of amenities for your buck. The hunter 410 was a great boat to sail and pretty comfortable. It didn't have a generator or a water maker but plenty of water and house batteries to keep things going. It also had A/C so when you get to many rainy foggy days pull into a dock and turn On the AC. While both boats were great, they were not the boat we would take for extended offshore cruising. ( although, many have done exactly that)

I wouldn't start outfitting the boat with world cruising gear till ya ready to go and know you have the right boat. For example our current boat we don't have a water maker. However as we increase our offshore trips and remote locations we know we will add one. But for the sailing we currently do it is not required and probably won't be used very often, and would be another system to maintain. Then we we do go on extended trips we would be starting with a ten year old water maker.

As we have grown in experience our boats have also grown. This past summer we competed in the Marion Bermuda race, I believe there is a similar Annapolis to Bermuda. While we can debate if the US sailing rules are overkill, I did appreciate the structured approach to looking at mechanical, and safety gear, including storm sails and heavy weather sails. For us we used the race to get the boat ready for blue water sailing. We spent the good part of the year before getting the boat ready for the race. After completing the race and returning I feel the boat and us our another step better prepared for larger journeys.

Good luck and enjoy the adventure

[boatman61]

Best way.... you choose the exterior and sail plan etc...
She chose's the interior, galley, furnishings, layout etc.... same as the house more or less...

[denverd0n]

I will offer the counter-opinion on catamarans. Some people seem to think that they are a miracle cure for seasickness, since they don't heel as much as monos nor roll quite as much in some anchorages. All I can say is that, for my wife, she gets seasick much more easily on a catamaran than she ever does on a monohull. It's a different sort of motion, and it affects her more seriously.

That said, I think an ideal way of dipping your toe into the waters, so to speak, would be a captained charter on a catamaran in the BVI. If your wife isn't at least a little bit on-board after a trip like that then I can't imagine that ANYTHING is going to sway her.

[In Training]

I know this sounds crazy to everybody, but I used to get sea sick, car sick, plane sick, etc. Now I put the wrist bands on with the little dot that presses into your wrist. Less than $10 in the drugstore and they last for years.

Put them on the morning I am going out and I have not gotten sea sick since. If I start to feel a little squeamish, I just squeeze them and it goes away.

I know it is crazy but I have had problems with motion sickness since I was a kid and these solved the problem. No medication. I now enjoy cruises and I don't have to take the lowest cabin anymore to minimize the motion. Flying is nice instead of dreaded.