New boat (I hope) and sailing blog!

[mglonnro]

I'm back!

A few years ago I spent some time on the forum when planning for my at-that-time-dream of buying a big Hanse yacht and crossing the Atlantic. Then came a few changes in both my personal and business life, and I had to put that dream on hold.

But just a few days ago, I'm happy to say, we put in an order for a new Hanse 388! Atlantic sailing has been substituted with the dream of sailing here closer to home with four children (I am the only one who has ever sailed before), and it will undoubtedly be quite exciting to see how it all pans out.

Since I like to write, I started a blog to share (funny? weird?) insights and thoughts about the boat and attempting to sail with a newly formed family. You are all very dearly and kindly invited to check it out: The Naked Sailor.

So. I'm back! What a wonderful thing that I (we) will soon be sailing again .

[James S]

Congratulations on the "Yacht" (good one haha)....Well written Blog .. thanks for sharing with us....

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by James S

Congratulations on the "Yacht" (good one haha)....Well written Blog .. thanks for sharing with us....

Thank you! And now I need to google what's the difference between a yacht and a boat. This is getting embarrassing!

[mglonnro]

A-ha!

A yacht is normally a larger and much more luxurious sea vessel than a boat. Tell the owner of a yacht that they have a boat and they are likely to take offense. Yachts are not generally used for commercial purposes, but are luxury recreational vessels. They can either be sailing yachts or power boat yachts.

There are a couple of different styles of yacht that can be differentiated: a regular yacht starts at about 34 feet, a mega yacht is more than 100 feet and a super yacht is any yacht that is longer than 200 feet.

Difference Between Yacht and Boat | Difference Between

[James S]

Originally Posted by mglonnro

Thank you! And now I need to google what's the difference between a yacht and a boat. This is getting embarrassing!

I'm with you... I believe the difference is price.. and thats relative.. its a bit like thinking of my wife as a queen.. to me (and thats all that matters) she is a queen..

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by James S

I'm with you... I believe the difference is price.. and thats relative.. its a bit like thinking of my wife as a queen.. to me (and thats all that matters) she is a queen..

Aww!

[Mrfish]

Originally Posted by mglonnro

Thank you! And now I need to google what's the difference between a yacht and a boat. This is getting embarrassing!

It's quite simple actually.

A yacht is your size boat and up.

Good luck on your adventures.

[Jaimesan]

Congratulations!

[Suijin]

You shoulda got the extra portlights and bimini lol. You can never have too much ventilation or sun protection. :P

Easy enough to add later though.

[B23iL23]

Congratulations. Great boat and like you I love the light, bright and open interiors. Like a modern apartment rather than a cave.

Like the other poster said you will need a bimini - need somewhere to get out of the sun for a break.

Enjoy it.

[SV Bacchus]

Love the blog, you are off to a great start. Nice boat, I really like your choice and agree with most options. I, like others, disagree on you not ordering the bimini, but don't worry, you will soon.. I also would have opted for an electric winch but probably for reasons that don't apply to you; I am 65!

Question: Do people really sail naked that far north? Brrrrrrr! Be sure to start explaining shrinkage now..

[Tillsbury]

Well done on taking that huge step! I remember the options list when I bought a new boat, horrific! You can often get discounts on the options, as they are very much the icing on the cake for the manufacturers. Or, of course, you can add things later on as and when you need them.

Like you, I wouldn't have thought a bimini nor electric winch were worthwhile, but having got them on our current (second-hand) boat I wouldn't be without them. Winches can never be too big nor too powerful, and at least one electric winch is a game-changer when short-handed.

Back when I first bought a 41-footer, bowthrusters were only for posers and much bigger boats. I realise that nowadays they're a lot more common, and I was intending to add one to this boat thinking that a boat in excess of 50 feet needs one, but in fact I've not really found the need. There are not so many marinas here, I suppose, and I have gigantic teak and steel rubrails in case of arguments with the piles :-) Regardless, if there were a budget overrun I would have foregone the bowthruster and gone for the electric winch and bimini.

But then we're all doing different things, which is part of the fun!

[Lihuedooley77]

congrats on a marvelous new boat !

You and your family should have an interesting and fun experience taking lessons as a family.

Grand and amazing adventures lie ahead.

[Juho]

Congratulations. There's plenty to see in the Turku archipelago. That's a good start. And the kids may love the idea of short passages and lots of time in the islands and marinas .

[mglonnro]

Wow, how nice to wake up to so many comments!

Dear thanks to all of you for your encouraging words and congratulations!

Regarding the bimini (3600 € ). I just think the climate over here in the Nordics is (or at least has been) so much cooler than elsewhere that people in general almost never have biminis here. I've been sailing here for maybe twenty years and I can't remember ever having had the feeling that "I have to get away from the sun".

But I do know that feeling! I have spent a lot of time in India and earlier this summer we went [motor] sailing in the Bahamas. It would have been absolutely awful without a bimini.

But we'll see. This summer, with temperatures staying put in the 28-30 degrees, was quite peculiar, and the few people having biminis were probably quite lucky they did.

Originally Posted by SV Bacchus

Question: Do people really sail naked that far north? Brrrrrrr! Be sure to start explaining shrinkage now..

YES, but we usually cover our private parts with _huge_ fenders. (Actually, I've never seen anyone sail naked but after choosing the blog name I did google and found some ... )