Inspected the albion and so far as I could see no internal rust on the frames etc. There was a bit on the inside of the hatches and a couple of spots on
deck (paint coming off with maybe coin sized blotches of rust).
Engine on the albion appeared alright (unfortunately I don't really know what to look for) but I will of course be getting a
survey (there was a
survey on the albion done by someone else, showed
rudder needs
repair and has same hull thickness (3mm) all the way around).
I do have a
training plan sort of organised. I was going to get a berth at a local marina (in the
brisbane river) for a month or two to start with. Spend that time sailing with other people as much as possible, getting to know my boat/organising my office and
liveaboard setup and practising
docking as much as possible. After that i'm out to one of the
marinas in the bay which will mean i can start volunterring for races and taking the boat out for
sails in moreton bay (which is nicely protected and probably a good place to learn to sail). I thought I might get a couple of lessons/courses done as time/finances allow during that time as well.
Alot will depend on how the adams goes tommorrow of course. I'll check hull thickness then.
I know I should probablly spend the next few years learning to sail on trailor sailors and working my way up till I know if i feel most comfortable on a 35 or a 40 but I think given the and my situation it may not be best right now.
I figure with the
current economic climate, it's a great time to be
buying a boat. Not so much in 2 years time. In addition I'm getting a 2nd mortgage to fund the boat
purchase, the good news is that the rent from my apartment will cover the boat loan costs + some so i'll actually be making
money by moving onto a boat (thats with maintenance/insurance/marina
fees etc factored in).
And there is also the "go now" factor. I'm 27 years old and cause of my
work (home office) and a lucky property investment 5 years ago I can actually afford to go cruising the wild blue yonder... just as soon as i learn to sail. I'll still have to
work while doing so but between spending the next two years working 16 hour days sitting in front of my computer occasionally staring out my apartment window at the lovely brick wall view it has and working 16 hour days on a notebook computer lying in a hammock on the
deck of a nice cruiser in some secluded anchorage... i'm going with the secluded anchorage

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Tis not that i disagree with the notion that learning to sail on a 35 or 40 foot boat is not the best idea it's just that for me and my situation I think it actually does make the most sense.
ps:- Thansk for all the opinions/advice, still trying to absorb as much informatin as possible. Tis a big descision. Definately a good one though

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