Tips for the Novice Sailor

[Tashtego]

Lifejacket, Go for it! Set aside a couple of hundred bucks for tools. You can find tool lists in several books. In my opinion the very best book for you to read is Beth Leonard's "The Voyager's Handbook." It is a comprehensive look at cruising in a sailboat by a woman who (along with her husband Evans Starzinger) has cruised many thousands of miles in many parts of the world. I also like John Vigor's "The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat." Lots of good insights. Before you take off, make sure you know how everything works. Take everything apart except, perhaps, the engine then put it back together again. You need to know how to change an impeller, how to check that cooling water is flowing, how the winches work and how to lubricate them, how the furler works and how to lubricate it, etc., etc., etc. Once you are a mile or two out and the engine overheats or a winch won't lock and you can't raise (or lower) a sail you need to know what's wrong and how to fix it because there are no mechanics out there but you. I think the Cat30 add looks very good but you must get a survey because your surveyor knows where to look for what problems. He's an expert (or better be). Talk to him alone and let him know you want it "warts and all" and that you'd like his estimate of the cost of any major repair. Let him know you want first class estimates not bargain basement prices. If there are major issues take their costs off the asking price when you make your offer and explain why to the seller. When I bought my last boat it had a collapsed mast step and the owner had to knock $3000 off the price for the repair.

[Boracay]

On surveyors - some will take a quick look at a boat and tell you if it's worth a proper survey. Do check that the surveyor is accredited with your proposed insurance companies and that he's young enough to be still round in 5 or 10 years time.

The book "Inspecting the Aging Sailboat" has been recommended on this Forum for those buying an older boat, though I have not read it myself.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Buy one boat...get it right the first time ! You will lose too much money buying small then trading up.

Buy the smallest boat you will be comfortable with. Maintenance costs are exponential with each added foot.

We had a 37' boat for fifteen years and never once were turned away from a marina or found an anchorage too tight. Now with a 43' it is not uncommon to be turned away or find an ICW anchorage too tight.

I would say it depends on how you do it. You will lose a lot less money learning which boat meets your needs on a small boat, than going all out on the big one and finding you just made a mistake.

And I have always at least broke even on trading a small boat, the secret is not to pay too much to begin with. And they are pretty liquid on the market, a few thousand is in most peoples budget.

As long as you keep the boat up, and paid a fair price, you should be able to sell it for about the same.

[sailcruiser]

Originally Posted by Boracay

On surveyors - some will take a quick look at a boat and tell you if it's worth a proper survey. Do check that the surveyor is accredited with your proposed insurance companies and that he's young enough to be still round in 5 or 10 years time.

The book "Inspecting the Aging Sailboat" has been recommended on this Forum for those buying an older boat, though I have not read it myself.

Or better yetDon Casey's Complete illustrated Sailboat Maintenance and Repair which has several small books combined. Your local library probably has this book of at least the smaller one Boracay mentions. It's worth the $37. I have it and have used it. Good stuff written to the layman. SC

[chuckr]

lifejacket -- take a look at our cost breakdown and you will see what our boat expenses are and we bought SoulMates new in '03 -- so take it from there --

as for books - Nigel Calder is the standard period - the rest are nice but Nigel is the man for books on how to keep your boat afloat and running -
and do not underestimate how hard it is to repair - just had a couple come in the bay who were here a few days ago and thought they had their engine fixed - it failed 2 days out and they sailed back in - they have are very experienced with over 10 years out, taken the boat across the atlantic and back, circum the carib and now headed into the pacific so they know what they are doing - and they are having trouble and need a mechanic to fix their issue -

just our thoughts
chuck patty and svsoulmates
on the hook portobelo panama

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by lifejacket1981

Wow that's so ironic.. My girl friend and me decided to name the boat I get "Rose Colored Glasses" thanks must be meant to be.... At least worth a much closer look I plan to have a professional look at it for 12 dollars a foot, does that sound reasonable?

In for a penny, in for a pound! Don't waste your time on a "professional" unless that professional is a certified, experienced marine surveyor. If he or she won't go up the mast (many won't), at least hand them binoculars so that rigging can be inspected.

A "professional" could be just about anything. A certified survey for my 31' boat was around $800 and that didn't include the cost of the haulout.

What a really knowledgeable, picky friend can do is rule out boats before you get to the expense of a survey. Your insurance company may well require a certified survey anyway.

Surveyors WILL find things wrong. You just have to sort out if they're deal-breakers or not. The hull separating from the deck would be very bad. So would some other things.

[rpollitt]

What is the average cost of a haul out in south florida?