First boat?

[w32honu]

Originally Posted by cemdev

Unfortunately I'm at the beginning of my search, and still researching. It will be 6 months at the earliest before I'm even thinking of buying, so I'm of no help to a motivated seller at this time.

Fully understand...

No worries. Good luck with your search.

The cruising life has been good to us. Some seriously good times await you.

Cheers!!

[JustMurph]

Originally Posted by cemdev

Yeah, I've thought about this. I've had a sports car, which I traded in for a sedan within a year. It's not the same thing. Neither of the cats I'm looking at are sports cars. It's not like I'm buying an outremer or rapido or something. It's more about the quality of space at anchor. I'm really not going to enjoy a mono unless it's big. A 37ft cat seems more reasonable, easier to handle, and enjoyable than a 47ft mono for example.

Add that cats around the 40' size aren't that hard to handle. With some practice and experience under your belt you'll be all over it. 50' + is another story!

[cemdev]

Originally Posted by JustMurph

Add that cats around the 40' size aren't that hard to handle. With some practice and experience under your belt you'll be all over it. 50' + is another story!

Thanks, this is my line of thought as well. It's really just the insurance aspect at this point that's got me a little concerned, so I suppose speaking to insurance companies is my next step.

[NormanMartin]

Charter first. Buy a smaller suitable practice cruiser. Find out if you both lije the lifestyle enough.
My wife didn't. Whew. Dodged that bullet. You know the hideously expensive D-bullet.

[Jeannius]

Originally Posted by NormanMartin

Charter first. Buy a smaller suitable practice cruiser. Find out if you both lije the lifestyle enough.
My wife didn't. Whew. Dodged that bullet. You know the hideously expensive D-bullet.

My wife was ok on a boat for holidays but there was no way she was going to live aboard and go cruising. Then, we tried a spacious, comfortable catamaran. Off we went to the caribbean and then a circumnavigation. Starting small ALMOST stopped it happening.

[Cheyne]

We went with a small cat for our first. The Lagoon 380 is a great training wheels boat cat. It is still the smallest boat we have sailed on. We did our ASA courses all on a Jeanneau 49. The first time it healed over my wife gave a huge nope, but we had already started looking for a catamaran. Mind you this is all her idea. I had never set foot on a sail boat before we did our ASA course. We now have 4 seasons to the Bahamas and back to Virginia under our belts. We have also found that our 380 is way to small for our needs. It is just the two of us, but we have lots of guests in the Bahamas and like to entertain. So our 380 is going up for sale when we get back to Virginia and we are already on the hunt for something between 48 and 55ft.

Cheyne

[cemdev]

Originally Posted by Jeannius

My wife was ok on a boat for holidays but there was no way she was going to live aboard and go cruising. Then, we tried a spacious, comfortable catamaran. Off we went to the caribbean and then a circumnavigation. Starting small ALMOST stopped it happening.

Haha, yeah, I can easily see this.

[cemdev]

Yeah, the lagoon 380 is something I'm considering as well if I can find a good deal on one. I can absolutely see wanting something bigger after a few years, but I think the 37-40ft size cat will be a perfect compromise for the first boat, keeping it simple but having some decent living space. When you put it up for sale let me know.

[Heath68]

Originally Posted by cemdev

Hi,

I'm contemplating buying my first boat, and am considering the aventura 37 and nautitech open 40.

I sailed dinghies extensively as a kid, owned a laser and Hobie 16 and a couple of others. Have crewed a couple of times on larger monos for a week or two at a time, but have very limited experience on anything over 20 foot.

My heart is set on a cat. That said, there is part of me thinking it would be wiser to buy a cheaper used mono for a season first to get some experience.

Money's not really tight, but it sounds like I would have a hard time getting insurance on a new cat and I would definitely want that.

So, my question are.

1. Does it make sense to buy a sub $100K mono for 6-8 months to get experience?
2. Would that be enough experience to assist with getting insurance when I got a cat?
3. Are there any other 35-40ft cats I should be looking at? I want something that feels like sailing, not like a tank, has reasonable performance, that has decent salon/cockpit space and room for kitesurfing gear. Would be just 2 people. Not as concerned about berths, so narrow hulls would likely be a better option.
4. Are there any great places/times of year to find a good deal on mono I would only have a short while?

Currently in latam, so would buy anywhere between Southern USA and Panama.

Whatever I get, I'd hire an experienced skipper for the first week or two to get me up and running.

You have had 100x the experience of most new cat owners. The majority I have met simply bought a cat (40-50ft) had a few lessons and set off. We had 2 weeks training from zero past experience in any boat and it's the best thing we ever did. If you want a cat, get a cat and go for it.

[cemdev]

Nice. Glad it worked out for you and thanks for the encouragement!

Originally Posted by Heath68

You have had 100x the experience of most new cat owners. The majority I have met simply bought a cat (40-50ft) had a few lessons and set off. We had 2 weeks training from zero past experience in any boat and it's the best thing we ever did. If you want a cat, get a cat and go for it.

[cemdev]

So, I am unable to get insured on a nice new boat, unsurprisingly. Which means buying something cheaper for a year or two that I can self-insure to log some miles. I actually don't mind this, seems like a smarter move anyways.

So, now I'm looking at gemini 105M/MC/Legacies, but then this boat popped up. I love the lines. It's older than me though! Looks like it might be a great little starter boat if I put a bit of money into it. As I know nothing - I'd love some input - thoughts on this if I added some lithium and solar to it? Rigging is 10 years old, so might have to change that out. For bahamas, carribean loop? Bit of a compromise, but it looks like it would be fun to sail. Looks like it's been decently kept up.

https://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/d...746651588.html

[rob denney]

Originally Posted by cemdev

So, I am unable to get insured on a nice new boat, unsurprisingly. Which means buying something cheaper for a year or two that I can self-insure to log some miles. I actually don't mind this, seems like a smarter move anyways.

So, now I'm looking at gemini 105M/MC/Legacies, but then this boat popped up. I love the lines. It's older than me though! Looks like it might be a great little starter boat if I put a bit of money into it. As I know nothing - I'd love some input - thoughts on this if I added some lithium and solar to it? Rigging is 10 years old, so might have to change that out. For bahamas, carribean loop? Bit of a compromise, but it looks like it would be fun to sail. Looks like it's been decently kept up.

https://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/d...746651588.html

Lovely boat. My wife and I cruised one through the French canals, to greece, then back to the UK via the Bay of Biscay and a F8 gale. Headroom in the cabin is limited and they are a bit narrow. We dropped the sails, lifted the boards and rudders, threw a tyre on a rope over the bow and sat out the gale. A couple of waves over the top, but was perfectly safe. Much better performance than the Gemini's, etc as long as you are careful. Go for it.

[cemdev]

Originally Posted by rob denney

Lovely boat. My wife and I cruised one through the French canals, to greece, then back to the UK via the Bay of Biscay and a F8 gale. Headroom in the cabin is limited and they are a bit narrow. We dropped the sails, lifted the boards and rudders, threw a tyre on a rope over the bow and sat out the gale. A couple of waves over the top, but was perfectly safe. Much better performance than the Gemini's, etc as long as you are careful. Go for it.

Thanks Rob, coming from you that means an awful lot. Headroom was a concern, no standing up in the saloon? I'm 5' 9. Great to hear it can weather out something I hope to never be in. I have read about the posible tippiness, i think I can manage that. She just looks like she'll be fun to sail, and I'm far more drawn to her than a gemini tbh.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by cemdev

Hi,

I'm contemplating buying my first boat, and am considering the aventura 37 and nautitech open 40.

I sailed dinghies extensively as a kid, owned a laser and Hobie 16 and a couple of others. Have crewed a couple of times on larger monos for a week or two at a time, but have very limited experience on anything over 20 foot.

My heart is set on a cat. That said, there is part of me thinking it would be wiser to buy a cheaper used mono for a season first to get some experience.

Money's not really tight, but it sounds like I would have a hard time getting insurance on a new cat and I would definitely want that.

So, my question are.

1. Does it make sense to buy a sub $100K mono for 6-8 months to get experience?
2. Would that be enough experience to assist with getting insurance when I got a cat?
3. Are there any other 35-40ft cats I should be looking at? I want something that feels like sailing, not like a tank, has reasonable performance, that has decent salon/cockpit space and room for kitesurfing gear. Would be just 2 people. Not as concerned about berths, so narrow hulls would likely be a better option.
4. Are there any great places/times of year to find a good deal on mono I would only have a short while?

Currently in latam, so would buy anywhere between Southern USA and Panama.

Whatever I get, I'd hire an experienced skipper for the first week or two to get me up and running.

Buy the boat you want
Why buying something 'cheap' to 'learn on' but you don't really want? After you 'learned' what then? Try to sell and start all over again?
Sailing boats is an experience and intuitive process... Some people take to sailing and 90% boats are tied to a marina for ever...
Learning how to sail a yacht isn't exactly rocket science.. Old or new, small or bigger.
I am still learning after been around once...

Good luck

[VBsail]

Originally Posted by cemdev

So, I am unable to get insured on a nice new boat, unsurprisingly. Which means buying something cheaper for a year or two that I can self-insure to log some miles. I actually don't mind this, seems like a smarter move anyways.

So, now I'm looking at gemini 105M/MC/Legacies, but then this boat popped up. I love the lines. It's older than me though! Looks like it might be a great little starter boat if I put a bit of money into it. As I know nothing - I'd love some input - thoughts on this if I added some lithium and solar to it? Rigging is 10 years old, so might have to change that out. For bahamas, carribean loop? Bit of a compromise, but it looks like it would be fun to sail. Looks like it's been decently kept up.

https://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/d...746651588.html

The Iroquois is mine. I am 6'3" which is why the layout has been changed. The bridge deck is dinette sitting/lounging and sleeping space. Headroom is well over my head in the hulls. I made the bed about 90" long since I like to stretch out.