My first boat ... a Jeanneau 50?

[Magnawake]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Say what you like but almost all the top racing sailors started sailing on dinghy's.

Your exactly right. Most people did start out sailing dinghy's. I started on a Hobie Cat. The best was sailing on my friends 36 ft boat. Then windsurfing was even the funnest of all. The smaller, seems like the funner. However, if you want a smooth ride and dont want to spend all the time living sideways on a heel, why not go comfortable. My wife didnt want to sail at all. Plus all the working I used to do was 12 hrs/ day, 6 days/wk. I was doomed to be a dock Queen no matter what I bought. So thats how I ended up with a 43 Hatteras MY. Now my schedule has gotten slower, so I will be looking to trade to a 40-45 ft blow boat. We spent the winter in the Keys and went sailing with friends. My wife now wants a sail boat. Imagine that !!! In todays buyers market, its really hard to sale a boat. Thats why if you buy a boat then plan on keeping it for a long time. Boat trading is a sure way to lose lots of money. Hopefully I can sell my Hatteras without any troubles. Most of my sailing friends motor anyway and raise the sails 20% of the time being the wind is always wrong. My advise, is buy the boat your feel like living onboard, then as raise the sails periodically. Of course, dont buy it then the next week head out across the ocean.