How much training do you need to be a live aboard?

[Saxoncross]

Hi,

I am now retired and on a limited income. It is my intention to return to sailing after a very long break. Therefore, I feel I need some sailing instruction. What is the minimum that I would need? Is there any location that offers better/cheaper instruction than anywhere else?

Thanks in advance for all assistance!

[boatman61]

Just buy the boat and move aboard.. it'll come back to you quick enough.

[CSY Man]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Just buy the boat and move aboard.. it'll come back to you quick enough.

Yup, I concur.
Not rocket science.
I bought a boat years ago, had never sailed before or owned a boat before:
First thing I did was to buy a chart, then find the reefs and the rocks on the chart and make sure I stayed away from those.
Then we motored out in deep water, put a sail up, experimented with trim and angles and obeserved the boat move forward. Next day we put 2 sails up, played with the trim and angles, etc and figured out what makes the boat move in various directions. After several weeks I was up to having tried all 12 sails:
44’ Bill Tripp Bermuda Racer Yawl
(Good thing the boat was forgiving as I was a slow learner.)
Somebody at the dock asked me if I knew how to reef the sails?
Did not so he showed me how.
Long story short, sailed the Eastern Caribe and lived aboard for 3.5 years without hitting anything and without sinking, not rocket science but fun times.

[Woodland Hills]

Yes not rocket science. Just do it!

[aquanut]

As an older person you might not be comfortable with the 'just do it' answers. After all you did say you felt the need for instruction.
I'd recommend the ASA 101 basic keelboat class assuming you are in the USA. If you desire more, they have a full selection of classes to expand your knowledge.
There might be slight regional differences in cost but I'd recommend taking classes in the area you are going to sail.
If you are somewhere else in the world, hopefully someone else will chime in and actually answer your questions.

Good luck. It's a fun activity to take back up after retirement.

Also connect with local sailors and get out and practice. There are often folks looking for crew for day or longer sails. See the crew wanted section of this forum or try an app like 'Go Sailing' to make connections.

All of the above is from personal experience. I started sailing about 2.5 yrs ago at the age of 67.

[a64pilot]

We just bought our sailboat, never having been on a sailboat before.
Buy a book on sail trim maybe, although the simplest part of it is common sense, however like anything you can make it very complicated if you wish.
People have been going to sea for centuries before there was an ASA course.
However if money is no object, take the courses and Charter in some exotic location.
We didn’t cause first I wanted to spend the Charter money on a boat, and I figure Chartering in paradise to see if you want to live aboard would be like going on a Honeymoon to see what Marriage is like.
However we started out in a Marina with a car, and slowly cut the cord so to speak. We didn’t go cold turkey, we eased into it.

[Saxoncross]

Thanks for the encouragement! I am 66.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Saxoncross

Hi,

I am now retired and on a limited income. It is my intention to return to sailing after a very long break. Therefore, I feel I need some sailing instruction. What is the minimum that I would need? Is there any location that offers better/cheaper instruction than anywhere else?

Thanks in advance for all assistance!

Go to the local sailing club and volunteer as rail meat for a couple beer can races .
I would bet your sailing ability ,knowledge and skill set come back quite rapidly. My dads did after a 25 year break. He just finally quit sailing 2 years ago at age 92. Decided to try dirt living again.

[apirate]

Just go for it. No training is needed to sail.. read a book or two, watch a few videos and try it out. You’ll find it’s not difficult.

[thinwater]

The fact that you are cautious is good.


The basics, on a nice day, come back quickly. The fine points take more than a lifetime. Just take baby steps and don't push it. Learn one system (engine, docking, hoisting sails, dousing, reefing) at a time through concentrated repetition--you'll learn faster than just "going out." Sailing with others a few times is probably all you need.

[B23iL23]

My advice, like others, is to just do it. if you can get a boat and stick it on a mooring, you can then learn while onboard - Better than any book . Watch the Youtube videos if you want, learn from them, or just mess about and learn as you go.

[roverhi]

Got back into sailing after a 20 years pause in boat ownership at about your age. It was kind of like getting back on a bike after a long layoff. You know how to ride but it's not as easy as when you were 10. Things came back but took a bit of OJT for it to be second nature again. A sailing course wouldn't hurt but its time on the sea that really counts.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Saxoncross,

Welcome aboard CF. I was just going to answer your question: None. Wherever you are, you're living. Living aboard may cause you to make some adjustments, like how you handle really cold, stormy weather, but you'll work it out, as others have said. I like the bicycle analogy. By the time i got back on a bike, at about your age, after bilateral knee replacement surgery, I had not ridden one for perhaps 30 yrs. It did require practice to feel comfortably in control, but the basics had been installed as a child, and the random access memory served well. However, my balance is not as good now, as it was, and that seems to be permanent, now. I am 78 yrs. old.

Anyhow, enjoy. Taking pleasure in life is a good thing for people.

Ann

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Saxoncross, and aquanut.

[DEAN2140]

If you feel the need for instruction, you probably do. I don't know where you are located, but there are sailing schools that will take you from Basic Keel to Offshore Passage Making, if you desire. I was an instructor in the Bay Area at one them for 20 years, and had many clients in your age bracket that benefited greatly.