Hello from Mobile Bay / Gulf Coast

[coastwatcher]

Living in Daphne Alabama

Having been a powerboat guy most of my life with some experience sailingin the bahamas, We-wife has doubts have embarked to purchase a used 28-36 foot range sailboat. With limited budget and my having a good amount of mechanical and electrical skills are going for a older boat in need of light to moderate repairs. Hoping to have something and be sailing buy july or possibly sooner. my prospects to date are; islander 28- morgan 28-old pearson 32(which today inspected and will drop maybe) tartan 30- Heritage West Indies 36-catalina30. We want a boat which we can take to the keys and maybe as far as the Virgin islands eventually. any advice from such a well experienced group is welcome. My son is a crewmember on a 72 foot schooner and my brother also sails so we have some help.
thanks.

[Hud3]

Welcome aboard, coastwatcher! One resource here is the CF-specific Google search engine. It's in the small "Search" pull-down menu up top to the right. There's a lot of info in our archives, so wade in, and don't hesitate to ask questions along the way. Best of luck finding a great boat!

[coastwatcher]

THANK YOU, LOOKING FOWARD TO MANY HOURS OF SAILING AND WORKING ON THE VESSEL I CHOOSE.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Coastwatcher,
Welcome aboard! Of the boats you mentioned I like Pearsons, Tartans and Catalina 30s. Older Islanders are pretty good too but all depends on how the boats were cared for over the years. I too like older boats.
Kind regards,
JohnL

[Ocean Girl]

Coastwatcher,
welcome, I had a lot of fun finding my dream boat. This site helped me compare statistic like capsize ratio, motion comfort etc.
Sail Calculator Pro v3.53 - 2000+ boats

Don't forget to include your wife in the choosing, ask her what she'd like in a boat she will warm up to it a lot quicker, but I bet there are others here that can give better advice about that.

Erika

[coastwatcher]

I want to say thanks to all of you for valuable advice, I have been planning for years to return to the Gulfcoast and get a sailboat. My wife is also looking and we are trying to be honest in what we want and what we can afford.I found an older Columbia which I fell in love with her lines and size, however she would be needing a lot of manhours and refurbishment to be in pristine condition. But would be a beauty and could be sailed worldwide. I am at the point which will make a decison very hard being I know my limations both in money and boating experience. However some boats just feel right and it gets to be a gut tearing experience trying to make the right decision. I don't want to make a decision based on money alone then several months later find the boat is not right for us. So anyone who has gone thru this please let me know how it worked out.