Hello from Sacramento, CA USA :D

[sonar920]

TL,DR - I'm a 26yo IT Consultant in California who plans to be living aboard a Catalina 30 within the next 12 months. I'm stoked, and look forward to getting to know everybody. The cruiser community is a special one, and I can't wait to join you out there.
____________

Hi!

I recently got the idea in me to live aboard a sailboat. I'm reading a few books, like the Essential Guide for Liveaboards and one about buying your first sailboat, I forget the name. I've never set foot on a sailboat. I've actually never been on a boat in the ocean before. Maybe a ferry when I was younger.

I'm going to pick up a Lazer start learning to sail this spring. I'm signing up with the ISPA and I'll be taking some classes with them as well as from the Coast Guard. In the meantime, I'll keep my eyes open for the right boat that I can live aboard and eventually cruise in. I've got my heart set on a Catalina 30. MkII if I find the right deal. Most likely it will be a MkI.

Luckily my good friend and roommate grew up sailing in the Boy Scouts and then Eagle Scouts. He grew up in Lazers, and spent some time solo-sailing J-boats around the BVIs when he was a teenager. He's stoked I'm doing this and can't wait to teach me everything he knows.

When I find the right deal on a Cat30, I'll be working on it somewhere local here. My roommate was helping me out the other night, playing devil's advocate with my new dream in life. He said instead of saving up to buy a boat that is fully outfitted, I should buy a boat with a sound hull, but needs an overhaul. I'm mechanically inclined and the thought of undertaking a project the size and scope of restoring a sailboat is very exciting. That way, I'd know every fastener, every through-hull fitting, every critical part of my boat is up-to-spec. I'll be very familiar with every system on the boat, and all of the equipment will be new. I figure that'll give me peace of mind, the best bang for my buck and a fun project to work on in 2011, with a whole new adventure starting at the end of it: Cruising.

Anyways, I'm rambling. That's the plan so far. Learn to sail, keep my eyes peeled for the right 30 to fix up and live aboard. Start cruising Spring/Summer 2012. An old friend of my mom's is already a liveaboard in the SF Bay, and is looking to transfer his slip late 2011. Since I was inspired to live aboard a sailboat, it seems like the Universe is pushing me towards it. Everything is signaling that this is the right move. I'm stoked.

I look forward to getting to know y'all, and learning a whole heckuva lot from you.

_ryan

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here and Lasers are a good way to learn. Pick up a copy of "Start Sailing Right!" and ask your friend about the maneuvers and terms in the book and have him explain them to you.
Catalina 30 is a good boat but you might find something equally as good if you do some looking around. Now is a buyers market and I think it will continue to be that way for awhile.
Check out some of the boats in the links after my signature and the book recommendation.
kind regards,

[Minggat]

Welcome aboard!!

This is a good place to find info, ideas and a friends. Hopefully good info, ideas and friends.

[Charlie]

Welcome aboard. Sounds like a pretty good dream to work into a reality. Catlaina 30's are nice boats but you might want to look at where you want to go with the boat in the future b/c a Cat 30 is limited to coastal cruising. Islander 36's are pretty cheap and capable of going aroudn the world with some extra work done to them.

[sonar920]

Hey guys! Thanks for the warm welcome. Funny thing, SkiprJohn, that Start Sailing Right! book is among the four books on sailing that my Grandma gave me for Christmas She and my Grandpa spent many years sailing US waterways with some scale battleships my Grandpa built. Did the Great Loop a time or two. Some currently enlisted and retired US Navy recently finished restoring the 36' USS Arizona he built.

Looking around, I've seen quite a few 30' boats that would suit my needs quite well. I'm looking at the Catalina, Hunter, Pearson and Ericson 30' boats currently. One of those with a seized engine would be ideal. If the boat comes with an Atomic 4 or other gas powerplant, I'll be swapping in one of the three cylinder diesels. I think the Universal M25 might be the way to go, as parts are still produced for those old Kubota blocks. Cheaply, as well, through tractor supply stores or one of my friends in Ag.

The Islander 36 definitely is nice. I like the looks of that boat, great salon. I'm hoping to end up with a boat as close to 30 feet as possible to keep slip and mooring fees on the low end of things. Coastal cruising is pretty much all I'm looking to do until I have a season or two under my belt. Once I've settled into living aboard the 30 footer, I'll be working towards being able to move into a larger boat.

Happy New Year everybody!