Welcome from Alaska

[Alaska JD]

My wife and I are brand new to sailing. Last winter we flew to BVI and did the ASA classes up through bare boat chartering and since have chartered several times in BVI and San Juan Islands. - We love it. Our plan is to buy a sailboat in the next 2 years and get a bunch more practice before retiering onto a sailboat and heading to wherever our hearts lead in about 4 years. My initial question to the forum is this. There seem to be two basic classes of boats - production boats and those that cost about twice as much and are often identified as fit for "Off shore" crusing. I've read enough to know that some people circumnavigate in little more than a wash tub, but if a person bought a new boat (production or the high price spread) is the price equalized in upkeep and maintenance or basic resale value? - Still so much to learn

[James S]

Hey Alaska DJ...Welcome to the forum.
I'm also from Fairbanks...Small Tracks neck of the woods.
I haven’t lived there for years but my mom and dad and sisters are still there.
Class of 77 from West Valley if you're an ole' timer!

[Ashoreschool]

Welcome to the forum. The easy way to find the answer is to go to Yachtworld.com and plug in the boat(s) you are looking at and compare those prices to a similar new model.

Keep in mind a new boat won't be a maintenance free boat, and being new won't guarantee a trouble free purchase experience. Also remember unlike a passenger car or house, most boats under 10 years old have limited wear and tear. Most have auxiliary engines with under 1000 hours, and show a high pride of ownership.

Keep reading this forum, you'll find lots of suggestions and many points of view. Suggest you type in a specific brand of boat your interested in, in the "search" field and see what others have said.

Also go to Sailboatowners.com and read reviews by ACTUAL owners, many times these are better than posts from "a-guy-who-knew-a-guy-who-had-a-friend-with-one"
Good luck with your dreams

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and Welcome aboard!
Ashoreschool is giving some great advice. There is one link and one book recommendation just after my signature. Also is: Mahina Expedition - Offshore Cruising Instruction
Good luck in finding all the right answers and welcome to sailing. You'll see that some production boats are also recommended as off shore cruisers. Glad to have you here.
regards,

[ragdoll]

Alaska JD, Welcome,
I lived in Fairbanks for about 30 years, a while back. I now live on my boat out of Valdez, getting it ready to head for points unknown next summer. If you get to Valdez look me up. The harbor master's office knows where I am. It all boils down to how much confort you gotta have and how big a pain you think it is to maintain it, lotta maintenance, but you get to stay home and do the work!
Ron Lawrence

[Alaska JD]

We're going to be on the big island near Kona for a couple of weeks in January. We're hoping there might be a charter operator willing to allow us a couple of day sails out of Kona. Is there anyone you'd recommend in either Kona or Hilo?