The Search for the First Boat - long learning curves

[sailingdog]

Propane stove. Kind of a silly requirement, but I really detest alcohol stoves. It doesn't matter, since the only time we'd really use it is when we anchor out, and I can use my portable propane camp stove for that. Again, not a requirement, but a nice to have.

I think that a built-in, gimballed stove is probably a good investment. I've heard too many horror stories about injuries and fires caused by non-gimbaled, unsecured camping type stoves used aboard sailboats. Even in a quiet anchorage, all it takes is one idiot in a powerboat to topple the pot off the top of the stove or land the stove itself on the floor.

Wheel steering. Salingdog really surprised me when he challenged this one. He's absolutely right. There are advantages to tiller steering, particularly on a smaller boat! More room in the cockpit when at anchor (with the tiller raised), easier to move about under sail, one fewer thing to go wrong and require fixing, and better control of the boat (or so they say). Some beautiful extremely seaworthy boats have tiller steering: Westsail 32 and Southern Cross 31, for example. It just makes sense.

I think the sense of feedback you get with tiller steering is far better than you do, even on a good wheel setup. Wheel steering is also generally harder to put a windvane on, and the autopilots tend to be more expensive. You don't really need the massive leverage of a wheel-based steering system if the boat is properly designed and balanced. On my boat, the most effort I have to steer the boat is when it is under power, as the tiller then steers both the boat and the outboard motor. Under sail, I can generally steer with two fingers almost all the time. If you are having to fight the tiller and have a death grip on it to do so... it usually means that either you've got too much sail up, the sails aren't balanced or the sails are overpowered.... all of which can easily be fixed.. especially if you have a roller-furling headsail.

BTW, as much as I love the Triton, I think that you'd probably be better off in a slightly bigger boat. A 28' boat is awfully tight for four people. An Alberg 30 or Southern Cross 31 would give you a good deal more room, as well as a good turn of additional speed, while not being all that much more difficult to handle or much more expensive to own/maintain.

[Sequitur]

Originally Posted by sailaway21

The boat has not slid down the ways that can make a man happy with a wife who is unhappy about being cooped up in a boat.

That nails it perfectly.

The number one decision is to get a boat that the admiral will enjoy being in, or you will have to plan on sailing without her.

[PalmettoSailor]

Originally Posted by freddy4888

But until you do get the boat and sail her, spend time on her, work on her, etc., will you know for sure that you made the right decision. When I bought my first boat I did endless research before buying. After sailing her for a season, I learned more about what I wanted in a boat then from any research I could possibly have done.

Amen to that. Only your personal experience can define what makes the perfect boat for you.

I'm on my first sailboat and we benefited from lots of reading and researching on the internet and we found a boat that is perfect for us to learn on, comfortable for both of us as a weekend get away, and purchased for a price that I feel certain will not kill me to get out of. The more I learn the more I understand how fortunate our choice was.

That said, in one short season of sailing my current boat I learned far more about what to look for in my next boat than any amount of reading or research could offer.

[sailingdog]

One thing that Don Casey says in his book "Good Old Boat" is that generally, the first boat teaches one a lot about what one does and doesn't want in a boat, and that the second boat is often the one that is kept for years and years... after having learned what is important to them the first time around.

[jerelull]

Originally Posted by sailhog

Is this true? It seems to me that it would be a great deal of work, and if you paid someone else, it would be very expensive. Can someone else comment?
Sailhog

It depends on the boat. I recored half of Xan's deck in two working days, but it's dead flat and easy to replace. [I also replaced the main bulkhead (the one that holds the mast up) one weekend, as it was dead-simple and accessible.]

In general, though, I'd have to say that if you have moderate skills, it's really not that tough. Finishing the job -- making it look good -- is actually the tough part.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's new pages: web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI pages: homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

[captainmidnight]

I taught sailing for 10 years in the Seattle area. We started people out on J-24's so they could "learn to sail" then they graduated to Cat 36's for the advanced lessons. I often wondered since most only wanted to sail the 36's if they wouldn't have learned more and become more competent just starting straight on the 36's. If you buy a 28 get it all set up and then turn around to buy the 37 the wife wants......Maybe things would be simpler to start out on the 37 with a competent instructor till you're ready to go it alone. Some couples learn faster to begin with in separate classes.