which boats are good for open water cruising

[luisrequena]

well i'm i dive instructor form spain who now thinks that it would awsome to live in a sailboat and travel around the oceans stoping in nice islands and working in paradise. well till here it looks good, but i've got no idea of boats and i need some help. the first question is easy, what kind of sailboat is good for ocean cruising?, my plan is going from san diego to the pacific islands and beyond. i'm in a soe string, so i need to get a cheap and reliable boat. i;ve been checking boats in the craigslist.com and i saw some boats for a really cheap price but i don't think that any one of that kind can be ok for blue water.
i've got tons of questions and dubts. but i think for now it is the first and most importan question.
thanks to any one that takes his time to read it and maybe answer.

luis

[sailingdog]

A few questions:

First, what is your actual budget?

Second, what kind of sailing experience do you have?

The more relevant information you can provide, the better the chances of getting a decent answer.

I'd recommend you look at James Baldwin's boat list and pickup a copy of John Vigor's book, 20 Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere.

[camaraderie]

The blue water boat list is a sticky in this forum. Start there.

[luisrequena]

so my badget is 8000$ now, but i'm planing to get the boat after summer, and if every thing is ok i could spend more money, i saw very cheap boat in the craigslist for around 5000$ 7000$ but, they look ok to me but i do not know anything about buying a sailboat, so....
i just looking for a small and simple boat that can sail and live. i've got esperience in power boats never in sail boats, and i did a mariner course and a kind of costal skiper course but only theory, whether, part of the boats, some charts, etc... and aswell i'll try to crew in the next months.
the idea is start doing some costal crusing in october for the first for some months, maybe work and live in cavo san lucas, mexico for a while and then around december try to cross the pacific that i think is the perfect time to cross it.
sorry if it doesn't make much sense, i'm just planing all it.

[Mimsy]

My hat is off to you for being willing to cross an ocean with only 3 months sailing experience on an inexpensively outfitted boat.

Them's some huevos man.

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by luisrequena

... i;ve been checking boats in the craigslist.com and i saw some boats for a really cheap price but i don't think that any one of that kind can be ok for blue water....
luis

Luis,

Listen to your instinct! It's unlikely you'll find the boat you need (or, at least that you think you need) for the price you want on Craig's List.

As for what you need -- you need a boat on which to learn to sail. That is usually a very different boat than what a sailor needs for crossing the PAcific Ocean. One step at a time.

Welcome to Sailnet!