looking for my first boat - Page 2

vitor · #11 (**permalink**) 10-05-2009

The reason for a 56 mast is that i am about to buy a condo close to my house that has a dock and is in miami beach florida, and i believe that julia tuttle bridge clearence is 56, well this is not a last resort just would be nice to be close to the boat (3 blocks from my house) for repairs...Ive seen some beneteaus 42 CC mast cl 55ft 2002 not charter boat looks very clean a lots of upgrades,my concern is the reliability as a long passages not that i intend to do it very soon..

vitor · #12 (**permalink**) 10-06-2009

thank you Xort that is what i want to hear,as i said before is not a bug that a just got it is being a dream for 30 years at least.have lots of experience with power boat too , owner of various contenter boats for 15 years lots of fishing tournaments,have done many trips to Bimini,actually 4 years ago i crossed miami to bimini on a kitesurfing race 7 hours of sailing.

CapnMikel · #13 (**permalink**) 10-06-2009

Hi Vitor,
I've live on 2 different boats now for the last 5 years. Each were completely different; a 27' Catalina (as an investment- tripled my money) and now on a 35' Chris Craft center cockpit which is 43 years old.
With both I immediately had a few "on my next boat I'll have to add ____ to the list of 'MUST Haves'
Now on boats of the length you are talking about I'm pretty sure they'l mostly have these things. My point is, if nothing else, rent a boat for a week in the Keys for your next vacation.. you'll quickly learn a few of those "must haves" which you'll want on your new boat. It will, at least, give you some INValuable perspective when boat hunting.

jephotog · #14 (**permalink**) 10-06-2009

Mandolin player and kitesurfer, you might be an alright guy.

I still think you should by a smaller boat to sail while you figure out what exactly you want in a 40+ foot cruiser. Get a good deal on a small boat and it won't be too hard to sell at a slight loss with a lot of learning and sailing in the mean time. In the mean time you can take your time to study up on bigger boats and choose the right type and the right boat. I have never owned a boat bigger than 22 feet but have spent 20 years sailing off and on and racing other peoples boats, hanging out at the marina and reading tons of stuff on sailing. I would not know what kind of boat to choose in this range as I have never aspired to anything bigger than 38 feet. I have read plenty of stories of people haven taken on too much boat and not ever leave on their trip or running into too many issues to make the trip enjoyable. As Xort pointed out a newbie can make a good first go at sailing a big boat. He did however take 2 years to figure out which boat he wanted and still contemplates the compromises he had to make.

I am not sure of your location and setup but it does not make sense to me to limit your boat's draft or mast height just to have it a few blocks from your house, when the long term goal is to take cruise it long distances. I would opt to have my boat and condo on the other side of the bridge if that is where the sailing is to occur. I would rather spend 20 minutes driving to my boat than 1 hour motoring the boat to the sailing area. You will get more sailing in that way.

Walk the docks and look at the boats you like. Maybe spend weekends scoping out the marina and if you find an owner on his boat they will most likely be willing to show you around and talk to you all day long about their boats.

h16Sailor · #15 (**permalink**) 10-06-2009

Vitor,
call your local boat broker and tell them you've got 100k to invest in a sailboat this leaves you 60 k to fix it up your way. with your requirements they can put in a sailboat tomorrow, best of luck oh yea, with all you and your brother know a survey is a waste of money, just look it over yourself.

jephotog · #16 (**permalink**) 10-06-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by h16Sailor

Vitor,
call your local boat broker and tell them you've got 100k to invest in a sailboat, a survey is a waste of money, just look it over yourself.

I think this proves the zealots have chosen to ignore this thread. I doubt few would suggest a first time sailboat owner spend 100k on a boat without a survey or assume 60k could make up any deficits in an unserveyed boat.

vitor · #17 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009

Thanks for all the information. Im not going to jump and buy a boat next week,
i will sail other boats,i will continue to read and research about it, what i am trying to do is making a list of boats that would be good for my cruising plans Let me put these way:I will buy a boat 38 to 42 ft. I will go island hopping, and go offshore and probably long passages.One of my questions is would be wiser
getting some newer boat cruiser 2000 and up like benes and sail for 3,4,5,years around caribbean and than sell and get a boat that is more fit for longer cruiser like older sabre, passport,tartan (l980s) or go strait to the blue water, learning about it fixing it....

SpaceCoastSailor · #18 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by h16Sailor

Vitor,
call your local boat broker and tell them you've got 100k to invest in a sailboat this leaves you 60 k to fix it up your way. with your requirements they can put in a sailboat tomorrow, best of luck oh yea, with all you and your brother know a survey is a waste of money, just look it over yourself.

Nice.... are you always this helpful?