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How many young people (say 35 or under)out there

80K views 440 replies 321 participants last post by  stovebolt 
#1 ·
I'm curious how many of us there are out there, I'm 29 and have a 32.5 Irwin. I plan to go long term cruising in the carribean within the next three years and in my marina I have only meet one other under thirtyish sailboat owner. I'm in the Clearlake, Texas area, can ya'll give me a shout wherever you are?
Matt
 
#115 ·
Im 23 and am looking for a sailboat right now to learn, ive been wanting to sail for a LONG time, jst never had any money to do it, but now out of college i wanna learn, glad to hear that there are some young people on the site too! haha but we all know that the older you get the wiser you are!
 
#116 ·
Funny you say that... When my wife and I got married we went to Maui and meet this older couple on one of those America's Cup boat rides and we mentioned we would like to own a sail boat one day... (blah, blah, blah) and they really pushed us almost to the point of challenging us to just buy one they basically said it does not matter what it looks like, if you like it get it and don't wait, don't make excuses, it will make you happy and you will figure out a way to pay for it if you really want it and enjoy it.

Turns out they were spot on. Unfortunately it took us another 8yrs to get enough cash together & but we both love the boat!
 
#119 · (Edited)
I'm 24 and just got my first boat- a 1974 Catalina 22 which I sailed for the first time last weekend, after working on it for a month or so. It only cost $800, and I'm probably $2000 into it now that it's in safe sailable condition.

When I got married 2 years ago my wife and I planned to go sailing in the San Juan islands for our honeymoon, but couldn't afford to buy a boat so we did a road trip on the Olympic peninsula instead. Now that we've graduated from college and have more money and time, I'm hoping to trailer my C22 1,000 miles north and finally do our dream honeymoon!

I was surprised to find that there's almost no young people into sailing, but the older people are very knowledgeable, helpful, and excited to pass along their knowledge to an interested younger person. I can't imagine why sailing isn't more popular- it can be fairly cheap and tons of fun.

I've always wanted to sail- I grew up powerboating and loved to be on the water, but I hate the noise, expense, and unreliability of gasoline engines and couldn't wait for the engine to turn off! Now I have a boat without a gas motor at all but 4 redundant drive systems: sailing, electric trolling motor, rowing, and calling a towing service on VHF!
 
#120 ·
I'm 36 and in Washington, DC. I'm shopping for my first boat.

This is a very interesting thread. I have a few thoughts not already mentioned here about why there aren't more young sailors. If you didn't grow up sailing, it can be pretty intimidating. I grew up in a generation where most of our parents were divorced - maybe that's a big reason why fewer of us have sailing experience. Probably very few of you learned how to sail as a kid from your mom.

I definitely see many more younger people with power boats. Motor boats have a much shorter learning curve, which might make them more attractive to the inexperienced. It looks like a car on the water, and a car is a familiar thing.

I didn't get on a sailboat until I moved here and a family friend in Annapolis took me out on his boat. Although I've been on plenty of power boats, I never much cared for them - loud and smelly. I'm more the hiker than speedracer type. Never really crossed my mind that sailing would be for me. However, I loved - loved sailing. It's taken me a few years to get serious about learning and take lessons, but now I regretted that I waited even that long.

Another thing no one has mentioned. Young sailors are rare, young women sailors are rarer. I sail with my girlfriend and I'll tell you that two young women alone in a sailboat - we get stared at a lot. While I see plenty of male-only boats, I rarely see all-female boat crews. Actually, I've never seen one.
 
#122 · (Edited)
I'm 20 turning 21 and I don't have a sailboat, yet. It's my dream to sail across the atlantic after graduation and around the world before I turn 25. I've known many people who dream of doing amazing things, but never try to achieve them. I don't want to be like that. I want to set sail and see the world.

One reason that young people don't go sailing probably has to do with how this country is career and money oriented. As a student at a prestigious institution, I know the pressures that are applied to students to focus on nothing more than their GPA and resume, leaving little room for dreaming of the wide open ocean. After college, money becomes the objective. Rarely does anyone stop to think about the value that they get out of that money. For me a 20,000$ sailboat would be far more valuable than a 350,000 home. Which one gives you the most life experience.
 
#124 ·
Hey frree2sail,
I'm 29 and would liked to have started after this lifestyle at about your age. You never know what the future has to offer so do what u want, when u want. Anybody can do these things (no matter the age, the kids, the wife, or ex-wife as it may be for some or most????) its just most don't. Go for it.
I don't have to long before I'm finnaly out there.
Good luck and just go for it.
 
#126 ·
I am 32 and have been sailing on and off for 8 years. I have always been fascinated by sailboats but growing up in the middle of farm country I never was around them. I took a sailing course out of college and bought a san juan 21 and sailed it for a couple of years before I bought a power boat. Last year I sold the power boat and bought a Santanna 20.

I would like a bigger boat but dont want the hassles of owning one. This boat suits my needs for now.
 
#127 ·
I found that other then the expense of everything being larger the bigger boats are actually easier!

I think your on to something Free.. In this economy I can't see how it would hurt you to take some time off (other then the resume gap) and its not as hard to move to a more restricted life style now as it may be after you start getting serious extra cash in you pockets. Do what you want while you can as once folks get married and kids start coming many folks trade their desire for adventure for the idea of stability & their lives are easily lost to their kids. We are trying to balance that as I figure the kids are going to enjoy what ever they grow up around so we each have some activity that's important to us, while doing kid activities, and trying to spend time as an overall family. Its hard..

Personally I would suggest working for a few years, keep your expenses minimal and then go out on your adventure, it will give you some time to see what a grown up life may turn into and while your gone you can reflect on what may really make you happy?
 
#129 ·
I just turned 31 this May and this is my third season with my 36' Dickerson ketch - she is from 1963, and wooden, so most of the conversations about her involve my jokes that "I hope she is still floating", but it's been a blast so far. I am spending the time to do a lot of the work myself, but here in Maine we got 11.5 inches of rain in June (avg is 3)... so needless to say it took awhile to get all the varnishing done this year (outside at the yard). Truth be told, the work is almost as fun as the sailing, if you have the right attitude. Doesn't make getting up in the morning to head to the boat yard any easier, but it could be much worse.

As to the limited number of young people sailing these days - I do think there are a lot of people who just don't realize how cheap it can be. With this economy, I'm seeing plenty of boats for a $1000~$2000 that are in good shape, often trailerable (or with trailer!), and ready to sail - pocket cruisers, day sailers, and even coastal cruisers, you name it. It can be done cheap if you have the patience to look for the deals.

Around here one of the major problems is getting a mooring - there are waiting lists between 5 and 10 years long in most towns, and renting at a marina is highway robbery. Another reason to get a trailerable, I guess.

When I do it again I'll probably go smaller (and very probably not wooden!).. but I had to make the mistake once in my life so I would know better in the future :D
 
#132 · (Edited)
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but this is a great thread. I'm 25, about to turn 26, and I just bought my first boat, a Gulfstar 37. I'll be living aboard starting next month.

I think I went about this whole adventure backwards from most people. I started dreaming about megayachts, saying "someday I'll have one of those". Then I realized, if I have a multi-million dollar megayacht, why have a house? Just live on it. My daydreams led to me to real-life used boat prices, and I discovered powerboats as big as a house for under a million dollars... I thought "that's achievable in the not too distant future!" Then I dug deeper... I found nice boats plenty large enough to live on for under $100k. I was already considering buying a house for more than that. At this point I started seriously considering living on a boat now, instead of it being a dream for the future. Then I saw the price of fuel. Instantly, I switched to looking at sail boats. Then I got a reality check in the difference between what a bank will loan you for a house vs a boat, and started downsizing my plans. Then I took a sailing class -- my first trip aboard a sailboat ever -- and I instantly fell in love with sailing, as I suspected I would. Then I bought a boat. Here I am, awaiting closing on my first boat.

I think a lot of the conjecture about why young people aren't into sailing is true -- they just don't get the attraction of doing without the TV and video games -- but also finding financing is really hard. I graduated from college with huge debt, and the boat about doubles it. I talked to a lot of banks where they said "you're young, and you've never bought anything big, and you have a lot of debt, so we're going to deny you even though you have a perfect credit rating". By "big" they mean a house. My car apparently doesn't count. Yet I got approved for $250k for a house loan. Everything is stacked in favor of most young people choosing a life on the hard.

Edit: In a fit of nostalgia, I just went on Yachtworld and looked for powerboats in the $100k range, and I actually found the listing for the boat that made me switch from "dream" to "do it now", apparently it is still for sale. I'd still say that boat would make a fantastic liveaboard.
 
#133 ·
rmeador, way to go with the boat. Its a s*@t ton of work but worth ever cent.
I am now living aboard and sailing my boat near every weekend and have about a year before I can take off on my first of hopefully many six to nine month cruises. Then maybe longer ones. All i can say is read, read, read all you can on what you are wanting to do and take what you want from the ones you agree with. Screw the rest.

Good luck
 
#135 ·
And another.. 33 here, with a 24 foot racer undergoing a refit and resto.

Will be shopping for a cruiser in the mid 30 to low 40ft range next year. Ideally I'd love them to be slip mates and I can sail the Farr while I live aboard the cruiser and prep her for extended cruising in 5 years or so.

More expensive to maintain and slip 2 boats, yes.. but still cheaper overall than rent/mortgage, I'll have a relatively cheap boat to sail in the meantime, and the 24 footer will serve as a nice infusion into the cruising kitty towards the end.
 
#138 ·
This is a great thread and I am glad Rmeador has resurrected it.....

Best of luck Rmeador with the boat, and getting out there and living the dream. It takes real balls in our 'modern' society to deviate from the norm and do something apparently as radical as living on a boat.......

My wife and I are also youngish compared to what is now 'normal' amongst sailing and in particular cruising folk. We have both just entered our 30s, and have been sailing for most of our twenties.......
 
#139 ·
Hi there.

Im 30 and have been in the market for a Blue Water cruiser for the past 2 years. I am taking my time and have been chartering a lot in between. I grew up sailing and just in the last few years have resurrected my interest with a lot of course work and piggybanking.

I am split between a Hans Christian 33 and a Baba 35. Hopefully this Jan will be the last Charter I will be doing on with someone else's boat.

Fair winds!
 
#141 ·
Hey All,
I'm am 23, and have been cruising on an off since the age of 20. Last winter my girlfriend and I sailed my 30' 1973 Pearson from Maine to the Abacos, Bahamas. We ended up living on the boat for six months and picking up a cat on about month two. Eventually we ran low on funds and traded the boat for an SUV in Florida and drove back north with all of our belongings.
It was a fantastic trip, but it made us realize how few young cruisers there are in the world today. All together, we met four other cruisers about our age - 2 were a brother and sister from Maine (whom we had never met before the trip) on a what I think was a 28' Albin Vega racing boat from the 80's, one was a 27 year old out of Maryland on a 28' Cheoy Lee, and the last one was a 24 year old out with his father from New York on a 35' ketch.

I think the greatest inhibitors to cruising is the amount of preparation involved in doing an extended trip on a sailboat (including working on a boat and accumulating enough money), and the time required to do it. Rather than "regular travel" where you just have to buy a couple airline tickets and book a hostel, cruising requires a fairly expensive boat that needs to be outfitted with many expensive parts. Also, most young people don't even know that cruising is an option available to them. The only young cruisers who get publicity are those who circumnavigate, which is honestly a completely different kind of cruising than what most people would ever want to do.
 
#143 ·
I think people make it too much about the boat and not about the sailing. In other words, as seen in another thread, a dude found a C22 for $250 that will probably catch wind and go with very little work. Done! You're sailing and having a blast for the cost of an XBox360.

You can always find a crappy-yet-sailable boat and just get out and have fun. Instead people obsess too much over trying to find a perfect boat for too much money, or spend too much money trying to perfect a crappy boat instead of sailing it. My C27 was seriously crappy when I got it - now it's a little less crappy - and it's been fun since day one!

Just find something and go sailing!
 
#150 · (Edited)
I think people make it too much about the boat and not about the sailing. In other words, as seen in another thread, a dude found a C22 for $250 that will probably catch wind and go with very little work. Done! You're sailing and having a blast for the cost of an XBox360.
I love this concept, and I'm mostly following it but it hasn't been quite so easy and cheap for me. My $800 C22 appeared to be in good shape (a year ago when I was 24), but after learning more, I decided it needed a year of work and thousands in materials just to be safe to sail.

It did "catch the wind and sail" but it was a sinking and/or demasting waiting to happen with major neglect and missing parts all hidden by a nice-ish paint job and clean-ish teak.

I'm mostly done now and cruising it with my wife- it was a great learning experience but not quite the "cruising sailboat for the cost of a used laptop" that I hoped it would be. Perhaps for the cost of a new laptop...

I certainly have much less money in my entire cruising boat than many cruisers spent on their dinghy- or perhaps even just the motor on their dinghy.
 
#144 ·
Bang on, SmackDaddy. I got my Javelin with a trailer for $250 in ready-to-sail condition. She ain't gonna win any beauty contests, or races for that matter, but the perfect boat for the rookie sailor is the one that's waiting in his driveway for him when he wakes up on Saturday morning.
 
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