Looking for Help from Everyone hehe^^

[Barbeque]

Well, I guess to start off, My name is Chris I live in Maui, and I have about 10 years experience Working On the ocean, Ive been Sailing with the merchant Marines for a few years now and love the Sea. And I guess Long story short I have traveld alot, Backpacked alot been in and out of Ports, I am 24 years old and have so far done 41 countries. Started by working on my grandfathers yacht in Miami over the summers, Started with the Marine Academy at 16 and been working on the ocean ever since.

Well, I have saved up a descent amount of Money, and I want to buy a descent Sailboat and travel on my own time rather then be restricted to where my work takes me.

So I have budgeted 50k to purchase a Boat, I have just started the research and figure maybe 10k to get it rigged and ready to Sail.

I need advice on what to purchase though. Im looking for something Seaworthy (Oceangoing), At the very least 32 feet. Looking for 2 cabins, Will probly stick with something I can handle So probably just 1 mast. And I am looking for suggestions, someone suggested the 32 ft Catalina, Some others have suggested Catamarans, but there rather pricy and would take another year of hard saving to come up with the 125k minimum to buy one. Which would leave me bankrupt lol and have to work another year to save the cash to live off of while perusing around the Polynesians.

I am a Newbie when it comes to Sailing a sailboat though, I am used to large container ships, and ATB vessels, ive been in most of the worlds oceans, I have been through rough weather before, and I suppose on a large vessel its not so bad as compared to tiny Sailboat, but its something I really want to do, and this is all a little new for me. My Plan is to buy and set up my boat and I am going to hire 1-2 people to Race my boat in big race in Sanfransisco to Hawaii as my crash course in Sailing.

So what advice do you all have for a newbie starting out? What Should I buy? What do I need to look for in a good boat? Pointing me in a good direction would be greatly appreciated.

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by Barbeque

... My Plan is to buy and set up my boat and I am going to hire 1-2 people to Race my boat in big race in Sanfransisco to Hawaii as my crash course in Sailing.

So what advice do you all have for a newbie starting out? What Should I buy? What do I need to look for in a good boat? Pointing me in a good direction would be greatly appreciated.

My advice would be to take a different approach. A crash course in sailing, via a Transpac Race in a new-to-you 32 some-odd footer, is not a great way to learn to sail.

I would suggest getting a boat that you can learn to sail in and around the Hawaiin Islands. You could jump right up to the 32+ footer, or start a bit smaller then move up as you gain experience. The advantage to starting a bit smaller initially is that you will learn a lot about what you like and don't like in a sailboat, so when you move up you'll be much more educated and more likely to make the right choice for you.

Hopefully you'll hear from some folks that know your sailing grounds better, and will be able to offer suggestions about what boats might make sense.

P.S. Welcome to Sailnet!

[jephotog]

Go to the yacht club on Maui and try to get on with someone who races their boat. You can learn a lot for free by racing. As much as you know about the ocean you may need a year or more of study to learn about sailing before taking off across the Pacific. A Catalina IMO would be a poor choice for this kind of adventure.

Another option would be to get a small cheap boat and learn by cruising around the islands which is an adventure in itself as the waters interisland have some big wind and swells. Sailing there is not for the newbie or un-prepaired boat. If you had a boat you could probably find crew there, but doubt anyone would want to sail to SF with a newbie captain, especially since you would be going the wrong way. The sail to Hawaii is downhill, the ride back is a bash to windward.

[sailingdog]

I would recommend starting out by taking an ASA 101 type learn-to-sail course first...then working your way up from daysailing to coastal cruising to short bluewater passages and then finally up to trans-oceanic passages.

I would also point out that a Catalina 32 is a lousy choice as bluewater capable boats go. It is clearly a lightly built coastal cruiser.

Some boats that might make far more sense for you, and are far better suited to your purpose are:

Southern Cross 28/31/35—Note the 28 and 31 were used in solo circumnavigations by Donna Lange and Patricia Henry respectively.
Hallberg Rassy Monsun or Rasmus
Elizabethan 29/30/31
S&S 34, most recently used by Jessica Watson in her solo circumnavigation.
Various VDS designs.