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What made you buy your boat?

5K views 46 replies 39 participants last post by  Tallswede 
#1 ·
I did a search and did not come with a thread about it.. so I thought I would ask: Why did you buy the boat you did?

In case anybody asks.. I am in the process of buying a shabby Sea Sprite 23. I adore full keels and classic looks. And this pocket cruiser has it in spades. However, it is only a stepping stone as I am looking further ahead to full time liveaboard/cruising on a larger boat.. so I am making the transition from a GP14 (racing/cruising dinghy) to a bigger boat in the hopes of not getting in over my head once I get my "big boat" (hopefully an alberg 37)

And I want to save this sprite.. it's solid but looks a lot worse for wear
 
#29 ·
What made you buy your boat?
Well, I was foolish and kids were growing up, I bought our first boat "Capri 14.2". My son and i sailed her hard. My wife kept staying from the boat after she learned that we often turtled the boat. I think she was on the boat just one time in the last 20 years. I still have the Capri and she is sitting in the warehouse for the last 5 years since I started sailed the keel boat. I have no reason to sail her, so she will sit.

I have not found any good reasons and the boat I really want to sail to the far away places. Without committing a full time sailing and staying on the boat, I can't justify buying one. While I am not using the boat, she is continue to deteriorate. Just go any marinas, there are so many boats that have never left the marina for years. If I buy one, I want to sail her hard.

Many buying a boat for many different reasons. My only reason to get a boat is to sail to the far away places. I enjoy mesh with the locals one port at a time. I don't like to use the word circumnavigate, but it will be close. Perhaps I will sail back to my birthplace.

I don't have a boat, but it does not mean I have to spend my life on Sailnet. Last years, I sailed more than 5,000 nm and the year before that I did about 3,500 nm. This year I expect I will log in about 6,500 nm. All these sea miles are coastal and off-shore. I served as first mate or captain and have learned a lot from others and experienced many rough water

What I am trying to say is you don't need to buy a boat to enjoy sailing.
Buying a boat is expensive and not an effective means to use your resources. But sailing other's boat is much less. Most of time you can get paid per Diem and your traveling expense too.

On the plus side, with you own boat, you can name you own boat, you can call the shot, you are a captain none the less, you can use the boat as a floating condo, you can motor around as your wish. You can spend every weekend with love ones on the boat. When you go to the Boat show, as you are boarding those mega yachts, the sale lady will ask you if you have a boat. You can say: Oh Yeah, we have been a boat owner for 10 years and looking for upgrade. .....LOL

Unfortunately, I don't have a boat, I can't do the above. Fortunately, those are not my objectives and not important for me.

Purchasing a boat is an emotional thing. With a clear and well defined objective, it will minimize the chance that the boat will become a burden later.

YMMV. :)
 
#30 ·
My wife and I agreed we wanted a larger boat but were going to wait until I retired. I love looking at boats and a 38 footer was for sale at our marina. I suggested we look at it just for the heck of it. Low and behold from the look on her face I could tell she was in love with it. Wasn't exactly what I had in mind for our next boat but after we discussed the pros and cons I too was sold. For us its a great choice.
 
#32 ·
My ex-wife did everything she could to keep me from sailing...
So you Could say, my ex-wife made me buy this boat...

For the record my present wife handed me the cash for my last boat... She was also insanely supportive of my crazy 1200 mile trip to sell the old boat, and get this one. Yes I married up nicely. That and her hobbies account for 2 to 3 times more budget than my sailing :)
 
#33 ·
RE: S/V Tangerine, 1979 C&C24

She is a fine vessel and you have something to be proud of for sure. I just love the lines on this boat and the Orange is fantastic. It was a good choice for your needs. Mine is a bit larger but still manageable and long as the current is slow and the wind. After I am off the dock its all good.

You did good picking up that boat.

S/V East Coast Lady
 
#35 ·
I like most people that have this sailing dream, something brought us all here. Some common thread. Mine was not to conquer the ocean or win all the PHFR races on the eastern seaboard. Mine was not to circle the globe in a small boat.
My goal was my freedom. I just turned 50 this year and I want my time.
I want to explore. I want to see places, to be challenged by the elements. I want to sleep in sometime. So, I began to read this and other sites about sailing and people that have made the transition from the rat-race.That's when I started researching what kind of boats sailors chose and why they chose them over the others. I thought " they cant all be wealthy" How can I enjoy this life style too?

That's when I put a plan together. "I will get one of the old boats hanging on to a mooring ball and petition the court to take Poisson". Then all I would have to do is bring it back to life. "hard work..."
the first step was to find one. it didn't take long before I found one in the local waters of Beaufort SC. "C&C30MK1 1981 model" Solid as a rock She was. just a little wet on the inside. With mold and dirt dobber nest everywhere.

1 year plan "Move to the cost"
5 year plan Get position of a free boat and learn to sail it
10 year plan downsize, sell off everything, Leave 5 to 6 month's each year.

It was my hope to find a free sailboat that would be able to handle short offshore hopes and big enough for my wife and I to cruse the eastern seaboard from the Chesapeake to St. Thomas, VI. I wanted:
1) Wheel Steering with auto steering
2) Pressure Water
3) good sail inventory
4) Stove
5) Head
6) 6' standing room
7) Strong Bones
She had all but a furling system and windless.

This past summer we put only 700 miles under her keel and I look forward to pushing harder this year to go harder and become with the boat. i hope to put 2500 miles on her this summer. I have worked on almost all systems to bring her back from the brink. I need to do some mast wiring yet. The steamer light don't work. other than that my water pump inlet hose on my yanmar is rubbing on the engine saddle wearing my hose out to the water pump. Not shure what to do there? I will have to move the engin over to stop this which will put the shaft out of align? I think she was a good choice at $2,500.00 bucks. and another 6 grand to bring her back. its fair to say i have been bitten. I will start sleeping with her this spring.:cool:

 
#36 · (Edited)
I had given up on trailer sailing (too many good weekends went by with my boat in the backyard) and rented a mooring at a boat club. This was on the Piscataqua River; saltwater leading to the mighty Atlantic; no more lake sailing for me!

I intended to keep the Capri 18 and the trailer, but only launch and retrieve once a year. I would get to enjoy the ocean and keep my maintenance and storage costs down. This was plan in November of 2011.

Well, January of 2012 I'm browsing YachtWorld (evil, evil people) and I see a Catalina 25 for sale an hour north of me asking $4,995. "That's nice," I think. "I'll go look at it when the weather warms up." I check next week (I can stop whenever I want, really) and now they're asking $4,200. So, I drive up that weekend to see why it is so cheap (you know the story, "the photo only shows the good side" or "it does have sails, but...") well, I'm still looking.

I managed to pick up the C25 for the proceeds of the C18 sale plus $350.

Then the work started. I had traded my well cared for 1988 boat with a 2002 engine for a near derelict 1982 with the original 1981 Evinrude. I was in the water on May 11, but didn't have the mast up until July 4th and didn't sail until mid September. Then I broke my foot (and broke my favorite sunglasses and lost my favorite hat) my first time out and had to take 2 more weeks off.

I only got out 2 more times before it was time to pull her for the season.

So the C25 cost me:
My old boat
$350
Thousands more to get her into shape
Pretty much a full season of sailing

But, this year I have a new (to me) Honda outboard and I'm building on last year's progress. Instead of looking at 8 expensive things I have to buy, I'm looking a few cool things I want to buy.

The cover is already off and I'm knocking things off my work list! :D

See you on the water,

Ken

P.S. The C25 was a good call, that C18 would have been lost in that busy river; the C25 bounces around enough!

Here's a photo I added after posting this; we'll see if it gets through:



sigh.

Well, here's link:

C-25 Gilford 08 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
 
#37 ·
It's a love story, no other way to explain it.

I'd had other boats before and sailed on many smaller and larger. I had settled on a boat in the 30ft range as a good compromise between room and cost. Some things that I wanted in my boat:

- Comfortable accommodation for 2 that could stretch to 4 for short period.
- Skeg hung rudder
- Diesel engine

things I preferred:
- un-pressurized alcohol stove
- manual pump water
- no water heater

The first time I laid eyes on b29.9 I fell in love. Something about the proportions, the curves, the classic lines struck me. There were a few to choose from on the east coast. So I set off searching for my boat.

But instead she found me.



 
#40 ·
I wanted something 28' to 30', with room for the 2 of us w/standing headroom, Tartan or Pearson, well equipped and sound. Found a P-30 that is loaded with equipment has deck fittings potted (no wet core) and inexpensive. Does need deck paint now and topside paint in a couple of years.
 
#44 ·
Something crazy to do in our retirement. LOL

The boat just kind of showed up, we bought her, and can't wait to head off into the sunset. Looking forward to many exciting days and nights!

I am really looking forward to learning All things mechanical and electrical. Always good to learn new tricks. :)
 
#45 ·
My first boat purchase was inspired by the Free Yacht Saga on Instructables.com. My brother and I were basically looking for something floating we could get as cheaply as possible, so we ended up with the 1984 Starwind 27 for $1,000.

Four years later, my girlfriend and I had a long list of things we had learned we wanted after spending every weekend on the Starwind. Mainly things like, a higher ceiling, a sink that isn't recessed under an overhand that causes you to hit your head, a refrigerator, etc. The whole list is here: Gimme Shelter: Our boat shopping wish list

Then my girlfriend just got trigger happy and insisted on buying the first boat we looked at, an O'day 34.

We'll see how it works out.
 
#47 ·
Well the boat we have now we bought from friends who moved up. We got it for what I think was a good price. Our little Hunter is easily trailerable and has a centerboard for getting into shallow water and launching at questionable ramps. It's pretty roomy inside for a little boat and should serve us well until we decide to move up, if we do. I like the way she looks and sails and I've set her up for single handing, still need to get a tiller pilot (On the list for this year).

Kevin
 
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