Live aboard- working on life long dream

[KMartin17]

I am following a life long dream. I am currently looking to buy a sailboat in the 40-60 thousand dollar price range. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of steel or fiberglass. I have also been trying to research draft depths for blue water sailing. Do boats with deeper drafts handle heavy seas better? Are there any advantages to a deep draft? I have heard that they are harder to manuever. I am new to sailing and have limited experience but have reached a crossroads in my life. To make this dream come true I need to do it this year. I have always wanted to live aboard a sailboat and travel the seas. Any suggestions or information you can provide will be appreciated. Thanks for your time and hope to see you on the water soon.

[Boatgearguy]

If you want a stout boat with reasonably shallow draft in your price range check into the Westsail 32. It'll take you anywhere. Lots of room below too

[tager]

The design of the keel is more important than the draft. Deep draft keels are usually fin keels with the ballast concentrated at the bottom. This makes your boat have a better righting moment for a given amount of ballast, it also makes the boat sail upwind better (usually). Long keels, like that of the westsail, tend to make the boat tougher (for striking objects) and less likely to catastrophically fail.

[oreo5665]

wow...I had never seen a Westsail 32...when you mentioned it I just looked it up what a nice boat!

[ECGP3]

Oreo - if you don't mind my curiosity, why can it only be this year? Are you an experienced sailor? I wish you all the luck and I have the same intentions as you. I look forward to hearing about your progress and hopefully we will both have success in sailing the world. Nice to see you on SN! I, myself, have had great difficulty in deciding on a vessel and a time frame due the complications of modern day life.