Top things to get someone started sailing.

[Lancer28]

The top things to get someone started sailing.

If there is anything I learned while getting started, it was the "what not to do" items that helped the most. However, allow me to talk about the obvious – classes. Take a keel boat and costal class with some navigation too. This is an interesting way to spend $400.00 and make sure you actually enjoy sailing before setting off on your adventure to the seven seas. Probably the most fatal thing I hear about is the guy who goes and buys a 35 foot yacht and then tosses off the mooring lines thinking he can learn on the way. The next most fatal thing is the guy who spends his wife’s hard earned money on a boat and then never uses it – either because he doesn’t know how to sail, is afraid of sailing / sinking it, or simply lost interest.

All too often there are boats rotting in drives, storage lots, and on the dock which are a prime example of this. The number one point I would make, is to start small. Buy a class to learn the USCG basics, then sail the school boats for a while to learn what you’d like in a similar small craft. Don’t go too far over 18 feet, as this reduces the chances you’ll be able to single hand it yourself while getting started. A boat with a keel is more stable and forgiving if you’re over trimming your sails in high wind and a boat without is more "tender", heeling over faster and being generally less forgiving of too much sail in too much wind.

Which boat to buy? Is this one good or not? What is a good beginner sailboat?

It can all be summed up very easily. Look through the papers, internet and ads for a small sailboat in your area. Ask the owner if he could take you for a sail on it before you buy it. If he says no, buyer beware! If he allows you to do so then you can be sure the thing actually floats. The very last thing you want to do with a first sailboat is buy a wreck and have to set off working on it before you can even sail it. This gives you a chance to see the sails up and running, how it is rigged, how the mast attaches, and most especially how it handles. You can learn more about a boat (good and bad) from the owner taking you for a sail than you ever could from any manual or internet site. Look for key things like how you will sit in it, whether or not all of the lines, sheets and tiller are all in reaching distance from the helmsman’s position, and how the sails "bend on" (attach to the boat).

Add points for reef points on the main, and other sails to choose from for the headsail, subtract for old rotten lines that will need to be replaced, and stay away from any boat that you’d have to spend more than 10% of the purchase price after you bought it to get it up to spec. The sails are like the engine of a sailboat, so make sure you won’t have to buy new ones for it as soon as you get it home. Every sailor known in the annals of history bought a boat, took it home to show the neighbors and wife, then spent the next three weeks cleaning, polishing, and adding items, but don’t go overboard just yet. View this boat as your stepping stone to the next level, unless you’re happy with a boat of this size.

This brings me to my next point. Not everyone will be as excited as you will be about your sailing hobby.

Finding a crew or helpers for even launching and retrieving your new baby will sometimes be difficult. Sailing can be a lonely hobby until you start networking and get many friends with the same interests. This is another reason to start small and move up. Small boats launch easy, have much easier sails and handling, and you learn from the responsiveness. I have enjoyed my small sailboats more often than my large ones probably with a factor of 5:1. Out of an entire summer living aboard a Beneteau 323 and a Lancer 28, I had about a week of sailing days because I didn’t have a lot of crew (well, besides my children). Some of the larger boats can be singlehanded, but it can make you nervous to try to learn on something that is too large. Trust me on this one. Sailing $150,000.00 for the first time, uninsured, paid for in full from my savings account, I couldn’t bear to strike the storm sails and put up the larger ones. Many months and classes later, I’d be comfortably burying the rail in water with the prospective buyer, selling it for funds to refit my older boat that just turned 30 a few days after I turned 31.

Learn small! You’ll not care too much about flipping over a 14’ dinghy, and will learn to get rid of the heeling heebie-jeebies, but when you invest enough money to buy a second house, you’ll always live in fear of tossing it over, spilling out all of your carefully stowed cabinets and lockers. If you learn small, and move up gradually, you can take the lessons from step one and add them to the larger boat as you go along.

So now you’ve got classes and a good understanding of how to sail a small boat.

If you’re happy with a small sailboat, and live inland or inside a bay where the craft is most happy, then maybe consider sticking with it. Every now & again every sailor gets a travel bug. There are a few ways to get rid of your travel bug even on a budget. There are many places that rent sailboats – which can also double as a "what not to buy" when shopping for a sailboat. Start with overnights on the anchor or at a mooring, then move up to a few days aboard, making longer and longer trips each time.

Further off the budget path is purchasing a larger sailboat. You’ll not only need to consider the cost of larger hardware and gear, but the more complex systems on board make it more expensive and the learning curve broader.

Also consider in your large boat purchase the vehicle that tows it. A Ford F-150 will NOT tow an 11,000 32’ yacht on a triple axle trailer. This means that you’ll easily spend another $20-25,000 on a used diesel truck. This also requires towing and backing experience; something which is an entire different conversation. Again, start small.

Large boats have another factor – most city ordinances do not provide provision for parking this behemoth in your drive, street or garden. You’ll need to arrange storage, covers, and insurance. If you’re not towing, you’ll have to plan for mooring or slip fees. Both of these can be unkind to the wallet.

Finally, you’ll need to consider storm tactics, anchoring, maintenance and insurance for your large boat. All of these can make smaller craft look even better.

The bottom line of my note here today, is starting small.

Classes, dinghy, small sloop, and then moving up to a larger boat is the way to go. In my career as a Marine C-130 pilot, we were never thrust into the flight deck and told, "Here’s a book, read it as you learn to fly." We started with classes, small aircraft, twins and then heavier planes. It is a natural progression you can’t afford to skip. Boating is just as life and financially threatening as flying planes or driving cars can be if you’re not educated.

Most of all - have lots of fun!

[sailingdog]

There's a lot to be said for the traditional way of learning by first rowing a small boat, the sailing a dinghy, then working your way up to small keelboat, and so forth...

The sailing skills you learn and hone on a small dinghy, which is far more responsive to bad sail plan balance, bad weight distribution and klutzy handling goes a long way to making you a better sailor on a more forgiving, in some ways, larger boat.

Spending a bit of money and getting a good, solid foundation of sailing skills and knowledge under your belt isn't a bad idea. If doing that doesn't turn you off from the sport, and you find that you can hack the seasickness and such... becoming a member of the OPB yatch club is generally a good second step... It lets you see a fair number of different boats and get a feel for what you want in your first boat.

Buying a boat is always a huge step. Of course, for some, this is easier than others, since many are lucky enough to have grown up in a family that sails. I wasn't that lucky... but did have friends who did.

Good beginning boats range in size, depending on what kind of sailing you want to do. In protected waters, a trailerable pocket cruiser might make a lot of sense. On bigger waters, like bays or larger inland lakes, a small keelboat or multihull might be a good choice.

Just remember what Don Casey says about first boats... that most people buy their first boat and learn a lot from owning it...but it generally isn't the boat that they keep for a really long time. Most people will take that knowledge and buy their second boat based on it... having learned what is most important to them, and what they're really wanting in a boat, and often keep that second boat for years, if not decades. So, unless you're really sure what you want in a boat, don't spend too much on the first boat... because chances are pretty good that you won't keep all that long.

[tenuki]

Everything here is good advice. I would only add that starting on small keelboats in a sailing club via lessons and rental is just as viable if you have the opportunity and small amount of money needed.