sailing classes / learning if sailing is for me

[bloodhunter]

rmeador,
You're on the right track. You'll not only learn sailing but, more important for what you're planning, you'll see whether you really want to live on a boat.
As for the boat your might want to keep it under 40 feet. If I remember correctly that is the cut-off point where you are required to have more and more expensive equipment. In any case you can find very comfortable live-aboard boats in the 34-36 ft range. Will be al;ot cheaper to maintain and keep at a marina.
That brings me to where you're gonna keep the boat. We keep a 45-foot boat in one of the most expensive marina's on the Chesapeake for about $550a month so your Boston marina is super-expensive and given the prices you quote, will put you on a very tight financial rein, esepcially if you need to repair/upgrade your boat. Does you company have other branches in areaas to which you might move? On the other hand $700 amonth isn't a lot to pay for an apartment so you mayvery well be okay.
Anyway keep to your dreams, sailing and owning your own boat is one of the more rewarding things in life IMHO
Good luck

[rmeador]

I do intend to keep it below 40'. I consider that my maximum. I've been mostly looking at boats around 36' on yachtworld. I figure I won't really know what size fits me until after I've been on a few. I'm going to a boat show at the end of Feb and then on my sailing lesson cruise in March, so I should have a vague idea by the end of March.

And you're right that $700/mo for a marina is a lot, and perhaps I can find cheaper ones (especially if I leave Boston, but stay nearby). But for the area, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than an apartment. I've estimated my ability to spend $1500/mo on a boat by comparing it to what I'm currently paying for rent (plus digging slightly into what I've been saving every month).

I'll keep my dream, at least until I decide from the lessons that it's not for me!

[CaptFoolhardy]

Here's something to consider that I haven't seen anyone else mention yet. Are you sure that the marina you are considering has slips available? I have no personal knowledge of this, but I read an article about the availability of boat space a couple of years ago and I seem to recall that at that time in your part of the country (Mattapoisett actually) there was a waiting list 2+ years long just for a mooring. Slips were even longer. You may be in for a rude awakening. Hope I'm wrong.

BTW, although I have been trailer sailing for about 8 years, in March I am going to be taking the same sort of live aboard class that you are. I'll be in St. Pete, FL though. I read through this thread thinking "Gee, I wonder if we'll be classmates?"

Best,
Bob

[rmeador]

That is something I had not considered... I guess I'll call some marinas on monday.

[Jeff_H]

" Ok, so tomorrow morning I intend to sign up for the 8-day Maryland School class in the Caribbean in March."

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THAT MARYLAND SCHOOL of Sailing & Seamanship coruse at this point in your sailing career. That would be a total waste of your time and money.

We all come to sailing with different goals and differing amounts of understanding about what sailing about and about what it takes to own a sail boat. As I read your posts it comes through loud and clear that you are brand new to the sport and have no clue as of yet. That part is perfectly okay, we all had to learn somewhere, and to a great extent you have come to the right place for help.

But here's my point on the Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship. I am the first to admit that there is no one right way to learn to sail. Everyone who comes to this sport decides just how good a sailor they want to be. They may not make that goal but they get to set their target.

For some, the goal is simply to get safely in and out their slip. For those folks almost any school will do, But for the rest of us, to one degree or another, we all ascribe to be more than that. If you had some basic sailing skills under your belt and you aspired to learn how to push big clunky boats around, then perhaps a sailing course like Maryland School might prove helpful.

But having taught at least 100 people to sail in my life, I can tell you that the learning curve on a boat like an Island Packet is so steep that it would be an exercise in frustration if not futility to try to learn from scratch how to sail on a boat like that.

My advise is to slow down. Take the power squardron or Coast Guard school to learn the basics; rules of the road, navigation and weather. Wait til spring and take a real sailing course that will not only get you a certificate, but also teach you boat handling skills.

If you must learn to sail over the winter try a course Colgate Offshore Sailing School's learning to sail course which is taught in Florida in Colgate 26's, boats designed for the purpose of teaching sailing, and its a sailing real course where you might actually learn to sail. Sailing Lessons, Sailing Courses & Sailing Classes from Offshore Sailing School

As they say on the site: "This course is also a great refresher if you’re just getting back into sailing and is the most comprehensive learn to sail sailing course there is. Three to five day schedules available at all Offshore Sailing School locations."

Respectfully,
Jeff

[rmeador]

Jeff, I had already signed up for that class a couple days before you posted that. You would have known that if you'd read my more recent posts in this thread. "Slow down" is not something I am willing to do. Buying a small boat and then working my way up to a larger one is financially unfeasible. I don't see why I shouldn't learn on something like what I hope to own -- it makes more sense to me, and in reading other threads, it seems this community is very divided on the issue of learning on small boats vs what you want to buy. I will rent small boats (or take more lessons) once the weather warms up here in Boston so I get more practice. I think I made the right decision in signing up for this class, and I'm very much looking forward to it.