Tips or Pointers for a Beginner?

[TQA]

Lots of good advice here but don't get too carried away with buying all sorts of stuff yet.

You are looking at boats in the 20 to 30 feet range. There is a HUGE difference between a 20 footer where winches are optional and you can push it off the sandbank and a 30 footer where everything is much heavier and loads are higher and you need help to get off the sandbank.

In your position I would look for a 18 to 22 footer, something you can overnight in. A Catalina or and Oday with an outboard would be easy to handle and there are lots around at low prices. I would look for one with a swing keel so you can go gunkholing in skinny water. Get one that is in fair condition and go and sail the snot out of it. You will learn quickly and if you give it a few bruises so what. A day or two on the water with someone who knows which bit of string to pull will help.

Sailing is mostly commonsense. You have a great sailing area on your doorstep. Go and enjoy it. Get on as many other boats as you can and sort out what you like.

I suppose I should add a couple of caveats, watch out for the winds associated with thunderstorms and learn to reduce sail the FIRST TIME YOU THINK ABOUT IT. Carry PFDs, a handheld VHF and a GPS as your minimum safety gear.

[sailingdog]

As for boat size, a boat in the 22-25' range might be a good choice. They have a lot more room and capability than most 20' boats and many are trailerable, which can reduce your costs in terms of storage and slip/dock fees.

[wayne56]

Wow...a slip at your house!

Wouldn't it be great if could trade access to your slip for shared access to a boat as a way of getting some water under your keel (and maybe some mentoring at the same time...)?

Otherwise, I am a strong advocate of learning on incrementally larger and more powerful boats, but start with some basic instruction and experience in dinghies ro daysailors. Most of those principals learned while getting wet close to the water line scale up to larger boats.

[QuickMick]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

As for boat size, a boat in the 22-25' range might be a good choice. They have a lot more room and capability than most 20' boats and many are trailerable, which can reduce your costs in terms of storage and slip/dock fees.

totally agreed here, especially if you plan on doing some overnighting...20' would be pretty tight for two IMHO. a lot of this will be predicated by your budget too... how much do you want to spend? another thing you might want to consider, if you think through your circle of friends/neighbors anyone have a boat they casually race with? might be able to crew with them.

also a lot of marinas do brokerage, you might want to spend a day climbing around different boats to see what you like/dont like fall in love with etc

[Skipper995]

A load of good advise here. Getting a good instructor will certainly help, but I would HIGHLY recommend you buy Don Guillette's book 'Sail Trim' which will put everything into perspective for you. It's the best $20 you will ever spend on your boat. The hardest thing about sailing is knowing what to do and why you do it. This book explains it all in simple to understand English. After all you are going to be 'sailing' your boat you may as well learn it right the first time.


Sail Trim Users Guide (US delivery)

[arknoah]

Originally Posted by paulk

If you're going to be going out in your car in a couple of weeks and then sailing a boat back home, it would be a good idea to take someone with you who knows what they're doing in a sailboat like the one you're ending up with. What sort of distance is involved? What happens if the motor dies halfway? Are there bridges that you will have to worry about getting to your slip? Is there deep water all the way to your slip? The weather on the weekend you pick may not be the best. Do you have a plan B? An experienced sailor will be better able to figure out what the problems might be and how to resolve them -- before they happen.

I can highly support this notion. When I purchased my MacGregor 25, I needed to get it from above Annapolis to Solomons, Maryland, a distance of 50+ nautical miles. The two people who volunteered to help me were much more experienced, and while almost nothing happened that I didn't at least know how I should handle, I didn't have the confidence, nor could I have developed a Plan B if something bad happened. And I'm definitely not very good at docking or maneuvering in tight spaces yet, which they're really good at.