water ballast question

[Kommy000]

yea I'm leaning towards the real sailboat. Just saw somebody post 27 Morgan in very good condition for about 7 grand on craigslist. Also local yacht brokers have some nice ones for about 9 grand. So there is plenty of real sailboats around.
Just need to research more on what to do during hurricane or when hurricane hits close to Tampa Bay. Seems like lots of people find safe cove and anchor there. Since I'm new to sailing need to find out the locations of those areas and how it works around tampabay and saint pete clearwater area. I do have full time job and will not have time to sail the boat thousands miles away every time there is a hurricane passing in around tampabay, but at the same time I do not want my boat destroyed in a slip because some other boat banged into it or just because water level went up 6 feet. So thats why trailable boat sounded like a good idea.
The way it looks though... I will be getting a full sailboat and screw the trailer.
So the research continues.
By the way ... if anybody knows where people anchor during those hurricanes passing by Tampa, please let me know.
thanks

[camaraderie]

Best plan is to have the boat hauled out before an approaching storm and secured. Set some $$ aside for this. If you get your insurance from BoatUS, I think they still pay for 1/2 the cost of a named storm haulout as their experience is that dry land is the best place for a boat in a 'cane.

[sailingdog]

Very true... but you really need to check your insurance policy's named storm clause, since some will REQUIRE you to be hauled out, others, will require you to be within certain geographic limits during the season... etc. Better to know what is required and do it, than to find out your boat wasn't covered because you didn't read the fine print.

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Best plan is to have the boat hauled out before an approaching storm and secured. Set some $$ aside for this. If you get your insurance from BoatUS, I think they still pay for 1/2 the cost of a named storm haulout as their experience is that dry land is the best place for a boat in a 'cane.

[joethecobbler]

Better keep checking for used boats. you can buy a 25-30 foot sailboat w/ a working engine for 2-5000 no problem. don't even waste your time w/ brokers unless you just like giving your money away/ they offer no real value they are , in my opinion, similiar to used car salesmen. with the market today you can get a sailboat for almost nothing. and it will cost you more to dock and berth it than you'll spend aquiring it. Unless you buy new your going to want to change things and add stuff anyway once you get aboard.
Just use common sense and don't get caught up in all the hype and mystery. People have been sailing the world in boats since before written history. it's not rocket science.
I fell for the BS for over a decade from people who never left the dock scaring me w/ assumptions about sailing the east coast. I finally just did it and found out it is NOT complicated or difficult . and I could have done it years earlier with boats I already had. It could be done in a sailfish if you pick your weather !

[Faster]

Originally Posted by joethecobbler

Better keep checking for used boats. you can buy a 25-30 foot sailboat w/ a working engine for 2-5000 no problem.

Agreed!

Originally Posted by joethecobbler

..... don't even waste your time w/ brokers unless you just like giving your money away/ they offer no real value they are , in my opinion, similiar to used car salesmen.

While some may indeed be "used care salesmen", there's generally no real disadvantage or cost to using selling brokers to look for and check out boats, the seller pays the guy. It is possible that you'll get a better deal if the seller doesn't have to pay the broker - but that's not always the case, esp in today's market with desperate sellers. Going through brokerages will give you more exposure to more boats with less running around....