[TSOJOURNER]

So I have been entertaining the thought of getting a sailboat lately and I really think its something I want to do. With that said, I have NEVER sailed a boat before or know much about it, I will be learning before I actually try to sail,I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and would mostly be sailing in the Gulf of Mexico. In the long run I would like to sail from New Orleans to the Yucatan tip and also to bermuda and the bahamas. Possibly sailing to Europe also but thats not in the NEAR future. I know NOTHING of sailboats or the different kinds or anything . Any advice on length or style or just any tips in general would help.

 

[arf145]

It might be worth your while to search or browse through the Buying a Boat board here and read all you can. And read all you can in books and other sites too. Someone else might be able to recommend some good texts.

You've chosen a fantastic thing to get into--congratulations and welcome. Have you thought of taking a sailing class locally to get yourself started?

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Well im fairly young and restless, 21, and I manage an small outdoors store, the owner has offer to teach me the basics/intermediates of sailings, he has raced some regattas and what not over the years, but doesnt know about larger 20+ (sleep on board style) sailboats and how they react and all that. I saw that Cornell has a really good book on the world sailing routes that I have already ordered just waiting on it to show up. Im just having trouble narrowing down the boat. Im really not looking to spend over 30k and Im more then willing to put some work into making it sea worthy, I grew up in new england have owned every kind of boat except a sailboat.. So im familiar with the water and the way weather affects the conditions just know nothing of sailboats and how to pick the one that would best suit my needs.

 

[arf145]

Well, I think most folks are going to need to know more about what your needs are. There are a lot of sailboats out there and a lot of ways to use them! Saying you're a beginner who will sail on the GofM doesn't quite do it. I can say that sailing across the GofM to Yucatan normally suggests more than a coastal cruiser. Your short-term goal of learning to sail and long-term goal of crossing bodies of water might require different boats.

While local, will you have a slip, or will you need a trailerable boat? Do you know where you want to keep the boat, where you will work on it? The more you tell people about your plans, the more likely that they will weigh in with suggestions. And like I said, there is a lot of information out there in the meantime.

 

[sailingdog]

I'd recommend you get John Vigor's Twenty Small Sailboats To Take You Anywhere and look at James Baldwin's Boatlist.

 

[WouldaShoulda]

Does anyone join the Navy any more??

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Well, I think most folks are going to need to know more about what your needs are. There are a lot of sailboats out there and a lot of ways to use them! Saying you're a beginner who will sail on the GofM doesn't quite do it. I can say that sailing across the GofM to Yucatan normally suggests more than a coastal cruiser. Your short-term goal of learning to sail and long-term goal of crossing bodies of water might require different boats.

While local, will you have a slip, or will you need a trailerable boat? Do you know where you want to keep the boat, where you will work on it? The more you tell people about your plans, the more likely that they will weigh in with suggestions. And like I said, there is a lot of information out there in the meantime.

I actually live about 90mins from the coast, but I live on 10 acres and have TONS of land to put a boat and work on it. And the boat I will be learning to sail on will be around 16-19ft long. Will have 1 large sail and the little 1 behind. I have no idea what its called or this 1 Hobie 16 partly because I can get them for 60% off retail because of where I work.

 

[sailingdog]

Censorship—

Before buying anything, you probably should really learn a bit more about the craft of sailing. I would highly recommend you spend the $16 to buy David Seidman's book, The Complete Sailor, at one of your local bookstores.

I'd also highly recommend you take a basic learn to sail course, like an ASA 101 course. It will give you some experience on a sailboat and give you a fairly solid education on the terms and theory of sailing.

Not knowing anything and then spending money is a good way to waste a lot of money. Buying sails to fit a boat you don't own is really a bad idea.

The big sail is a genoa or gennaker, depending on the weight of the cloth and such. The "little" sail is actually the main sail.

 

[KeelHaulin]

(I) Will have 1 large sail and the little 1 behind.

SD - I think he was saying large sail(boat) and leave the little (sailboat) behind.

I'm going to suggest that you slow down a bit Censorship. Don't buy anything right away. Surely there are some ASA or US Sailing organizations in your area where you can take classes and charter their boats for plenty of sailing time at low cost to your pocket book. Let me say that knowing about boats and power-boating is a good foundation; but it is NOTHING like sailing and using the wind to take you where you would like to go. In most cases people who do not take things seriously with regard to knowing how to sail or how to interperet weather reports end up in serious trouble or lose their life when sailing offshore. It does not take a hurricane to sink a boat; or destroy your sails and leave you stranded in the middle of an ocean.

It can take many years to become experienced enough and knowledgable to undertake an ocean crossing trip. If you did some crewing on boats that are traveling to islands in the carribean or on offshore passages along the coast you would gain more experience before you set out on your own boat (which you should also not do alone on your first voyage). Some people find that getting into the racing circuit as crew also helps them with confidence while sailing and learn about how a boat sails in various conditions.

Please take your decision more seriously than just buying a boat and heading off to an island paradise. It just does not work that way. And one reminder about owning a sailboat is that I was once told: "Owning a sailboat is like taking a cold shower while ripping up 100 dollar bills." So do the OPB (Other People's Boats) thing for a while and save up for the right boat that is well equipped (expensive refits and upgrades paid for by OP) and is mostly "ready" to go.

 

[sailingdog]

SD - I think he was saying large sail(boat) and leave the little (sailboat) behind.

Umm...no, I don't believe so. He's never sailed before. He's looking at a photo of a Hobie FX One, which shows a Gennaker and a main sail, and the main sail is considerably smaller. If he were talking about boats, he'd probably have said sailboat, not sails...

Will have 1 large sail and the little 1 behind.

BTW, I don't really consider the Hobies good boats to learn on. They don't really teach you very much about good sailing habits for cruising boats like a decent dinghy will. They're pretty much overpowered for their size and not good teaching boats for that reason IMHO.

I'm going to suggest that you slow down a bit Censorship. Don't buy anything right away. Surely there are some ASA or US Sailing organizations in your area where you can take classes and charter their boats for plenty of sailing time at low cost to your pocket book. Let me say that knowing about boats and power-boating is a good foundation; but it is NOTHING like sailing and using the wind to take you where you would like to go. In most cases people who do not take things seriously with regard to knowing how to sail or how to interperet weather reports end up in serious trouble or lose their life when sailing offshore. It does not take a hurricane to sink a boat; or destroy your sails and leave you stranded in the middle of an ocean.

It can take many years to become experienced enough and knowledgable to undertake an ocean crossing trip. If you did some crewing on boats that are traveling to islands in the carribean or on offshore passages along the coast you would gain more experience before you set out on your own boat (which you should also not do alone on your first voyage). Some people find that getting into the racing circuit as crew also helps them with confidence while sailing and learn about how a boat sails in various conditions.

Please take your decision more seriously than just buying a boat and heading off to an island paradise. It just does not work that way. And one reminder about owning a sailboat is that I was once told: "Owning a sailboat is like taking a cold shower while ripping up 100 dollar bills." So do the OPB (Other People's Boats) thing for a while and save up for the right boat that is well equipped (expensive refits and upgrades paid for by OP) and is mostly "ready" to go.

Fully agree with and advocate the rest of your post though.

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Woops, I didnt mean to sound like I was going out to buy 1 next weekend! I wont be buying anything for a good 4-5years. And Im well aware of the need for exp. I would never try to do anything I didnt think I could handle, Im not really a fan of dying on the water. I was just looking for help in trying to narrow down the broad selection of boats out there. And also on trying to pick the length.

 

[Bilgewater]

Censorship
Sailingdog mentioned the book The Complete Sailor, I second his opinion on this book. I have books and books and more books and some duds but this one is one of my most treasured and I still reference it quite often and it's always on my boat. Lot's of good diagrams, easy to read and understand and it covers a broad spectrum. You won't be disapointed.

 

[h2ojem]

As a relative novice (when does feeling go away?) and a boat-owner, I can recommend taking an ASA sailing class, or two, or three, and then sail as much as possible on other people's boats. You'll find out 1) about how to sail and 2) what kinds of features you want/need in a boat that you want to sail. I started with a 12'er on a local lake in the summer. Then went on to a 19'. Now have a pocketcruiser 20' Halman. All affordable boats for us, and forgiving to learn on. Good luck whatever you choose!

 

[sailingdog]

I generally recommend the book because it is easily one of the most well written and readable books on sailing and covers a much broader selection of sailing theory, history and techniques than do most introduction books. Not many introduction to sailing books have sections, however brief, on anchoring, weather, or leaving/picking up a mooring.

Censorship
Sailingdog mentioned the book The Complete Sailor, I second his opinion on this book. I have books and books and more books and some duds but this one is one of my most treasured and I still reference it quite often and it's always on my boat. Lot's of good diagrams, easy to read and understand and it covers a broad spectrum. You won't be disapointed.