j.d.,
I'm gonna jump in here with a bit of advice. Feel free to ignore it,
but based on the info you've given below, Since you state that there is
no real time frame, I'd suggest planning to do this in a couple of
steps. Get something smaller for a year or so. Say a 27'-30' coastal
cruiser. This will be more than enough for exploring anywhere from San
Diego to Santa Barbara, including the Channel Islands.
- It's cheap. Having never sailed much before, you may find that the
reality doesn't live up to the dream. Many find that it doesn't and are
then in the position of having a huge amount of capitol tied up in a
boat they detest and can't sell for months. Smaller boats sell much
faster than the larger cruisers simply because there's a larger market
for them. If you get an older one that's already fully depreciated,
you'll be able to sell it for just about what you paid for it.
- You'll learn much faster on a smaller boat. The ideal is to start on
something smaller than this, either a sailing dinghy or perhaps a day
sailor up to about 25' and doing this in 3 steps.
- It's safer. You're going to make mistakes. We all do. Because the
forces involved are smaller, you're mistakes are less likely to injure
somebody. In a small boat, muscle power can often prevent an
unfortunate outcome of a mistake. In a 24,000 lb boat, your mistakes
are far more likely to injure some or damage yours or someone else's boat.
- It's cheap. When you make those mistakes and wind up having to pay to
have a boat repaired, smaller boats are LOT'S cheaper to fix and do much
less damage to the other guy's boat.
- Learning to maneuver around the docks in a 24,000 lb. momentum machine
is like trying to learn to drive using a fully loaded semi in a wet ice
covered crowded parking lot. It can get real expensive, real fast.
Good luck, whatever you decide - Dan
jds wrote:
hi gordon, and thanks for the reply. as far as sailing experience, i have
none. have been on a few , but was never driving the boat, just riding. i
plan on taking some lessons and sail around in the bay for a while untill i
am comfortable enough with my skills to go out of the breakwater. im not on
any particular schedule, so time frame doesnt really matter.
i wont have any experienced crew. im ready to make the move, but not sure if
my present girl friend is or not. if she does, fine , if she doesnt, ill
find one who is. i wont be going off on any long trips alone. i will be
doing a lot of single hand sailing. if the weather is good, and i want to go
out and practice a bit, im not going to wait for somebody to decide if they
want to go along or not. im going.
i think most of my sailing will no doubt be coastal, with the occasional
trip to oregon, possibly alaska, possibly hawaii. more often to mexico, or
santa barbara, san diego etc. just screwing around in general and enjoying
myself and significant other. being as worthless as possible, other than
tending to the boat etc.
anyway, going to fly to lax in a couple three weeks and go hit some marinas
and get a little better idea of what im looking at and what i think my
requirements will be. should be fun and informative. get out of the heat for
a couple days. while i think a coastal boat may suffice, i also want one
stout enough to cruise in if the feeling grabs me.
thanks again to all for the advice. it is most appreciated. best regards,
j.d.
"Gordon Wedman" wrote in message
news:NFq%c.155425$X12.69348@edtnps84...
--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
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