I agree with Capt. Frank, but I would also add that is might be a good idea
to charter a few boats to get an idea what kind of boat you want, and then
buy a used boat. After a few years of boating you will have a much better
idea of what you want, and you won't take the big depreciation of a new
boat.

I think with some coaching from an experienced boater, you should be albe to
handle a 22-24' boat.



"Capt Frank Hopkins" wrote in message
hlink.net...

Hi Trevor,

I think you need to learn to boat before you learn to yacht. The larger
the boat, the more knowledge and skill are required to operate it
s·a·f·e·l·y.

Let me toss a couple of test questions at you. If you can't answer them
off the top of your head you should conceder a very docile boat. Not a
cabin
cruiser. (That learning curve would be like trying to take high school
driver's education in a moving van.)

If you cannot answer *any* of the questions, You REALLY need to take the
USCG-A or Power Squadron boating safety class before taking the boat out.

1. You are traveling a river. Your direction is away from the ocean.
You see a blinking green light or green marker panel. Where is the
channel
in relation to the green marker? What if the marker were Red?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. It is night time. You see a red light and to the right, a white
light.
A. What is it? B. Which direction is it going? C. Do you have right of
way?

You see a single white light. What is it?

D. You see a green on the left side, a red on the right side, and a
white
above the two. What should you do?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. How many fire extinguishers is a 20 foot boat required to carry? How
about a 26' boat. What type(s) or weights?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. You have a family aboard. Yourself, woman who does not swim, and 2
children. A boy, 16 years old and a girl, 7 years old. You are 35 miles
from
the nearest land.
A. What type of lifejackets do you need?
B. What type of signal devices are required?
C. Who is required to wear a lifejacket?

5. You bought a signal rocket or flare kit in January 2000. What must
you
do?


For a first boat you might want to conceder a deck boat or pontoon boat.
Deckboats have excellent performance and offer many amenities. Deckboats
and
pontoons can be equipped with a canvas "cabin" for camping. They are often
equipped with a pottie and freshwater supply. Pontoons are very fuel
efficient too. A big consideration in today's fuel economy. (BTW a PC
cruiser will burn 20+ gallons of premium per hour.)

Hint:

The answers to these questions can be found on my website(below) or by
looking at http://www.cgaux.org/
--
Capt. Frank

__c
\ _ | \_
__\_| oooo \_____
~~~~|______________/ ~~~~~
www.home.earthlink.net/~aartworks


"Trevor" wrote in message
om...
I haven't boated much (just boating on friends boats)and want to get
an idea of a managagable size boat to purchase. Is 31 ft too long, or
should I purchase a 27 or 28 footer to begin?

Looking back, what would you have done differently when you you first
took the plunge buying your first boat?