Hello,

Is the 470 a wise choice for my first double hand boat? I am
considering a purchase of an old one for under $2K, maybe under $1K.
Is this a bad idea for me?

My primary concerns about the 470 would to confirm:
-It lets me participate and learn, spend some fun time with my wife.
Will sail with my kids when
I've learned to handle the boat and they are old / strong enough

-It works, and will continue to do so safely even if hull goes
"soft". Won't buy the 470 if the class's construction/materials are
such that I cannot expect to keep even a soft boat for 5-10 years.
Willing to have affordable work done to get longevity out of the hull
even if it makes not-to-class SPEC)

-it's affordable. If the Hull is so flawed in it's reputedly light
build / design that I cannot safely sale it for years, then it's not
affordable.



My profile:

5'4" 150-160 lbs (Me)
5'6" 130 lbs (Wife)
I move from state to state a lot, so local 470 scene is not important
(un-controllable) to me.

New to sailing. Enough experience on a homemade, 14 ft, cat rig'd scow
to want to learn more. Also learned enough on that scow, and in
canoeing to respect moving water and keep my exposure in line with my
experience.

Thinking about buying an older boat to sail for fun and challenge, no
compettive racing. Might enter races, but will be happy at the back of
the pack. Expect to get wet and swim while we learn.

Don't know much, am going to read more, take lessons, and proceed
slowly, in fair weather baby steps. Realise that scaring my wife is
not a good idea.

Am thinking about buying a used 470 for less than $1000. Know 470 is a
lightly built, sometimes called a "throwaway" , per the classe's
constriction/materials SPECs. Know they get too soft to rig to full
tension and sail hard for more than a couple of seasons. Know my
affordable used boat will probably less than race ready in hull
stiffness. Know the 470 is no daysailer for kids and can get one in
trouble if not experienced.

I compare this desire to sail a challenging boat to my involvment in
cylcing: I have an old road racing bike that is too heavy to compete
on. It inexpensive. Don't care if breaks, cuz old parts are cheap.
Don't care if I can't hang with the young, fully dedicted race crowd
because I have other things to attend to (family, career, etc). Might
show up for the race, but am happy only to finish. Am not embarrased
to show up with old equipment and prefer it because it's cheaper to
maintain Am happy to work as vigorously the full on race crowd with the
less than race ready equipment I have. The primary concern about my
bike is it lets me participate, it works, and it's affordable.

Any advice appreciated.

If there is an obvious hull choice that makes more sense, I'm all ears.

Thanks,
Pat Smith