"Frank" wrote in message
ups.com...
Ok. I'm:

Frank Maier from Everett, WA, a bit north of Seattle and a bit south of
Ole Thom. I post occasionally; but I mostly lurk.

No sailboat at present. Former owner of various keelboats and planning
to buy something around 40 feet in the next couple of years for family
cruising/homeschooling around the Caribbean. Retired in 95. Two kids,
currently 10 and 12.

Welcome back Frank. You've posted some good stuff in the past.

What kind of boat are you thinking of getting?

My kids are currently 15 and 18, and it is very difficult to get them to go
sailing. Get your boat ASAP if you want to have them involved.


Regards


Donal
--

Donal wrote:
....snip...
Welcome back Frank. You've posted some good stuff in the past.
What kind of boat are you thinking of getting?
My kids are currently 15 and 18, and it is very difficult to get them
to go
sailing. Get your boat ASAP if you want to have them involved.

Thanks, Donal,

I understand your comments about older teens wanting to separate
themselves from their parents. We started homeschooling a couple of
years ago and have been doing a lot of RVing. We plan to spend a year
or so cruising the Caribbean within the next couple of years. The kids
like to sail, especially in warm water, e.g. the Caribbean, and our
24/7 intimacy of the last couple of years has been positive, better
than the times we had when we had them in school and just had
adventures in the summer. So I hope that continues.

My personal favorite boat, and the one I want for my wife and me when
the girls are on their own, is a Freedom 38 (mid-80s thru early 90s
Gary Mull design). However, we've discussed this in recent years and
have tried brief cruises on a couple of different sizes and styles of
boats and have decided that for family cruising we want a bit more room
than the F38 provides.

In that context, being fond of the Freedom concept, I'd consider an
older F-40 or preferably a 44. However, given that the mission
parameter for this boat is simply to survive a year or two of Caribbean
cruising, we might consider a cheap ex-charter boat. I'm a cheap old
SOB and would be happy to save a few nickles, especially since I know
that this will not be my "last boat."

We've talked about cats, too; but have yet to charter a cruising cat to
see if we find the experience enjoyable in the same sort of way we
enjoy monohull sailing. We're gonna do that sometime soon.

Frank

"Frank" wrote in message
ups.com...

We've talked about cats, too; but have yet to charter a cruising cat to
see if we find the experience enjoyable in the same sort of way we
enjoy monohull sailing. We're gonna do that sometime soon.

A friend in my sailing club is moving back to a monohull - or "half a
boat". He's finally convinced his wife that they would enjoy sailing more
if they could sail to wind. He's spent the last 5 years telling us that his
cat could point as high as a monohull!!

My gut feeling is that if your wife actually enjoys sailing, then you should
ignore catamarans.


Also, before you buy a big boat, take into consideration the fact that your
kids will be gone in a few years. You will have to park it with only your
wife as crew. I'd love to buy a Malo 42, but I don't think that my
diminutive spouse would be able to hold the lines while we tied up.


Regards


Donal
--

"Frank" wrote
We've talked about cats, too; but have yet to charter a cruising cat to
see if we find the experience enjoyable in the same sort of way we
enjoy monohull sailing. We're gonna do that sometime soon.


Just bear in mind that the charter cats are different from what's
available on the private market... although if you *really* like one,
charter cats coming out of srvice are available too...

Donal wrote:
A friend in my sailing club is moving back to a monohull - or "half a
boat". He's finally convinced his wife that they would enjoy sailing more
if they could sail to wind. He's spent the last 5 years telling us that his
cat could point as high as a monohull!!

My gut feeling is that if your wife actually enjoys sailing, then you should
ignore catamarans.


Why?


Also, before you buy a big boat, take into consideration the fact that your
kids will be gone in a few years. You will have to park it with only your
wife as crew. I'd love to buy a Malo 42, but I don't think that my
diminutive spouse would be able to hold the lines while we tied up.


So let her drive!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Donal wrote:
"Frank" wrote...
We've talked about cats, too; but have yet to charter a cruising
cat to
see if we find the experience enjoyable in the same sort of way we
enjoy monohull sailing. We're gonna do that sometime soon.

A friend in my sailing club is moving back to a monohull - or "half
a
boat". He's finally convinced his wife that they would enjoy sailing
more
if they could sail to wind. He's spent the last 5 years telling us
that his
cat could point as high as a monohull!!
My gut feeling is that if your wife actually enjoys sailing, then you
should
ignore catamarans.
Also, before you buy a big boat, take into consideration the fact
that your
kids will be gone in a few years. You will have to park it with only
your
wife as crew. I'd love to buy a Malo 42, but I don't think that my
diminutive spouse would be able to hold the lines while we tied up.

All good comments and I appreciate 'em. A cat is at the far end of
possible consideration for us and, if we went that way or went for some
generic used charter boat, it would just be for the couple of years
while we're cruising with the girls. Then we'd unload it to buy our
"real/retirement boat", a Freedom 38, which is the world's easiest
single-hander.

We both do enjoy actually sailing, so no crab crushers would make even
our most inclusive list of possibilities. I did a lotta deliveries in
the 70's and 80's of boats up to 50 feet, sometimes single-handed; so
having my wife along always feels like I'm loafing. With the kids added
to the mix, it almost feels like a competitive race crew! Well, almost.


For most labor-intensive activities, my wife's on the helm and I'm
doing the heavy lifting. Does your wife not like to be at the wheel? I
always find it slightly painful to sit in an anchorage and watch a 6'2"
240-pound ex-linebacker with a delicate grip on the helm yelling at his
5'2" 100-pound wife on the foredeck wrestling with a CQR almost as big
as she is. What's wrong with this picture?

Frank

12 points for you Frank.

"Frank" wrote

Frank Maier from Everett, WA, a bit north of Seattle and a bit south of
Ole Thom. I post occasionally; but I mostly lurk.

No sailboat at present. Former owner of various keelboats and planning
to buy something around 40 feet in the next couple of years for family
cruising/homeschooling around the Caribbean. Retired in 95. Two kids,
currently 10 and 12.

Gilligan checking in. I hope to get my sailboat back when they drain the
reservoir this spring.



"Bart Senior" wrote in message
...
Annual LURKER Check-In !!!

For those of you lurking out there. This is the
annual Lurker Check-in.

Lurkers are those that read posts but do not post
responses or start threads.

You don't have to post anything intelligent, just
your handle and location, include boat name,
type and model, if you have one.

This is your big chance to get easy points.

If you don't check in, nothing bad will happen to you,
you will just remain POINTLESS!

1 point award per fact you provide.

Those of you that have posted and do not have any
points at all, or you are not sure if you have any points,
you can check in now for free alt.sailing.asa newgroups
points.

3 points for you Gilligan.

"Gilligan" wrote

Gilligan checking in. I hope to get my sailboat back when they drain the
reservoir this spring.

Subtract 1 point...his boat is day glo orange....

"Bart Senior" wrote in message
...
3 points for you Gilligan.

"Gilligan" wrote

Gilligan checking in. I hope to get my sailboat back when they drain the
reservoir this spring.

Katy,

You seem fixated on color.

I wonder, when you look in the mirror, what you think about
all that gray hair?

CN

"katysails" clucked

Subtract 1 point...his boat is day glo orange....