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Four questions from someone new to boating
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
... On 19 Mar 2007 07:21:35 -0700, wrote: I have been drawn to the idea of buying a boat, because of the independant lifestyle it brings. Here are some rather ignorant questions, and I would be very grateful to anyone who takes a few minutes to answer one or all of them: a) How big a boat is required to go from New York to England (about 3750nm)? Far more important than size is your own experience and preparation, as well as the preparation of the boat. You will get very little agreement on this question but my personal experience would dictate a heavily built boat over 40 ft in length. People have done it in far less, but comfort and relative safety increase with size, all other things being equal. You need to get *lots* of experience with coastal cruising and boat maintenance before you even think about crossing an ocean. While I generally agree, I think you can substitute "heavily built boat over 40 ft in length" with a good quality boat over 30 feet. There are lots and lots of people who travel across oceans in boats shorter than 40 ft. It's not just about the length and full keel; it's also about having the proper equipment and reinforcing when you have to reinforce. Of course, bigger tends to be more comfortable. b) If I wanted to learn more about boating, is there a book available by someone who captures what it is like to be at sea, and describes the pros and cons of boat life? There are lots of books but most do not do a good job describing life at sea because that doesn't sell books. Forget romantic notions of idyllic passages. They exist but not as often as you read about. Being at sea in a small boat is not a walk in the park, and by small I'm talking about less than 200 feet. Weather forecasts are only accurate to about 5 days, so any voyage longer than that on open ocean incurs a high risk and probability of serious storm conditions (winds over 35 kts, breaking seas over 20 ft high). After a few hours of that you will want to be someplace else, just about anywhere else. Boats also require constant maintenance and you will spend a great deal of time repairing things and improvising, frequently in difficult conditions. Read Sailing All Seas by Dwight Long. A small boat, before all the fancy stuff. There are definitely weather winds when the chance of getting serious storms are greatly reduced, but you need to be prepared for the worst. Also, conversely, keep in mind that most people don't bring enough light wind sails, thinking I suppose that they'll err on the side of issues with bad weather. Don't forget your big sails. c) Do any of you live on your boats? Counting part time liveaboards (more than 3 or 4 weeks per year), quite a few. Some do, some don't. Right now, I don't... 3/4 days per week max right now. Has it's advantages and disadvantages both ways I suppose. d) Why does the value of boats fall off so fast? Some new boats seem to loose half their value in five years. There are many, many used boats for sale. More supply than demand is the main reason, coupled with the fact that there are quite a few people, who for reasons of their own, will only buy new. I agree.. totally. Kind of like cars... soon as you drive it off the new car lot, it drops dramatically in value. Used boat purchases aren't quite so bad. Thanks in advance, Terry. -- "j" ganz @@ www.sailnow.com |
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