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)?

As big as you can afford and small enough that you can single hand it.
The kind of boat (how well built and how well equipped) is more
important than the size, and the person sailing it is the most
important thing in the equation

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?

I think the best book I've read on this is "Voyaging On A Small
Income" by Annie Hill. It is in paperback. The danger with this
book is that you will immediately want a junk rigged boat.

Lin Pardey has written a lot of books on the pros and cons of boat
life, but the disadvantage of those books is that they advocate a
wooden boat with no engine, and that isn't really what most people can
deal with.

You could also read these logs
http://www.thetwocaptains.com/logbook.htm These logs give a really
good idea of how it is to sail to tropical places. However, I should
add that both of these people have their captains licenses (that's why
it is called "The Two Captains", so they are more than ordinarily
competent sailors. Don was a pilot (airplane), and Gwen chartered her
own boat in the USVI for a number of years and also is a SCUBA
instructor. She's also writing a column for several magazines ATM
which are also on her website.

c) Do any of you live on your boats?

Yes

d) Why does the value of boats fall off so fast? Some new boats seem
to loose half their value in five years.

Because people are stupid enough to buy a new boat which costs a lot
of money. Same as with cars.