Does anyone here own a Sailboat?

The wife and I are thinking of purchasing a sailboat. Something between 35' and 40'. Neither of us have sailed before, but we both like the option of going out on the boat for a few days and not coming back to the hustle of LA. Was curious if anyone on the forums here sailed, and if you could tell me your experiences, etc?!

 

Thanks!

I have a friend that just bought a sail boat. He has no clue how to sale and honestly not sure why he bought it. He is taking some lessons and has someone to go out with him the first few times after that. I don't sail but I would suggest maybe finding someone that has a boat and some experience and have them take you out and show you what is involved before you purchase.

 

A few years ago my cousin had to sail a boat 72 hours on the Indian Ocean with several dead Somali pirates on board as well as a federal agent as the boat was a crime scene. All that after being placed in the fire fight between the Seal team and the pirates. Nothing to do with your question but I'm proud of him. It's a bigger story than I posted and he won some awards and medals for it.

 

 

I grew up sailing and racing sailboats on Lake Ontario. We sailed out of a Canadian port but lived in NY - only 45 minutes across the border.

 

Sailing is a wonderful sport and can be relaxing or terrifying depending on conditions which can change. This may sound over the top - but if you are going to go out on the water in a boat you need to educate yourself on a few things:

 

- weather (understand cloud formations and in general know when conditions are changing especially for the worse)

- currents (if there are tides are currents where you'll sail and generally most waterways have some sort of "flow")

- Navigation: while electronics and sophisticated instruments can get you pretty much anywhere - if you don't understand some basics in case your electronics fail - you are "up the creek". We were once struck by lightning during a race (it was an overnight race across the lake and back - around 60 miles) and some of the electronics were fried but my Dad (captain and fierce leader) knew how to navigate with a chart and handheld instruments and we were fine - but you never know what you'll encounter)

- Right of way rules - most sailers take this seriously - maybe more so than powerboaters and there can be a huge divide between the two types of boaters. Many people (I don't care what type of boat) get in and figure it's like a car and don't understand channel markings and right of way. If you are encountering commercial traffic and commercial channels you MUST understand right of way. You should know channel markers and what they signify. It's like getting in a car and not understanding road markings, signs, signals, etc. You gotta know this stuff or you can run aground, get run into by another boat, get lost, etc. Take a coast guard class and get the basics!

- basics of sailing which means how you move the boat forward on different points of sail (close hauled is running almost with the wind direction). Sails operate on a high/low pressure system and if you understand this (just like the wing of an airplane) - there is "lift" and wind forces move the boat. Because winds shift there are different points of sail, and different types of sails (like a spinnaker which is the balloon looking sail that is often colorful and put up to run before or across the wind usually).

 

Our sailboat carried an inventory of sails for different conditions from very light to very heavy winds. If you are sailing for pleasure you wouldn't need many sails and you could also opt for furling sails which wind around the mast and forestay rather than having to take them down and fold, bag and put them away. Sails are heavy, take a lot of room and if you can furl them it is quite a labor savings. If you are sailing strictly for pleasure it's a nice way to go.

 

As their years advanced my parents bought a Nonsuch which is a cat style sailboat. This means it has a large mast located forward in the boat and uses only one huge mainsail. It didn't furl - but it did drop into a sort of net along the boom (the horizontal member that comes out near the base of the mast). The mast is the 2nd longest side of the triangle. The boom is the shortest side of the triangle (at the bottom) and the longest side of the triangle is the edge of the sail that goes from the end of the boom to the top of the mast.

 

A Nonsuch is a beautiful, high quality cat boat that is relatively easy to operate because of only one sail - so it may be "single-handed" quite easily as opposed to boats that carry a mainsail and jib (forward sail) which are a bit more involved when it comes to changing direction.

 

Sailing can be complicated at times - much more so than powerboating. Hubby and I have done both. Sailing is wonderfully relaxing and quiet when it's just the wind driving the boat - but if weather turns bad sailboats are slow under power (generally under 10 knots) and it can take awhile to get somewhere. The Nonsuch is beamy (meaning wide) so accommodations are generous for the length of the boat. Sailboats are also relatively slow under sail - even under windy and ideal conditions many don't go more than 10 knots unless you're talking about an America's Cup boat.

 

There are tons of choices and price points and I'd suggest you try renting, or shopping at marinas where you can board the boats and get a sense of what you like or dislike. Then take a coast guard class and learn about how to be safe and get around. And expect to come across a lot of ignorant boaters that buy a boat and turn the key and don't know much about right of way on the water.

 

Good luck!

The wife and I are thinking of purchasing a sailboat. Something between 35' and 40'. Neither of us have sailed before, but we both like the option of going out on the boat for a few days and not coming back to the hustle of LA. Was curious if anyone on the forums here sailed, and if you could tell me your experiences, etc?!

 

Thanks!

 

since youre in LA youll probably want to keep the boat in marina del rey, id look into how much a slip can cost along with availability

The little I know about boats tells me to RENT! And preferably include someone else to drive, lest you find yourself accompanied by a volleyball and Piggy.

since youre in LA youll probably want to keep the boat in marina del rey, id look into how much a slip can cost along with availability

 

THIS!

 

I'm not a sailor but have very close friends that are.

 

1. DO NOT buy a boat before you learn how to sale. Learn how to sail a smaller boat and then work up to bigger boats.

2. Most people say the 2 best days of boat ownership are the first and last days of owning it. They are expensive to maintain and unless you have a house with a dock they are expensive to store.

Raj is 100% right, learn to sail before buying a sailboat. Also, make sure there's dockage available before you buy anything. With that said, I just got Sir Peter Blake's ex raceboat Ceramco NZ. Problem is that it draws 13' and has a 120' mast which severely limits where it can go and at the very minimum it needs a crew of 6 to sail it...

Whilst not especially helpful here is a picture of my boat which I won in a drunken bet.

 

 

Used it probably 4 times, it might even be still there.

Whilst not especially helpful here is a picture of my boat which I won in a drunken bet.

 

 

Used it probably 4 times, it might even be still there.

 

Lol, that reminds me of one night on Antigua being very drunk and comendeering a dingy and getting stuck in a rock and taking a long time how to get back to shore.

Not really a sailor. I did however grew up at a house on a beach (pacific ocean) and sailed small boats, windsurfers, etc. from a young age into my early 20's. We also belonged to two yacht clubs and did crew on some sail boats racing. My Dads same age cousin also raced sail boats with the yacht club. But I preferred power boats, but did find small sailboats fun.

 

You need to learn the basics of sailing first. Good news, in the 30 to 40ft range there is lots of beginner boats. The big consideration is draft, some marinas might be shallow for the boat. Sailboats can therefore be more expensive to moor.

 

Washington State and Oregon now have a boat operators license, California and Arizona are looking at doing the same. So you might as well take a general safe boating course.

 

Find a boat show. Newport Beach has a big show once per year and so does LA.

 

California most of the fun boating is on inland lakes and the Sacramento River. While Catalina is fun, so is cruising around San Diego or Newport, etc. The inland lakes just have more people and interesting things going on. Plus Lake Havasu. Id get a small powerboat that can be trailered.

Sailing school first to learn know what you don't know.

 

Then rent optimist boat to learn some moves and then go out on bigger boats with good sailor.

 

Although sailing is really fun on a big boat, I would not like to be owner of one.

I am good with my rowboat and small lake.

Being from Montana, my boating experience was zero, but standing beside the Chittendon Locks between Lake Union and Puget Sound fueled my fascination with boats, especially sail boats.

 

When I moved to PA I went down to Havre de Grace, MD and took a weekend class, the American Sailing Association (ASA) 101 Basic Keelboat. It was both classroom instruction and going out on the water in a 22ft boat. Learned an amazing amount and got bit with 'the bug'.

 

Few years later I bought a Pearson 26 (26ft sailboat, outboard motor, tiller, small cabin) and sailed that around the Magothy River and the Chesapeake for a summer and totally fell in love. Learning to sail on a smaller, tough, forgiving boat is a much better way to go, I feel, than buying a big 'nice' boat right off the bat. People told me I would be selling the P26 in a year to either move up to bigger boat if I love sailing, or to get rid of it and get out of sailing if I didn't.

 

The next summer I bought a Catalina 34ft and for the next 3 summers sailed that from the Patapsco R. down and around the Chesapeake to Annapolis, St. Michael's, Rock Hall, etc. 85% of the time single handing it.

 

It was only through learning the basics in ASA 101 and then having a summer full of sailing the P26 that I could comfortably (most of the time) handle the C34 safely and competently.

 

I would strongly advise going out on a friends boat, taking a class or two, and then, if you love it, getting a smaller less expensive boat to 'learn on'.

Plenty of time in a year or so for the big luxurious yacht!

 

It is truly an incredible feeling to sail a sailboat.

 

Sorry for the crappy pics, but I'm stuck in the office (where I do keep pics of both boats).

- Pearson 26

- Catalina 34

- me living it up

sailing might be easy but those damn knots. They all look same to me. I like bondage but not where I can drown.

I earned Small Boat Sailing merit badge in Boy Scouts and that cured me of any desire to own a sailboat. I will stick with motors thank you very much!

 

^ Love it!

 

I have had my share of sailing fun as well as others here. It really is enjoyable when you can participate with friends like anything else. I used to race keel boats and the last boat I owned was a J-29. A very fast boat that also had a great cockpit area to enjoy day sailing as well with several people. When racing, the boat purchase is the cheap part. The sails are ridiculously expensive and you need way more sails than you can imagine for different wind conditions. Watching a $2,000 lightweight spinnaker explode before your eyes in heavier air gets old real fast. Ha!

 

Being a sailor also afforded me and friends the opportunity to rent boats from the Moorings in the BVI, St. Marten, etc. We would take them out and cruise "bare boat"(without a Captain). Those were some great times, living on the boat and navigating around the islands. These were mainly boats in the 45-50' range with 3-4 cabin areas and fully provisioned.

Challenging and fun.

 

All of the boats you would consider are fully powered and can be driven anywhere, so don't freak out about the sailing part. You definitely need some good instruction and a competent crew(wife), but being under sail is not as difficult as it sounds. Sailing is something that can be enjoyed at any age, so never too late to start!

 

 

Thank you everyone in this thread who contributed. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone in the area with a sailboat, so I will have to find some local yacht clubs and see what kind of relationships I can manage. I am sure, however, that I can find someone in the area who can at least train us on what to do!

A thread about boats and not one comment about seamen.

 

Come on guys.

 

Why not just get a powerboat? Slightly easier on the learning curve...

Why not just get a powerboat? Slightly easier on the learning curve...

Whilst technically you can be away for a few days... it just tends to be a different kind of few days. You know what with fuel and power and that...

Thank you everyone in this thread who contributed. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone in the area with a sailboat, so I will have to find some local yacht clubs and see what kind of relationships I can manage. I am sure, however, that I can find someone in the area who can at least train us on what to do!

 

Don't forget BOOKS! Just go on Amazon and check out the different books on sailing, navigation, etc...and also I'd say take formal lessons. Books give you a lot of information in types of boats, sails, basics, etc...

Why not just get a powerboat? Slightly easier on the learning curve...

 

Maybe monetary due to the fuel costs.

I would love to own a Beetle Cat sailboat some day and a gaff-rigged sail boat.

Whilst technically you can be away for a few days... it just tends to be a different kind of few days. You know what with fuel and power and that...

 

Since we're on boats, an interesting fact I was reading was that Brits got the term "limey" from when the Royal Navy began supplying lemon juice to sailors to prevent scurvy. However, medical professionals at the time thought that lime juice was even better for this, so the Royal Navy began supply lime juice. And hence Royal sailors became known as "limeys," and then the term extended to British people as a whole.

Maybe monetary due to the fuel costs.

 

I can promise you with 100% certainty, that thought has NEVER crossed the mind of someone seriously shopping for 40' sailboats or open ocean power boats.

 

How many people didn't buy a Veyron purely because it gets shit fuel mileage?

I can promise you with 100% certainty, that thought has NEVER crossed the mind of someone seriously shopping for 40' sailboats or open ocean power boats.

 

How many people didn't buy a Veyron purely because it gets shit fuel mileage?

 

Sure, but 05LSV had asked why not a powerboat, so I was just pointing out that maybe the OP was only looking at sail because of fuel costs for a powerboat.