Advice for Newbies please

[chockswahay]

My wife and I are intending to buy a yacht (30 to 40 ft), sell the house and go! I have just found this site on the net and it looks to me as if many of you may be able to help.

We are 45 (me) and 38 (wife) with limited sailing experience (dinghys etc) however we are fairly bright and healthy! The kids are grown up (Uni) and we want to travel before its too late.

Would anyone have words of advice/caution/recommendation ??

I am curious as to what size or style of yacht we should consider (our intention is sail around the world). In the meantime we are intending to join our local yacht club (UK) and research the whole matter in more detail.

Any advice much appreciated

JWF

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[snowleopard]

your ideas on what boat to buy will change as you gain experience so don't buy too quickly. take every opportunity to try different boats while you are learning. get all the sea time you can with experienced skippers and read as much as possible. it should be possible to get some long passages if you visit the various crew websites. here are a few to start you off:

http://www.7knots.com/
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.worldcruising.com/>http://www.worldcruising.com/</A>

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[DavidJ]

You need to talk to people who are actually doing it. I'm just a motor boat Med walla but in my current marina 'Marina di Roma' there are many Americans, Aussies and Kiwis in the middle of just what you planning. So my advice, get a cheap flight to Rome, go to the marina at Ostia and chat to the people, everyone is friendly (yes everyone!) and will just love to have you as an audience for thier tales...treat them to a meal out which is a luxery to most livaboards. You could do it now (in the heat) or wait till the winter when there will be dozens of 'em all huddled together.
The same will apply to many marinas, this is just where I am at the moment.
best of luck
David

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[jeanne]

Whatever boat you end up with (and I am a believer in heavy displacement long keelers for comfort and sea keeping abilities - or a decent cruising cat), plan on sailing it for at least one season before you head into the blue. That way you will find out all its foibles, decide on any mods necessary, carry out repairs/replacements and will be familiar with it. As far as advice is concerned, most yacht clubs have a member or two who have 'done it' - talk to them. But remember, we all have different ways of doing things, so take it for what it is and don't become slaves to someone elses ideas. There are some sensible books which give you some ideas - Sell up and Sail by the Coopers is excellent and don't forget the yachtsmans bible Eric Hiscock, Cruising Under Sail. We did meet people like you who did their learning on the hoof, and they were having a great time, but I still think you should use the boat for a year first. All cruising yachtsmen are like a constantly moving community and all give freely of their time and experience anywhere you go. Hope this helps, and good luck - you will have the tiome of your lives!

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[summerwind]

I'm sure you will get a lot of excellent advice from this forum and elsewhere.

My own contribution is that you should make sure you buy a big enough boat, big enough to store what you want to take that is. I have a 40 footer, set up for long distance cruising and I had difficulty finding a home for everything when I moved aboard.

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[Abigail]

What fun you'll be having. We have just moved on board our 40' ketch and very much in early stages of sorting stowage etc - and not getting enough sailing in. I'd very much echo what people have said about taking time to experiement and try boats (and I'm also a long keel heavy displacement person), and also to spend some time coastal hopping and shaking down first. (And after all the UK coasts are some of the most challenging sailing you'll get - read 'The Voyage of Baraka A' about the first Arab circumnavigators, who had their worst storms in the Channel!)

A couple of additional points:

(a) what is the heaviest anchor and the biggest sail that you can handle. Does 'you' mean both of you or your girlfriend (who's probably not as physically strong as you. Ref the pardey's article on the hurricane at Cabo San Lucas (in I think Self Sufficient Sailor) for the relevance of the anchoring part. For many people the size of sails and anchor you need on 40' set an upper limit. You can help withe sails a bit by having a ketch or a cutter rig, which reduces the biggest single sail, but you need to have this in mind.

(b) what can you really not do without? One post says he's struggled to get all his stuff into 40'. We haven't a hope and have already sold most of it! If you don't want to spend a fortune on storage (and you don't ) then you will get rid of it. So how many books, clothes, kitchen gadgets, ways of listening to music, comms devices etc do you want, on top of the stuff like spare sails, tools, and so on which you need for your safety as a sailor. And actually we'rte getting rid of more stuff all the time, and really enjoying it. But good storage really really matters.

(c) are you coming back in the foreseeable future? - say 5 years. If so the resale value may matter a lot to you. If you're looking at 10-20 years it's not so relevant, but you will probably need some ways of earning money along the way and that will need managing (eg we are investing a lot in comms as I rely on email and net access for money.)

(d) this might sound obvious or unecessary, but make sure your partner has an equal voice in the decision. It's amazing how many men leave their firlfriends/wives out of this decision and then wonder why they're not happy on board. It is not a failure of manhood to recognise that whatever else you will use the galley at least 3x a day, so it's comfort and ease are immensely important.

(e) Having made a list of all your necessary conditions and set your budget - buy a boat you love, with your heart not your head!





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[chockswahay]

Many thanks for your replies everyone, your advice is greatly appreciated.

I have already found the 'yachting community' a really friendly one. We visited Cardiff Bay last Sunday (13th) and were admiring a Moody 376. I started chatting to the owners and the next thing we knew we were invited on a cruise around the bay! (don't know if I should mention any names here but if the owners read this forum...........thanks once again, we really enjoyed ourselves).

Our desire to sail is indeed a joint one (although I was actually the less enthusiastic one). The plan has always been to do this when I am 50 but we are now getting very excited about the prospect and are looking to bring things forward if possible.

We are certainly not cash rich and will need to plan carefully, however we are intending the sell the house, buy 2 smaller ones and rent them out to provide us with a 'cruising income'

In the meantime............crewseekers.co here we come!

Any further advice very much welcomed

regards G & K

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[sailbadthesinner]

if you have the cash i think either UKSA or BOSS sailing schools ( do a google search) now do a course directed at bluewater liveaboard cruisers. Its costly but if you do not want to spen an entire season learning it may be one way.


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[JerryHawkins]

What type of rig & hull material?

My wife (Jill) and I are thinking along similar lines for a few years time. We've always thought that a 35-40' long keel heavy displacement type was the way forward, but what about:

1. Hull material - wood, steel, GRP or ferro? Whats best - pros/cons of each?
2. Type of rig - sloop, ketch, cutter (sloop or ketch), junk, "Freewing"?

Current thoughts are for steel hull (for strength, may get away with container collision) and junk rig for cheapness (unstaid masts so no standing rigging) ease of handling and simple repair.

Anyone got any thoughts?

Cheers, Jerry

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[marcost]

we are just back from a 1 year trip to the caribean with a bavaria 430 atlantic,
following items were added before departure:
-3.5 kVA 220 v diesel driven inboard generator
-2nd hydraulic autopilot (we never have steered by hand)
-HAM radio
- 2nd forestay
items we realy enjoied:
-generator for charging batteries, hot water, microwave
-HAM for wheather routing (SOUTHBOUND II, 12359 KHz at 20.00 UTC)
items we missed:
-irridium mobile phone
-2nd furling headsail
the boat itself behaved very well and downwind sailing was perfect; allways under autopilot.

conclusion:
if you want to do it, do it now.
once started, you will meet a lot of people doing the same and with the advice of more routined sailors and your own experience gained under way, you will find out for yourself which equipment you need on your boat. In the Canaries, St Maarten, ... you can find everything you need.

Good luck

Marc sy Lady Anne

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[themount2]

Don't lose touch with these forums. You have already discovered just how helpful and supportive they are and there is plenty more where that came from. You've got some really experienced sailors on here use 'em - they all love sailing and that is what unites them.
I have no advice to offer as I am at the same "newbie" stage as you.
Go for it and the very best of luck to you both.
Brian

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[Richard_Blake]

I'm not experienced enough to advise myself, but by chance I was talking to a man today at the yard where we're restoring our oldie. He and partner have just come back from two years in the Med in a fairly high-tech boat, and they greatly regret changing to it from the older lower tech 36-footer they had before, in which they did four years Atlantic, down to Brazil, etc..
On the old boat they could fix almost anything themselves, or find someone else who could almost anywhere. With the high-tech job even trivial problems meant waiting weeks for parts, and difficulties finding the people to fit them .
They're selling the new boat and going back to something "with an engine which is also basically used in tractors". He also said, in general, make sure you've got two ways of doing anything - make sure your roller foresail can be lowered very easily if it won't roll up in a blow, for example. And have an alternative easy way to heat water!
Good luck
Richard

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[Richard_Blake]

Oh, yes, and he also said that he would buy something built before 1998, and very thoroughly registered officially from new, because he'd had so many problems with officials in various countries. Something to do with the latest European and other regulations. But I expect the experienced liveaboards will be able to clarify all that for you!
R.

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[hlb]

Just a point of warning. I rent a few houses out. Dont know where you live. But the houses for rent market is fairly saturated in many places and of course houses are no longer cheap. Make sure you do your research before buying and have a good agent to look after them.

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Haydn

 

[AndrewB]

Caveat emptor!

I'm absolutely with the advice to proceed cautiously. Whatever your circumstances, its a very major committment in mid life. Some people who plunge in too deep, too quickly, give up early, either because they find they don't enjoy the long distance lifestyle or because they miss home life more than they expected. All along the blue-water circuit one can find abandoned UK yachts being sold cheap, as evidence of broken dreams.

Also, lacking experience, it is too easy to be attracted to the wrong sort of boat for long-distance sailing, and not to appreciate all the practical skills involved in keeping a cruise smooth running. I would firmly recommend that you and your wife buy a yacht to learn on and sail around the UK coast for a couple of seasons. This can be fairly small, the main consideration being it will be easy to sell after the learning period. Also during this time you should both find an opportunity to crew on an ocean passage in a yacht. Maybe on an ARC yacht for example.

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[Bob]

A good place to start.

A good place to start is to have a good look around the Cruiser Log website - this site caters specifically for long distance cruisers. I'm sure you'll find much of the information you require there.

http://www.cruiser.co.za

Good luck with your plans.

Bob


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[chockswahay]

OK.....I've bought the books, booked in for competent crew course, looked at a few boats etc.............

Now the problem........I have fallen head over heels for the Legend 356 !!! Abigail said 'buy with the heart' .......if I do this I will be broke for a while to come........however the boat is just fantastic !!

Before I saw the Legend I was all set to consider something simple (maybe even junk rigged) but now I have seen the alternative I am all of a bother!

Help!

G

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[jeanne]

Well, it's horses for courses! Just remember, if you put yourself in hock now, you probably won't fulfill your dream of taking some time off to go cruising, but you may still have good fun. As you suspected, it is probably better to go for something simpler (and cheaper), a well travelled and proven marque - and as you are newbies, ask yourself what made you fall in love with the Legend? If it was similar to wanting a Jag as opposed to a Mondeo, you may be looking at the wrong things....make friends with someone who has done it to find out what is practical and forgiving for the inexperienced. And try to crew on other boats in the club you have(?) joined. But you are right when you say that the look of your boat has to make your heart sing- you have to be able to look back at it as you are rowing ashore and be able to say "I'll have that one!"

Whatever you decide, I wish you all the joy in the world when you get on the water.

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[AndrewB]

But don\'t ignore your head!

A Legend 356 is not an ideal choice for a short-handed long-distance cruising yacht. These mid-range Legends are designed to appeal to first-time buyers. That is not to say they are bad yachts. You could have fun summer cruising in Britain, it would be suitable for a Med mooring, or to be shipped out to the WI for local cruising.

But there is a very good chance that after a couple of years you would prefer something else. Go with your heart only if doesn't mean blowing your lifetime savings now on a yacht that is likely to depreciate.

 

[chockswahay]

Thanks guys, I think that you are both right.........(I get the same thing with cars, my wife calls it 'showroom fever'). I just get carried away.................

I know deep down that what I really want (need?) is a home that sails. The primary purpose of our adventure is to travel............sailing follows a very close second.

Any more thoughts?

G

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