Am I doing the right thing?

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Yes

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"Buy something that suits you and SWMBO rather than something for other people, otherwise you will probably find yourself dependant on other people to get use out of it."
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is one of the comments that has made me think, partly because I think the main holiday for the next 3 years will include my youngest son (now 15, and he could well bring a friend) who is mad keen on the idea of sailing, and one or both of my older children (probably a week at a time , partly overalpping depending on work/other holiday plans etc). I suspect 30% of the usage will be SWMBO and I, and the rest we'll have minimum 3 (including 2 that have done CC). A dilemna for sure!!!!
 
Buying and selling boats can be a stressfull expensive business. You know that you really want a 36 footer so IMHO dont buy smaller first ,go for it .The training will be good but loads of practice is what will really teach you how to handle it.

In no time at all you will wonder what you were worried about.
 
I'm not so sure it's a good idea to get such a big boat, and 36' is big, IMHO.

Berthing in tight marinas is the stressfull bit and modern high volume,high windage lightweight fat fin keelers are no fun at all in any cross wind.

Smaller boats are cheaper to run, easier to handle (within reason) can get more places and are better to learn on. You're bound to get a few dents and dings along the way (hopefully not from other peoples boats!) so get something that they won't matter so much in.

I'd advise; get the smallest you are comfortable with, not the biggest you can afford. (is that a quote from someone?)
 
Yes, go for it, but do as we did and BOTH do Day Skipper theory AND practical. If either or both want to take it a step farther that's great, but both do the basics. Our DS examiner's final comment was that we'd both passed individually, but together our different strengths and weaknesses made a very strong team.
 
Buying and selling boats can be a stressfull expensive business...........

Definately agree with the latter bit but I can say (and I've been reading, learning, reading, seing boats, trying boats, changing course and reading more since about august!) that there has been no stress at all - it's been a sheer joy- absolutley fascinating and very exciting- ok, it'll probably change the moment I sink money into it, but once I've made the decision I will work at it to make the best of it
 
I'd definitely go for the 36'er....

You have one huge advantage over many, in that being a dinghy sailor, you'll understand whats going on with th sails up.... and what to do when for example, she's being pressed... things like going head to wind will be a doddle.... whereas for the non sailor, they're not instinctive....

As for the marina bit.... one of the most valuable things any skipper can learn is when to NOT do things.... and that includes difficult berths..... if its windy, and a berth looks challenging, then don't go in there!... 9 times out of ten you can grab somewhere else much easier temporarily (such as a fuel berth, or an alongside berth), while perhaps waiting for the wind to drop, or to grab another helping hand to come onboard, to take time to think through your strategy and be ready for the maneouvre, or even to leave her overnight until better conditions, and drop in on the way back from work the following day to put her back 'in her slot'

Modern 36'ers are much easier to handle, with amazing turning circles, powerful engines, and less quirky handling... eg little or no prop kick.....

SWMBO will be much more enthusiastic with the extra space, and that counts for a great deal... but don't rush it.... take your time.... pick good and settled weather to start with, be prepared to abandon plans with poor forecasts, and by the time it becomes a bit more challenging, you'll wonder what you ever worried about.....
 
I bought my first boat a 36' last February and it was the right size. I have a wife and three sons 8,12 & 14 and anything smaller would have meant that some members of the family would not have wanted to come along. As it is each has their own cabin and space and family holidays are a joy.

However, I made sure that I had lots of training first and sent my wife and oldest son on a chartered yacht with an instructor to gain their competent crew before we took delivery. Every boat is a compromise, and you have to weigh up what you need right now. A sea kindly boat is likely to be cramped inside unless you have deep pockets and go for a much bigger boat, and AWB will be less kindly but offer more room. If you are pottering along the coast and not planning long voyages and plan you use the boat mainly in the summer in moderate winds then there is little reason to worried about the shortcomings of the handling of an AWB.

So my advice is yes go for the 36', send you wife and eldest son on a comp crew course asap and you might want to consider going on a flotilla holiday first. That way you get to skipper your own boat in company with some peace of mind it will also give you and you crew some extra experience.
 
I think its best if your minimum crew can handle the boat - otherwise, like some of my friends, you end up making complicated plans to drop crew and pick up others on a tight schedule. That's the sort of thing that sends you out in bad weather and in the end gets you down.
The question of size isn't obvious either. A lot of things get more difficult with a large boat :- getting on and off particularly for mooring, putting up the sails, winding in the sheets unless you go for electric winches. moving around marinas.
There are positives :- faster passages, possibly greater safety in foul weather.
One question will the improvement in skills with experience beat the detrioration in strngth with age?
 
We bought a 36ft yacht two years ago.

As a couple we needed crew for the first season then this last year realised we could sail without crew - in all conditions. Basically if you sail as a couple you learn to develop techniques that work for two.

It's all about confidence and gaining competence. Give it time and effort and you will achieve this.
 
[ QUOTE ]
One question will the improvement in skills with experience beat the detrioration in strngth with age?

[/ QUOTE ]

There is no doubt that, when I am 70, there is no way I will be able to get into some of the berths or heads that I could get into on smaller boats when I was younger. In fact I would have a job with some of them now... you had to be a contortionist.

I remain firmly in the bigger is better camp, (as in 36ft rather than 30ft or less).

Maybe watching the "buying a boat" video might help

http://theiberianseaschool.com/content/view/15/26/

the others may be worth a watch aswell.
 
Firstly I would suggest you have started the correct way...by sailing dinghys, in my mind anyone that has started this way has a far better understanding of sails and sailing than what appears to be the normal way to start nowadays...jumping in at the deep end with a 32ft plus boat.

As for sailing a 35 footer the principle is the same as a Mirror/Wayfarer etc.

As mentioned previouslly the big problem comes in close quarters manouvering i.e. marina berthing....this will take tons of practice to come up with a technique that suits yourself and the number or not of crew you may have.....all I will say is practise practise practise till you have the confidence to put the boat where you want it.

Paul.
 
agree with starting off with dinghys. It gives you an awareness that bigger yachts don't. It doesn't give you yacht experience, nor mobo, all of which need experience above and beyond.
 
My first reaction was 'Go for it' - no doubt at all. Reading the posts since your starter, I am surprised at the number of negative responses. Boats bigger than one's own always seem daunting. Till you have one, then it seems just a tad too small.

Your first season will be nervy, getting less so as the season goes by, and you find it ain't really so hard. It will be the marina manoeuvering that will be the hard bit, tight spaces and all that. But MagnaCarter has said it - just park the boat somewhere easier if the conditions are a bit iffy. Your natural nervousness will be a good weathercock, if you feel it is a bit too breezy, it probably is. When you are out, and you wonder if you should reef - reef. Someone said a 36 is just like a Mirror or Wayfarer, that's true, except you cant drink a cuppa on a Mirror.

If you don't go ahead with a 36, but hold back for something smaller, you will really kick yourself. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Well we did the same some 8yrs ago but we had about 8yrs experience racing dinghys in all weathers and had chartered a 36' in Greece.

Being concerned is a good human reaction that enables us to survive; by recognising risks and overcoming them.

We bought our first 36' after a wet and cold race that left SWMBO in tears. We immediately booked into a Gibraltar sailing school to do a weeks DS and took the VHF licence and then went for it. While Gibraltar was good it did not teach us to berth in tidal and windy conditions and the first weekend in our new boat fully showed up my limitations. We then both did an evening just berthing and I endorse what others have said about how difficult it can be.

My first berthing was at Bucklers Hard in the Solent and luckily someone shouted to us that there was a strong cross current and that the last boat had just caused some damage. In my overconfidence I still went for it and with the help of our crew and the people fendering off on the adjacent boat managed it after a fashion without any damage.

Sailing, even cross channel was easy its berthing that really sorts out the inexperienced and the less able.

I strongly recommend getting additional tuition and try to cover the difficult situations. In the Solent often the only berth left will be a difficult one.

Good luck and strongly recommend you go for it. Please post again saying how you got on.
 
Against the flow here, our first non-dinghy was a triple keel hurley 19, and it seems to have been a good choice, as it turned out we could take the ground upright (even if we hadn't planned to), and stop her with an extended foot when approaching the pontoon at too enthusiastic a speed.
 
i think SWMBO would find a mid-ships guardrail opening and a boarding ladder helpful and I'd also wondered about a bow thruster??
 
Well, the result is in. It is of course the answer I wanted and expected as opose the answer I probably would hve ignored had it gone the other way!!

Some great discussion points along the way though that have given me a number of ideas so my thanks to everyone for their comments
 
Recommend the guard rail gate. Rather than a boarding ladder we find a fender step works well and can be used as a roving fender as well.

Good thread on bowthrusters on PBO under "is 28' too small to fit a bow thruster" about a week ago. I would do the DS practical first and see how you get on with close boat manoeuvring and decide depent on how difficult are the berths you are likely to use. On our boat it was cheaper to get one fitted after delivery and that company in the end repaired the distributer fitted bowthruster so I would see how you get on first before ordering one with a bowthruster. I suspect you will be fine without one but do get some berthing lessons.
 
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