Anyone short handed want to show a sail newbie how it's done..

[wipe_out]

I am seriously considering learning to sail and switching from power but have zero experience of sailing.. I love being on the water but always power boats, starting at 16 when I did a lot of water skiing through to now (39) on a 26ft express cruiser.. The issue I have is while I love the speed and ease of power I really don't love the fuel bill and I want to go longer and further than I do now without having to sell the house to do it so sail seems the logical direction..

Having NEVER been on a sail boat I would really like to get a feel for it and see if its something I could take to but I don't know anyone with a sail boat approximately the size and type I would be looking at.. I figure 30-35ft is probably the size that would give the accommodation I would like without being a) too expensive or b) too much to handle..

So if anyone from Eastbourne to Littlehampton is short handed and wants to go out for a sail sometime and doesn't mind a newbie tagging along I would be very interested to see what sailing is all about..

 

[Seajet]

wipe_out,

the snag is you've hit the end of the season when most people are bringing their boats ashore.

I'd be happy to take you for a spin next spring, my boat is not in your projected size range but is quite capable and rewarding to sail - no way for sale at any price anyway !

Hopefully you'll get some offers, if not PM me and we'll organise something next year.

 

[jac]

Seajet is right. We're still in the water but we're a bit out of your area. If you were able to travel a bit further and get to say Chichester or Portsmouth you would open up a lot more opportunities.

 

[wipe_out]

Thanks for the offer Seajet, I will let you know if I haven't found a way to try out sailing by then..

The size is just a guess, I read somewhere that to get a similar amount of "space" going from Mobo to Sail you needed to add 10ft so that's all it's based on.. It may be wrong..

 

[wipe_out]

Seajet is right. We're still in the water but we're a bit out of your area. If you were able to travel a bit further and get to say Chichester or Portsmouth you would open up a lot more opportunities.

Yes, I hadn't thought about the fact all the boats will be coming out now.. In Brighton Marina most tend to stay in over the winter unless there is work to be done underneath..

I will be spending quite a bit of time in Bournemouth in the coming months (not 100% sure exactly when though) for some work I have to do down there but that's going to be essentially full blown winter.. Maybe it will actually be spring now before it becomes viable..

 

[Seajet]

Wipe_out,

I suppose there's a certain amount of truth in that theory, but sail & motor boats tend to be different shapes; sailing boats will be relatively long & thin, and usually more designed for being aboard at sea with plenty of hand holds and less wide open spaces to fall around; of course this is not so brilliant when in port, but the priority is functionality and not getting hurt when under way.

Top Tip; if you should go to the London boat show don't get suckered in, there is a whole different breed of sailing boats I refer to as ' Boat Show Boats ' which have no practical use to man or beast !

 

[wipe_out]

Top Tip; if you should go to the London boat show don't get suckered in, there is a whole different breed of sailing boats I refer to as ' Boat Show Boats ' which have no practical use to man or beast !

I'll keep that in mind..

No way I'll be buying a new boat so I think I am relatively safe from the "sales pitch".. For the proposed size I will probably be looking at mid to late 90's boats, maybe early 2000's if I get lucky.. Of course I may find that smaller is perfectly fine in which case the price drops too which isn't a bad thing.. I have never understood the disproportional nature of the LOA to price ratio, anyway it is what it is..

 

[jac]

Yes, I hadn't thought about the fact all the boats will be coming out now.. In Brighton Marina most tend to stay in over the winter unless there is work to be done underneath..

I will be spending quite a bit of time in Bournemouth in the coming months (not 100% sure exactly when though) for some work I have to do down there but that's going to be essentially full blown winter.. Maybe it will actually be spring now before it becomes viable..

They might be in the water but out of commission, sails off, engines winterised etc.

 

[jac]

I'll keep that in mind..

No way I'll be buying a new boat so I think I am relatively safe from the "sales pitch".. For the proposed size I will probably be looking at mid to late 90's boats, maybe early 2000's if I get lucky.. Of course I may find that smaller is perfectly fine in which case the price drops too which isn't a bad thing.. I have never understood the disproportional nature of the LOA to price ratio, anyway it is what it is..

Length is linear but the price is more linked to displacement which has a closer link to the volume which is more of a cube.

 

[wipe_out]

Length is linear but the price is more linked to displacement which has a closer link to the volume which is more of a cube.

Thanks, that's actually a good way to look at it when comparing..

 

[lustyd]

now (39) on a 26ft express cruiser..

I really don't love the fuel bill and I want to go longer and further than I do now without having to sell the house to do it

I figure 30-35ft is probably the size that would give the accommodation

No offense but I'm not sure you've really thought this one through. If you can't afford a 26ft motor boat and fuel then there is little chance you'll be able to afford a 35ft sailboat. Unless you're planning to motor around the world then you're probably only talking a few hundred pounds for fuel even on a really, really long trip. If you're spending more than this then either you have the really wrong motor boat or your driving is causing excess fuel usage. Slow down. You'll have to slow down in a sail boat anyway. Have you seen how much sailors spend on clothing? I doubt you spent as much this year on fuel as I spent on clothes when I started sailing. Have you seen how much shackles, blocks, ropes, sails and all the other gubbins on a sail boat cost? I've said it before and I'll say it again, sailing is not cheaper than motor boating unless you're doing serious long distances.

If you want to switch to sailing (and I did and don't regret it) then do it because you like sailing, not because you can't afford boating. If money is an issue get a smaller boat not a bigger one. Try it out in a dinghy at a local lake or try a competant crew course so you get the skills you'll need and then decide. If you're lucky you may find a forumite who is calm enough on board to not put you off of sailing but IMHO you're much better off with a professional instructor who will calmly nudge you in the right direction.

 

[prv]

They might be in the water but out of commission, sails off, engines winterised etc.

Yep - I would have offered, I enjoy introducing people new to sailing, but we've declared the season over for this year. Usually I'd leave it later, but I want to get cracking with my planned improvements to the new-to-us boat. So the sails are in my dad's garage and the boat is in the water but not going anywhere.

Pete

 

[alant]

I am seriously considering learning to sail and switching from power but have zero experience of sailing.. I love being on the water but always power boats, starting at 16 when I did a lot of water skiing through to now (39) on a 26ft express cruiser.. The issue I have is while I love the speed and ease of power I really don't love the fuel bill and I want to go longer and further than I do now without having to sell the house to do it so sail seems the logical direction..

Having NEVER been on a sail boat I would really like to get a feel for it and see if its something I could take to but I don't know anyone with a sail boat approximately the size and type I would be looking at.. I figure 30-35ft is probably the size that would give the accommodation I would like without being a) too expensive or b) too much to handle..

So if anyone from Eastbourne to Littlehampton is short handed and wants to go out for a sail sometime and doesn't mind a newbie tagging along I would be very interested to see what sailing is all about..

Contact any sailing school & they would be happy to have you aboard.

 

[laika]

Unless you're planning to motor around the world then you're probably only talking a few hundred pounds for fuel even on a really, really long trip.

I'm no expert but...have you seen how much the average motorboat drinks? Would the motorboaters here who have the kinds of boats that will happily cross the channel say that £1k in fuel is wide of the mark for a there and back trip to france? By comparison our last trip to cherbourg was about a tenner's worth of diesel. Yes keeping a sailing boat is not cheap, but once you've paid your berthing fees etc. the marginal cost of going away for the weekend is not much, so there's no disincentive to using a sailing boat. I think that if your main love is just being out on the water or relaxing at anchor, fuel prices are a very good reason to consider sail.

I think I disagree with Seajet's view of "Boat Show Boats" (if he means AWBs). They make 'em like that because that's what people buy, and they buy them because they like the space and comfort and price and just don't go out in the kind of conditions where a "purist" would point out that they don't excel.

An Anderson 22 is probably not the best sailing boat to try first. You'll undoubtedly be disappointed with the speed of anything you sail after that.

 

[prv]

An Anderson 22 is probably not the best sailing boat to try first. You'll undoubtedly be disappointed with the speed of anything you sail after that.

I'll agree with the first sentence anyway. Not that there's anything wrong with the Anderson 22, by all accounts it's a very good example of the kind of boat it is - but I don't think that's the kind of boat the OP is thinking of buying.

Pete

 

[jac]

Yep - I would have offered, I enjoy introducing people new to sailing, but we've declared the season over for this year. Usually I'd leave it later, but I want to get cracking with my planned improvements to the new-to-us boat. So the sails are in my dad's garage and the boat is in the water but not going anywhere.

Pete

Would also have offered for same reason and we're technically still in commission but OP wants to try between Eastbourne and Littlehampton so we're outside his area (Bursledon)

 

[lpdsn]

No offense but I'm not sure you've really thought this one through. If you can't afford a 26ft motor boat and fuel then there is little chance you'll be able to afford a 35ft sailboat...

Go easy on him. Motor boats are substantially more expensive to buy & run than sailing yachts of the same length, so he's probably not being unrealistic at all.

So if anyone from Eastbourne to Littlehampton is short handed and wants to go out for a sail sometime and doesn't mind a newbie tagging along I would be very interested to see what sailing is all about..

It'd be a good idea to include the Solent in your catchment area. Firstly, it's one of the best places in England for winter sailing. It's only in the summer when it becomes a floating caravan park that it is the place to avoid. Secondly, there's an awful lot of boats there.

I'd happily offer myself, but I'm in Ireland.

 

[onesea]

Lots of advise here...
If you want to go sailing can do weekdays do not mind a couple of hour drive email me...
Boats afloat most of the year, although she might be a bit slow and weedy...

Shes old and battered but works where it matters...

 

[wipe_out]

No offense but I'm not sure you've really thought this one through. If you can't afford a 26ft motor boat and fuel then there is little chance you'll be able to afford a 35ft sailboat. Unless you're planning to motor around the world then you're probably only talking a few hundred pounds for fuel even on a really, really long trip. If you're spending more than this then either you have the really wrong motor boat or your driving is causing excess fuel usage. Slow down. You'll have to slow down in a sail boat anyway. Have you seen how much sailors spend on clothing? I doubt you spent as much this year on fuel as I spent on clothes when I started sailing. Have you seen how much shackles, blocks, ropes, sails and all the other gubbins on a sail boat cost? I've said it before and I'll say it again, sailing is not cheaper than motor boating unless you're doing serious long distances.

If you want to switch to sailing (and I did and don't regret it) then do it because you like sailing, not because you can't afford boating. If money is an issue get a smaller boat not a bigger one. Try it out in a dinghy at a local lake or try a competant crew course so you get the skills you'll need and then decide. If you're lucky you may find a forumite who is calm enough on board to not put you off of sailing but IMHO you're much better off with a professional instructor who will calmly nudge you in the right direction.

Lustyd,
I totally understand that sail boats aren't specifically cheap to own and sail but I have never managed to see how they can be more expensive that a motor boat, if anything they are probably very similar to maintain.. My perspective is that power or sail will both require "maintenance".. On sail boats it is shackles, blocks, ropes, sails and all the other gubbins as you mentioned.. On motor boats it's bigger engines to service that seem to have a tendency to die, out drives to service and repair, canopies to replace etc.. Obviously this is a discussion that has gone on many times before on the forum but I accept your opinion..

The difference as I see it is the cost to actually use the boat.. My boat has a top speed of 35kn, I generally cruise at about 20-22kn.. If I was to cruise to France as an example, call it 90nm each way, without doing the exact calculations I would probably be looking at something like £600 in fuel alone for the return trip.. Sure that isn't a lot in terms of what some motorboats boats use but on a sail boat it would probably use less than £10 in fuel.. Yes, I could idle my motor boat across at the ~5kn speed that the sailboat would do to use less fuel but I can't see it being very good for the engine to idle for the whole day and it still would be more than £10 in fuel.. As another example, just going for a cruise with friends on a Saturday easily costs £100 in fuel and that included shutting off the engine at sea to relax for a few hours, on sail it would be negligible cost and we could sail the whole time for no extra cost.. Obviously these things can be looked at from lots of different ways to justify power or sail one way or the other..

Also the 35ft was a length based of what I read that you should add 10ft when switching from power to sail.. From what I have seen looking online there are some 30ft sail boats that have some really good accommodation so that may be more than enough..

Your point is correct and I wouldn't switch to sailing if I didn't enjoy it as much or more than I do motor boating but I need to get a "feel" for sailing before I can make the decision.. I may not like it at all but on the other hand I may love it and have my motor boat on sale immediately..

 

[wipe_out]

Thanks all for the offers.. I guess Seajet was spot on that my timing was a bit off..

Onesea, I may take you up on the offer.. As I mentioned I will be going to Bournemouth and back quite a bit over the next few months so if I can steal a day perhaps we can do something..