sell or not?

[Corto]

I'm fighting against my feelings! Father of two and half little girls ( the third will join us in jannuary 2018) and owner of a beautifull Corribee that I own since 2010, restored from a to z by myself. I bought it in the Netherlands and brought it back here in Italy in 2012-2013 via canals. After the news of the the third child I came with the idea of selling the boat beacuse she will be too small for all the five of us. Also because with kids time for sailing is always a second option during the weekend. Now people are coming to see the boat and they like it very much because altough the mast is a bit short for our winds, the design is unusual here in Italy. On the other side I feel that I'm loosing a bit of myself! If selling, my plan B is to wait when the girls are a bit older (around 5-6) and buy a Caledonia Yawl or similar for nautical camping. Need advice!

 

[William_H]

Well if you are thinking of selling and get a good offer then let it go. However kids and sail boats can go together really well with a bit of planning and care. They love to be with their parents (dad) and do different things. The brand new one will be very happy in a bassinet on the floor or later in a car seat attached. The 2 older girls will need buoyancy vests or foam life jackets and of course you need a mother who is keen to go.
I seem to have done a lot of sailing (racing) with kids on board. A 5yo girl and often a 5yo girl friend plus 3 yo grandson with their dad(s) and 2 other crew. My son their father can get leave to go sailing if he brings the kids. They bring lots of food and make a terrible mess inside and when they get bored their dad puts cartoons on the I phone. So don't be so sure you have to give up sailing. olewill

 

[Fantasie 19]

I'm fighting against my feelings! Father of two and half little girls ( the third will join us in jannuary 2018) and owner of a beautifull Corribee that I own since 2010, restored from a to z by myself. I bought it in the Netherlands and brought it back here in Italy in 2012-2013 via canals. After the news of the the third child I came with the idea of selling the boat beacuse she will be too small for all the five of us. Also because with kids time for sailing is always a second option during the weekend. Now people are coming to see the boat and they like it very much because altough the mast is a bit short for our winds, the design is unusual here in Italy. On the other side I feel that I'm loosing a bit of myself! If selling, my plan B is to wait when the girls are a bit older (around 5-6) and buy a Caledonia Yawl or similar for nautical camping. Need advice!

I would sell too... boats go (with good memories usually) and boats come... but with the children at that age, even if they take to sailing, you'll not have the amount of time for maintaining her and enjoying her.. sell, and buy again in 5 years...

 

[Daydream believer]

Sell, join a yacht club where there are kids with dinghies. Buy the kids a dinghy of the same sort. They will soon get fed up with parents and start mixing with other children & enjoying themselves. If they get a bit competetive you will be there to take them to events . If not you will be there to teach them all sorts of things. When they want space ( which they should have) you can stand back & watch. When something breaks then dad has his wallet--- that is what dads are for

 

[Corto]

many thanks for the advices... !

 

[AndrewL]

As the father of a 1 year old girl I have been asking myself the same question. Although I always knew that there would be very little time for sailing, I have now found that it is hard to even find a few hours for maintenance. My Macwester 22 is old but everything works due to all the work I've put in. I could probably sell her now but after a few years of neglected maintenance she would be much harder to sell. My heart doesn't want to sell, especially when I think of all the hours I spent on her and all the planned trips we've not managed to make yet. But my heads says sell now because you really don't want to end up with an unsaleable MAB in a few years time.

I realise that this does not answer your question, but I've been thinking about asking exactly the same question to see what others have found when they had children.

 

[adamstjohn]

I had that dilemma about 9 years ago, 2 kids now 7 and 9 yrs old, ok, the boat is 30ft so a touch bigger than a corribee, I am so so glad I didn't sell it as the money I would have got for it (early 80's boat in very sound sailing boat with good mechanicals but needing some cosmetics ) would have been absorbed very quickly into something else and I would have struggled to afford something later on. I am lucky I share the burden with a friend, works well for me. We spend weekends on the boat and the family enjoy it , the kids are learning well.
If I had the money I would buy a slightly bigger boat now though......a question of cash in my case.

 

[johnalison]

Corto really only has two choices: buy a larger boat if he can afford the money and time, change to dinghy/day-boat sailing, or stop sailing for a while (note my fine arithmetic skills). I think this has to be a family matter, and much depends on the mother in this situation.

 

[Corto]

Thanks to all of you. It's a relief that I am not the only one in the same condition. The mother is in love with sailing, she is the co-owner of the Corribee, and she is not 100% sure of selling. But of course she is the "key actress" in the babies management, at least since the last will be 1-2 years old, and plus work her time is close to 0. So also for her the everyday reality is taking place of the "young and wild years". The idea of buying a dinghy is very appealing, I'm in love with Caledonia Yawl tipe of boat, ai would love to put her on a trailer and travel around with the family for some nautical camping, I don't have experiences with trailer sailer so I don't know if is practical and not a pain the all process of the launch and retrieve from the trailer.

 

[Tranona]

Trailing and launching that size of boat is certainly practical. It only becomes difficult when you try to trail a 20-24' small cruiser when weight, complexity mean it is not the sort of thing you want to do regularly.

Suggest you get a copy (or subscribe) of a magazine called Watercraft and you will discover a whole new world of sailing/trailing/camping with small boats. The emphasis is on traditional style sailing boats of which the Caledonian Yawl is just one. There is a big range of such boats that can be bought secondhand or if you fancy built from plans or kits.

 

[Champagne Murphy]

Here's an idea, why not sell but get them into dinghies while they're young. Best intro to sailing, everyone keeps up their skills, manageable boats for kids. Then everyone's ready when you buy a bigger boat.

 

[biscuit]

There is no guarantee that your kids will take to sailing, in dinghies or otherwise, whatever the parental encouragement. My oldest son sailed a Mirror, a Topper and didn't really like it at all. He later became a hot-shot board sailor and now kitesurfer. My other son goes diving. Neither has any interest in going cruising with their parents.

 

[Corto]

Biscuit, you are absolutely right. I don't want force my kids to love sailing or to love any of the things that I like. Sailing is my and my wife passion a sort of "secret garden". If they will take it we will be happy as well as if they won't like it. What is important to me is that they will learn the respect for the environment in general and for the sea in specific, that is the base of my love for sailing.