Jumping in head first

[Joshwandrey1]

Hello fellow boat people, I am new to the boat scene. I’ve recently realized, that in order to meet my life goals, I need to study sailing, buy a boat, and sail around the world. My goal is to become a self sufficient cruiser. I’m hoping that I can meet the right people and learn a lot in the coming years, before I upend my life and become a full time cruiser. I’m planning on buying a sailboat and refitting it, learning to sail it and then moving it , from the lake In NC where it will be built to the ocean where I can sail the loop (or part of it) down to Miami and the Bahamas back to NC. Any help advise on what I should be researching would be helpful. Thank u and hope to hear from u soon

[dlj]

Sounds like you need to start small and work your way up, so to speak. The loop is done aften with trawlers, they seem to be better suited for that trip. But there are certainly those that do it in sailboats. My initial thoughts are you are just at the beginning. Lots to learn, both about sailing and about what you like in a boat. Good luck, enjoy, stay safe.

dj

[Joshwandrey1]

Originally Posted by dlj

Sounds like you need to start small and work your way up, so to speak. The loop is done aften with trawlers, they seem to be better suited for that trip. But there are certainly those that do it in sailboats. My initial thoughts are you are just at the beginning. Lots to learn, both about sailing and about what you like in a boat. Good luck, enjoy, stay safe.

dj

Yes the plan is to buy a sailboat , probably just a small coastal cruiser , I’m going to refit it , and sail on a large lake , I’m also planning on joining the yacht club. I’m just a little unsure as to what makes a boat “blue water” . A lot of websites and places on this forum, will say things like “ this is a good boat , 1 has made it around the world” and I don’t get it . What makes a production boat not blue water worthy? Also I am moving to NC, this is where I will refit my boat before moving it to the ocean and sailing to the Bahamas and back . Is there a better way then following the loop? The boat I’m planning on getting will be 25-35’ . Any suggestions?

[LittleWing77]

Oh, for pity's sake, Josh!

Learn to sail first.

LittleWing77

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Oh, for pity's sake, Josh!

Learn to sail first.

LittleWing77

He's looking to buy a sailboat, do some refit, join a yacht club, learn to sail on a lake, and then move to the mid atlantic.

What would be a better way?

He could spend lots of time TRYING to get some time crewing, spend lots of money on lessons and chartering, or buy a boat, make some friends, and go sailing.

You can do a whole lot more sailing if you own a sailboat.

[Muaddib1116]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Oh, for pity's sake, Josh!

Learn to sail first.

LittleWing77

Wow, that's helpful.


To Josh, I would say if you are looking for pretty specific playbook-style advice about how to approach this, then you need to give some pretty specific details about your situation. Things like age, health/fitness, experience, financial limits, etc. If you're uncomfortable with that level of sharing (which is very understandable), then I think the best thing to do is to just start reading forums, searching google, watching youtube and absorbing/learning as much as possible, until you are at a point where you can get practical experience. Whether that is through lessons or crewing for others, or through buying your own boat and just doing it, is up to your personality and tolerance for risk. Both can have good results.

I recommend youtube very much. If you just start watching any number of the well regarded sailing channels, they will teach you a lot while entertaining/inspiring you. And things you observe or see on those channels can lead you down rabbit holes of online research. If you're trapped at home and have time to watch, it's a great starting place.

[DaleM]

I live in NC and the plan to start small on a lake, then coastal and then ocean is a good one that a lot of North Carolina sailors do. I suggest one modification, don't build a boat. You probably don't have enough experience to know what kind of boat works best for you yet. You could easily spend years building a boat that you don't like and sell at a loss. I've done that.

Used sailboats are cheap and you can buy a boat cheaper than you can build one. I built one years ago with a material cost of $10 per pound, it's higher now. You can find older boat deals for 10% of that.

View your first boat as a throw away and not the final boat. It's the one to beat up, break, run aground and run into a dock and one to learn how to fix. Then buy the cruising boat.

Just my opinion, good luck.
Dale

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Joshwandrey1

Yes the plan is to buy a sailboat , probably just a small coastal cruiser , I’m going to refit it , and sail on a large lake , I’m also planning on joining the yacht club. I’m just a little unsure as to what makes a boat “blue water” . A lot of websites and places on this forum, will say things like “ this is a good boat , 1 has made it around the world” and I don’t get it . What makes a production boat not blue water worthy? Also I am moving to NC, this is where I will refit my boat before moving it to the ocean and sailing to the Bahamas and back . Is there a better way then following the loop? The boat I’m planning on getting will be 25-35’ . Any suggestions?

Keep in mind that sailing a blue water boat on a small inland lake is going to get quite boring especially as small boat....as in small keel boat

I have an old blue water boat and for it to get lively you need wind speed up around 12-14 or higher. Plus here it gets rough really fast and the wind can get up quite quickly so the the boat I have now is great for that

I learned sailing on inland lakes in Tennessee and Mississippi but I learned on a Hobie 16 which is a very fast little boat. Then I raced it and 3 other beach cats both on inland lakes for 12 years along the Gulf Coast

If I had used my present boat and old Bristol 27 blue water boat to learn on, it would have been quite slow poking around a lake and I may not have stayed with it long

[ohdrinkboy]

I sail on a lake in NC. My advice is to buy a cheap, small 19-22 foot boat and sail it on the lake a lot. Then take it to the coast or the Chesapeake and do some less protected sailing. Then you will be in a position to know what you want in a bigger boat to go cruising. Lots of boats out there for a few thousand. It won't be beautiful, but you can get lots of hours in cheap.

[barnakiel]

Oh My God.


WHY oh WHY 'sail around the world'?


It has been done already.


Also, reverse your planned order: learn to sail FIRST buy a boat LAST.


A full time cruiser is an urban legend. Only a minor part of the boat time is spent cruising, much less still sailing. Most of cruising life is done in the quay bars. The rest at forums, warring over Rocnas.


Still, I say go for it. And report back. And enjoy the ride.


Cheers,
b.

[Joshwandrey1]

Originally Posted by Pete17C

He's looking to buy a sailboat, do some refit, join a yacht club, learn to sail on a lake, and then move to the mid atlantic.

What would be a better way?

He could spend lots of time TRYING to get some time crewing, spend lots of money on lessons and chartering, or buy a boat, make some friends, and go sailing.

You can do a whole lot more sailing if you own a sailboat.

Thank u for the support, I’m not going to really “ jump in head first” lol . I’m definitely planning on learning sailing over a few years before making any serious blue water trips. I will keep the people of this site posted as I learn more and bug you all about questions.

[Joshwandrey1]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Keep in mind that sailing a blue water boat on a small inland lake is going to get quite boring especially as small boat....as in small keel boat

I have an old blue water boat and for it to get lively you need wind speed up around 12-14 or higher. Plus here it gets rough really fast and the wind can get up quite quickly so the the boat I have now is great for that

I learned sailing on inland lakes in Tennessee and Mississippi but I learned on a Hobie 16 which is a very fast little boat. Then I raced it and 3 other beach cats both on inland lakes for 12 years along the Gulf Coast

If I had used my present boat and old Bristol 27 blue water boat to learn on, it would have been quite slow poking around a lake and I may not have stayed with it long

I very much appreciate your advice, dang that’s a bummer . I was really hoping I could refit a small hunter or something to sail on the lake befor moving it to the ocean. I will definitely take this into account, I want my fiancé to have fun and become interested. Hopefully lake Norman can take a small cruiser �� . But now I’m not so sure.

[Phisher]

Hey Josh,

One thing you will find out about CF is that you will be bombarded by opinions. If you are in the early stages of your pursuit, by a small sailboat and sail her on Lake Norman. Learn the basics of sailing and hone your skills. This will give you and the GF the opportunity to learn and experience sailing.

Many people have grandious ideas of sailing, they buy a boat and it becomes a dust collector. If you see that you really like sailing. Put yourself up for crew and learn different boats. Make sure you are honest about your skill level, when volunteering for crew. Good Luck

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by Joshwandrey1

I very much appreciate your advice, dang that’s a bummer . I was really hoping I could refit a small hunter or something to sail on the lake befor moving it to the ocean. I will definitely take this into account, I want my fiancé to have fun and become interested. Hopefully lake Norman can take a small cruiser �� . But now I’m not so sure.

I took a google satellite look at Lake Norman, there are lots of sailboats on that lake, looks like some 30+ footers. You'll be fine.

Wind will probably get squirrelly near shore. But all those sailboats tell me it's a good place to be sailing.

[barnakiel]

Agreed. Plenty of opinions just like on any other speaker's corner.


Simply listen to everybody and then ... do your own thing.


It is the doer that makes things move.


And listening to opinions can make your head turn. It may also bring you the snippets of info not available elsewhere.


Many heads, many opinions = GOOD NEWS.


Ask, listen, learn. But above all: ACT.


;-)
Hugs,
barnakiel