Newbie

[Shuke97]

Hey there

Just introducing myself. Wife and I a totally new. Planning on doing the learn to sail next summer.

Love the water, but have a ton to learn.

Sailboat?
Power cruiser?
Catamaran?
Yacht?

Not sure. Maybe all? Lol

Ok. Help me!

Joe

[Brioche]

Aesthetics and practical issues ultimately dictate what boat you choose. Where will you keep it? Will you live aboard? Do you want to enjoy the water and return to dock or mooring, or do you want to travel? Those are practical issues. Do you like the quiet of a sailboat, or the speed of a power boat? Those are the aesthetic questions.
Aside from that, if you choose to sail, it might be a good idea to start sailing some smaller boats first, and crewing on other boats. Smaller boats will help you understand how sails work, and are quicker to respond. Crewing or sailing on other people's boats gives you a sense of what style boat really feels right. Volume of a solid increases with the cube of a side, and cost of boats similarly goes up exponentially with size.

[thesaltytar]

Welcome aboard Joe! What do you want help with? Deciding a path? Well, first you should probably find out what you like or what appeals to you, but another question is what your plans are?

[Shuke97]

I think we’d ultimately like to do longer excursions.

I’d like to know how to sail, which is why we are taking the course. But also like the idea of power cruising.

It would be the cost of power cruising that I am concerned about.

Island hopping the carribean is attractive. But would like to migrate in winter and marina up north in summer.

Is that helpful?

[Adelie]

Welcome.