Want to sail

[wind4me]

I am new to board and just want to sail. Maybe a few of you could give me some tips on what to look for in a sail boat and what to avoid. I am a sea kayaker from Maine and would like to branch into sailing. There are a lot of boats around here but where do I begin? Anyone looking for a sail partner, some company aboard in exchange for some lessons.

[dcstrng]

Don't know anything about what may be available up in Maine so can't be of much help there, sorry, but welcome from a fellow forum newbie...

[mickmul]

I would contend the transition from kayaking to sailing is best made in a two-crew dinghy, where the helmsman is offering instruction by virtue of needing you to adjust things etc - everyting is in your field of vision, and you'll latch on pretty quickly. A competent crew or day skipper course in tandem with this would be helpful. Then graduate to crewing on larger boats if that's what you want - it's a steep but rewarding learning curve!! Welcome to the forum!

[Wannafish]

It might help to know what part of Maine you are from. I have friends whose daughter lives in Maine. She is considering selling her sailboat because her sailing partner passed away and she doesn't like sailing solo. She probably isn't the only one in that predicament...

[David M]

Welcome aboard wind4me,
Don't buy a boat until you know more what sailing is about. Buying a boat now would be jumping the gun. Take some sailing lessons. Taking beginning through advanced lessons will get you on a variety of sailboats at the right schools. Get to know people with boats by getting on crew lists at yacht clubs...no membership required for most clubs. Put your name up on bulletin boards at marinas as crew available. Get on board as many different types of boats as you can. After you have had this type of experience, you will be much more educated on what type of boat best suits you and the type of sailing that most interests you.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Wind,
Welcome aboard!! Good to have you here. You'll get lots of advice and there are many opinions about how to learn to sail. You've taken the first step by contacting the folks on this forum. The second step would be to talk with a few sailors (wherever you might find them but a marina is a good start). Don't forget to do some reading and a very good book that isn't too out of date is "Start Sailing Right!"
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[Morgan Paul]

Get a boat like this FREE BOAT
sail, if you like it go bigger if not scuttle it or let it drift away.

[Moonchaser2304]

Hi Wind4me,

You may also want to do research on the fine line between "easily" trailered boats, and boats that technically are trailerable but not easily. For example, Bucaneer 18, Coronado 15, Hobie 16/18 cat, Nacra cat, Prindle cat, and many, many other 15 - 19 foot "planing hull" boats are light weight, extremely trailerable and have the advantage that you can pull them behind almost any vehicle, and actually travel on long vacation trips and take your boat with you anywhere. The speed on some of these is GREAT!! but you will get wet so it can be a short season....I did that for a few years and it was a lot of fun to sail many different inland lakes as you travel...maybe not as much an option for you in Maine eh?

The next size up being "technically trailerable" but not all that easy because they are small keel boats, like a Catalina 22 that weighs (help me out here friends) in the area of 3,000 pounds...GREAT boat for a new sailor, but not easy to trailer for a day trip at all. you can move a Catalina 22 behind a V8 vehicle but it would be a tough haul behind a V6. (I moved one up a high altitude canyon behind a 4 cylinder but would not recommend it)

Anything up from that size is a candidate to stay in the water on a mooring or in a marina...so as you get as many free rides from other sailors like mentioned above consider those 3 categories too.

One personal recommendation...don't buy a trailer sailer boat that is a "project boat"...you can nickel and dime yourself in repairs and parts into the price of a only slightly used boat...and if you do a trailer, get as big a tires as possible and GOOD bearings!

Go hop some free rides!!

If you were in Dallas area I'd invite you out and I bet others in your area would too...just have to find them