Your advice for prospective sailboat owners is solid. I would add one useful thing that makes insuring an older boat easy: A recent professional survey that shows the boat to be in great condition. I just insured my 1974 Pearson 35 with BoatUS. My survey detailed a lot of new, major upgrades. When the insurance company saw the survey, there was no problem obtaining coverage. Key point: Don't buy a boat that doesn't survey well, unless you intend to upgrade everything. That Bristol 40 in your piece is a worthy candidate for restoration. But she'll need an owner that is committed. The upside is that would cost less than a new boat, and when you're done you've got a thing of true beauty. This is the key market dynamic. Heavily updated and well-maintained boats sell quickly and are easy to insure.
Let’s not forget the small-boat option for “getting into sailing.” Anything over about 28 feet as a first boat is probably asking for trouble and disappointment. Maybe divorce. Yes, take a course. Crew some big-boat races. Do some deliveries if possible. But a boat in the 15- to 20-foot range is a great place to gain real experience. Think O’Day Mariner, Cape Dory Typhoon, Pearson Ensign, WW Potter, Compac 16/19/23. There are loads of dependable old trailer sailers out there that will teach the fundamentals without breaking the bank or posing insurance and storage dilemmas. They are great for single-handing and offer plenty of adventure on inside waters—in between watching BoatFools videos and dreaming of bigger seas.
Totally agree. I mentioned the same, stating that "sometimes starting smaller matters." Small boats are the best for fun and learning. Couldn't agree with your more. Many thanks for the comment!
Respectfully, I disagree with much of what you've written in regard to the difficulty of entering and maintaining a sailing lifestyle. Boats can be had for what I believe to be remarkably little money. The key is being able to buy on the cheap and rehabilitate/restore. I receive daily feed from eBay on 28 foot + sailboats coming to market. Most sell for under 45 - 50 k with many fine boats in the 20k range . I see the price of used boats declining in price, not increasing. If you have even moderate mechanical ability, you can put a blue water boat together for very very little money. To be honest, you should not be blue water sailing if you cannot make such repairs and upgrades to begin with. You'll get yourself and others killed. Insurance? Yes! Outrageous! Insure yourself but do so in disciplined fashion.
On the contrary, I think this is a great time to be getting into sailing
Buying the boat is the cheap part. Maintaining, storing, and finding a place to put it in the water are the expensive and difficult parts. Duxbury, MA: mooring waitlist is 25 yrs. Camden, ME: seven years.
Boats are definitely coming down in price; other costs are rising. Especially if you’re not a DIY person.
The Marinas are out there. Ya just have to search for them. It’s like buying a house, there’s a gazillion communities in the country where housing is relatively cheap. But it isn’t gonna be in the Hamptons.
My advice to people who ask about sailing is first, find a friend who already owns a boat, and offer to crew and help out with maintenance. That provides a good base. If the friend will be doing some cruising, offer to go along. 2 weeks of cruising, anchoring, and dealing with new moorings is the best basic course you can find.
Alternatively, join a community sailing center or a club where you have to do work on the boats- not just sail them around.
Take a boating course, if you don't have any boating experience, to learn rules of the road, practical boating, and navigation. Get a basic certificate, if that is possible.
I once had a neighbor who owned a T top for fishing, ask me how hard it would be to learn how to sail my Jeanneau 43DS. I told him that I could teach him the basics of sail handling in a day, because he already had the basic boat skills. The steepest learning curve with my boat would be the systems, because the boat is set up for long distance cruising, across the ocean, and understanding how the important bits work is complicated.
Love the article. In GA I'm not sure of the storage issue. But the insurance issue and info is really helpful. We're still learning more about all the possible boats out there. Narrowing down what we want/need. Happy holidays! You guys are great!
Harder to get into sailing now than the last 20-30 years? We bought a Catalina 30 in great condition for 10k. Put another 15k into it. 5k to get a solar system that keeps us out of Marinas. The rest to get all systems working well and fix what needed to be fixed. Including engine out. We did 90 percent of the work ourselves. Lived in a couple different Marinas, while we did the work, for 350 a month. And now live aboard for cheap. I will agree you have to research marinas. We did. We knew the price of storage at the marina the boat was stored at BEFORE we even bought the boat. And we also knew we could do all the work ourselves. A working marina. But certainly not posh. We also didn’t know how to sail. But we had a good reliable engine and we learned.
There most likely has never been more used sailboats on the market than now. There are TONS. But also there might have never been a time in history when the population is more allergic to fixing things than now. When the population just doesn’t know and isn’t willing to try. Smallish boat. Do your research on marinas. Save the cash. Liability insurance. Learn to inspect boats for issues. Pick a good model, learn their common issues, and look for those ussues. You DON’T need a 100k boat.
I come from Gen X. We weren’t taught that we couldn’t do it. Or there were too many impediments. We were taught we could. Throw out the idea it’s tougher now than the last 20-30 years. It’s not. Just the fact you can search boats from around the world to buy on the internet is a HUGE advantage. And even if it was harder, well ok. But that’s NEVER something I focus on when I have a goal in mind.
Your advice for prospective sailboat owners is solid. I would add one useful thing that makes insuring an older boat easy: A recent professional survey that shows the boat to be in great condition. I just insured my 1974 Pearson 35 with BoatUS. My survey detailed a lot of new, major upgrades. When the insurance company saw the survey, there was no problem obtaining coverage. Key point: Don't buy a boat that doesn't survey well, unless you intend to upgrade everything. That Bristol 40 in your piece is a worthy candidate for restoration. But she'll need an owner that is committed. The upside is that would cost less than a new boat, and when you're done you've got a thing of true beauty. This is the key market dynamic. Heavily updated and well-maintained boats sell quickly and are easy to insure.
Excellent point!
Let’s not forget the small-boat option for “getting into sailing.” Anything over about 28 feet as a first boat is probably asking for trouble and disappointment. Maybe divorce. Yes, take a course. Crew some big-boat races. Do some deliveries if possible. But a boat in the 15- to 20-foot range is a great place to gain real experience. Think O’Day Mariner, Cape Dory Typhoon, Pearson Ensign, WW Potter, Compac 16/19/23. There are loads of dependable old trailer sailers out there that will teach the fundamentals without breaking the bank or posing insurance and storage dilemmas. They are great for single-handing and offer plenty of adventure on inside waters—in between watching BoatFools videos and dreaming of bigger seas.
Totally agree. I mentioned the same, stating that "sometimes starting smaller matters." Small boats are the best for fun and learning. Couldn't agree with your more. Many thanks for the comment!
Respectfully, I disagree with much of what you've written in regard to the difficulty of entering and maintaining a sailing lifestyle. Boats can be had for what I believe to be remarkably little money. The key is being able to buy on the cheap and rehabilitate/restore. I receive daily feed from eBay on 28 foot + sailboats coming to market. Most sell for under 45 - 50 k with many fine boats in the 20k range . I see the price of used boats declining in price, not increasing. If you have even moderate mechanical ability, you can put a blue water boat together for very very little money. To be honest, you should not be blue water sailing if you cannot make such repairs and upgrades to begin with. You'll get yourself and others killed. Insurance? Yes! Outrageous! Insure yourself but do so in disciplined fashion.
On the contrary, I think this is a great time to be getting into sailing
Buying the boat is the cheap part. Maintaining, storing, and finding a place to put it in the water are the expensive and difficult parts. Duxbury, MA: mooring waitlist is 25 yrs. Camden, ME: seven years.
Boats are definitely coming down in price; other costs are rising. Especially if you’re not a DIY person.
My two cents! And I want more people sailing!!!
The Marinas are out there. Ya just have to search for them. It’s like buying a house, there’s a gazillion communities in the country where housing is relatively cheap. But it isn’t gonna be in the Hamptons.
My advice to people who ask about sailing is first, find a friend who already owns a boat, and offer to crew and help out with maintenance. That provides a good base. If the friend will be doing some cruising, offer to go along. 2 weeks of cruising, anchoring, and dealing with new moorings is the best basic course you can find.
Alternatively, join a community sailing center or a club where you have to do work on the boats- not just sail them around.
Take a boating course, if you don't have any boating experience, to learn rules of the road, practical boating, and navigation. Get a basic certificate, if that is possible.
I once had a neighbor who owned a T top for fishing, ask me how hard it would be to learn how to sail my Jeanneau 43DS. I told him that I could teach him the basics of sail handling in a day, because he already had the basic boat skills. The steepest learning curve with my boat would be the systems, because the boat is set up for long distance cruising, across the ocean, and understanding how the important bits work is complicated.
Couldn’t agree more!
Love the article. In GA I'm not sure of the storage issue. But the insurance issue and info is really helpful. We're still learning more about all the possible boats out there. Narrowing down what we want/need. Happy holidays! You guys are great!
Thanks for the comment! Let us know if you need an assist when you get closer to making a boat decision! Merry Christmas to you all down south!
Harder to get into sailing now than the last 20-30 years? We bought a Catalina 30 in great condition for 10k. Put another 15k into it. 5k to get a solar system that keeps us out of Marinas. The rest to get all systems working well and fix what needed to be fixed. Including engine out. We did 90 percent of the work ourselves. Lived in a couple different Marinas, while we did the work, for 350 a month. And now live aboard for cheap. I will agree you have to research marinas. We did. We knew the price of storage at the marina the boat was stored at BEFORE we even bought the boat. And we also knew we could do all the work ourselves. A working marina. But certainly not posh. We also didn’t know how to sail. But we had a good reliable engine and we learned.
There most likely has never been more used sailboats on the market than now. There are TONS. But also there might have never been a time in history when the population is more allergic to fixing things than now. When the population just doesn’t know and isn’t willing to try. Smallish boat. Do your research on marinas. Save the cash. Liability insurance. Learn to inspect boats for issues. Pick a good model, learn their common issues, and look for those ussues. You DON’T need a 100k boat.
I come from Gen X. We weren’t taught that we couldn’t do it. Or there were too many impediments. We were taught we could. Throw out the idea it’s tougher now than the last 20-30 years. It’s not. Just the fact you can search boats from around the world to buy on the internet is a HUGE advantage. And even if it was harder, well ok. But that’s NEVER something I focus on when I have a goal in mind.