I'm looking for opinons on my first poor man's sail boat. I would like to do some off shore cruising and work my way up to sailing from Key west Florida to Jamaca, Belize, Etc...I like the idea of wheeled steering, but am lost as to what small ( 25-30 Ft) sail boat I should be looking into. I would need to be able to sail solo with it, so keep this in mind. I've seen some real nice boats here on Ebay that go from anywhere between $ 1,500.00 to $3,000.00. I could go higher if I felt right about the boat. So please if you have a moment I'd really be thankful. I realize that there are thousands of sailboats out there, but I thought I might narrow it down little. I would also think an inboard would be better. So please fire away!!
To travel from Key West to the Islands, I would never consider a 30' monohul. A friens lost a mast in a storm and did a 360. I would suggest you consider a Gemini ( made in MD) as it has ample interior space and could handle the areas you are considering without going into expensive boats. $4,000 won't cover any reasonable boat for your journey. Capt Ed USCG
I have had 4 sailboats. A 17 Newport, 27 Oday 26 Columbia, and now an Alberg 35. I recomend keeping it simple to start. Dont be concerned about inboard or wheel steering at first. You will spend more time sailing, and less time working on your boat and earning money for your boat.with an outboard and a tiller. my Columbia 1976 26T with a yamaha 9.9 long shaft 4 stroke was a great boat. Now that I have "moved up" to a 35 with an inboard, and a wheel I spend all my time and money working on it, not using it. The 26 cost me 3500, and was easy and affordable to maintain. The 35 cost me 12000, and have spent another 5000 rebuilding the inboard, because of a failed exhaust riser. To really safely sail the 35 I need to spend another 5000-8000 on sails. The 35 will take me around the world safer, and in more comfort, but at a LOT higher cost. Dont worry about gadjets and room. Look for clean, simple, solid. I saw a lot of 26-28 foot boats that were bigger,roomer, had wheels, or inboards, but my little Columbia was solid easy to maintain, and tons of fun.
If you are thinking of open ocean sailing get a boat that is overbuilt. By this I mean a boat that is tough. I suggest getting a fiberglass hulled boat built in the early years of fiberglass production boats. The reason is that in the early years no one knew how strong fiberglass was or how heavily to build the hulls in order to make sure that the hull would last...so they really built them well. Of course that makes these boats stronger and somewhat slower than boats built today. I have been sailing all my life and I believe that I have owned just such a boat for 15 years. It is roomy, fast, extremely well built, and quite over rigged as were all of this model. It is a Pearson 10M (10 Meter)...a little more than 33ft. Check them out on the web. (All Pearson's are tough...but the full keeled ones are slow). I have sailed many other boats that were also well and heavily built but prefer the solid lay-up (no core) boats that were built before 1980. Get Don Casey's book about how to buy an old sailboat before you start looking in earnest. You'll learn a lot. Join a yacht club and get to know the older guys. Sail with them. You'll really learn, they'll enjoy sharing their knowledge. and they probably will know about boats that are well maintained and for sale locally. Eventually all older sailors must sell their boats. Most prefer to sell their "pride and joy" to someone who will sail and maintain their boat as they have...and if you have spent time as crew on the boat you'll get it cheaper, know the boat, and you'll have a great resource for advice ( the former owner) too.
Must use Buy It Now and PayPal.
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