Kevin, talk to PatrickB... He's really into it..

Kevin, my wife and I have sailed years together on L Mich and Puget Sound. I suggest you take ASA101 as a start (we did not; should have). Also check into USPS for very good courses on piloting, nav, engine maint. PM me if you'd like. We will make Puget Sound home when we retire.

If it flys, floats or fuchs, rent it first.

Find one you can live with, then decide. When I saw the thread, I was trying to remember if you had ever been down to King Harbor with me. Guess not.

I took 1 1/2 classes at OCSC, a US Sailing school in the San Francisco bay that teaches on J24's. The school is very professional, and the classes are very confidence building. It is typically very windy there, so you get lots of heavy-air experience.

It makes a fun 1 week "working" vacation. When I went, they even let you stay overnight on the clubs larger cruising craft for something like $30 / night.

I could not say enough good things about their program. They really work you. You'll be exhausted at the end of the week!

Kevin,

I would suggest you take the two years learning the sport and get on as many boats as you can in that time frame to see how each boat sails, the amenities, room in the cockpit, easy of rigging, sailing, etc. The only way to know if a boat is going to be good for you is to spend time on it. There are a lot of great boats in the size range you are looking at but a lot of dogs as well so get on as many as you can.

About 6 mos. before you are ready to move to Washington State make up your short list and decide which boats fit your current needs and ability and will still fit five years in the future. Buy the boat take the balance of your time fitting it out to your liking, adding electronics and upgrades, etc. Sail it around So. Cal to learn it's nuances and where everything is and how it works. No two boats are the same or sail the same. So it takes a little bit of time to understand it.

When you are comfortably and ready head up the coast.

Oh and make sure your wife, girlfriend, friend whoever also knows how to sail the boat where the safety gear is where the pumps are the radio how they all work, etc. From an enjoyment stand point you don't want to be the guy working all the time while everybody else is relaxing sipping Martini's that's no fun. From a safety stand point if you become incapacitated or you need to fix something you need someone to take the helm, make a mayday call, etc. The sea is unforgiving and will take you away in the blink of and eye.

Best of luck

I have a hobie 16... fun boat but I wouldn't want to learn on one. When you put it pointy end down, it's a $@#%er to get upright again.

pwd72s is dead-on. Get a simple dinghy, learn on that. Fastest, easiest and least expensive way to learn.

Once you're comfortable, go get a trailerable 20-24' swingkeel boat. I had a Chrysler 22, it was dead simple to raise the mast, and had a LOT of room for a 22. Another nice trailer sailor is a MacGregor 22. Try to find a boat with a roller furling jib. Well worth every penny

Have fun! There have been times that I've been without a car, and hitchhiked to work & university... but I have NEVER been without a sailboat

I've looked at a couple MacGregors and they are exactly what I was thinking would be a good starter boat.

My buddy has one and I think it's a perfect daysailer that you could also do some camping in.

Just don't be lulled in by a super-cheap boat, there are lots out there. If you pay just a little more, you can often end up with good sails, good trailer, good motor for just 2-3k. You'd spend a grand or more on any of those upgrades, so it's not worth going cheap (ask me how I know)

Even if you get a great 22 footer, I still think it's worth getting a cheap dinghy to start out on. That way when you're learning to SAIL, you don't have to worry about the bull###t of launching, docking, tying up etc. And when you screw up, you can just pull it up on the beach without any help (ask me how I know)

Kevin, this (or similar) would be a good starter boat. Low cost of entry, easy to sail, easy to trailer, too.

1994 Catalina Capri 14.2

I wouldn't buy a MacGregor. The hardware on them always looked too cheap/flimsy to me.

Or maybe this. It's a bit sportier, larger, pricier.

Sailboat 17' Vanguard Nomad

My impressions were that the Mac Gregors are on the cheep end production type boats, No sailing time on them, just looking them over. Don't seem to have the lines of a good sailing boat.
The plan to sail up the coast is quite ambitious for a first offshore sail. Up wind, challenging points to round, plenty fog, long areas of rough coast line with few safe harbors. Look into a cruising guide for details.
Not meaning to be a splash of cold water, just real.

Cheers Richard

Paceship
 

See if you can locate a used Paceship. 23' long, swing keel and trailerable. Sails very nice and doesnt cost too much up front and is ez on the wallet to maintain. I've had mine for 10+ years already.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1314641324.jpg

Richard is spot on. Learn in protected waters on a dingy, like the suggestions I tossed out. Then learn to sail local waters (bays) in a small keelboat or swing-keel boat. Coastal cruising will require a reasonable level of experience and probably a 26-35 foot keelboat. I did some coastal cruising in 28' and 38' keelboats. I did lake/bay/close-offshore racing in a J/22.

Buy used as you move up the size ladder so you can sell them at / near break even. Take some of the classes offered by sailing organizations such as the American Sailing Association or US Sailing.

Checkout a book called 'Twenty Small Sailboats to take you Anywhere'. Great book I've read through a few times. Lots of info on what to look for in a safe cruising boat. I'm sure it's a bit conservative for some, but it's that old fashioned, simple advice that'll keep you safe when the weather gets ugly.

Couldn't agree more. There is a reason you see "oversized load" sailing craft on I-5. The sail journey you dream of is pretty hazardous offshore sailing. During the summer, the prevailing winds are northerly, meaning you'll be tacking & beating most of the way. Your rigging will be under heavy strain much of the time.

Friend Stan Mott was a liveaboard yachtie for years. First the Mediterranean, then crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean. He once admitted that during my dinghy sailing years, going after work & on Sundays, I spent more hours actually sailing than he did on his large ketch. Most years, he spent in a marina, working on art projects, with sails only when he wanted to change locations.

Crossing the Atlantic, basically following the same route Columbus took, is a much easier sail than the length of the Pacific coast, South to North. Ask people who have done both.

(edit) McGregors...more motor boat with sails than the other way around. My old 15' Chrysler Mutineer has literally sailed circles around one of those slow tubs while the McGregor was on a "fast reach".

The first time you feel your centerboard dinghy pop up on a plane, you get hooked! :D!

That looks like a fun boat! The elliptical rudder is a giveaway...designed for speed.

Unless you're set on sailing up the coast, just buy one when you get up here. There are always a ton of little San Juans and the like for sale around here.
example 1
example 2

IMHO, take the ASA sailing classes, not only you will become proficient at handling a boat you will learn the rules of the road.

Its not the sailing that is that hard to master, the stress seems to always be in anchoring in a crowded harbor and getting in and out of the slip.

Keving, you might also want to check out www.californiasailingacademy.com

It might be a good place to go for classes and to get sailing experience. Here's some of the boats they have:

California Sailing Academy Sailing Club

You've got me really thinking about sailing, which beats the hell out of working, especially on a Monday!

I think you all are making this sailing thing WAY too complicated..rais the sails an go...watch out for a lee shore
know red from green
have a tide book
dont sail in a gail...Unless you like that kind a crap
On the puget sound you are never too far from anywhere