|
I LOVE sailing and if you want to too, please don’t start out looking for a large boat and cabin. Every sailor has seen many get a beautiful large boat only to learn to hate sailing for all the compromises, costs and time sucks associated with a large boat.
You will get a ton or respect from sailors starting with a laser, where you are sailing 10 min after arriving and can come in 2 hours later exhausted with a huge smile and a much better sailor. Plus you are learning pure sailing, the waters, rudder/tiller, winds, currents, navigation and also sail quality/patching, fiberglass, rigging, trim and with little wind and no maintenance facilities as you said, you can be doing this in a week for very low money and risk, having a great time and talking technique quickly.
others like VincentVega and Jim Richards basically said the same.
“If you are really cutting your chops and figuring out if you want to do this get a saling dinghy. Takes up minimal space, rig in minutes, learn a ton and use it as a tender for the big boat if/when you move up.”
Nothing like going out in a strong wind in a platform boat, hiking and screaming into the wind no matter what age. Don’t be embarrassed at all the junior sailors.
The key reason is that every boat is a collection of compromises and with less than 10K you need to pick very very well.
speed, draft, complexity, passengers, wind needed, crew needed, cost, skills, diesel engine/outboard.
The more sailing you do (and crew for others) the more you will know exactly what you want and why.
I really hope this works out well for you. I can’t afford a big boat but have standing offers from several people to take their boats out and I do. Then buy them a nice bottle of Mescal or Scotch-that is the smartest use of sub 10K boat money!
|