[jdlowery]

I've been toying with the idea of owning a powered sailboat. I live in CA so I would be able to sail pretty much all year round. I have no sailing experience so I would need to take some classes. I figured there must be a few on this list that have or had sailboats so I'll start by bombarding you with some questions.
1) Who are some of the manufacturers I should compare for quality and price?
2) Ideally, the boat would be used for weekend excursions but my dream (retirement, long ways off) would be to sail to farther destinations (Hawaii, Cancun, etc...); what is the minimum size that would accomplish those goals?
3) Is boat ownership just a large money pit?

Any comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks,