Buying A Sailboat

People tell me all the time that they want to spend the night on the boat with the family and they want a 22-footer. They buy one because it's got an enclosed toilet on board and it's got bunks for four people at least. Then they may find out it is very much like sleeping in their car. By the time you put in your weather gear and sail back and change clothes, there is no room in 22-footer. So, why not buy a good day sailer if that's what you're going to do. Now if you are going to actually spend the nights of the weekend on the boat, I think a family will be looking at a minimum of a 27-footer and hopefully larger than that. It's very deceptive at boat shows because boats are all clean and beautiful. They have the bare necessities and in size, they look very spacious. When you start adding all the gear that's required it is not very spacious. If you go out on a hot summer night and anchor down, and mosquitoes are buzzing around and the kids are sweating and it is hot, you actually will hate it.

In any given size range or intended use, probably 60% of the boats out there are good; 40% are terrible, and that's a matter of learning what you want. We tell all our students, number one, we don't sell these boats. We will give you free advise, call up before you buy the boat because the 60% probably are built well and sail well 40% are built poorly and sail poorly and have zero value on resale. So, that's really the matter of education, but don't be impressed by a boat show; talk to people. When I was growing up, we went to our local marina that had racing and water boats. Every Sunday for months we would go down there and my parents would talk to boat owners. They didn't talk to any salesman. They just talked to users of boat and before buying a boat, I highly recommend you rent that boat, whatever size it is, whether it is a 40-footer or whether it's a 15-footer. Make sure you are comfortable with it and make sure your family is comfortable with it. My personal opinion is that actually no reason of buying a new boat. You are going to suffer huge depreciation from day one. Buy used boats and name each boat "The Stepping Stone." You will end up selling it in a couple years and the next boat can be bigger and better. While you are transitioning, just start with a small boat like a 20-footer.