# Hello from Victoria B.C.



## stimpyjazz (Aug 3, 2010)

Hi all, I'm a long time kayaker looking to buy my first sailboat. I did a little bit of racing this summer, and I am hooked on the idea of having my own boat.

My sailing experience is very limited, but my favourite boat that I have been on was a Shark 24, so I'd like to find one for sale, or something similar. 

Does this sound like a good starter boat? I plan on doing weekends trips in the Gulf Islands with the gf, and maybe a bit of racing at some point. I would love to hear whatever advise you all can give me.


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi Stimpy, welcome to Sailnet from another Canadian sailor over in Vancouver.

Definitely a 24 sounds pretty good, never heard of a shark before though. Some random thoughts would be that you'll want a toilet on board, sink and somewhere to sleep comfortably. Some storage for the cooler and other foodstuffs and all your other stuff like clothes etc. Look for something that doesn't need work out of the box to sail and instead just work that you want to do like varnishing or replacing certain aesthetic items. I think the biggest item there is the gf, gotta make it as comfortable as possible for her really.

Get some charts, make sure you have your boating and radio license (power squadron does well with this kind of training) and clean underwear 

All in all though, let us know how the boat searching goes, lots of good boats here on the west coast, I usually see quite a few good ones over in Sidney or Nanaimo..


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## rgscpat (Aug 1, 2010)

*Sharks n Charts*

I've heard of Sharks from around the Toronto / Great Lakes area.

Is there any such thing as free downloadable printable charts for BC? If they exist, I haven't been able to find them.


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

Welcome Stimpy
The Shark is a fast boat and fun to sail. There should be a few around locally. Here's a link to info on them. Shark - Used Sailboat Market in Canada


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## Finallybuyingaboat (Aug 28, 2007)

*Shark 24 owner*

Hi Stimpy

I have had my shark for 2 years and love it. Really easy to sail single handed, does well in high winds, and a classic look to them. I have one of the first ones made (sail #43 made in 1963). I totally rebuilt the boat over the course of 18 months, took everything off of it and took everything out of the cabin. I started with a hull and rebuilt the entire thing.

The only downside is the lack of cabin space. You need to be creative and use every square inch of storage under the cockpit floor, under the bunks,etc., if you want to spend more than 1 or 2 days staying on it, but it can be done.

You should be able to find one in decent shape for around $5000 fairly easily. If you look around,you may find one much cheaper. Good Luck


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Our first sailboat was a Shark 24 - a BC built one by Beaver Glass. We started sailing in the windy waters of upper Howe Sound and she was very good to us.

As mentioned, cabin space is minimal and since our son's imminent arrival was soon to come we quickly moved up to another "Great Lakes" boat, a Viking 28 which we sailed and loved for 10 years. OTOH years ago a young couple sailed a Shark to Australia from BC, with a toddler on board.. so there you go. Canadian Tony Lush sailed a modified Shark (added a foot to make the 25' limit) in the mini Transat in the early 80s, so they've been out there!

There's a Shark for sale in Silva Bay right now - looks in decent shape and may be worth looking into.

Happy to welcome another BC-er to the board!


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