# Interested in sailing



## Rockhopper (Oct 14, 2013)

Hi, I've become really interesting in sailing and hope I've come to a good place to learn and get some tips. I'm a 30 year old father of 2 wonderful girls ages 5 and 7, and a husband to my beautiful wife. I want to learn to sail and eventually be able to sail across the ocean(hopefully) on vacations. I will not lie...I do not know the first thing about it, other than some of the terminology. Any information or help would be greatly appreciated as to where I would get started, a rough estimate of what a good boat would be/cost. Thanks


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Welcome to SailNet, Rock!

You'll get all sorts of help from this site. Visit our Learning to Sail forum first and spend a few weeks (or boring days at work) reading all the questions others had that you'll have, too, once you know what you don't know.

One thing: by "vacation" do you mean the average 3-4 weeks that most U.S. jobs give their workers? If so, that'll leave you enough time to sail to Bermuda and back with one day to collect pink sand on the beach.

Oh, second thing: by "interested in sailing" do you mean that you've taken courses? Read books? Sailed on your best friend's dinghy? Combination? None of the above? Knowing your experience will help those who will answer hone their advice a little better.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Yes, welcome.. Sailing is a great way to keep your kids close as they grow, esp through their teens if you're able to get them interested, involved and enjoying sailing, beachcombing, swimming, rowing/paddling etc early on.

Our son is grown now, a boat owner himself and doing the same with our granddaughter.. it's highly gratifying.


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## Rockhopper (Oct 14, 2013)

DRFerron said:


> Welcome to SailNet, Rock!
> One thing: by "vacation" do you mean the average 3-4 weeks that most U.S. jobs give their workers? If so, that'll leave you enough time to sail to Bermuda and back with one day to collect pink sand on the beach.
> 
> Oh, second thing: by "interested in sailing" do you mean that you've taken courses? Read books? Sailed on your best friend's dinghy? Combination? None of the above? Knowing your experience will help those who will answer hone their advice a little better.


Well I would like to be able to take "longer" vacations then that one day. I guess my main thing is to start small and learn. I want the know how so that one day it might be possible to sail from North Carolina's coast to Portofinio Italy...I'm probably dreaming big here but I want to show my girls anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Pretty much none of the above. I have never been on a sailboat, but I want to learn so as for the safety of my family and others. My wife loves the ocean and beaches so I just think it would be really great to be able to sail. Thanks again


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Nice. I suggest any or all of the following:

Taking a boating safety course through either the U.S. Power and Sail Squadron or the CG Auxiliary.

Take an on-water American Sailing Association or U.S. Sailing course. The intro courses can be done in a weekend.

Join a local sailing club. Inexpensive, gets you face to face with other sailors, and gets you on different boats.

I do suggest that you take at least one sail on someone else's boat before investing in your own. Do that before you and your wife spend the initial money and realize you hate the work of sailing, hate that you'll have to constantly spend money (repairs, upgrades, storage, etc).

Finally, I encourage you to keep your wife in the loop from start to finish. Too many partners go at it alone and then look up and wonder why the other person hates the sport, resents the time you'll spend away from household chores, family events, whatever. It's also a fantastic memory your kids may have if you let them do as much as safety allows.


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## Rockhopper (Oct 14, 2013)

I will try to get all of that under my belt, I guess right now I'm just kind of dipping my toe in the water. I have no idea how docking works or if it cost money. I'm just trying to learn everything I can about it, drives my wife crazy at times because I will research things for a long time to ensure it is worth my time and money. Thank you for your help Donna, also do you know about how much those safety and intro classes cost?


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Rockhopper said:


> ... do you know about how much those safety and intro classes cost?


I hate to say it because you'll hear this from now on about just about everything, but...it depends.

I took a weekend ASA course in Philadelphia that was about $250 if I remember correctly. It included the study material and the state boating exam.

I took a USPSS course years ago that was under $100 and I teach the CG Aux program. Each flotilla can set their own price. I suspect the USPSS is the same.

All of them are online. Google for the ones nearest you and you should be able to find the cost or a contact name to email and ask.

Owning a boat costs. Sometimes a lot sometimes not as much. It depends, in part, by how handy you are, how self-sufficient you can be on your boat, how well maintained the boat was by the previous owner, and on and on. Keep asking questions. Eventually you'll come to one that is a Yes or No answer.


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## Rockhopper (Oct 14, 2013)

DRFerron said:


> I hate to say it because you'll hear this from now on about just about everything, but...it depends.


I was guessing about as much, which ASA courses would you recommend? Seems they start at ASA 101 to 118 going from $250 to $1495 for one class 



DRFerron said:


> Owning a boat costs. Sometimes a lot sometimes not as much. It depends, in part, by how handy you are, how self-sufficient you can be on your boat, how well maintained the boat was by the previous owner, and on and on. Keep asking questions. Eventually you'll come to one that is a Yes or No answer.


Well hope is if I got one it wouldn't cost me as much, I'm fairly handy as I can usually tear something apart and fix it myself. I've torn the transmission out of the BMW my wife drives and replaced all the seals and entire clutch assembly, wasn't done overnight but it got done and still runs perfect to this day.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Start with ASA 101, Basic Keelboat.

I've known quite a few who make a vacation out of it and take a week-long ASA course in the Caribbean. You stay on the boat with the captain, take the course and tests on board while sailing in a great location. Sometimes you can combine more than one course in a week. Great fun for a couple.

It isn't necessary to learn everything at once. As you learn more, you'll find more to learn. If you eventually move up to a cruising boat you might want to take a diesel repair course, navigation, etc. Nigel Calder has great how to books. I also recommend How Boat Things Work. Don't know the author offhand.


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## npettett (May 30, 2006)

Need an inland vacation check out Lighthouselanding.com on Kentucky Lake. Cottages for family vacations AND ASA sailing classes.


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## rgscpat (Aug 1, 2010)

Welcome, Rockhopper,

Rather than one best way, there are many different ways to get into sailing; the best one is that which works for you, with your strengths, limits, interests, past experiences, risk tolerance, budget, dreams, and so on. 

Every means or path will have its ups and downs. Some require more commitment -- time, money, concentration -- than others. 

Most of them are not exclusive -- you can mix and match bits and pieces of taking classroom classes, reading books and watching videos, bumming rides on boats, taking a formal on-the-water sailing class, getting a little boat to mess around on, joining a sailing co-op, getting into chartering, and so on. 

Some people like to progress in small steps; some like to boldly go....
Some people are particularly talented athletically, mechanically, or otherwise. 

What does sailing mean to you? What kind of sailing would you like to do for yourself and your family?

Do you see yourself as competitive, or someone wanting to flee the rat race? Do you want to explore exotic cultures or just be alone under the stars? Are you outdoorsy and comfortable in small spaces or are the finer things in civilization hard to give up? Do changes in plans frustrate you or amuse you? Is it more important to fulfill a plan or to improvise?


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## Rockhopper (Oct 14, 2013)

npettett said:


> Need an inland vacation check out Lighthouselanding.com on Kentucky Lake. Cottages for family vacations AND ASA sailing classes.


I would love that other then the price, the price is killing me right now since I'm in college and the wife is working.



rgscpat said:


> What does sailing mean to you? What kind of sailing would you like to do for yourself and your family?
> 
> Do you see yourself as competitive, or someone wanting to flee the rat race? Do you want to explore exotic cultures or just be alone under the stars? Are you outdoorsy and comfortable in small spaces or are the finer things in civilization hard to give up? Do changes in plans frustrate you or amuse you? Is it more important to fulfill a plan or to improvise?


Sailing to me would be an escape from the rest of the world, the ability to take my wife and 2 daughters to places I've never seen. Growing up I was VERY lucky I had a set of grandparents that absolutely loved to travel so I've been to the majority of the states and have even been to Paris France, it is depressing to hear that there are people that have never end left their home county or even traveled out of the state. I just don't understand how you couldn't do that.

I want to be able to travel to exotic islands and see more of the world with my family so that when my daughters have children of their own that maybe they can do the same for them and tell them of the travels they had. I won't lie I love air conditioning but I love to stay busy and will not hesitate to go outside and work, I think being able to disconnect from the crazy life's we live in today would be a great get away. I think I would be fine with change, we never know what life holds so grab it by the flippers. I can always improvise plans and always try later to fulfill a plan at a later date. I think my main thing is I want to live life to the fullest of my abilities, see places a lot of people haven't and be able to look back at my life and be like WOW. Guess I need to go learn how to swim first though


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

What part of NC do you live in? I searched Google and see a number of sailing clubs for under $100/year.

That's how I got into sailing. I joined a local club ($40 for both of us) with mostly trailerable boats, crewed on a few races, attended meetings and started talking to people. There was no going back from there.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

See if your college has a sailing club. Even if you are unable to compete (if it's that type of club because they'd travel to other schools), maybe you could help out while they practice at home, get onto a boat, learn about sailing. Be a gopher and practice boat for them. I watched an intercollegiate race at Annapolis once and those kids were awesome. I wish I'd had the opportunity at my university but they started the program after I graduated.


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## Rockhopper (Oct 14, 2013)

DRFerron said:


> What part of NC do you live in? I searched Google and see a number of sailing clubs for under $100/year.
> 
> That's how I got into sailing. I joined a local club ($40 for both of us) with mostly trailerable boats, crewed on a few races, attended meetings and started talking to people. There was no going back from there.


I live by Greensboro which is quite a distance from the beach, so I'm not sure if anything will be close to me. I am extremely interested though


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

The club I joined sailed primarily on a lake. Do you have any large-ish lakes near you? What would be the maximum distance you'd drive? 

I guess my point is, if there's nothing down the street from you, how badly do you want to learn how to sail? Would you be willing to drive a couple hours once a month or so?


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## Rockhopper (Oct 14, 2013)

Oh there are quite a few large lakes around here, not sure why I guessed there was no sailing club around. I just Googled sailing clubs near Greensboro and there might be one right here in Greensboro. Trying to figure it out, the site keeps redirecting to some Gucci store. I would have no problem driving on driving there on the days I'm not at college.

EDIT: Okay it appears someone got the link wrong, finally found the correct link.


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## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

Donna has given you excellent advice. Given your situation, I'd strongly suggest the club route, especially if your school has a club. Should be very inexpensive (relatively speaking) and will let your family and you get a better sense for if you really want to own a boat.

I have a family of 4 as well, with 2 boys (7 and 5). We've been out on 14'-15' daysailors and those are great for a family. They don't have any/much of a cabin, and won't do you for weekends/weeks aboard unless you all are REALLY into camping/roughing it (the "tent" for example, would be a tarp slung over the boom, no porta-potty or anything for the girls, either). For any kind of overnight/week-long trip, you're looking at at least a 25' boat. I've posted other threads on the issues we saw with our Catalina 25 last year with our boys, and why, when it came time to replace her, we went with a boat with a wheel, etc. In the end, I'll be so humble as to suggest that you'll likely wind up with a boat along the lines of what we have. That is, you'll probably wind up with something in the 27-33' range.

With that as background, you asked about costs. A 27-33' used-but-in-decent-shape boat is going to cost you $10,000-$15,000. You can get them for less, but they will need more work. What you might be able to do is find a Catalina 27 or 30 for $5,000-6,000 that is in "good enough" shape for you, but you should expect to "need" to put another $3,000-4,000 into her, plus lots of elbow grease, time away from your girls, and lost sailing time. Once you buy it, you'll have to get the boat registered (cost varies by state and whether you also register with the USCG) and you'll need insurance (between $500 and $1000/year). Then there's the storage issue. A 27-30 is really going to be too big to trailer (yes, there are 27's and 32's that can be, but most are too new to be in a "low-cost" budget range). So, you'll need a slip or mooring. I don't know what costs are like in your area. Around here (most of the Ches and Barnegat bays), slips are $75-$100/foot for the season. Moorings are $1500-$2200 for the season. With a mooring, you need a dinghy to get back and forth to the boat. There are some DIY/club-type marinas/mooring fields that are less. It all depends on what you want and how much you are willing to pay.

If you're willing to sacrifice and go with a daysailor (no cabin) then that completely changes things. I picked up our Albacore for $100 on craigslist. A more realistic expectation would be $500-1000 for one in decent shape. If you don't have a local club, that may be a relatively low-cost way to test the waters and see how your family likes it. But, again, in your case I think Donna's suggestions are really the best way to proceed.


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## Rockhopper (Oct 14, 2013)

Well it don't appear the college has one but amazingly enough there is one right here in Greensboro...sadly though the last race for the season was like 3 days ago. I'm definitely going to be checking it out. Thanks a lot


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Don't let the race season schedule discourage you. Unless the boats are owned by the club, there may still be members who keep sailing as long as the weather is good and may be willing to take you along. 

But first you have to connect and get to know them. This time of year our clubs go into social mode if they can no longer plan sailing trips. Perfect time to get to know people, scope out who has what boat, ask questions about different types of sailing, etc. 

And, if you are near a lake, I think Jim's suggestion of buying an inexpensive small boat is good. You can putz around and start formulating questions and future learning points while you get some hands on experience.


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## Pebbles (Oct 20, 2013)

Hello Everyone,

I am Rockhoppers wife and I have now joined the site since he asked me to. I was surprised when he said he wanted to learn to sail but I am very excited since I love the ocean!!!


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Welcome to the forum and welcome to chat!


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## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

Welcome Pebbles!


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