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Originally Posted by EroticySteve
I'm looking into getting an older sailboat. It's probably 20 years old. The sails are in great shape, almost new, the hull is solid albeit in need of a cleaning. It is watertight as it's docked in a slip in a nearby bay.
Anyone here have a sailboat and any horror stories or advice for a potential sailboater?
ICQ me or post to this thread.
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no horror stories, but for many this is a fantasy type idea until you spend any significant time on a boat...because the reality ain't the same as the fantasy.
offshore cruising requires a certain mindset, it is lonely boredom, punctuated by some terror---and the problem is when the terror hits it is difficult to get away from it for many hours (or days).
a liveaboard is not for the claustrophobic, it is musty, moldy, smelly, cold, and being like in a prison cell---without the comforts of a prison cell.
now go spend some real time on at 40+ footer and then come back and ask about buying a boat.
i wouldn't consider anything less than an "unsinkable" design for off shore cruising. best place to buy a sailboat is not FL, but seasonable cold weather areas.
remember the most dangerous place to cruise is in coastal waters.
best place to own and actually use a sailboat is probably the philippines.
good luck.