| Unlike most boat purchase advice, written by | | | | other hand may be willing sail a little further off |
| manufacturers and designed to persuade to one | | | | the wind to get more stability and balance. Sailing |
| brand or another, the suggestions in this article | | | | characteristics will be determined by the boat |
| are written from the perspective of a sailboat | | | | design, specifically: sail plan, keel type and depth, |
| buyer and are drawn from the collective wisdom | | | | sail area to weight ratio, and displacement (Table |
| of my dozen or so sailboat purchases as well as | | | | Two). |
| conversations with many, many other sailboat | | | | TABLE TWO -- BOAT CHARACTERISTICS AND |
| buyers. | | | | BOAT DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS |
| This article will focus on the buying process and | | | | Vessel Characteristic Impact |
| vessel characteristics. The process described | | | | Keel Design Fin Keel - Easier to maneuver, more |
| applies to both new and used sailboat purchases. | | | | difficult to steer straight |
| Subsequent articles will apply the suggestions | | | | Full Keel - More difficult to turn and wider relative |
| presented here to specific sailing areas and boat | | | | turning radius, easier to steer straight |
| types. | | | | Keel Depth Deep Keel More stable (more |
| The Buying Process | | | | resistance to heel), greater ability to point (sail |
| Buying a sailboat is a multi-step process that | | | | close to the wind) but less access to shallow |
| involves answering three questions. Successfully | | | | water |
| answering these questions will lead you to the | | | | Shoal Draft Keel - Less stable with access to |
| vessel that can provide years of joy, while failure | | | | more shallow water, less ability to point upwind |
| to accurately or honestly answer the questions | | | | Sail Plan Sloop Rig - Bigger sails, better upwind |
| may steer you to the wrong boat, little usage and | | | | ability |
| no fun. | | | | Cutter Rig- More flexibility in sail options, smaller |
| The three questions are: | | | | sails (easier to handle), reduced ability to point |
| 1. How will I use this sailboat? | | | | Multiple Masts (Ketch, Yawl) - More flexibility in sail |
| 2. What characteristics of a sailboat are best for | | | | plan and good reaching performance with even |
| this type of use? | | | | less ability to point |
| 3. What sailboats have those characteristics? | | | | Sail Area High (SA/D) - More speed with less |
| The most important question is "How will I use | | | | stability |
| this sailboat?" and getting this question right goes | | | | Displacement Increased displacement delivers |
| a long way toward buying the right boat. The | | | | more stability while sacrificing speed. |
| answer to this question, however, must be | | | | Our next consideration is safety equipment. The |
| detailed. It can't be a general answer like "to race" | | | | need for safety equipment is primarily dictated by |
| or "daysail" or "to cruise." If you only answer the | | | | the conditions we will face and how far away help |
| use question generally, you are not yet ready to | | | | might be. If we will carry life rafts, EPIRBs, |
| buy a boat and run a high probability of making a | | | | offshore first aid gear and emergency water and |
| large and expensive mistake. | | | | rations, we will need places to securely store |
| Answering properly means knowing the details of | | | | these items when not in use. In addition, other |
| where you will sail, the weather conditions in those | | | | safety gear may include advanced |
| areas, the length of the trip you will take, number | | | | communications devices (SSB radio, satellite |
| on board and how far you will be from assistance. | | | | phone, email or fax) power generation (wind |
| Table one provides some examples of the detail | | | | generator, genset, and/or solar panels) and items |
| you should know BEFORE you consider buying a | | | | like sea anchors and drogues, radar and |
| sailboat: | | | | navigational gear. Again, the safety equipment list |
| TABLE ONE -- DETAILED USAGE EXAMPLES | | | | can be generated based on distance away from |
| Primary Sailing Desired Normal Trip Length Cruising | | | | help and likely weather conditions we will face. The |
| Grounds Expected Wave Conditions Expected | | | | key vessel consideration is to assure any boat |
| Wind | | | | purchased will have a place to safely store |
| Conditions No. on | | | | everything. |
| Board Distance | | | | Next, we must consider living space. Again, based |
| From Help | | | | on our usage we should know the number of |
| Example One Daysail 2-4 Hrs. Local Bay 1-3 ft | | | | people and length of time of our voyages. This |
| 5-15 | | | | information is then used to determine the required |
| Knts 2 1-3 Mi. | | | | living conditions and space. For example, a boat |
| Example Two Extended | | | | cruised away from shore for weeks would need |
| Cruising Months Ocean Any 5-50+ Knts. 4 100+ | | | | to have a much different energy management |
| Example Three Weekend | | | | system, provisioning ability, and cooking equipment |
| Racer 8 Hrs Lake and | | | | than a boat sailed for weeks, but doing short |
| River 1-6 ft. 5-30 Knts. 8 1-6 Mi | | | | hops between ports. This seemingly small change |
| Vessel Characteristics | | | | in sailing usage can mean large differences in |
| Once we know on how we will use our new boat, | | | | vessel necessities. Consider power generation for |
| we can determine the vessel characteristics best | | | | example. Extended cruising means high output |
| for our use. Vessel characteristics can be divided | | | | alternators, larger battery banks, external voltage |
| into three categories: sailing, safety, living. Sailing | | | | regulation, and potentially alternative energy |
| characteristics include speed, stability (tendency to | | | | generating -- all things avoided when short hops |
| heel), ability to point, ease of steering (tendency | | | | between marinas are the plan. |
| to sail straight), balance. A racer, for example, will | | | | Summary |
| want a fast boat that can point close to the wind | | | | Sailboats are the stuff dreams are made of, but |
| and may be willing to sacrifice some stability and | | | | buying the wrong boat can be a nightmare -- |
| ease to get it. A long distance cruiser on the | | | | expensive, unpleasant and dangerous. |