I feel a growing urge to learn to sail and take to the water, but I'm a landlubber.
Has anyone done it? Is it the dream that it seems like?

>>2827901 (OP)
all you need is a boatload of money

>>2827901 (OP)
>Has anyone done it? Is it the dream that it seems like?
i've been sailing my entire life, it's a very enjoyable sport. also, one of my camping spots is exclusively accessible via sailboat. i must traverse a harbor, navigate a shallow cove, park on the beach, cross a marsh, and enter a small forest. you should consider buying a used club 420 or similar, which can be had for approx $1500. be prepared to spend about $250/yr replacing lines, cleats, cotter pins, etc., to keep it in top shape. you do not need to moor it.

>>2827904
>a hole in the water surrounded by wood into which one pours money
it's actually not that expensive to get into. my cousin is a professional sailor who restores his own boats. him and his gf go all the way to the caribbean (from MA) a few times a year. if you're looking for an ultra-cheap entry point, a user laser (fun) or opti (boring) is a good choice. JY15 is somewhere in the middle.

>>2827901 (OP)
there is a guy on youtube who has boat building videos made out of dimensional lumber. he built a little sail boat for $130

>>2827901 (OP)
There will be people at your local sailing club who are looking for crew for races or whatever casual sailing events they have on; just look at club notice boards/facebook. It's actually quite accessible and cheap to get into. I started 3 years using the same advice from a thread on this board.

>>2827935
3 years ago**

>>2827935
yes, community sailing centers are awesome. that's where my vanguard 420 came from, they sold it to us used some 20 years ago now. i think the international club 420 is a perfect dinghy to learn adult sailing on: it's cheap and readily available to rent or buy or take classes on; it comfortably fits 2 adults and you'll need help as a beginner; it can keel over almost 90 degrees; it can go really fast; takes a full body effort to control in high winds; and can also sail almost entirely upwind; accept a spinnaker; etc. and it's a manageable ~16" that you can pull on a dolly by hand or tow it behind a car.

basically, anyone here looking for a sailboat should consider a 2-person fiberglass body with full centerboard (not a daggerboard), optional jib so you can practice on only a mainsail, and hiking straps to control the boat at a beam reach. an autobailer is a nice addition but you need to be going fast enough for it to work. so a club 420 would be what i consider the best overall option that you will never outgrow until you leave the harbor and need something with a cabin, which i have never needed.

an opti is for 8-year-olds and is boxy and boring, it goes really slow and never keels over; you'll outgrow it in 2 weeks. a laser (picrel) goes really fast and is quite fun but only seats 1 person. a JY15 is like a shittier 420 that 12-year-olds learn on. those are pretty much the main models that you'll encounter, OP should join community boating for 3 summers and see if he wants to invest in a used boat.

>>2827943
Just sold my laser today
getting concussed by the boom changes a man

>>2827943
Does a C420 require two people or can one pilot it comfortably?

>>2827983
ouch, did it knock you out on the water? scary shit

>>2827998
it's fine for one. if you need to, you can always omit the jib so there's only one rope to keep track of

>>2827983
>getting concussed by the boom changes a man
it will either make or break you

>>2828024
No but I was kinda stunned. If it had hit me any harder or in a different spot I think I might of passed out.

>>2828101
well i'm glad you're okay. i got cracked on the head taking out a small tree this past winter and felt really tired afterward. not something you wanna happen on open water. when i taught sailing, i always made sure the kids knew how to jibe safely (pull the main sheet close hauled, call it out, count down).

>>2827901 (OP)
Sailing is very easy. You use the rudder to point the boat any direction except within 30 degrees of upwind and then you adjust the sails so the telltale is horizontal and then the sailboat goes fast.

you can try this game before investing in anything
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1764530/Sailwind/

It lowered my urge to throw money at stuff I might not do right now but I will get a dinghy when I'm older that's for sure

What if my desire is a live aboard sailing yacht because it's like van life but I don't need gas?

Can I hire someone to teach me to sail a 30-40ft boat with no previous experience or should I learn the basics on a small boat?

>>2828524
>it's like van life but I don't need gas
Dawg do you literally have no idea about boats?
The amount of upkeep and fees you need to moor a boat (one that you could actually live on) far outweigh that of a van
It wouldnt be worth it at all unless you were mad into sailing

>>2827930
>he built a little sail boat for $130
+thousands worth of tools, equipment and materials
Never trust these "cheap build" videos on youtube.

>>2828642
Nta but if it's the guy I'm thinking of it was pretty fair, you need a skillsaw and a drill and a plane or belt sander most of which an adult should already own. I think he didn't include the sail, because he reused an old one but polytarp sails are fine for a little diy dinghy.
A simple enough boat can be very cheap, build heavy and don't bother with glassing it, use a leeboard and your paddle instead of a centerboard and rudder, use 40$/gallon house paint instead of 70$/quart boat paint etc. Obviously what you save in price you lose in weight, performance, pointing ability, durability etc but people have built boats out of chopped up trees for thousands of years with nothing but hand tools, it's not rocket science.

>>2827901 (OP)
I had no prior experience boating but I saw a bunch of sailing YouTube vids in highschool and lurked /out/ for advice. I got a job on a booze cruise boat right after graduation. It’s been three years and I have a 100 ton license, AB, and have bought a 25 ft sail boat and have consistently worked in the maritime industry doing charters and commercial fishing. Before I started it was advised by /out/ to join a sailing club but I found that just getting an entry level deckhand job on a commercial boat is a better way since you will learn all you need to know and will get paid for it, and many tourist jobs can be done part time if you already have another career. The hardest part about owning a boat is not sailing but maintaining it. You can teach yourself to sail proficiently with a book and a weekend’s worth of practice but to maintain an old boat requires a lot of time, troubleshooting, and money. I would recommend you find a part time or even full time job that involves maintenance on some level.

>>2828637
I understand that boats are money pits
Not needing gas is more about my shtf end of the world fantasies than money