Once you know exactly how, where and when you will use your dream boat, the next question to answer is "what are the characteristics of a boat best suited for how I will sail the boat?" I believe this question is best answered across five dimensions: Rig type, sail plan, keel type, interior accommodations and overall hull design. Many great books are available to discuss these considerations in any level of detail you would like. Here is a quick overview.
Rig type and sail plan go hand-in-hand. Typically, there is a trade off between ease of sail handling and safety/flexibility. For example, a cat rigged boat with one large mainsail and no headsail (think Laser) is very easy to handle by one person, since there is only one sail. If you are day sailing in a small lake or close to shore where you can take cover if things heat up, this is a great rig -- simple, easy to handle, quick to set up. However, it is not a very flexible design, since the sail can't be reefed in big blows. A standard Marconi sloop is one step above in flexibility since it adds a second (head) sail that can be changed in size to accommodate wind velocity changes. In addition, these rigs today almost invariably offer roller-furling of at least the headsail, if not both sails, making on-the-fly adjustments simple and easy. This is certainly a rig with enough flexibility for stronger wind.
The tradeoff is that you have now added a second sail to handle, change, and furl. Moreover, the sloop is still pretty limited in terms of the changes you can make to sail plans. The cutter rig is the next step up in flexibility with 2 headsails and typically a much smaller mainsail. This configuration allows for significantly greater variations in sail configuration and a much wider spectrum on wind ranges within which the boat can comfortably be sailed. The tradeoff is a third sail to manage. Finally, the double-masted designs -- ketchs and yawls -- provide the greatest level of flexibility and therefore the greatest range of wind velocities to comfortably sail through. The obvious disadvantage is complication -- 2 masts, 4-6 sails. For my money, the sloop wins for Bay, Great Lakes and Coastal sailing, while I would want at least a cutter rig for ocean passages, with the ketch and yawl being that much better.
Keels are the next consideration with two primary questions -- how deep and what kind. Deep keels allow for more stability (less heel) and greater angles to weather (into the wind), but limit the places you can safely sail without running aground. For me, the depth question is easy -- racers should opt for the deepest keel practical for their sailing area, the difference on windward legs can be dramatic. I would recommend deep keels to anyone else who spends a lot of time beating to windward (whoever that may be). For everyone else, the shallower the better -- more cruising grounds, more safe anchorages and less chance of hitting something as you go. As for type, if you are doing offshore passages or even long coastal passages, I recommend a full keel -- the boat tracks better and gets much better "holding" than a shallow keel. Alternatively, if you do a lot of close quarters maneuvering, I would NOT get a full keel and instead opt for the fin keel.
Interior accommodations range from practically nothing in race shells, to full blown luxury (microwave ovens, flat panel TV's, DVD players). The simple rule is to match the sailing type to the interior type. My guess is for all but the hard core racer, budget will dictate here (more on this in Part III).
Finally, consider the overall hull type. I examine two dimensions: SA/D (sail area to displacement ratio) for overall speed estimate and D/L (displacement to length ratio) for overall stability and maneuverability. Neither is a perfect measure and manufacturers have a tendency to fudge the numbers (but that is a different article), but they are a good general reference point.
In summary, the first step in buying a sailboat that will make you happy is to know exactly and in great detail how you will use the boat. The second step is to identify the characteristics of a boat that will best match your usage and start looking for boats with those characteristics.
There is plenty of advice available on how to buy a sailboat. Unfortunately, much of it is written by those in the sailboat building or sailboat selling business ? in other words, someone with a vested interest in steering you one way or another. If you have read those articles, you will quickly realize that this article is different. The suggestions contained in this article (and subsequent ones) are written from the perspective of a sailboat buyer and are the collective wisdom of someone who has purchased 8-10 sailboats and discussed sailboat purchases with dozens of other sailboat owners. The lessons learned apply to both new and used sailboat purchases. I hope you will learn from all our mistakes!!
There is a multi-step process that involves answering a series of questions. Successfully answering those questions will lead you to choose exactly the best boat for you. In the course of this series, I will discuss all those questions and cover the whole process. This article covers only the first step in the process because in my view, the first step is by far the most important.
The first ? and again, most important step ? is to answer the question "How will I use this sailboat?" When I say this, I don't mean a general answer like "to race" or "daysail" or "to cruise." If you can only answer the question to this level of detail, you have a very high probability of making a very large (and probably very expensive) mistake ? buying the wrong boat. When I say "How will I use this sailboat?," I mean in extensive detail. Here are some examples of questions you should be able to answer immediately and without any thought BEFORE you consider buying a sailboat:
? If you intend to cruise, how long will your cruises be? Weekend? Week long? Month long? Extended? ? What waters will you sail? Lake? River? Bay? Ocean? Salt? Fresh? ? How many people will be with you and how often will you be aboard? ? How far away will help be? ? How many spare parts and tools will you need to carry?
The answer to these sub-questions will dictate the optimal storage amount you need, recommended safety equipment to carry, type of rig, overall size of boat and power management system. It will also play a large role in determining the age of the vessel and which builders you should even consider (due to very high variance in reliability, stability, and seaworthiness among sailboat manufacturers ? more on this in subsequent articles). For example, a boat sailed hundreds of miles offshore obviously would need to have a much different energy management system, provisioning ability, design reliability and manufacturing reputation and be quite different in design, rig, weight and size than a weekend lake cruiser. This extreme example seems obvious enough. However, even small differences in usage can lead to big differences in boat acceptability. For example, two extra people on board or one extra day at sea may require large differences in power requirement (i.e., alternator output, battery banks, voltage regulation, alternative generating). Yes, some will say that many of these items can be modified after purchase ? and in some (not all) cases that is true. Yet, I would want to know my total budget ? boat, repairs, updates, upgrades, etc., before entering into a transaction, not after the fact. I'd also want to know exactly what to look for, so I could accurately compare one vessel against another on all dimensions. Again, the point here is to know exactly how the boat will be used before starting to shop.
If racing is your game the same logic applies. What kind of racing? Is it around the buoys? Windward-leeward? Distance? What level of competition will you face? And how big are their budgets? Will you trailer the boat for national or regional races or just race locally? How experienced is your crew? Watch how long those carbon-Kevlar sails last the first time an inexperienced crew blows a tack and flogs the sails for awhile. Answering these questions will go a long way toward determining the importance of rod rigging, number of spreaders, sail technology and inventory, just to name a few toys you may want on board.
Sailboats are the stuff dreams are made of, but buying the wrong boat can be a nightmare ? expensive, unpleasant and dangerous. The most important way to avoid making a mistake is to know exactly how you will use the boat ? in great detail ? before you begin shopping for your dream boat.
Dave Bello has sinced written about articles on various topics from Boating, bowling and Boating. Capt Dave Bello is President of Fair Wind Sailing School, an ASA affiliate . This article is a continuation of. Dave Bello's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.