buying a boat to live on and sail

[the Ancient Mariner 1]

I've just found this incredible 50' Gulf Star boat (catch?) for sale for $25k. It passed the survey and I really like her, but I've never sailed before. Actually, other than the test sail, with the owner and surveyor, I've never even been on a boat before. She has no functioning electronics, but I can buy a hand held gps for a few dollars, so I'll be OK to know where I am.
Is it possible to just go out in the ocean and learn to sail that way, or must I take a bunch of classes? I don't have a lot of extra money for classes and I'm hoping to avoid that step.
What do you all think?

[El Borracho 1,641]

How do I insert :popcorn: emoticons here?

[Hitchhiker 754]

3 minutes ago, El Boracho said:

How do I insert :popcorn: emoticons here?

You beat me to it.

Beer ready.

BTW.  Do boats pass a survey? Asking for a friend.

[El Borracho 1,641]

7 minutes ago, Hitchhiker said:

BTW.  Do boats pass a survey? Asking for a friend.

BTW: How does one post from Saquo-Pilia Hensha. And are there boats there?

[Navig8tor 1,120]

mmmmm Do you just go and buy a Kenworth tractor trailer unit and learn how to drive it  around New York City?

[tizak 33]

This is a place populated by people who've cruised / raced all over the world, sailed, no doubt, cumulatively millions of miles and collectively have centuries of experience. That's reality - you need to listen to it.

Assuming you're serious in your delusional sailing fantasies , I have no doubt that the kinder individuals here would tell you to, at minimum:

A. Immerse yourself an ice bath to wake up from the dream of a life at sea exploring faraway places for the foreseeable future unless you travel with more experienced people on a boat that's been there and done that.

B. Learn to sail by taking lessons AND sailing with others.

C. Learn what's needed to safely make oceanic passages - the boat, its systems, provisions, navigation, electronics, port / harbor regulations, insurance, shoreside resources, emergency equipment and procedures, first aid and thousands of other things.

D. Don't buy a boat until you've completed the above steps and multitudes more.

I'd guess you're, at minimum, 5 years (probably closer to 10) away from getting yourself and a boat prepared for heading offshore.

 

Plus, there's an entry fee required by those of us who haunt this place - you need to find out what that is and pay up. I'm sure someone will be happy to let you know about this - you might want to check w/ VWAP on this.

[Sail4beer 2,009]

Here’s a video to help you understand the basics of life at sea.
 

This guy made it look easy

 

 

[Sail4beer 2,009]

https://youtu.be/cZNhvJjGH_4

 

 

[Baldur 56]

Troll.

Boring.

Who is behind this sock puppet? Im taking bets. 

He is not a complete newbie too boats 

 

and makes a comment about "another derlict on the ICW" in another post. Sock puppet!

[basketcase 364]

go for it. whats the worst that can happen?

[Cal20sailor 2,221]

Ancient Mariner?  1st rule, do not throw stones at any birds, particularly the Albatross.

[Leeroy Jenkins 200]

Make sure you start a YouTube channel! 

[jamhass 76]

Aw what the heck ...

Yes, you can do this.  I did.  With caveats. 

Had only sailed a beach cat previous to purchasing a Valiant 40.

Smartest thing I did was to hire a delivery/training skipper for a week.  Sailed from Bar Harbor to Norfolk with he and his wife (actually, the smartest thing I did was hire her too, boy could she helm and cook!!!)

I learned a LOT during that week, then followed by a year or two sailing (and fixing stuff) in SF Bay.

It was then that we took to coastal cruising in a serious way, headed to Pacific Mexico for some 10 years.

So, yes, a neophyte can do this, but do so with a clear understanding of what you know and DON'T know.   

[Steam Flyer 4,739]

1 hour ago, the Ancient Mariner said:

I've just found this incredible 50' Gulf Star boat (catch?) for sale for $25k. It passed the survey and I really like her, but I've never sailed before. Actually, other than the test sail, with the owner and surveyor, I've never even been on a boat before. She has no functioning electronics, but I can buy a hand held gps for a few dollars, so I'll be OK to know where I am.
Is it possible to just go out in the ocean and learn to sail that way, or must I take a bunch of classes? I don't have a lot of extra money for classes and I'm hoping to avoid that step.
What do you all think?

I think that before pursuing this any further, first you must seek the answer to this question:

What's it rate?

FB- Doug

[Rasputin22 2,548]

1 hour ago, El Boracho said:

How do I insert :popcorn: emoticons here?

[GH41 18]

Wonder if this is the one.. https://www.boattrader.com/boat/1974-gulfstar-ketch-7667578/

[Cal20sailor 2,221]

20 minutes ago, jamhass said:

Had only sailed a beach cat previous to purchasing a Valiant 40.

You picked a phenomenal boat, not a houseboat with a mast.

[jamhass 76]

6 minutes ago, Cal20sailor said:

You picked a phenomenal boat, not a houseboat with a mast.

Thanks

Yeah, Texas-built to boot.

[Not for nothing 224]

53 minutes ago, basketcase said:

go for it. whats the worst that can happen?

Captain Ron: Well if anything's going to happen it's going to happen out there.

Captain Ron's philosophy on sailing - YouTube

[Maxx Baqustae 214]

Hmmm....you better make sure to locate liveaboard moorage before you get too excited. May marinas won't take liveaboards. There are  marina that have a liveaboard sections but in major city centers have some but rare and the waitlists are long to non-existant. 

[SloopJonB 7,927]

20 minutes ago, Cal20sailor said:

You picked a phenomenal boat, not a houseboat with a mast.

The GS 50 actually has a pretty good rep. Not as a starter boat though

The 53 not so much - a cheapo Floriduh motorsailer at best.

[SloopJonB 7,927]

1 hour ago, tizak said:

you might want to check w/ VWAP on this.

That was a lot of excellent advice.

Then you had to go and ruin it.

[Israel Hands 509]

49 minutes ago, jamhass said:

Smartest thing I did was to hire a delivery/training skipper for a week.  Sailed from Bar Harbor to Norfolk with he and his wife (actually, the smartest thing I did was hire her too, boy could she helm and cook!!!)

I learned a LOT during that week, then followed by a year or two sailing (and fixing stuff) in SF Bay.

Waitaminute - you left me hanging. You then had quite an adventure sailing her from Norfolk to SF?  Or you trucked her cross-country?

[VWAP 901]

2 hours ago, El Boracho said:

How do I insert :popcorn: emoticons here?

why bother it's sockman starting anuther stopid thread

[Benytoe 31]

The term is ketch (or it could be a yawl) most people start small and work there way up to a larger boat when they know what they are doing and can handle it, also the bigger the boat the bigger the costs in a big way! if it never leaves the dock while living on it thats fine and just call it a floating home.

[tizak 33]

7 hours ago, SloopJonB said:

That was a lot of excellent advice.

Then you had to go and ruin it.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[jerseyguy 1,162]

If you don’t know that the word is “ketch” and not “catch” you are already in too far over your skill set.  Forget it.

[Benytoe 31]

pictures or it didn't happen

 

[jamhass 76]

20 hours ago, Israel Hands said:

Waitaminute - you left me hanging. You then had quite an adventure sailing her from Norfolk to SF?  Or you trucked her cross-country?

Planned to sail, but that was when everything tanked, so trucked it.  Don't really want to do that again.

[Israel Hands 509]

40 minutes ago, jamhass said:

Planned to sail, but that was when everything tanked, so trucked it.  Don't really want to do that again.

There was a nice Texas-built Valiant listed in MD. Just went under contract. Drat, missed another good boat.

[European Bloke 423]

You should buy it. Buy it today, if not today then tomorrow.

This place is full of idiots, don't listen to any of them. They just want to steal the deal out from under you.

The best way to learn is by doing.

[basketcase 364]

9 minutes ago, European Bloke said:

You should buy it. Buy it today, if not today then tomorrow.

This place is full of idiots, don't listen to any of them. They just want to steal the deal out from under you.

The best way to learn is by doing.

Jeeze.... Its such a great deal that our mate, the ancient Mariner, should take out a high interest loan to get it. What could possibly go wrong?

[Benytoe 31]

buying the boat is just the first payment, slip fees, yearly maintenance, upgrades, fixes. You will never be done with paying but if sailing is in your blood it will be OK. calculate a budget and see if you can afford it. My last boat cost me 70K and in the 5 years I owned it I spent 27,000 just on slip fees, 5,000 on property tax, around 8,000 on haulouts, $$$ on everything else it needed to just safely sail. divide that my the number of times you sail and its a very expensive. But I can't wait until I  get my next boat to do it all over again.

[Floating Duck 109]

Well seeing as how the OP hasn't responded yet, I say all of y'all good for nothing anarchists have scared him off...

How dare we stop someone from doing something stupid!

Y'all just wait.

4 or 5 years from now everyone whose been watching these super cool "inexperienced couple buys a..." vlogs will have saved at least $20k more greenbacks and this place will be swimming in super cool [mis]adventure threads.

Anyway where were we... Is there a youtube channel yet or what? 

[SF Woody Sailor 293]

Remember the rule for your first offshore passage: if at first you don't succeed, try and try again.

[Leeroy Jenkins 200]

Where's Fish Food?  He would have tons of advice.

[sailronin 41]

I love it.  A guy with zero experience sailing is the Ancient Mariner...asking if he can just flog around offshore to learn to sail.  

Go for it, just turn in all your flares, signaling equipment and EPIRB so the USCG won't risk their lives and our money on your rescue.

Have a great time.

[LB 15 4,629]

Farking sick of waiting so here is someone's girlfriends tits anyway.

[zenmasterfred 394]

2 hours ago, LB 15 said:

Farking sick of waiting so here is someone's girlfriends tits anyway.

Lovely, this whole site has gone soft on HTFU and showing gf's tits.  What is the world coming to??  What could possibly go wrong, buy the boat and cut the lines is my advice, it is usually just like paddling around in your rubber ducky in a mill pond out in the great blue yonder.