Are you planning to buy a sailboat but have no idea what is the right one for you?
In this article, we’ll discuss all the important factors that you should consider and some helpful tips, when it comes to maintaining and buying the right sailboat.
WHAT IS A SAILBOAT?
Sailboats are partly propelled by sails and can be distinguished by their keel types (full-length keels, fin keels, centerboard keel), hull configuration (monohulls and multihulls), masts, and purpose.
Speaking of purpose, there are various types of sailboats that have different purposes. You can use them for:
- Ocean Cruising
- Occasional Chartering
- Coastal Cruising
- Off Shore Cruising
- Coastal Cruising
Once you’ve decided what purpose you want, you can easily pick the right sailboat that suits your own needs. But besides this, you also need to consider other factors too.
WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING A SAILBOAT?
Before hopping to the types of sailboats, there are three main questions that you need to ask yourself when buying a sailboat – How many people will be onboard? Where are you sailing? How long will you be sailing?
HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BE ON BOARD?
To determine the size of a sailboat you’ll buy, you need to know whether you’ll be traveling alone, with your family and friends, or with occasional guests.
For solo trips, sailing dinghies like catboat, laser, and sunfish are recommended, especially for beginners. When you’re cruising catamarans, cruising sailboats, and motorsailers are highly recommended for family use.
WHERE ARE YOU SAILING?
The next thing that you need to know is whether you’re sailing on high latitudes, in tropic areas, or temperate regions. Since the climate can affect you and your boat (especially on high latitudes), it’s important that your sailboat has a solid hull.
Sailboats have three primary hull designs; monohulls, catamarans, and multihulls.
- Monohulls or single-hull sailboats are considered as the classic sailboat design that provides stability while sailing since they are designed with a large hull beam. Boaters usually choose them because they give optimal control even on calm and rough waves. Monohulls are much suggested if you want to sail on high latitudes.
- Catamarans or “cats” are two-hull sailboats with a deck in between. Their parallel hulls are equal in size that makes them more stabilized. They are usually used for sailing to tropical areas since you can do a lot of activities such as snorkeling, swimming, or simply relaxing and enjoying the view.
- Trimarans are sailboats with three hulls — the main hull and two side hulls for stability. Some trimarans have a special feature that’ll allow you to fold the side hulls inward, to make them narrower and easier to be trailered. Since they have a large beam and a lower center of gravity, trimarans are extremely stable.
Though there are more varieties of boat hulls, these three are the most common. If you want to know more, you can download and save our boat hulls guideline here.
HOW LONG WILL YOU BE SAILING?
Are you planning to go on a daysailing or are you sailing for a week? Since sailboats have different sizes and structures, it’s better to know how long you’ll be in the waters. If you’re looking for daysailing boats, you can check these small but mighty sailboats:
- Catalina 16.5
- Beach Catamaran
- Daysailer
- Racing Sailboats
- Lido 14
On the other hand, for boaters who are planning to sail for weeks, these sailboats are recommended since these boats have huge spaces and designed to cruise for weekends or longer:
- Sailing Cruisers
- Bluewater Cruising Sailboats
- Cruising Catamaran
- Motorsailer
CONCLUSION
There are plenty of factors that you should consider when purchasing a sailboat. And it’s important to check every detail carefully to make sure that you’ll purchase your dream boat.
What type of sailboat will you be using? Share your thoughts and comment below.
