SAILBOAT BUYING GUIDE FOR CRUISERS
Hey – did you know that selecting the right cruising boat for you doesn’t have to be a long and drawn out process.
I know it might sound crazy because we’re so used to hearing about people spending months and even years finding the perfect boat, and while it’s important to get the boat that’s right for you, I’m going to share three top tips with you now that are going to hopefully change the way you think about the boat buying process.
I’m Simon from Sailing Britican and I’m here to make finding your perfect boat and sailing off into the new lifestyle a breeze.
So what’s the secret to finding your perfect cruising boat? And what do I mean by perfect anyway?
What I’m talking about is finding a boat that will provide you with the experience you’re after within the time frame and budget you have available.
The key is to have a proven success system and work the system.
The problem most new boat buyers have is that they don’t have any past experience as a cruiser and/or they haven’t bought too many or any boats before.
As with most things that are new there’s not only a learning curve but there is usually a high failure or mistakes rate. When making a purchase this large and contemplating a total lifestyle change it’s important to get things right the first time rather than make costly errors.
So I’m going to share with you three tips about finding the perfect cruising boat and how you can get out sailing to beautiful destinations in no time.
And I know you’re probably thinking that it just can’t be that easy but I’ve used the same strategy I’m about to tell you about with my last two boats and have helped several of our coaching clients to follow a similar path.
But again, I’m going to show you a great way you can get out living the dream sooner rather than later.
THREE TIPS FOR FINDING THE RIGHT CRUISING BOAT
So the first tip is that you have to understand 1. why you want to buy the boat and 2. what you want to achieve with the boat.
The big idea here is that you must define in as much detail as possible where you want to start from, where you want to go and think about what the first season will be like.
Please don’t say you just want to sail around the world!
Everyone starts off thinking this – including us – but it’s just not realistic! When we started off we purchased a boat in the Med. Our plan was to cross the Atlantic in the first year.
Once we started we realized that we needed to spend a heck of a lot more time learning the boat and we also realized there’s so much to see – why rush? We’re on year seven and we’ve only made it from the Med to the Caribbean.
So first think about where you want to leave from, where will you visit and what your plan might be for the first winter or hurricane season rather than try and spec a boat out for the whole world.
What many new cruisers loose sight of is that buying your boat and fixing it up is not the end goal. The end goal is how your life will change because of having a boat. There is a big difference here!
Those that focus too much on the boat simply end up having a project that never ends. Those that focus living the life end up living it.
The second tip about finding the right boat for you is to understand all the variables that a boat provides and then determine what variable will suit you best depending on the cruising ground that you’re starting in.
For example, let’s say you want to cruise from the States to The Bahamas for your first year. A couple important variables include your draft and having a water maker. The Bahamas are very shallow so either a catamaran or a monohaul with a short draft or lifting keel would be a good choice. And if you want to anchor in more remote areas for any length of time, being able to make your own water is important.
Another example is the rudder configuration. Let’s say you want to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The number one reason for cruisers to abandon ship comes down to rudder failure. When considering what kind of rudder is on the boat you might want to find one that has a skeg or protective barrier in front of the rudder. Rudder failure along a coastal area is okay. In the middle of the Atlantic it’s often game over.
A final example is speed. Do you enjoy the actual passage part of the sailing life? Don’t be embarrassed to admit that you don’t. Many cruisers get seasick and really don’t like the sailing part. Therefore speed is important. They want to get to their next destination as fast as possible…not wallow around all day.
The main thing to understand here is that every variable on a boat will have an impact related to your big picture plan. You can’t get the perfect boat for every area of the world but you can get one that’s going to work from the start. And if it works from the start there’s a better chance that you might just make it around the world!
The third tip is once you get your new boat you start sailing it immediately.
Sail it for a month before you start doing any major upgrades and making it ‘perfect’. By sailing your boat for a month you’ll start to realize what is actually broken that needs to be fixed rather than spend money on things that you’ll later realize that you didn’t need.
Furthermore, the whole point of getting out and sailing is to go anchor off a beautiful beach and have a BBQ or find a mooring, take the dinghy and go explore a new location.
This is key because a boat is never perfect. A boat is never completely operating perfectly. It will always have issues and if you are always fixing the boat then you will never live the life.
New cruisers think that they need to work hard to get everything perfect and then they can start living the life. What happens is the boat becomes the main focus – new cruisers work on their boat non stop, run out of money, and return to land disgruntled.
Now I know you’re thinking it’s best to work hard and then you can play but when it comes to the cruising life you can work hard forever and never find the space to play.
Well the tricking thing is that if you don’t start off by balancing work and play from the beginning you’ll have a boat with never-ending problems and you won’t be living the dream.
So my wife and I have created a guide that can help you through the boat buying process.
- It will walk you through a set of questions to help you define what your big picture is for your first cruising season.
- The guide lists the variables that you’ll want to consider in relation to your big picture plans.
- It provides a format to understand the costs associated with buying the boat you want.
- There are a series of questions to ask the seller prior to viewing so you don’t waste your time looking at duds.
- It also has a checklist on what to look at when you personally inspect a boat.
What this guide will help you do is get organized and have a strategy on how to get the perfect cruising boat for you.
Kim and I have helped hundreds of our readers and guests find the perfect boat, and more importantly, we’ve helped them to get out living the life.
If you click the link down below you can not only purchase a copy of our Sailboat Buying Guide but we also have special offers. See below.
Sailboat Buying Guide For Cruisers
This guide will help you to clarify your thought process, ensure you avoid making mistakes and it will certainly help to save you money.
Ultimately it will provide you with a clearer perspective about some of the issues involved with buying a boat and transitioning to a life on the sea.
100% Money-Back Guarantee. If at any point you’re not satisfied with the guide you can return it for a full refund. Our Sailboat Buying Guide For Cruisers might just save you 1000’s (it’s high in value!) but we’re currently selling it at the low price of $24.97. How much would you pay for something that can potentially save you thousands?
Now is the time to hit the sea sailing so click on the button and grab your copy of our Sailboat Buying Guide For Cruisers. If you’re still trying to decide if this is right for you or not, look below to read some of our reviews.
Add to Cart – Sailboat Buying Guide Digital – Only $27.00Coaching Call Robert Bernie – Simon and I had a fantastic converstation. He got me to offer $5,000 below what I was going to offer. I went back and forth with owner and in the end I paid $4,000 less than what I originally intended. Simon saved me $4,000 due to one phone call!
Sailboat Buying Guide – 5 Star ReviewRoland R. – October 22, 2019I am interested in sailing but not ready to take the plunge yet. The book gives great information. I still need to brush up on the sailing terms and probably reread the book. Overall I think it is a great book for buying a sailboat.
Coaching CallDiana McDade – 2019Simon and Kim on Britican were such a big help to me when I was preparing for our crossing from San Diego to Honolulu. My coaching calls were such a reassurance to me, and I incorporated all of the advice that was given as far as provisioning and tips for handling trash, spare parts, and just having someone to bounce thoughts off of…
Sailboat Buying Guide & Coaching Call – 5 Star ReviewThe Smith Family – We started off buying Kim’s Sailboat Buying Guide which got us off to a great start. After narrowing down a few boats we asked Simon to look through the specifications and then we had a chat about the pros and cons of each boat. The call was one of the largest learning curves we went through – we had so many ah-ha moments and really started to learn how to look at the experience in a different way. My wife and I can’t say enough. The guide and the call not only saved us money but it saved us so much time going in the wrong direction. Before you buy a boat, talk to Simon and Kim.
All Guides, Coaching Calls & Britican Experience J. Paquet – 2019 to 2020My wife and I purchased all of Kim’s guides, we did the coaching calls, went on the Britican Experience (a week with Simon and Kim in the Caribbean) and we worked with Simon and Kim’s recommended broker. We now have our boat! Soon we’ll be heading out to live the life.
Coaching CallL. Lee – September 2020Simon saved me tens of thousands of dollars. He also prevented me from buying the wrong boat for what I wanted to do. It should be law that everyone has a chat with him before buying a boat.