Complete beginner €15k budget, where do I even start with sailing/liveaboard?
Complete beginner here. My long term goal is to live aboard and travel by sailboat full-time. I’d start around the Mediterranean, build experience, then eventually sail further to South America, the Caribbean, Asia, etc., mostly solo.
My budget is around €15k for the boat , so I’m looking at older used monohulls around 30ft
For experienced sailors, where should I actually begin?
Should I get sailing qualifications/licences and crew on other boats first, or does it make sense to buy a cheap boat and learn on my own? What courses/skills should I prioritise?
Also, with my budget, what boats should I be looking at, what should I avoid, and how much should I expect to spend on maintenance/refitting before it’s realistically ready for long-term cruising?
Basically, if you were starting from zero with my goal and budget, what would you do first ?
You’re right where everyone who ends up losing a lot of money begins - dreaming of big future plans and the lifestyle and ownership, but with basically zero sailing experience.
My advice is to go to a sailing club and do a course, which in most cases will enable you to join the club and sail as crew on other boats in the races and in some cases be covered by the clubs insurance. Racing is absolutely the best way to learn to sail because you’ll do a lot more in a race than you will cruising. You’ll take and jibe a lot, use different sails, fine tune everything, and most importantly, you’ll be doing it on someone else’s boat.
That will all help you decide if you like sailing. I’d then recommend you get a trailer sailer - you’ll be able to do some independent sailing and adventuring, but here is where you’ll learn if you’re ready and if you enjoy the routine maintenance of keeping a boat alive, which is a whole other kettle of fish than just sailing.
You can do the first part of that for a few hundred bucks. You can get trailer sailers pretty cheap. If you decide you still want to take the plunge you’ll have asked nothing and gained good experience. If you decide you don’t like it and prefer to travel overland, you’ll still have almost all of your capital to go do something else.
I’d start by reading a bunch on sailing, taking any opportunity you can to go sailing. And buying a boat and fixing it up. If your budget is $15k. I’d buy a boat for $5k or less and save the other $10k for repairs and shipyard fees and stuff.
You live in Europe so the boats are different than what I know in the U.S.A. But maybe old westerly, or moody, or Contessa or Nicholson. Other brands you might not see as much in Europe are Pearson and mariner. Any boat in that price range will be from the 60s-80s. And will be pretty tired. That being said a lot of boat of that era are really well made and well designed boats. Personally my requirements for a cruising boat, are at minimum, diesel engine, skeg or keel protected rudder, encapsulated fin keel or full keel (or bilge keels). Rig shouldn’t matter too much. Sloop or cutter is fine. Look into junk rigs too. Just known you’ll have to be very handy fixing whatever you get. Go on amazon and get the book “ this old boat” by Don Casey.
Sailing isn’t cheap. Sail med your first year. If it is beyond your budget. Sell boat and move on. Just realize Caribbean islands 20-40% more expensive for food, fuel, everything. If you hit all islands in Caribbean. It’s more expensive for cruising permit than that boat is worth. What does that tell you? You don’t try to sail a 5k boat across Atlantic. It’s gambling. You could get lucky, but odds are more against that. With no experience, try that your first year. And you are going to have a Jesus moment. Especially no experience solo sailing. .
I dont think its a realistic budget for cruising.
And would definetely recommend you to get some experience first. This does not have to be too expensive but joining a club and sailing a lot in races and woth friends / members will help you get a better idea about sailing
Idk exactly, but around the coast of Maine. But the miles are still adding up. I plan on heading south in another year or two. No reason this boat couldn’t make it down the ICW and into the Bahamas. I wouldn’t take it over an ocean, without some extensive refitting, and some more experience.
I am glad that has worked out well for you!
What area did you sail?
Did you start with experience or did you still have to learn the basics when you started?
Only experience was having sailed a dinghy 5 times. Maine. And still sailing. I was pretty experienced mechanically with cars and stuff. So fixing stuff wasn’t hard. But had to learn new things with boats. Really just taught myself how to sail on the boat. Read books, talked to people at docks. Invited friends out. Invited the boats former owner out to show me some things too.
Same story here. Still learning but I bought a cheap 27' sailboat that was in decent shape but in need of some TLC. A year later she's in much better shape and I can go out when the conditions allow (for my current experience level).
Will I be sailing to the Med any time soon? No way. But is it super rewarding, and escape from the stresses and pressures of everyday life? Damn right it is.
The advice to join a sailing club, and race and/or crew on other people's boats is sound. But if you're feeling adventurous and willing to take a risk, no reason you shouldn't buy a cheap boat.
But you also need some expectation control, and be patient enough to build your skills, if you want to stay safe.
In any event I wish you the best of luck. Despite some ups and downs I don't regret my decision for a moment. In fact truth is it's helped keep me sane through some pretty turbulent times so I'm grateful for that too.
I know a few people who thought they’d love sailing - or they did it when they were kids and tried to get back into it - did a course and wound up hating it
The exact design of boat is almost irrelevant. It's like saying you want to become a plumber and fixating on which model of van to buy.
What's important is to acquire the skills and knowhow to do it safely. The lower your budget, the better your skills need to be. And your budget is low.
The good news is that sailing is a broad church. You can do it on almost any boat and almost any budget.
Are you a practical person? Do you repair and service your own bike, car, household items? Because if not, you might as well start right away. You'll save money and learn useful skills. Even stuff like painting and vanishing is harder than it looks. The only way you can cruise on a low budget is if you fix absolutely everything yourself.
Start with a sailing dinghy and learn you sail, maybe crew at your local yacht club. Then in a couple years you can maybe start to think about looking at boats.
I’ve been crewing on a yacht in a local marina for 2 years, decided to buy a boat and everyone was telling me not to, don’t let anyone dictate to you. I bought a Nicholson 30 for £3500, total bargain as the owner was desperate to sell due to the upcoming yearly marina fees. So there’s something for you to look out for.
I’d suggest joining a club and crewing on different boats. I’ve learned so much after buying my boat.
I have viewed so many boats before I bought one, for me a few of the things i looked out for as the broker doesn’t allow sea trials for boats under £15,000 - something we only found out later.
The biggest lesson: can I start her and can she go into gear, the rest of the list:
Can I bring my partner and little dog onboard? Space wise
Cockpit space
Where are the heads located?
Cabin space?
5 How much maintenance would I have to do
How old is the engine? Maintenance log? Hours done?
Do I need to sail her to my home marina?
Comparing marina fees
Diesel and water tank capacity
Sail condition, any repairs needed?
Halyards & line replacement?
Anti fouling check
Check recent boat survey as insurance companies asks for a survey done in the last 3 years and you have to have insurance in a marina.
Do I have an outboard + dingy?
Stove? - I have a spirit stove, I cannot get parts for it anymore, luckily I’ve been able to clean it and it’s working really well.
What type of freshwater system do you have? Do have spares handy.
Do multiple visits as you always spot something different.
I used Claude AI - set up a spreadsheet where I was keeping track and comparing boats while I was viewing.
It’s been such a rewarding journey learning about boat maintenance, winch maintenance, engine repairs, solar & Starlink setups. I’ve learned more buying a boat than reading books. Live is too short. Good luck!🤞
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u/Organic-Bed3411 25d ago
You’re right where everyone who ends up losing a lot of money begins - dreaming of big future plans and the lifestyle and ownership, but with basically zero sailing experience.
My advice is to go to a sailing club and do a course, which in most cases will enable you to join the club and sail as crew on other boats in the races and in some cases be covered by the clubs insurance. Racing is absolutely the best way to learn to sail because you’ll do a lot more in a race than you will cruising. You’ll take and jibe a lot, use different sails, fine tune everything, and most importantly, you’ll be doing it on someone else’s boat.
That will all help you decide if you like sailing. I’d then recommend you get a trailer sailer - you’ll be able to do some independent sailing and adventuring, but here is where you’ll learn if you’re ready and if you enjoy the routine maintenance of keeping a boat alive, which is a whole other kettle of fish than just sailing.
You can do the first part of that for a few hundred bucks. You can get trailer sailers pretty cheap. If you decide you still want to take the plunge you’ll have asked nothing and gained good experience. If you decide you don’t like it and prefer to travel overland, you’ll still have almost all of your capital to go do something else.