Your First Sailboat

Book excerpt: The Comprehensive Sailing Start-Up Resource Can a keelboat tip over? Can I take a centerboard boat onto open water? How can I determine what boat I want? Once I do, what’s a fair price to pay for it? Should I buy it new or used? How can I tell the difference between a used boat and one that’s used up? Now that I have it, how can I start sailing quickly and safely? Your First Sailboat is the first book to answer all your questions about selecting, buying, maintaining, and using your first boat. This user-friendly guide covers issues that other books ignore, including how to choose between a trailer sailer, daysailer, raceboat, cruiser, or multihull; what hull material is best for your first boat; whether to buy new or used; where to shop; how to judge quality and condition; where to keep your new boat; and what to do about gear, loans, insurance, and annual maintenance. Special features of this all-in-one handbook include: A descriptive buying guide to 75 recommended sailboats of all types and sizes, from daysailers to racers, cruisers, and multihulls A decision tree to guide you to your ideal starter boat Complete instructions on how to care for and sail your boat as well as how to acquire it Straightforward and fun, Your First Sailboat gives you just what you need to stop asking questions and start sailing. Everything else is optional. Save time. Save money. This book omits everything you don’t need to know.