 You’re Only A Sailboat Beginner Once
One thing to keep in mind about sailing is that you’re only a beginner the first time you sail a boat and from then on, you’re a progressing intermediate. New sailors should choose a boat that will let them grow and experience sailing in a variety of wind conditions. Keep in mind that as your sailing skills improve you will want to sail in windier conditions. If you start out with a cheap boat, with weak hardware and rigging, it will break when you begin to push it in windy conditions. If you start out with a too-old, worn out or poor quality used boat the wear and slop in the rigging and hull will seriously compromise performance when it blows. You’ll never experience the joy of sailing if you don’t sail on a good quality new or used boat
Three Pathways For New Sailors
There are three paths new sailors typically take through their sailing years. The first is to buy a small boat to trailer-sail or leave at the cabin. These people usually develop very good sailing skills because they have ready access to a boat and they tend to sail a lot. The second path is to start small and move up to bigger or more specific purpose boats (like racing boats). These people tend to become even better sailors than the first group because like the first group, they have easy access to a boat but also because they get to experience a variety of boat designs and sailing conditions. The third path is to take lessons and then charter or rent bigger boats from charter operations. These folks usually do not develop as much competence at sailing as the first or second group because they have less “butt time” driving boats and because they tend to sail larger boats that mask or hide the “feel” of sailing. If you are in the first or second group, regardless of how small your first boat is, you need to buy a new or used boat that is of high enough quality to keep the sport fun and challenging enough to sail in all wind conditions and, is easy to sell when or if you decide to move up. Do not fall into the trap of buying a cheap, new or used, starter boat just to “try it” and get started. If that’s your plan then we can save you some trouble. Don’t start sailing because you’ll end up hating it. Take up golf. At least you can throw your clubs when you’re frustrated.
 Out Of Production Used Boats
A good quality sailboat can last for 10, 15 even twenty years. There are good quality used boats on the market whose manufacturers are still in business that can be serviced with repair parts. There are also many, many old boats on the market whose manufacturers have gone out of business. Acquiring parts for out-of-production old boats can be trouble. Finding particularly designed components like rudders, centerboards, daggerboards and sails for old boats can sometime be impossible. If you’re considering a used boat be sure to ask a sailboat dealer if you can get used parts for an old boat before you buy the boat
New Boats Have Improved Immensely
The quality and technology of the boats we sail with today is vastly superior to that of older sailboats. Just like a twenty year old car is worn out, sloppy and tired, older sailboats just don’t work as well as newer boats. Learning to sail will be easier and less frustrating if you can start sailing on a newer boat. You can imagine how frustrating it would be to learn to use a computer today by starting out on an old 286 DOS computer because a well meaning friend said “it’s what we learned on”. No one is forcing you to learn to sail, this is suppose to be enjoyable and fun. If you, your kids or your family are going to get started in sailing, do it on a good quality new or used boat
Sit On The Boat Before You Buy It
One of the common misconceptions many new sailboat shoppers have is the number of people they think they will be able to sail with. There are two things to keep in mind regarding the number of people that a boat will be able to accommodate; 1) the weight the boat will reasonably hold and 2) how many people can comfortably sit on the windward side of the boat when the boat heels (leans away from the wind as the wind blows against the sails). For small boats the more weight that is put on the boat the deeper the boat is pushed into the water and the less stable it becomes. Because catamarans are so wide and their design is inherently more stable this effect is more pronounced in monohulls than catamarans. Secondly, sailboats will heel or lean over when the wind blows against the sail. To get a realistic sense of how many people you can put into a small sailboat, visualize how many people can comfortably sit on the same side of the boat, for a prolonged length of time, with room for the tiller arm
 Pedigree and Popularity
More than likely you will someday be selling whatever boat you buy. In the past twenty plus year we have sold literally thousands of our customer’s boats on consignment. The most important piece of advice we can give you from that experience is that the fastest selling, highest selling price boats we sell are the popular brands that are still in production; Hobie, Sunfish, Laser, Vanguard, Capri, Catalina, Barnett. These boats are the gold standard of small sailboats. If you stick with these brands, either new or used, you’ll have more fun and spend less money over the years you own your boat
Set your boat up for easy rigging
Hi Tempo’s first law of sailing is that the longer your boat takes to rig, the less you will use it. The corollary to this law is that every dollar spent in easy rigging equipment, equals more time that you and your family will enjoy sailing on your new boat.
Power Lines
For trailer sailors it should be a cardinal rule to have everyone stop, turn 360º and look for overhead power lines as soon as they step from the tow vehicle. If your mast hits a power line when you’re launching your boat it can result in severe injury or death. Power lines usually aren’t an issue in high traffic urban areas because most power lines have been buried. The problems come in out-state lakes that are frequented by power boats and don’t get much sailboat traffic. Also, people that are used to sailing in an area that isn’t effected by power lines may be at the most danger when they travel to new launch sites because they’re not used to looking for power lines so they forget. Be safe, be alert, be aware of power lines- they kill
Tip your boat over
One of the first things you should do with your new small sailboat is to tip it over and practice righting it in shallow water next to the beach. In the right conditions, all small sailboats will tip. It’s like falling when you ski or hitting your ball into the sand trap when you’re golfing. No one likes it but its part of the sport. As captain of the boat you are responsible for knowing how to safely right your boat and keep your crew calm and comfortable. The best place to learn that is right next to shore in a controlled, calm setting.
Keep your boat and sails out of the sun
The sun is the most damaging thing there is to sailboats. Keep your boat and sails covered when not in use. Also, don’t put your sails away when they are wet and don’t let your sails flog in the wind when you’re not sailing. We’ve seen boats that were twenty years old look like they were only a year or two old because they had been well cared for and protected from the sun. Your boat is an investment, keep it ship-shape and in good condition and it will be easy to sell or trade when it comes time to sell your boat. 
FREE Sailing Class For New Sailors
Attend our FREE one hour long dry land class. You'll learn from our experts during a ½ hour class room presentation. Next you'll get actual hands-on experience during the final ½ hour demonstration using our boats at the store to reinforce the talking points of the classroom presentation.
This class is for never-ever sailors. The class is generic enough to be appropriate for all sailboats.
The class is free but reservations are required, call 651-429-3333 for reservations. The class is offered on these Saturdays, 5/9, 5/30, 6/6, 6/20 and 7/11. The class starts at 9 a.m.
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