How to Pick a Sailboat Type

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

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Picking the right sailboat is an important decision that will affect your enjoyment of the boat and your safety while using the boat. By knowing how to select the one that's right for you, you can enjoy your boat for many years.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Educate yourself on the different types of sailboats. If you're not experienced with sailboats, then you may not know that there are many different types out there. Keelboats, catamarans, cat boats, trimarans, sloops, chooners and yawls are all different types of sailboats that have their own unique features. Picking the one that's right for you will first require that you familiarize yourself with the types of boats that you have to choose from.

Step2

Decide what you will be doing with the boat. Determine whether you will be using it on the ocean, in a lake or in a marina. Knowing where you're going to be using the boat is an important step in deciding which kind you're going to get because each of these locations have different aspects in wind and water that you will need to consider.

Step3

Decide how many people you will normally have on the boat. Knowing how many people will usually be on the boat isn't just important when you're deciding on the size of the boat. It's also important when you're deciding on the type. Some sailboats have more sails than others. These sailboats will require more people to operate safely.

Step4

Know what kinds of activities you're going to be participating in with your sailboat. If you're going to be racing, then you need a different boat than if you just want to leisurely travel from marina to marina in a lake.

Step5

Consider the water in the place that you'll be using your boat. If it's pretty rocky then you might want to consider sailboats like catamarans, which are known for being very stable.

Step6

Visit a boat showroom to make your final decision. Now that you know more about exactly what you're going to be doing with the boat, you can pick the right one.

Tips & Warnings

You might think that using a sailboat is easy, but it can be very difficult under certain circumstances. Consider getting lessons before you take the boat out on your own.