Buying a yacht is a difficult proposition; there are so many factors, all of which need to be taken into consideration, that the beginner (and sometimes even experienced) buyer can get lost in the shuffle of it all. Insufficient deliberation can lead to purchasing the wrong yacht, which will lead to dissatisfaction and unhappiness with the ship. Needless to say, if you are unhappy with your sailing vessel, you will rarely, if ever take it out on the water; and since that is the whole point of its ownership, such a pitfall should be avoided at all costs.
The varying factors to take into account are the length of your intended cruises, the type of yachting you will do, the local weather, how many people you need to be able to bring along, (conversely) the minimum crew you expect or need to have, and local storage. All of these will play a major role in your choice of a yacht and should be given appropriate consideration and weight.
When you take your yacht away from the pier, do you intend to just spend a day in the sun or will you be out for a weekend? Maybe you'll stock up and stay afloat for a week or two, just to relax away from the stress of the mainland and your job and daily routine. Perhaps you're even harboring thoughts of a lifetime at sea-of living on board your new yacht and watching as the stars spin around year after year. These are all legitimate plans and the only way to choose among them is by deciding what you want to do. Make sure that you spend plenty of time on the water (in friends' yachts, chartered yachts, etc), so that you can get a taste of how long you enjoy being away from the land. If you intend to stay out for longer trips, be sure that the yacht you buy has enough storage room for everything that you need to bring along. Don't be frightened that your purchase will lock you into a particular kind of sailing or yachting-many yachts can serve multiple purposes admirably, sleeping five or six, but still navigable by a crew of one.
Where you will take the ship is equally important. Do you live on a lake or sea or ocean? Do you plan on cruising from place to place or island to island? Your local or expected bodies of water will necessarily impact what kind of ship you will buy. A very small, compact ship that would work well on the comparatively calm water of a lake might not fare as well in the open ocean. You will also have to decide between a pure motor yacht or a sailing yacht (which will also come with a motor, though not as powerful as those of power yachts). Both ships have their advantages and disadvantages-the choice must be based upon your preference and what kind of yachting you enjoy. Are you a sailor? If so, you might not be happy with a motor-driven yacht. Meanwhile, many yachters who have no problem maintaining a motor will become increasingly frustrated with sail maintenance or with having to adjust the sails every time they wish to change directions.
Similarly, you should give careful consideration to the weather that is normal for your region. If the weather is unpredictable and often severe, safety should be a high concern, as should your ability to navigate the yacht in a crisis. If you live in a mild zone, however, or sail so infrequently that you can decide what kind of weather will suit you, then such problems are less significant.
How many passengers do you expect to have? If you will be using your yacht as a family get together, then you will need a larger ship; if you never expect to exceed four or five passengers, then there isn't any particular reason to purchase a large yacht-unless it fills other necessary expectations. Try to keep in mind your expected passengers when you're looking at yachts. It would be a shame to find that, once purchased, a yacht will not carry as many people as you had hoped or that they will be uncomfortable.
Both the size of the ship and its means of propulsion will affect how many people you will need to power the vehicle. Obviously, if you intend to do much sailing or boating on your own, you will need to find a ship, which can be easily controlled by only one person. This may seem obvious, but there are varying levels of ease in such tasks. While a particular yacht may theoretically only require a one-man crew, it might be sufficiently difficult to manage that in any bad weather (a given if you are in the yatch frequently), it will make navigation extremely hard. But if you have no intention of ever sailing or yachting without some crewmembers, then a multi-crew yacht wouldn't be out of the question, particularly if your passengers are knowledgeable sailors in their own rights.
Finally, you need to know what you will do with your yacht when you're not cruising the ocean blue. Local marinas might have room only for certain size ships at any given time or might charge different storage fees. If your ship is small enough, you might even consider taking it with you when you leave the water-this would not be an option, however, with a larger yacht. So think about how you want to store your yacht and contact your marina to discuss options with them before you buy.
Finding answers to all of these questions can be difficult. One step that will be absolutely vital is getting out on as many different yachts as you can. If you don't know people who can help you learn the ropes, then charter different yachts to see what they have to offer. Buying a yacht is not a hasty process-it takes careful deliberation and some fairly long hours to make sure that you get a ship that will fit your needs and your desires. But once you've found that perfect yacht, of whatever size or shape, you will never want to be without it.
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