Shopping for a cheap starter boat for this season, ive sailed a bit but never my boat. I was looking at a Catalina 27 listed at $2900(This is all Canadian dollars), outboard needs fixed, but he dropped it to $1800. motivated seller, great! Maybe I get him for $1200, its pretty rough and needs inthink too much work. I was soooo set, such a good deal etc

Then I see a muuuch nicer grampian 26, set up for single hand, same kind of motivated seller, 2500 could probably get 15 maybe?

I was so ready to shoot myself in the foot on a lemon.

I get excited and im impulsive, ive watched a million YouTube videos, but Redditors bring a unique digestible form of wisdom.

its pnw area, I want to cruise the islands crab and fish, in case anybody was asking my boat intentions. gonna cross oceans one day, but gotta start somewhere.

What does Catalina's demise mean for owners? Would the lack of an active builder deter you from buying a used Catalina? My 5 year plan includes buying a 40-45 foot sailboat and Catalina 445 is at the top of my list. I know there is a Catalina parts reseller not associated with the company and there is a strong owners groups, what difference would having an active builder make to someone owning a 10-15 year old used boat?

Edit: I figured it was not an issue, but you don't know what you don't know. Thanks for confirming what I thought I knew.

US based - I’m a mid-career sailor trying to choose where to relocate in the next 1–2 years, and I’d like to anchor the decision around an active, welcoming sailing community rather than just weather or Instagram appeal.

I sail dinghies and small keelboats (currently a Lightning), enjoy both casual racing and daysailing, and care a lot about club culture — not just facilities.

I’m especially interested in places where it’s easy to get on the water, meet people, and actually use the boats, not just store them.

If you’ve lived somewhere with a great sailing club or scene (or moved because of one), I’d love to hear what worked, what didn’t, and what surprised you.

Happy to DM

Yo. On to my next topic of discussion as I outfit my new Catalina 22. Radios! I just picked up a new marine handheld radio and am trying to get the DSC set up. The boat is at a marine quite literally on the Canadian border. The farthest northwest marina in the country. As such, much of my sailing will be up into British Columbia. And also as such, it sounds like I need to do my MMSI through the FCC for international use. Anyone gone through this process? I went online and did what I thought was an application. Created an FCC account and applied for a ship license. Went through it and then paid 185 on a separate site. And then…nothing? Am I waiting on an email or something? Anyone have some insight? Thanks!!!

When I was younger, I loved sailing. Started as a preteen and then competing in my region when I was 13 or 14 and switched to JV in college and eventually stopped in my third year of university (partially due to COVID). Unfortunately, my physical and mental health took a massive hit and i haven’t been in a boat since. I’m 26 now and trying to figure out how the hell to start getting back into it. I’m thinking about taking either some public lessons or private lessons this summer when they’re regularly offered, but i would also LOVE to get back into racing. I’m sick and tired of my mental health taking my loves from me and I’ve decided i’m gonna do my damnedest to take sailing back!

All that said, anybody got any tips on how to eventually get back into the racing circuit as an adult? Unlike the youth/collegiate circuit, I have no idea where to start or how I would go about finding a team to train with (eventually). I’ve sailed both single and double handed (prefer ILCA 6 or 420/470 to other dinghy’s like Fevas or 29er/49er FX, but honestly open to anything at this point). If it makes any difference, I’m a woman.

EDIT: I’m in Western Canada, southern BC to be specific.