Buying a boat can be exciting.
It can also be confusing, expensive and surprisingly easy to get wrong.
You start looking at advertisements, one boat leads to another, every owner has a different opinion and before long you can find yourself trying to compare boats that were designed for completely different purposes.
That’s one of the reasons Noel and I have created our new SisterShip Boating & Cruising community — including a free Boat Buying Club for people who are somewhere in that process now.
Thinking about buying a boat? Start here.
The Boat Buying Club is for people who want to do the work themselves, but don’t want to make an expensive mistake.
You might be buying your first cruising boat – You might be coming back to boating after a long break. Or perhaps you’ve already looked at dozens of advertisements and are becoming less certain rather than more certain about what you need.
Inside the free community, we’ll help you start with the questions that matter.
*What do you actually want the boat to do?
*What compromises are you prepared to make?
*What should you look for in an advertisement before spending time and money travelling to view the boat?
And what questions should you be asking before you become emotionally attached to the shiny one sitting in front of you?
There are practical lessons and resources to help you start working through those decisions.
And it doesn’t stop once you buy the boat
We deliberately called the wider community SisterShip Boating & Cruising because buying the boat is only the beginning.
Once you own one, a completely different set of questions starts.
*How do I become more confident handling her?
*What should I be checking before leaving the marina?
*How do I improve my anchoring?
*How do I use electronic charts properly?
*What weather information should I be looking at?
*How do I start preparing for longer trips?
So the community has three simple pathways:
- Boat Buying Club – Thinking About Buying?
- Already Own a Boat
- Want to Cruise Further?
You don’t need to work through everything, just choose the pathway that matches where you are now and take the next useful step.
The community is free to join
Free members have access to the community, selected lessons, practical checklists and resources, plus a free live webinar each month.
We’ll cover subjects across boat buying, boat ownership and cruising, including topics such as:
- choosing the right cruising boat
- anchoring
- docking and manoeuvring
- marine weather
- electronic charts
- passage planning
- preparing your boat to cruise
- what to check before buying
And if there’s something you’d like us to cover, tell us.
The community will grow around the questions boat owners and prospective boat buyers are actually asking.
Want more help?
There are also optional SisterShip courses available inside the Classroom, including our Buying a Cruising Sailboat course.
For members who want more direct support, there is also an optional Premium membership for US$19/month.
Premium members receive two additional live group sessions each month, including practical teaching and Q&A, Ask Jackie & Noel, session recordings and additional Premium resources.
We’ll also be doing things such as taking real boat advertisements and working through them together — looking at what the advertisement tells us, what it doesn’t tell us and what questions we would want answered before arranging a viewing.
Why we created it
Between us, Noel and I have spent many years buying, owning, repairing, maintaining and cruising boats.
We also know that boating can become overwhelming very quickly when you feel you need to understand everything before you can make a decision.
You don’t.
Our aim with SisterShip Boating & Cruising is to keep things practical and manageable.
One useful next step at a time.
If you’re thinking about buying a boat, already own one and want more confidence, or are getting ready to cruise further, you’re very welcome to join us.
Join SisterShip Boating & Cruising
It’s free to join.
👉 https://sistershiptraining.com/boating-cruising-community/
Come in, introduce yourself and tell us where you are in your boating journey — and what you’re trying to work out next.
Jackie & Noel
SisterShip Training