Seven questions, five possible answers, and a realistic used price range for each. The quiz weighs budget, crew, planned use, experience, home waters, liveaboard plans and how much maintenance you actually want to do.
Answer seven questions about budget, crew, waters and how much maintenance you want. Nothing is sent anywhere.
What the Quiz Weighs
No single answer decides the result. Each one adds points to the boat types it suits, and the highest total wins, so a big budget does not automatically push you toward a big boat if everything else about your sailing says otherwise.
Two questions carry more weight than people expect. Home waters matters because a shallow, sandbank-strewn coast genuinely favours a different boat from open ocean swell. Maintenance tolerance matters because it is the thing that decides whether a boat gets sailed or slowly rots on its mooring, and it is the question buyers answer least honestly.
Prices are used-boat prices, and the ranges are wide on purpose. Condition, age and equipment move a boat’s price far more than length does, and a well-found older boat often beats a neglected newer one at the same money.
What the Quiz Cannot Tell You
It cannot tell you about a specific boat. Two boats of the same type and length can differ by tens of thousands of dollars in what they need, and the only way to find out is a survey.
It also cannot tell you about running costs, which is where most first-time buyers get caught. The purchase price is the entry fee. Berthing, insurance, haul-out and maintenance arrive every year regardless of how much you sail, and on a larger boat they can exceed what you paid for a smaller one. Work them out before you commit, with the ownership cost calculator or the detail in what a sailboat actually costs.
The most common regret among new owners is buying too much boat rather than too little. A boat you can handle alone on an ordinary afternoon gets sailed. One that needs a crew, a plan and good weather sits on its berth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from first-time buyers:
Should My First Boat Be Small?
Usually, yes. Small boats teach faster because the feedback is immediate and the mistakes are cheap, and they cost little enough that selling one on is not painful. Buying a beginner sailboat covers what to look for.
Is a Catamaran Harder to Sail?
Not harder, different. The flat deck and lack of heeling make life easier, while the beam makes manoeuvring in a marina a bigger deal and windward performance a real compromise. Berthing costs are the surprise for most buyers.
Can I Live Aboard the Boat It Suggested?
Only if you told it so, since that question shifts the result substantially. Living aboard changes the requirements from sailing performance to storage, headroom, tankage and a marina that permits it at all.
What If Two Types Feel Right?
That usually means your plans are genuinely split, which is common. Charter the more expensive option for a week before buying it. It is far cheaper than discovering the answer through ownership.
Does It Account for Where I Will Keep the Boat?
It asks what the water is like, not what the berth costs. Marina availability and price vary enormously by region, and in some places the waiting list decides the boat more than the budget does.