So you want to go cruising.
Half your luck.
A cruising yacht will set you back quite a lot of cash but you can save heaps if you build your own.
It is not that difficult now with all the boat plans and patterns that are available.
Cruising yachts are constructed from many different materials wood being only one of them.
While other materials are popular wood is the most popular for us amateur boat builders.
Steel is OK if you are a steel worker and you will end up with a very strong boat and it will last forever as long as you don't forget to paint.
Steel and salt water just don't mix and you will soon have a very rusty boat.
Aluminum has been used to build cruising yachts and is OK as long as you know what you are doing.
Aluminum is a fairly specialist material and not really for the amateur.
Ferrous cement was popular a while ago and is an option if you can imagine sailing around in a concrete boat.
It just doesn't seem right somehow or maybe that is just me.
That brings us back to our wooden boat that we are going to build our self.
The right sort of wood can last just as long as anything else as long as we keep it painted and clean.
All large boats have their maintenance problems.
You must decide too what your rig is going to be.
The sloop style is probably the easiest and most simple to sail.
You may opt to go for a cutter or ketch style of rig giving you smaller sail areas that are easier to manage.
Do some reading and talk to some one experienced before you decide.
Talk to some yachties and check out the preferences.
Your yacht can have many features some of which are not essential while some are very necessary.
While it is nice to have every conceivable extra on board sometimes our budget will not stretch that far.
You are making a sizable investment both monetary and in lifestyle so do your homework carefully.
Once you are all done and off sailing the world it will all be worth while.