Hello from a complete newbie

[privateercoop]

Hi Everyone

I've just gone and signed the papers on a 2017 Bavaria Cruiser 34, and I'm hoping I haven't made an enormous and expensive mistake!

Without blathering on too much, life threw me for a huge loop this year and I'm in the process of heading to sea to do some soul-searching/self discovery/escape from reality. Buying a Yacht and hitting the high seas has been only a pipe dream of mine for many years and through a huge personal disaster I've found myself finally with the perfect excuse and opportunity to actually do this.

I'm an absolute amateur when it comes to sailing! I sailed some dinghies as a kid so I know the fundamentals, but my attitude is that you learn things by doing them, so just go and do them.

The Boat is a 2017 Cruiser 34, (3 cabin, ex-charter) which I got for what I hope is an absolute bargain! Obviously not the most ideal candidate for a liveaboard cruiser, but I plan on making plenty of changes and additions to it to improve the overall quality of life onboard, and also with the aim of having the option of reversing those changes when it comes the time to sell her.
It needs work, with the usual ex-charter neglect and abuse, but I'm a capable fixer of things and I'll be tackling all of the work myself, with the goal of learning a lot of new skills and lessons about myself (and my own hubris) along the way.

I'm approaching this with a big sens of humility as well. I know that I don't know how much I don't know, but I'm willing to listen to people and learn even though I'm plenty pigheaded.

You probably don't care that much about my story and are more interested in the boat, so here goes.

It has (in no particular order)
Twin helms, in mast furling, new Dacron sails, new 320ah AGM batteries, Volvo Penta D1-30, shallow keel, the aft Genoa winches.

I have plans to build and install a watermaker, 1000w solar array, Starlink, convert the galley side aft cabin into a storage locker/garage, upgrade the water and fuel storage, and probably many, many more things over the next few months.

So yeah, just a quick word to say hi, and if you have any questions or advice (or if you think I'm an idiot) feel free.
Cheers

[KSF]

Hi there, and congratulations on your new 'home'!
I did a project very similar to what you are planning on my Bavaria Match 42 back then. If there's one thing that process taught me, it's that everything takes much more time, effort, and money than you initially think. Once you get started, you always find new things that either need to be fixed or that you want to upgrade. Some of these tasks take forever, and the budget disappears fast.
If I were to do it all over again, I would focus strictly on safety essentials: the rudder, the cutless bearing, critical engine maintenance, the standing rigging, and the lines. After that, just go SAILING! Use your time to actually enjoy the boat as it is. You don't need to sail to the moon right away. Start with day trips and weekend getaways to learn what really matters to you and what you need to enjoy life at sea—do this before you try to fix everything. You might even discover that this boat isn't exactly what you need after all
Knut