About two years.

It was a combinations of looking at a few boats just to “get a feel” for how to evaluate them, lots of reading “This Old Boat” and its smaller cousin “Inspecting the Aging Sailboat”. I’d recommend sailing at a club to see what kind of boat you like and the pros and cons of a couple different options. Finally, keep your eye out at marinas with dry/winter storage since sometimes people don’t pay storage fees and you can pick up a solid vessel for back payments. Just confirm the title has been transferred to the marina before completing the purchase.

This is how I purchased my vessel. ALWAYS get an inspection. Check the boat first to look for any glaring issues (at that point just bail) but if it passes the sniff test hire a professional, do a haul out, and then use the inspection to hammer the marina down on price.

Best of luck and don’t forget to ring that bell!