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By Tom Linskey
 Daysailor
What it is: Boats in this free-form category range from the cutting-edge to the traditional (centerboarders, keelboats, or trimarans); prices for new boats run from $3,000 to $20,000. (Tip: If you’re considering a centerboard daysailor, make stability – usually, in the form of a widebeamed hull that’s resistant to capsize – a high priority.)
What it can do: Daysails with a picnic lunch with your family (or just you solo, or with a friend); mini-adventures up a river, across the bay, or, if the weather is friendly, on an overnight camping trip aboard or in a tent.
Skills you’ll need: While a daysailor may not delivery the intimate connection with wind and water that an off-the-beach boat does, not much physical agility or muscle is needed to sail the boat. You should be an intermediate sailor – that is, you know the basics of sail trim, the points of sail, the right-of-way rules, the fundamentals of anchoring, docking, and navigation (how to read a chart, plot a course, and use aids to navigation, such as buoys), and the basics of weather. If you know some but not all of the above, it’s not difficult to learn the rest – and, if you’re like a lot of us, you’ll likely chalk up some of your best sailing stories in the process.
Money/time commitment: Purchase and maintenance costs will directly reflect the boat’s size, the quality and complexity of its equipment, and where you store it. A daysailor’s cost-to-fun ratio is outstanding; most daysailors offer a wide range of sailing experiences for a modest amount of money and time.
Get this boat: If you want a boat that keeps you and your belongings (usually) dry, has low purchase and maintenance costs, and can take you and yours farther afield. Also, if you prefer a drier, bigger, more stable boat than an off-the-beach boat in which to hone your sailing skills.
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