Getting Started with SailsGoal
SailsGoal was born out of my frustration with the boat buying process. If you've been through this process before, no doubt you're familiar with trying to keep track of all the boats you're interested in — maybe you have a folder of bookmarks in your browser, or maybe you used a note on your phone. At some point, you almost certainly ran some budget numbers for those boats in a spreadsheet.
If this is your first time buying a boat, you don't have to take my word for it. You're about to discover all of this for yourself!
I created SailsGoal during the search for my second boat to bring all of my data and notes together in one place. This allowed me — and now you — to quickly compare different scenarios. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me.
You can try out all of these steps without registering for an account!
Track a boat listing
A website for managing your boat search wouldn't be much fun without any boats, right? So we've added a few examples if you just want to jump in and see what it looks like, but it will be more helpful if you add one or two of your own!
Any time you come across an interesting boat listing, online or offline, add it to SailsGoal so you don't lose track of it. By filling in some basic info like the list price and length, you can estimate many of the costs of ownership.
Once you've added a boat, you can come back again and again to add to or update your notes about that boat, such as any especially attractive or discouraging features, needed maintenance, and that sort of thing.
If this is your first time buying a boat, you might want to read our "How to buy a used boat" series.
Configure your costs
Many of the factors that go into how much a boat costs are unique to you -- how much marinas in your area charge to keep a boat, what sort of interest rate you can get on a loan, etc. Enter this information into the Cost Models page so SailsGoal can give you personalized estimates.
Feeling lost about how these costs are estimated? Read these related posts on our blog:
View your cost comparison
It's so much more than just a loan calculator! Get a clear overview of the boats you're looking at and get the information you need to make the tough decisions with the boat cost comparison.
Save your data
Now you've seen the core of what SailsGoal has to offer. We hope you see the same value in it that drove us to create it.
You can use most of SailsGoal without registering an account, but your boats and cost data may be deleted after some time. To safeguard your data and take full advantage of the SailsGoal service, we strongly recommend you register an account. It's free and easy.
Now go add more boats!
Are you having trouble, or do you have feedback about SailsGoal? Drop us a line at support@sailsgoal.com or on social media ( ). We're always listening and improving our tools.