Hi everyone,

as you can tell I'm new to this forum and to sailing in general...

I have used the search button to get me started and any input from your experiences would be great.
I want to buy a blue water cruiser that can accommodate two adults a 11yo pre-teen and a dog.

I have given myself a time line of about three years to get my sea legs in sailing as I would love to reach a potential of crossing the seas which has been a drive of mine since I was a teen. I have owned powered boats and sailed only a few times on my friends trailer sail boat. Two years ago I bought a Hobie cat/kayak with sail that got speeds up to 10 knots and have loved this to the point I want to go to the next step into cruising. My funds are around the $40k mark and have been looking at boats between 35-40ft.
Look I'm new to this so all your opinions would be appreciated, from hulls type, boat makers, training modules, clubs etc all is new to me. I think the most important thing to me is safety to some degree as I'm fully aware of the dangers of the sea and how quickly things go pear shape on the water.

Once again thanks knock yourselves out with your experiences and Hardware inputs as all is great information to us.

Thanks Jorge