Welcome aboard. I sailed all of my life--an average of one week night a week and every weekend (with a few skii trips thrown in for good measure). I made my decision to take a voyage when I was in my 40's. As a physician I knew that many people who reach retirement age are not able to take the voyage they dreamed of for health, elderly parents, adverse finances, etc reasons. I chose a proven (motor sailing) boat, much different than my racing boats. It cost me a million dollars in lost income etc--but was worth every penny. I retired at age 56, and was able to voyage again for 4 years before those issues put a stop to it. There are many options for boats--from building your own, to conversions as well as an "off the shelf boat". People have been successful in all ways. My philosophy is that if you design and install the systems, you will be much more likely to repair them. We also wanted a boat which two could handle easily. We had built a boat, but it was too small and too wet for my wife--great for a racing sailor! However the lessons in boat building were very handy in cruising. The concept of kite sail assist for merchant vessels has been around for some time. One of the problems is that you have to have extremely heavy gear to handle the kite sails. They are assistance--not primary propuslion--and will increase the effeciency of a trip. However there are a number of limits. The traditional sailing community is rejecting this concept. At this point the kite sails are outlawed for conventional racing. The issues involve both safety and right of way. Kite surfing is an increasing sport. It might be interesting to explore the kite as a "get home" rig. The kite surfers claim that they can work to windward--but I don't think that would be possiable with a trawler. Regards, Bob Austin