a friend of mine just impulse bought an ericson 27, 1979 model with a pretty big inboard. She has done I think one sailing lesson with a local yacht club. She plans to live in it at a mooring (not sanctioned) to save money on rent; and take it about in her off time.

She's invited me to come check it out next weekend. I don't know shit about boats (neither does she), but I have electrical and mechanical knowhow to assess basic things like the inboard engine condition and power situation (I hear there's a 12V solar panel and a battery, unsure about if there's any mains inverter or if there's alternator on the inboard). I've sailed once in my life, on a hired catamaran, as a crew of 3, rotating jobs. That's the extent of my boat knowledge.

I plan to just run through with her how to maintain the inboard and go over electrical and fire safety stuff. Aside from that, do people here with more experience have any wise advice, suggestions of things for me to check / assess, or tips on how to approach sailing? I have read that people who are good can sail this kindof boat on their own, just being careful about tacking. Is this true? How long should she expect to be training and sailing in controlled conditions before taking some more risks in terms of weather and distance from a harbour?

What navigational / obstacle avoidance tools would you recommend? Should she download coastal hazard maps? Is some kindof GPS map display at the helm useful or excessive?

thanks for your time!