What's a Good Blue Water Boat on a Budget ?

[Cheechako]

I saw a well found Rawson 30 on craigs list up here about a month ago. A little on the small side of your request. I sailed one to Mexico and Back in the 80's. They were asking $15k, as I remember it was loaded. It's a very dry good tracking Garden design. The Cal's are good old boats. I used to race on a 40 some. I'd be worried about the spade rudder. The 40 oil canned and banged a lot in moderately rough water...but never failed!
You might find some good old boats for that money, but before you take them offshore you're going to need to spend alot more... or do without alot of modern stuff. Come to think of it..my Rawson had a Sat-Nav (didnt work) tiny fridge and two group 27 batteries. Only had a 40 amp alternator. We just ran the fridge when we ran the engine and got a block of ice when we could. It took us down the coast and back.

[zeehag]

people keep saying that despite the crappy sellers market/excellent buyers market, tha tone shoul dgo to a broker--LOl BROKER IS DEPENDENT ON HIS COMMISSION FOR INCOME. THAt will drive the price of any boat too high. go out and look in th emarinas and docks and see what you like. you WILL find what you seek for the price you want. hAVE A POCKET FULL OF CASH FOR WHEN YE SEE HER. I FOUND MY FORMOSA 41 RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO ME IN SD ON A MOORING FOR 10K. LOL

[Fishman_Tx]

Listen to Zee on that score! There are loads of boats rotting away in their slips!

We got our 1973 Bristol 34 for well under 10K. She needed a lot of work, but what better way to learn your boat! She's a modifed keel and skeg hung rudder, designed for the Atlantic by Mr. Herreshoff.

Pic is a month before moving her to Texas from Florida. She had been sitting in the slip untended probably 5-7 years. The prop was a "ball o' barnacles", some of the deck areas needed recoring, and under all the marine life the hull had some minor blistering, but overall she was solid as a rock. We coated the foredeck to cover up seal the crappy grinding job the PO had done to "attempt" to fix the delam'd core. If you look close you can see the epoxy "flowers" sticking up.

Most of the "other" money was in the move and yard fees where she's at now. All the rest is sweat equity and epoxy.

Fish

[Cheechako]

Just a word of warning: Do you fix things, invent solutions, get a kick out of a job well done now? (even though your body hurts from laying upside down and trying to wrench a hose off a fitting with your wrists, after cutting yourself with the razor knife) Do you understand what your car mechanic is saying when he's talking about CV joints etc because you've got your hands greasy many times? ? Are you willing to spend most weekends doing the above? Not going to be discouraged enough to just quit when you find out the fuel tank is bad and buried under the interior cabinetry? etc etc etc... spending more money can be a lot cheaper than the above and you get to sail more! Just be sure you know what you're getting into... nproblem is, even spending more money may not get you out of the above.... sorry, dont want to discourage, but want it to be real also...

[pullord]

Originally Posted by maxingout

Even if I found a small yacht for under ten-thousand dollars, I start my calculations at what it will cost to make the yacht ready for world voyaging. I inspect the yacht looking at every item to see what needs to be replaced or upgraded, and when I am done, I go to the catalogues and figure out the real cost of the yacht which may be several times more than what you pay for it.

Once I figure the real cost of the small yacht, that becomes the baseline value against which I compare all other possible yachts. If a poorly equipped ten-thousand dollar yacht really costs $30,000 to get ready to cruise, you can afford to look at well equipped $30,000 yachts in excellent condition with lots of gear and nearly ready to set sail.

Sale price doesn't mean anything to me. It's the real cost of the yacht that I focus on.

--Excellent advice unless you want just a place to hang and bragging rights to an unusable /unsafe boat..If your looking for a deal on a formosa/force check www.force50.org as there has been a 51 posted for quite some time at 40k with new16kmotor and 36k spent on masts/rigging. P Perhaps they take 20k or even 10 just to get out of storage costs. The owners at aquila1976@comcast.net and i just checked the site and its still listed along with the nems that bill garden the designer has passed. Great site to get those hard-to-find original parts/flashing. Happy hunting and hope you dont spend /waste to much time on junk as there is alot of it out there.Cheers

[zeehag]

the total amount of money i had to put into my formosa 41 i found for 10k is so far, less than 8k. including an engine and installation thereof, solar panels and regulator, foredeck major repairs, bulkhead replacement, anchor locker, replace 194 ft chain, new 33kg bruce--yesBRUCE!!!! not knockoff, and a few other things--i still need racor system and i need....WIND GENNY!!!!!!
but to make seaworthy a cheepo boat isnt always as the negativists imply--i didnt listen to the fella told me 150thousand dollars and 5 yrs-HA!-i went and did it -- found good help for the labor, and did it. you can also--just know where to and not to look for helpers..LOL...dont have to be able to do everything yourself--just know how NOT to pay retail,much less retail PLUS 400 percent(marine labelled goods..LOL)

[Snore]

There is some great value out there- but like any egg hunt you have to hunt!

There is a Tartan 27 on Ebay for $6K. While that is not blue water it would be a start. There is a T-34c or two on Craig's list that sound interesting- but you have to go hunting for them. I have spent the last few months waiting for my !@#condo% to sell and during that time by reading and learning gotten a great education.

While some may think otherwise, even on a bargain basement price boat it would pay to get a vessel, mechanical and rigging survey. What could look like a bargain to you may have hidden issues. Theoretically, one could litigate based on the theory that the PO "should have known" and therefore should have disclosed the defects. But at those prices, it will be hard to justify an attorney.

Bill

[sarafina]

If she is has systems in decent shape and you feel you can handle the work, that Cal 34 is a sweetheart starter...

Nice layout, roomy inside... tough as nails and well designed. That boat has done everything. Loves the big winds especially... All the lapworth boats seem to!

[pullord]

Originally Posted by Snore

There is some great value out there- but like any egg hunt you have to hunt!

There is a Tartan 27 on Ebay for $6K. While that is not blue water it would be a start. There is a T-34c or two on Craig's list that sound interesting- but you have to go hunting for them. I have spent the last few months waiting for my !@#condo% to sell and during that time by reading and learning gotten a great education.

While some may think otherwise, even on a bargain basement price boat it would pay to get a vessel, mechanical and rigging survey. What could look like a bargain to you may have hidden issues. Theoretically, one could litigate based on the theory that the PO "should have known" and therefore should have disclosed the defects. But at those prices, it will be hard to justify an attorney.

Bill

Great advice about no-profit lawsuits as an attorney in the carribean told me "he sends/gives a big bill" to people he dont want to talk to anymore.This was after some absentee owners boat broke loose from a mooring and carrened into some guys meticulusly maintained power -yacht. The owner of the boat never even flew back to claim his boat from the compound and pay the storage bill..Or perhaps he was afraid of "the toll booth" which is the debtors prison that still exists in some countries. Not until you pay the damages can you get free to fly away. So like a fly caught in a spiders web the accused sits in jail till he/she or someone else pays the bill and insurance settlements can take a while so just sarcastically saying "sue me" can get you arrested depending on who you are talking to and what island your one. Good luck selling the condo. Cheers

[s/v Breakaway]

Marq,
The Cal 34 will do you fine. If your $10k limit is because you don't want to assume any debt, perhaps you can buy a decent boat for $10k now, (because it is definitely a buyers market now and there are alot of deals if you look) then fix her up as funds allow. You never said you wanted to buy today and set sail tomorrow. Spread out the process and you'll get to know the boat as you make improvements to her.

[Marq]

Wow allot of good info here thank you one and all. Good thing I am not affriad of doing the dirty work lol. Well I will keep looking around. I love the layout I have seen in the Cal 34 so that is the template for the boat I will eventually get.

Thanks Again
SGT Duvall

[hellosailor]

NASailor article: "Tartan 34
... (although good luck finding those for $15k)"

And they mention spending 10% per year for maintenance ($1500) but another $5-10,000 per year "in keeping the boat moving and in good shape,".

So, they wish you good luck finding a boat that doesn't have issues, and they think you should spend 1/3-2/3 of the purchase price annually on repairs and maintenance?

I read them to be saying $15k isn't impossible but you'll have to be a damned astute buyer and put in a lot of legwork in order to do it without regretting the hole in the water. That annual maintenance/repair budget can't be just paint.

[zeehag]

maintenance and repairs do NOT NEED to be as high as has been stated...is hilarious to read the set in stone replies you are getting--lol--- sorry--is fact that boats do not need to cost as much as most posters feel they have to throw into them.
i bought a boat-formosa 41, 3 yrs ago. i put into it SO FAR no more than 8k--prolly a LOT less, actually, and i am sailing her in blue water-- what is so hard to understand about that---is easy to do-just keep eyes open and find a boat you like and then find one cheepo and go for it... and DO NOT Pay retail, do not use worst marine--ace is the place , if no one else around, DO not buy from a broker.....LOL...have fun.

[hellosailor]

Zeehag, step away from that marguerita. I'll hold it for safekeeping. <G>

"maintenance and repairs do NOT NEED to be as high as has been stated"

The point you seem to have missed, is that the article saying you can easily buy a boat in that price range, ALSO claims it will be hard to do so, and incredibly expensive to maintain. Which seems to counter their point that it is feasible to buy, or buy well, in that range. They can't have it both ways, if their claim is that the price is so feasible...how come their flip side is that it also should normally include a HUGE maintenance budget? Do their numbers add up in any rational way, to you?

You got a Formosa41 for $10k? OK, how long did it take to put how much more into it? Time and labor, yard fees, lucky breaks from folks online...all of it. What has it really cost you? And are the recent breakdowns all done yet?

[Snore]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

NASailor article: "Tartan 34
... (although good luck finding those for $15k)"

.

With all due respects, ya gotta look! A quick search on Yachtworld showed one in Erie Pa and one in California that just sold at that price. There is one in NY for about the same price that is still available.

Just gotta look.

Bill