Want To Buy: Girlfriend and I are looking for a home. 32' - 40'

[BlueDream420]

So after lurking these forums for nearly a decade, I have finally made an account and this is my first post. And it's a want to buy post After many years, it is finally time. My girlfriend and I are looking to move aboard this summer, along with our Austrailian Shepherd pup and we are in the market to buy a boat! We are in Maryland, and would like to find something not more than a state or two away, although local would be ideal.

Price Rangeup to $20,000
LOA Range 32' - 40'+

We are not interested in Hunters, but open to most builders and hull materials less Ferro cement and wood. Center cockpit sloops or ketch's with an aft cabin such as the 32' O'day CC would be ideal. Would possibly be open to a smaller boat if roomy and suited for living aboard. We really just want something comfy, DRY, and simple to maintain and handle.

Also, I have read you can sometimes find bargain deals on old abandoned sailboats at marinas, does anyone know some places in Maryland I should try to scope out?

Looking forward to buying someone's boat!

[Kenomac]

An old abandoned boat found in a marina will not be your "Bluedream boat," it will become your nightmare.

[BlueDream420]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

An old abandoned boat found in a marina will not be your "Bluedream boat," it will become your nightmare.

I see you're point. Maybe "old, abandonded" was a poor description, but I'm sure there are some out there worth looking into. I will not purchase anything without having a survey, and I can handle a fair amount of work myself. Not really looking for a huge project, but I am keeping an open mind. If you know a better place I should try searching please let me know.

[Dulcesuenos]

You will find several low30 ft ranges boats, in good shape in your budget. You will not find a decent 36+ that isn't a huge project. Someone had a gorgeous 41plus? Gulfstar centercockpit over 120k invested w new eng, sails, rigging, rigging, etc and genny. For 39k. Maybe sav a little more and you'll have a better chance finding something youll really like

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[a64pilot]

In the lower price range, I wouldn't rule out Hunter, especially the older ones, which at <20K you'll be looking at. I'd buy the best boat I could find for that kind of money and it almost certainly will be a lower 30's boat, you may find bigger, but be real curious as to why the price is so low.
I assume this is to live aboard and no real travel, but if you could sail it a little on weekends that's a plus, but you have to go back to work on Monday?
Thought about a powerboat?

[powsmias]

in nj 1976 pearson 35, new engine, head, alcohol stove/oven needs running rigging and bottom paint, have the paint. if you're gonna get on this get on it quick, once i start on it i'm probably gonna keep it. and that will be in next couple months. email me powsmias@aol.com and will send photos and more info

[swpeterson]

I have a 34' 1980 Irwin that my husband and I have lived aboard for the last 3 years. We are selling it as we went to the dark side and bought a 55' Sea Ray Sport Fish. Golden Avatar is in Fort Myers, FL currently so not local to you but I thought you should know. We just had her hauled out for her bottom to be painted and I have pictures of that and we had an insurance survey done at the same time if you would like to look at either or both, send me an email address and I will forward. We are selling her with her 10'4" Hypalon RIB with an electric start Mercury 9.9 outboard motor. She has a Superwind generator and all her batteries are 3 years old. She has other stuff too but my husband, who could answer those questions is in the middle of a project on the new boat right now so I don't want to bother him. She is in good to very good condition. She has some wear on her Bimini/Dodger zipper area that I have just ordered the replacements for and her dinghy cover is torn and I am preparing to repair that as well. We just had her professionally buffed and polished and her interior was professionally cleaned as well. She also comes with a dock box and pump-out hose set up too. She has a Magma outside gas grill. She has a Nuwave Oven and 2 Nuwave induction cooktops which are wonderful pieces of galley equipment. She has lots of cubbies and space and a decent shower in the head. We are asking $30K and she is just going on the market today. But in the meantime, if you want to see pictures just let me know and I will send them to you along with the survey. She draws 4' and is 11' wide.

[svHannabel]

I've seen a few Irwin 37s (MkI) go for close to your budget, but they needed work to be a safe, seaworthy sailboat. In any case, they'd make a decent liveaboard if you're most interested center cockpits with space on a tight budget.

[HUNTER30ANNA]

I HAVE A 30' HUNTER IN RUSKIN, FL. INTERIOR ALL RE DONE.
NEW BOTTOM PAINT IN LAST YEAR. ASKING $18,000.

[oregoncycle]

My day started off with a huge laugh as my smart phone cut off most of this posts heading so it only came up as "wanted to buy: Girlfriend"

[jkindredpdx]

Not in your neighborhood, but if you are looking for roomy in a sailboat something like CORONADO 35 Center-cockpit Sailboat might fit your needs.

[jwcolby54]

I saw this in my email and the only part visible was

"Wanted to buy: Girlfriend..."

[duefocena]

If I might suggest you keep at least 20% of your saved money aside to make the boat the way you want her. Aft cabins are often popular with those looking for a "home" but in my experience it often becomes storage as they find it isn't as comfortable, in smaller boats. You are typically subjected to a wetter ride in a center cockpit. Have you looked into multi hulls?

[SKI]

search for "grab bag sailboats" It's a small brokerage just south of Annapolis. They kinda specialize in the boats your looking for. There's a 37' oday center cockpit there now that could be worth looking into. I don't know them and have never bought a boat from them but check their site often to see what they have. Hope this helps out some.

[wizard1_us]

Well, I can surely understand your planning with you and your girlfriend, but from my experience, 20k is not going to be enough if you don't want to do probably a complete refit on a quasi-project boat. Chances are, the boat surely will be older, that's for certain, and I would just point you in the direction of wanting a distressed buyer, not a distressed boat. As far as looking no further than 2-states over, I surely wouldn't put that limitation on finding the right boat for yourself and girlfriend. You will definitely spend money and more importantly time ( and don't kid yourself-time is money) to do a correct search. Find yourself a good surveyor first, someone who is reasonable, and you trust. You will need to build a relationship with this person so they know what is important and what is critical. If it were me, I would start my search in the islands, St. Thomas, Panama, Belize, Bahamas, etc. These are all places that to some cruisers, are the end of the road and they are ready to swallow the hook, many times with a boat that has taken years to rig out and then they go cruising and find out it is not for them, or not for the wife, and the boat will go for pennies on the dollar. You find it, fly down with the surveyor and make the offer if you wish. The money you spend on the flights and hotels will make up for the price of the boat. All boats need work, we all know that, but if your budget is 20k, I'd say you're about 20k short to begin with. Don't want to rain on your parade, but just the materials of restoring a boat are expensive, even if you can do the work yourself. If you have to lay up in a boat yard on the hard for repairs, that can get expensive. I have restored 2 boats currently, both Cape Dory's a 27 and a 31 and have way more money into them than what I thought I would spend, and that's after the purchase price. If you would like to talk, send me a pm and I'd be happy to talk with you about it. I am in Fl. Ft. Lauderdale is another place to fly down into and go searing in the boatyards for distressed sellers who really bit off more than they can chew, so to speak. Randy