Want To Buy: 36-42' liveaboard-ready sloop in or adjacent to the Salish Sea

[Steely Dancer]

Hi! If you're selling your boat and you want to make sure it'll continue to be loved, appreciated, and well cared for, this might be the posting for you.

My family and I are looking to buy a boat in or around May or June 2021. We are on the waitlist for a 40' liveaboard slip in Friday Harbor, WA, which we expect to secure in early July when we move out there from NYC. We're currently in the phase of shopping around and learning as much as we can about various types of sailboats that interest us, and about the process of buying one during a pandemic.

Here are the general specifications we're interested in, and a description of how much flexibility we have on them:

BUDGET and TIMELINE:
Pending financing availability, we are looking in the $50-100k range. Our move is planned for late June/early July, so the closer to that date we are able to finalize our purchase, the better, so as to not be taking on excess monthly costs.

LENGTH:
The Port of Friday Harbor allows a 2' overhang, and we expect to be renting a 40' slip. 36' is the minimum length permitted for liveaboards, which gives us a roughly 8' window for LOA. There is a chance we could go to 47' overall if we're able to jump to a larger slip, but we're not sure if that will be an option and anyway we'd prefer to keep slippage costs down.

REGION:
As we will be making this purchase almost entirely remotely, our anticipated costs include delivery. In order to make this a reasonable proposition, we will probably need to limit our search to boats located in the Salish Sea (between Seattle and Vancouver). Canadian-based boats may be restricted due to Covid, but we'll see what the climate looks like in late spring/early summer and don't want to rule anything out yet.

CONDITION:
We plan to live aboard the boat in a marina for at least several months while we build a home on land. We'll have our hands full, so we don't really want to take on another project. That said, if the boat needs some minor adjustments in order to prepare for blue water cruising but is perfectly ready to be lived aboard in a marina otherwise, that's a proposition we could easily entertain.

ACCOMMODATIONS:
We require at minimum, two separate cabins with doors (containing one single and one double berth, respectively) and one head with a shower. We are a family of three (two parents and an 8yo) and living in a small apartment has taught us exactly how much privacy we would ideally like. If your boat has more heads and cabins than this minimum, that's even better!

OTHER FEATURES WE'LL NEED:
-A way of comfortably heating (and possibly cooling) the cabin without littering it with additional gizmos would be ideal. We are likely to be living aboard in cold conditions.
-A working refrigerator, not just an ice box, would help us keep food fresh and cut down on time-costly shopping trips for perishables.
-A good, working engine that does not need imminent repairs would give us peace of mind.

OTHER FEATURES WE PREFER:
-Layout: a galley that runs lengthwise from bow to stern, with bench and settee all around a table in an open salon, appeal to us because we enjoy cooking and eating all together, and don't anticipate needing to do too much of this while underway on open water. However, this isn't even close to being a deal-maker for us. We are well aware of the advantages that a wrap-around galley can provide, whether at sea or while docked.
-A dodger and Bimini top with a wraparound enclosure could extend our use of the cockpit as a living space into the colder months.
-An arch or davits would add to the ease, convenience, and aesthetic of keeping our dinghy at hand.
-Good, working, and accessible instrumentation would add peace of mind and accuracy to our navigation and piloting.
-A swim step creates a convenient means of access via the transom, and while most sailboats have beautiful rear ends, I am very fond of a "backless entrance".
-The clean look and ease of use of a furling mainsail is very appealing, but not required.
-We'd like to have a reasonable complement of good working sails, with at least a mainsail and two different types of jibs.
-When we do finally hit the open seas, we'd like to be able to generate at least some of our own power with wind and/or solar.
-My wife is very faithful but what turns her head are dark-colored hulls. Just thought I'd throw that in here. I have to admit, they look very classy.

Lastly, we don't have a lot of money to spend upfront. This will be the most expensive thing we've ever bought. This boat is going to be our full-time home for a while, and we hope to keep it as a forever home-away-from-home after that period. We are creative professionals who value good design, beautiful aesthetics, and mechanical ingenuity. We want a boat that we can take pride in, and we fully expect to treat it with as much love and care as we would if we'd designed and built it ourselves. I add this in the hopes that you feel the same way about the boat you're selling.

Please know that we scour Yachtworld regularly for boats that meet these specifications. If you want to share a Yachtworld (or similar) listing, we would be so grateful for some additional commentary on why that boat would be right for us.

[Imblever]

We're planning on putting our 36' (40' overall)Grand Banks up for sale in the next couple of months. It ticks almost, if not everything on your list. If you're interested I can give you all the details. It is currently moored at Shilshole Marina (on the Puget Sound side of Seattle).

[Steely Dancer]

Originally Posted by Imblever

We're planning on putting our 36' (40' overall)Grand Banks up for sale in the next couple of months. It ticks almost, if not everything on your list. If you're interested I can give you all the details. It is currently moored at Shilshole Marina (on the Puget Sound side of Seattle).

That's very kind! Until now we'd only been considering sailboats but I don't want to absolutely rule anything out. I'd love to hear more about it.

[Imblever]

Hi. Shortly after sending my reply I re-read your original post and realized That I skimmed right over the “sail” part. So, it checks all but that one.
-A forward and aft cabin, each w/ a head, aft w/ a macerating head and shower, —galley w/ working refrigerator, added freezer in a custom chest that also works as additional seating
-great hearing system, very cozy and warm
-2 grills, one on the flybridge for easy cooking while cruising
...and a bunch more. If you want additional details I can be reached at chinaboat@yahoo.com

[Steely Dancer]

Hi Imblever, thank you so much for those additional details. I'm sorry it took me so long to respond...I'm fairly new to the forums and need to search for a way to get better notifications when people respond to me.

As our plans start to grow concrete we are getting abetter idea of what we need and want. Unfortunately, that picture is starting to really rule out power boats, but I want to underscore my appreciation for you sharing the info, and I wish you the very best of luck with your sale.

I'm going to create a new post with our updated laundry list of wants/needs for our search.

Thanks again!

[yachtmirage]

Hi, I don't know where you are at with getting a boat. We are a couple hours from Friday Harbor and have a great liveaboard/cruising ready boat within your budget. If interested, just quick reply and we can talk by phone to see if there is a good match. Thanks, Myles

[Steely Dancer]

Hi Myles, great timing! We just arrived to the San Juans a few weeks ago and our boat search is ongoing. We’re traveling between Orcas and Salem OR while we begin to develop the land we bought up here so we can work viewings in pretty well. Please shoot me an email (yotamzohar@gmail) or text (2165095770) to set something up. In the meantime I’d love to hear more about your boat! Thanks!!

[CaverCop]

I almost relocated with my Catalina 36 Mk1 out to Friday Harbor to liveaboard but unfortunately did not get the transfer. Its a little far to relocate (Columbia River) but I am looking to upgrade from my existing boat and am starting to entertain the idea of selling her. Nothing is set in stone at this point but she would be priced to sell around 35k. She has the standard configuration of a V-berth forward and a large queen size berth in the aft under the cockpit. Right now she is equipped with a portable 110v AC unit that keeps her cool below even in the record temperatures we are having. She comes equipped with a fridge/freezer combo that runs on 12v. She has a hot water heater and has both the wet head/shower and also a washdown cold/hot shower nozzle in the cockpit. Let me know if you'd like pictures texted to you and I can make it happen as my wife is on the boat right now.

[Steely Dancer]

Originally Posted by CaverCop

I almost relocated with my Catalina 36 Mk1 out to Friday Harbor to liveaboard but unfortunately did not get the transfer. Its a little far to relocate (Columbia River) but I am looking to upgrade from my existing boat and am starting to entertain the idea of selling her. Nothing is set in stone at this point but she would be priced to sell around 35k. She has the standard configuration of a V-berth forward and a large queen size berth in the aft under the cockpit. Right now she is equipped with a portable 110v AC unit that keeps her cool below even in the record temperatures we are having. She comes equipped with a fridge/freezer combo that runs on 12v. She has a hot water heater and has both the wet head/shower and also a washdown cold/hot shower nozzle in the cockpit. Let me know if you'd like pictures texted to you and I can make it happen as my wife is on the boat right now.

Hey, that's really interesting. We are passing through Portland, or could make it there, fairly regularly. I'll be honest: at this point in our search we are realizing we probably need a >40' boat but 35k is also something we can't ignore. If you wouldn't mind, please DM me and I'll give you contact info where you can send photos. Do you prefer text or email? Thanks!

[Steely Dancer]

General update for anyone coming to the thread:

As many are experiencing, our original wait time on the slip changed and now it looks like we'll be living on the hook until something opens up (who knows how long?!), and between that and a better grasp on our spatial requirements, our new LOA needs indicate a bottom range of about 40'.

We have purchased some land, which also affected our budget. (It's significantly smaller now if we're talking about cash purchases, and I created another thread asking about financing older boats.)

All leads and suggestions still welcome of course!