Looking for a maintainable boat 38-42 mono

[dszerlag]

So after being boatless for about 10 years I have lost my mind and decided to look for a used boat, 38-42' monohull. My price range 150-200K. I have owned a number of boats, the last a 87 39 Pearson.

I like to do my own maintenance and diy projects, etc. The Pearson I found difficult to work on as access to bilge, wiring, rudder, etc was difficult. My 30 Catalina on the other hand seemed very easy and there is a ton of online advice, plans, projects. With that in mind I am looking at Catalinas, Tartan, Jeanneau or Sabre.( I have some experience with Jeanneau having delivered a number of them)

I know they are all different boats, but wondering what the collective wisdom is on how easily maintainable each of these are or not. Personal experience welcome.

[skipmac]

I have a P422 and, except for the bilge sump, find everything reasonably accessible for maintenance, repair and upgrades. Sure much of the wiring runs inside lockers and such but that seems unavoidable in any boat and it is all run through channels that you can see.

There is one bit of wiring that is a bit tricky and that is running any cables, power, NMEA, transducers, etc to the GPS in the cockpit. Not impossible, just requires removing a couple of panels to access the wire run areas.

The P424 eliminates the access problem to the bilge sump but has other issues. One is the fuel tank is behind the engine if that needs replacement.

[dszerlag]

Hi Skipmac,
I loved the P39 but it was a real project boat and it seemed whenever I went to run anything I ran into obstacles which required drilling or sometimes just impossible. My LP line for example, the locker was almost impossible to access and then going through the aft cabin to replace the line was impossible, I eventually gave up. Part of that problem was of my own making, lack of time and patience.
I'm getting a bit older now and don't want a project boat just one I can perform routine maint on without being a contortionist!

[davil]

Originally Posted by dszerlag

Hi Skipmac,
I loved the P39 but it was a real project boat and it seemed whenever I went to run anything I ran into obstacles which required drilling or sometimes just impossible. My LP line for example, the locker was almost impossible to access and then going through the aft cabin to replace the line was impossible, I eventually gave up. Part of that problem was of my own making, lack of time and patience.
I'm getting a bit older now and don't want a project boat just one I can perform routine maint on without being a contortionist!

================
off topic? apologize.
because accessibility is an issue not matter what boat we work on, found this gizmo or any other brand quite helpful on dealing with cables routing etc.

Wireless Endoscope for Automotive Inspection Semi-Rigid Flexible Waterproof 5.5MM WiFi Borescope Camera Compatible Android and iOS Smartphones,

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by dszerlag

Hi Skipmac,
I loved the P39 but it was a real project boat and it seemed whenever I went to run anything I ran into obstacles which required drilling or sometimes just impossible. My LP line for example, the locker was almost impossible to access and then going through the aft cabin to replace the line was impossible, I eventually gave up. Part of that problem was of my own making, lack of time and patience.
I'm getting a bit older now and don't want a project boat just one I can perform routine maint on without being a contortionist!

I can understand older and no project boats. I'm in that same boat myself.

But also, after owning, maintaining or captaining a number of boats over the years, the only one that didn't require some degree of boat yoga to get into at least some of the areas requiring maintenance was a 50 year old, 65' steel ketch I owned for a couple of years. That one had so much interior space that everything was accessible.

If you like Pearsons I think the 422 or 424 eliminate as much of the access issues as is possible on a small boat.

Speaking of the P39, I have a friend that fell in love with that boat. He just missed a great deal on one that was very well maintained and had lots of first class upgrades. Now he's still looking for one but I'll have to send him your comments.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by davil

================
off topic? apologize.
because accessibility is an issue not matter what boat we work on, found this gizmo or any other brand quite helpful on dealing with cables routing etc.

Wireless Endoscope for Automotive Inspection Semi-Rigid Flexible Waterproof 5.5MM WiFi Borescope Camera Compatible Android and iOS Smartphones,

I would say peripherally relevant to the topic so you aren't subject to keel hauling, yet.

So how do you like this model? I have one that is marginally useful. Like all that I've tested so far it needs to be fairly close to what you're trying to see. Things farther away are out of focus or just too fuzzy to see if you zoom in on the screen.

[Tetepare]

As you noted, catalinas are easy to maintain. And with catalinadirect, there’s no lengthy research, no searching for parts- just order it. #1 reason to buy a Catalina.

I was searching YW last night for fun, and noted an astonishing number of sub $100k Catalina 42 for sale. Six months ago you’d have been lucky to find one under $150k. It seems like they may be leading the post COVID price drops.

[davil]

skipmac,
I don't, returned to Amazon, same reasons
Have an old one that seems to lose connectivity all the time and is an exercise in self-control!!!
Still looking for the"right one, thanks Amazon for free returns!!!
But frustrating as they are, I was able to pass a couple of cables from the cockpit locker through 2 bulkheads (holes were not aligned).
Also inspected fuel tank for debris and dirt.

[Searles]

Vote 1 Catalina 42 mk 2 or 38 mk 2 ,sai well ,easy to maintain ,local .⛵️⚓️