What sailboat should I buy???

[letsgetsailing3]

I think what people are trying to say is that swinging for the fences is a good way to strike out.

Go for a base hit. If it works, you go for another one.

A Catalina, or similar coastal cruiser would work fine for this.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by Augi

Like a woman boats(boats are always referred to as "her" for a reason), are a fair amount of trouble, are expensive especially "owning" one versus "renting" one.

And here I thought they were called "her" was because they always returned to their buoys!


His comments on overestimating the costs is spot on. I have three boats and one was "free." This free boat will cost me more than the other two combined. I took it knowing this. This is the boat that I practice things on. Fiberglass work, installing a stove, wiring, etc. If it goes horribly wrong I will just strip it clean, sell off the winches, sails, engine, etc. and sink the empty hull creating a reef! Or maybe I will give it away to someone else for them to play with it.

[NorthCoastJoe]

Kon Tiki and Ra are proven blue water craft.

Go out and get on a lot of boats. With $30,000 I would plan $5000 for the boat and $25,000 to fix it up. I would feel better in my MacGregor 25 than some of the boats I have seen for sale in the $30,000 range. Crap engines, rigging, sail and hull problems, etc. We looked a long time to find our DownEast 38. It needs a lot of work but we have a solid base and skills to do it.

We will be selling our Pearson 30 soon, lots of time rebuilding and repowering it, but is should be solid for someone.

[anacapaisland42]

Don't get discouraged, the main things are:


Does it have a good solid hull
Does it have good solid rigging
Does it have a decent engine
Does it seem to sail OK
Does it have an OK place to sleep with a bit of privacy
Does it have a stove/oven to make good meals


We sailed several thousand miles in comfort with the above plus a depth sounder and compass and 3 kids in a 32 foot boat......the rest are just luxuries.


Bill

Originally Posted by Kfay

Hi everyone,
I am here because I am looking for some advice/opinions on what sailboats I should be looking for. I am looking for a 30-50 ft sailboat that has some blue water capabilities with a large enough down below to live on for a month or two at a time. I say some blue water capabilities because I won’t be crossing oceans but I will be doing some passages along the east coast and from Florida to the islands. The boat should be able to sleep 4 people comfortably. My budget is 30,000 at most. I know that’s not much but that’s why I am here looking for some help . I like the down below style on the mk2 Catalina 30 a lot but it is lacking some of the other features in my opinion. Feel free to share some options with me!

[GrowleyMonster]

32 to 35 feet is sort of a sweet spot. Go bigger, and everything costs a bunch more. A 35' slip is a lot cheaper in most marinas than a 40' slip. A 9.9 long shaft outboard will push a 32 to 35 footer. Go bigger, and even getting any outboard at all mounted in such a way as to be useful is pretty dicey. Sails. Oh, haulouts. That bottom job on a bigger boat is going to cost some bucks. Diesel? You won't see a 15hp diesel in a 40 or 50 footer. Parts cost more, labor costs more. Outright replacement costs more. A nice beamy 35 really has quite a bit of room below, enough to sleep four and carry sufficient provisions for several weeks. A good 32 will do it, but maybe be a bit crowded. Trust me, a 50 foot boat is a white elephant unless you will be sailing with a crew of a half dozen or more. I have a 44 foot Bruce Roberts and no way would I ever consider a bigger boat. The 44 is very spacious and can carry literally tons of stuff if I need it to. Maintenance and minor repairs of the 50hp Westerbeast are quite enough, thank you. I don't want a bigger engine. I have so much headroom below that I can't reach the skylight to close it. A bigger boat? LOL. I am fine with what I got. And I would be just fine with a 35 or 36. Smaller I would not want. I have lived aboard boats and camps as small as 24 feet and no thank you, I will pass. Anything under 30 I don't want. I just spent 7 years living on a 27 that was quite roomy for a 27, but was nevertheless very crowded, for me and my gear and an occasional short time GF. I had to step out on deck just to change my mind. I often cooked out in the cockpit. And you want to sleep 4. Go with a 32 to 35 footer.



Any boat selling for over $5k you need to get surveyed to protect yourself. You will also likely need a survey to get insurance, which you will need if you expect to get a slip in a marina.



Have ready cash! Be ready, when that distress sale turns up and it has to be sold like right now. OTOH, be patient. Don't grab the first thing you see that looks like it might work out okay. There will always be another deal. But be ready to pounce (after your surveyor gives it the thumbs up) on that great deal that will otherwise go fast to someone else.



With that budget, try to come in at $10k for the purchase, and devote the rest to repairs, upgrades, and the first year of maintenance. You DON'T need a watermaker, or a diesel generator, or central air, or a hard dinghy, or radar, or satellite internet. You are on a very small budget. No useless frippery just cause it is kewl or has status or whatever. It's a boat, not a palace. The luxuries are nice but on that budget you simply can't afford much of that sort of stuff. You need a suit of working sails, and maybe a trysail and a storm jib. You need a good anchor, and plenty of chain, and if you don't have enough chain, enough nylon rode to make at least 200' total. A spare anchor and some extra chain is not an extravagence. Enough wire to make two stays, and terminal hardware to do it with. Required safety equipment. Radio, both fixed and handheld. A stove of some sort and for the record I HATE propane or gasoline. BOOM. Learn about diesel/kerosene cookstoves. They are way safer and you can always get fuel. Alcohol? The problem with alcohol is you can starve to death while you are cooking. It doesn't burn very hot. The advantage of course is if you use everclear or other grain alcohol, you can drink your stove fuel. Don't try that with methanol or denatured alcohol or other spirits. It can literally blind you or even kill you. Lets see... a cast iron skillet and a small dutch oven and a medium size soup pot. Forks and spoons. Aluminum pie pans... simply the best plate you can eat from, on a small boat. Washed soup or vegetable cans make drinking cups. When it gets rusty, wash out a new one. A pourover for making coffee. A couple of good chef knives that NEVER go on deck. A spatula and a pot spoon. Got a compass? Yeah. Fridge? Do without. Ice chest, for at the dock or maybe on the hook. An inflatable dinghy. Not much else.



Okay so that's your boat. How do you intend to educate yourself, assuming you will be your own skipper? What is your time budget, in years, before you sail off to margaritaville? That's an awful lot of responsibility, you know, and lots of ways to screw up and kill people. "I didn't know" is not a very good legal or moral defense. Just sayin. You got to learn about navigation and piloting, and just plain old boat handling. You got to learn about diesel engines. You got to learn about transmissions and shafts and bearings and stuffing boxes and props. You got to learn about different metals and how they react together, different types of rope and their uses, marine hardware, sails, sail handling, hull maintenance, damage control, firefighting, first aid, customs and immigration regulations, RULES OF THE ROAD which you should understand perfectly and completely and no exceptions or excuses, the legal and financial issues with owning a boat, and how to be in charge without being a PITA and alienating everyone aboard. NOW is the time to start your education, not after you own a boat.

[Stu Jackson]

Growley, you're on a roll today. Very well put. Thanks.

[masonc]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

32 to 35 feet is sort of a sweet spot. Go bigger, and everything costs a bunch more. A 35' slip is a lot cheaper in most marinas than a 40' slip. A 9.9 long shaft outboard will push a 32 to 35 footer. Go bigger, and even getting any outboard at all mounted in such a way as to be useful is pretty dicey. Sails. Oh, haulouts. That bottom job on a bigger boat is going to cost some bucks. Diesel? You won't see a 15hp diesel in a 40 or 50 footer. Parts cost more, labor costs more. Outright replacement costs more. A nice beamy 35 really has quite a bit of room below, enough to sleep four and carry sufficient provisions for several weeks. A good 32 will do it, but maybe be a bit crowded. Trust me, a 50 foot boat is a white elephant unless you will be sailing with a crew of a half dozen or more. I have a 44 foot Bruce Roberts and no way would I ever consider a bigger boat. The 44 is very spacious and can carry literally tons of stuff if I need it to. Maintenance and minor repairs of the 50hp Westerbeast are quite enough, thank you. I don't want a bigger engine. I have so much headroom below that I can't reach the skylight to close it. A bigger boat? LOL. I am fine with what I got. And I would be just fine with a 35 or 36. Smaller I would not want. I have lived aboard boats and camps as small as 24 feet and no thank you, I will pass. Anything under 30 I don't want. I just spent 7 years living on a 27 that was quite roomy for a 27, but was nevertheless very crowded, for me and my gear and an occasional short time GF. I had to step out on deck just to change my mind. I often cooked out in the cockpit. And you want to sleep 4. Go with a 32 to 35 footer.



Any boat selling for over $5k you need to get surveyed to protect yourself. You will also likely need a survey to get insurance, which you will need if you expect to get a slip in a marina.



Have ready cash! Be ready, when that distress sale turns up and it has to be sold like right now. OTOH, be patient. Don't grab the first thing you see that looks like it might work out okay. There will always be another deal. But be ready to pounce (after your surveyor gives it the thumbs up) on that great deal that will otherwise go fast to someone else.



With that budget, try to come in at $10k for the purchase, and devote the rest to repairs, upgrades, and the first year of maintenance. You DON'T need a watermaker, or a diesel generator, or central air, or a hard dinghy, or radar, or satellite internet. You are on a very small budget. No useless frippery just cause it is kewl or has status or whatever. It's a boat, not a palace. The luxuries are nice but on that budget you simply can't afford much of that sort of stuff. You need a suit of working sails, and maybe a trysail and a storm jib. You need a good anchor, and plenty of chain, and if you don't have enough chain, enough nylon rode to make at least 200' total. A spare anchor and some extra chain is not an extravagence. Enough wire to make two stays, and terminal hardware to do it with. Required safety equipment. Radio, both fixed and handheld. A stove of some sort and for the record I HATE propane or gasoline. BOOM. Learn about diesel/kerosene cookstoves. They are way safer and you can always get fuel. Alcohol? The problem with alcohol is you can starve to death while you are cooking. It doesn't burn very hot. The advantage of course is if you use everclear or other grain alcohol, you can drink your stove fuel. Don't try that with methanol or denatured alcohol or other spirits. It can literally blind you or even kill you. Lets see... a cast iron skillet and a small dutch oven and a medium size soup pot. Forks and spoons. Aluminum pie pans... simply the best plate you can eat from, on a small boat. Washed soup or vegetable cans make drinking cups. When it gets rusty, wash out a new one. A pourover for making coffee. A couple of good chef knives that NEVER go on deck. A spatula and a pot spoon. Got a compass? Yeah. Fridge? Do without. Ice chest, for at the dock or maybe on the hook. An inflatable dinghy. Not much else.



Okay so that's your boat. How do you intend to educate yourself, assuming you will be your own skipper? What is your time budget, in years, before you sail off to margaritaville? That's an awful lot of responsibility, you know, and lots of ways to screw up and kill people. "I didn't know" is not a very good legal or moral defense. Just sayin. You got to learn about navigation and piloting, and just plain old boat handling. You got to learn about diesel engines. You got to learn about transmissions and shafts and bearings and stuffing boxes and props. You got to learn about different metals and how they react together, different types of rope and their uses, marine hardware, sails, sail handling, hull maintenance, damage control, firefighting, first aid, customs and immigration regulations, RULES OF THE ROAD which you should understand perfectly and completely and no exceptions or excuses, the legal and financial issues with owning a boat, and how to be in charge without being a PITA and alienating everyone aboard. NOW is the time to start your education, not after you own a boat.

This sounds like the outline of a book, maybe "how to buy the boat you really need, not the boat you want". Great post.

[akprb]

Read “Hunter, really?” on our blog, link below.

The 37 and 40.5 may be found in your price range.

The fellow who just bought ours a few months ago just transited the Panama Canal last week after sailing from Florida down to Grenada and then across. It can handle offshore ;-)

I took it up and down the east coast and all over the Bahamas mostly single handed. Great boat.

I’ve owned three Catalinas over the years, the 30 a very versatile vessel but for the money I would give the Hunter Legend series a hard look.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by akprb

Read “Hunter, really?” on our blog, link below.

The 37 and 40.5 may be found in your price range.

The fellow who just bought ours a few months ago just transited the Panama Canal last week after sailing from Florida down to Grenada and then across. It can handle offshore ;-)

I took it up and down the east coast and all over the Bahamas mostly single handed. Great boat.

I’ve owned three Catalinas over the years, the 30 a very versatile vessel but for the money I would give the Hunter Legend series a hard look.

Speaking of Hunters, the 37 Cutter is also well regarded:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...s-37861-2.html

[zippy]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

Trust me, a 50 foot boat is a white elephant unless you will be sailing with a crew of a half dozen or more.

Total BS. There are many couples comfortably cruising on 50 ft + boats. In many ways they’re easier than a smaller boat. Unless you can’t afford it.

[maijipo]

Check maybe Tartan 33. I bought one 2 years ago and very happy about her. She is comfortable and I find her very secure.

It is fine for 2 adults and 2 kids but will not recommend for 4 adults.

The draft is also very good for Florida with only 4.5.

I found mine for a great price. 10K from 1982.

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Growley, you're on a roll today. Very well put. Thanks.

He sure is. I want what he's on...... maybe LIFE.

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by zippy

Total BS. There are many couples comfortably cruising on 50 ft + boats. In many ways they’re easier than a smaller boat. Unless you can’t afford it.

Of course, but remember the poster was coming from a 27 footer so it’s not surprising he thinks that. And, the original poster was talking about $30k, so 50-foot boats that keep the water outside are pretty much non-starters. Far better a relatively new good condition 30-footer than anything larger at that price point.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by zippy

Total BS. There are many couples comfortably cruising on 50 ft + boats. In many ways they’re easier than a smaller boat. Unless you can’t afford it.

Most people can't. I can't. The OP can't. And it's not just the purchase price. Everything costs more for the big boat. I would say those couples who cruise in 50 foot boats are a small minority. So "many" is perhaps not the best word.

[zippy]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

Most people can't. I can't. The OP can't. And it's not just the purchase price. Everything costs more for the big boat. I would say those couples who cruise in 50 foot boats are a small minority. So "many" is perhaps not the best word.

I totally agree with this. I only called BS on was what was said here:

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster
Trust me, a 50 foot boat is a white elephant unless you will be sailing with a crew of a half dozen or more.

Just because a 50' boat is expensive, it doesn't lead to the statement that 6 or more people are require to sail one.