Yet another 1st time buyer question

[Capt Andy]

Need some boat buying advice. I’ve been looking for my first sailboat in the 30’ range and looked at a 33’ 1972 Ranger which I liked. Owner is asking $17K. He showed me the survey he had done when he bought it 1 yr ago. The surveyor noted a couple of things that the owner has repaired but a couple repairs remain. Some of the remaining repairs include the shaft strut noted to be corroded and weakened and needed replacement, scattered ¾” blisters on hull, small scattered dry voids in deck and cabin top, spots of elevated moisture in side decks around chain plates, bow and some deck hardware. It has a Yanmar 2GM20F 16hp engine with 1500 hrs, new batteries, starter, and throttle control. What is the ball park cost of replacing the shaft strut, are a few scattered hull blisters and voids in deck a concern? $17K seems a bit high as there was also cosmetic needs such as weathered deck paint and bottom paint job. Any advice? Thanks!

[Knotical]

I don’t know about other repairs but if the strut needs to be removed, rebedded and if there’s any fiberglass work involved it could run into a few hundred dollars, maybe more. Are you going to do the work yourself or hire help?

Moisture around chainplates is not good, are they internal or external? How is the state of main bulkheads inside?

Why is he selling just after a year?

Personally, I feel the price is high.

[Greatest Lakes]

I agree with the price sounding high. Blisters are easily remedied, but voids and moisture are troublesome to repair. The 2GM20F is a great engine, I have the same one. New starter, batteries, etc were cheap compared to the shaft strut. Finding the correct one is your first challenge, removing the original is the next one. Make sure the new one has an annode on it, even a small quarter sized one.

[Capt Andy]

I don't think I would undertake the repair myself with no boat repair experience and working on something that needs to be within certain tolerances. Wouldn't want to do a repair only to make things worse in the long run. He's moving up to a larger live-a-board. Bulkheads seemed solid. I may call a few boat yards and get a ballpark estimate then make a low offer because there would still be the voids and moisture to deal with.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Capt Andy

Need some boat buying advice. I’ve been looking for my first sailboat in the 30’ range and looked at a 33’ 1972 Ranger which I liked. Owner is asking $17K. He showed me the survey he had done when he bought it 1 yr ago. The surveyor noted a couple of things that the owner has repaired but a couple repairs remain. Some of the remaining repairs include the shaft strut noted to be corroded and weakened and needed replacement, scattered ¾” blisters on hull, small scattered dry voids in deck and cabin top, spots of elevated moisture in side decks around chain plates, bow and some deck hardware. It has a Yanmar 2GM20F 16hp engine with 1500 hrs, new batteries, starter, and throttle control. What is the ball park cost of replacing the shaft strut, are a few scattered hull blisters and voids in deck a concern? $17K seems a bit high as there was also cosmetic needs such as weathered deck paint and bottom paint job. Any advice? Thanks!

Blister repairs, barrier coating and new anti-fouling are going to cost several thousand dollars. A new strut (if you can find one that fits without major mods) also means major glass work and engine/shaft re-alignment.

Deck work could be $1k or 6k ... hard to say without knowing the extent.

Strongly advise you to get quotes before making an offer ... make sure you are sitting down when you look at the quote.

According to Soldboats.com, the last time a Ranger 32 sold for that price was 2005. More recent sales are $3k to $8k

[Stewie12]

Have the yard quote you for the work and deduct it from the asking price. Better still have the boat surveyed and then the work quoted for.

[SV__Grace]

IMHO this is not a great fit for a first time buyer. Your top priority should be to find a boat with "good bones," meaning the basics such as hull, deck, engine, drive train, etc, are in good shape.

If you get this boat you'll spend a lot of money getting the basics up to snuff, THEN if you get to the stuff you WANT such as updated electronics, replacing a worn sail, etc, you've put more $$ into the boat than you paid for it, which is fine if you like projects and the purchase price is a bargain, but this is no bargain.

[boatpoker]

Skip this boat and read this before you go look at another.
Marine Survey 101, pre-survey inspection

[sail sfbay]

Originally Posted by Capt Andy

............What is the ball park cost of replacing the shaft strut, are a few scattered hull blisters and voids in deck a concern? $17K seems a bit high as there was also cosmetic needs such as weathered deck paint and bottom paint job. Any advice? ........../FONT]

Ball park price depends on where you are located and whether you plan to do the work yourself. I would budget $1000-2000 for the repairs if they done by a boatyard and with a quote you can request a "repair allowance" from the Seller IF you already have a signed purchase agreement, otherwise consider offering a lower price. The cosmetic needs, like a weathered deck, and bottom painting is routine maintenance is on the Buyer.

I assume you have looked at a lot of other similar sailboats and feel $17K is a fair price in your market.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Capt Andy

Need some boat buying advice. I’ve been looking for my first sailboat in the 30’ range and looked at a 33’ 1972 Ranger which I liked. Owner is asking $17K. He showed me the survey he had done when he bought it 1 yr ago. The surveyor noted a couple of things that the owner has repaired but a couple repairs remain. Some of the remaining repairs include the shaft strut noted to be corroded and weakened and needed replacement, scattered ¾” blisters on hull, small scattered dry voids in deck and cabin top, spots of elevated moisture in side decks around chain plates, bow and some deck hardware. It has a Yanmar 2GM20F 16hp engine with 1500 hrs, new batteries, starter, and throttle control. What is the ball park cost of replacing the shaft strut, are a few scattered hull blisters and voids in deck a concern? $17K seems a bit high as there was also cosmetic needs such as weathered deck paint and bottom paint job. Any advice? Thanks!

My biggest concerns would be the blisters. If the hull is prone to blistering, you don't want it at any price as it was laid up with cheap or insufficient resin to keep the cost down. This can only be addressed but never completely fixed. That and the soft spots in the deck make this one a "walk away" candidate to me as this one sounds like a mess. (probably why it is up for sale after only a year)

[Cpt Mark]

The boat seems like it has "minor" issues but chances are very good that they are not so minor. Having a boatyard quote you on everything is sound advice but don't forget, once they start opening up things like soft decks, blisters, that strut that may likely find more things that also must be repaired which will cost more money.

Just because he paid 17K for it does not mean it's worth 17K. It's what he was willing to pay which as others have said, sounds high especially for a boat that needs work.

You're buying your 1st boat. What is your intended usage for it? Day sailing, occasional overnights, party boat, liveaboard, cruising, racing? That also needs to be considered as different boats were built for different things. Some for racing, some for cruising, some for 1st time buyers (cheaply made).

[Cheechako]

Those 33 and 29 rangers were good boats but that's way high $ for a '72 boat. Also a bit underpowered.
It sounds like it is a blister boat. Those large blisters indicate it could be severe, hard to say. But you never know how many times blisters have been filled in the last 48 years. I had one boat with a hull so waterlogged there were blisters INSIDE the hull in the bilge as well as outside !
I can't remember if those are bolted on or glassed in struts...? But often by the time they deal with the shaft etc you will end up rebuilding from the engine coupling back due to shaft corrosion inside the stuffing box.. Wild guess of $2000-$2500 for the strut and etc.

[grahamj]

Originally Posted by sail sfbay

Ball park price depends on where you are located and whether you plan to do the work yourself. I would budget $1000-2000 for the repairs if they done by a boatyard and with a quote you can request a "repair allowance" from the Seller IF you already have a signed purchase agreement, otherwise consider offering a lower price. The cosmetic needs, like a weathered deck, and bottom painting is routine maintenance is on the Buyer.

I assume you have looked at a lot of other similar sailboats and feel $17K is a fair price in your market.

$1-2k? Seriously? Anything, literally anything, starts at $1k and goes North rapidly. A survey on this pile will be at least $1k if it's done properly. If he budgets $10k for the work he'll only be heartbroken not suicidal when it turns out to be over $20k.

[dsleyland]

Originally Posted by Capt Andy

Need some boat buying advice. I’ve been looking for my first sailboat in the 30’ range and looked at a 33’ 1972 Ranger which I liked. Owner is asking $17K. He showed me the survey he had done when he bought it 1 yr ago. The surveyor noted a couple of things that the owner has repaired but a couple repairs remain. Some of the remaining repairs include the shaft strut noted to be corroded and weakened and needed replacement, scattered ¾” blisters on hull, small scattered dry voids in deck and cabin top, spots of elevated moisture in side decks around chain plates, bow and some deck hardware. It has a Yanmar 2GM20F 16hp engine with 1500 hrs, new batteries, starter, and throttle control. What is the ball park cost of replacing the shaft strut, are a few scattered hull blisters and voids in deck a concern? $17K seems a bit high as there was also cosmetic needs such as weathered deck paint and bottom paint job. Any advice? Thanks!

The drive shaft strut is an expensive repair/replacement, at least 5K.

[Caleb_Grey]

Originally Posted by Capt Andy

Owner is asking $17K. He showed me the survey he had done when he bought it 1 yr ago.

Whats the reason for selling after only 1 year?