Better to buy: "dock queen" or "rode hard and put up wet"

[SV_Harbinger]

A good "secret" in buying, at least for me has been the dirty D word divorce....

[hellosailor]

To me a "dock queen" means it has been kept shiny and well maintained, it just never goes sailing. Considering what it will cost to refinish interior woodwork if there is water damage, or what it will cost to refinish a hull that was never waxed and has started to chalk out, "rode hard" carries a high price and usually means maintenance has been deferred or skipped.

Things you don't think about, from the transmission (pull the engine first to replace the tranny?) to the sheeves on the mast crane, all wear out eventually. The rigging? Takes a stress cycle every time the boat tacks. The "real" way to measure when rigging is due for replacement is to count the number of stress cycles, but there's no practical way to do that. So you look for just one meathook, just one rust streak, just one tiny crevice. You do a crevice crack inspection, or magnaflux, or other inspection. Or maybe your insurer doesn't care and just says "replace at 20 years". Either way the boat that was rode hard and tacked 20,000 times, is more likely to have strained every bit of the rigging than the boat that sat at the dock and only tacked 5000 times in the same years.
Same thing with the deck and the gelcoat. Some lightly built boats, rode hard, have crew jumping into the cockpit every day. And that can generate spider cracks in the gelcoat. No problem...but more time and effort if you don't like looking at a cracked up deck all day.
Did the racer replace all sails every year? Or just beat up the old ones for five years running? Did the dock queen store the extra sails where mice got at them? Who knows?
Rode hard? Like sports cars, most tend to have a hard life. It is the rare owner who takes good care of them, and the price will reflect that. Whether the owner kept maintenance logs, had professional servicing and repairs, all that stuff means more than what they used the boat for. Although, with a charter boat (in use 50 weeks instead of 10 weekends per year) you can expect almost anything to be worn out, unless it got a thorough overhaul.

[dcstrng]

Dock Queens always catch the eye… but I think that with most mechanical contrivances, history is more important – I’ve bought dock queens that really sparkled, but the seller hadn’t used it enough to really sort things out, or even know what needed sorting out… If a boat is being used (even fairly lightly) two or three times a month, the seller will know what isn’t working and what is fit for local sailing… I’d rather see a boat that has a few worn spots, but is being used at about the pace I intend to – off-shore racing or transoceanic is a whole different deal, but many of us just dream that dream and sail locally… I didn’t used to mind buying a project so long as I knew it going in, but unless you can handle surprises (skills and/or budget dependent) buy a boat that fits the mission, not the fantasy. Surveys are usually good advice, but in my usual budget, surveys have proven somewhere between superfluous and misleading (be wary of the surveyor who wants to know the form of payment for the boat – financed/cash – they’re surveying the customer, not the boat…).

[Uricanejack]

By the dock queen, ride it hard and put it away wet

[Cheechako]

It's a toss up for me. I tend to lean toward a minimally equipped dock queen. Just because much of the "oft used" type of boat has parts and electronics etc that are outdated anyway. And holes drilled for various installations, owner "upgrades" that are actually deficits, and etc. I'd rather pay less and install my own new equiptment on a clean basic foundation. A dock queen may have near new condition sails too.
BUT, it's really about the particular boat. There are some downsides to dock queens too, one being if the engine isn't used enough, things like shafts corroded inside the stuffing box, old fuel issues, mildew from lack of ventilation/use etc occur.

[NormanMartin]

We found a beauty. Old and in the same family for its entire life, seldom sailed, stored indoors. Our plan is to remove the engine and rebuild it. Replace standing and running rigging. Remove electronics and replace with a minimal suite. (We are not navigators by TV) The sails are fine so that's for later.

We figure our "mooring queen" is a real steal.

[mjgill1]

Originally Posted by NormanMartin

We found a beauty. Old and in the same family for its entire life, seldom sailed, stored indoors. Our plan is to remove the engine and rebuild it. Replace standing and running rigging. Remove electronics and replace with a minimal suite. (We are not navigators by TV) The sails are fine so that's for later.

We figure our "mooring queen" is a real steal.

Pictures? Details?

[NormanMartin]

Tartan 37 by Hood. Some pics at our blog, averisera.com, in the Jan 17 entry. Also on yachtworld.com

I hope I can get my wife on board with the plan. She runs ot and cold. Oh well.