Advice Re: Yankee 26

[jdwhitman]

I have an opportunity to buy a Sparkman and Stephens designed Yankee 26 (unsure of year) with a rebuilt Yanmar diesel newly installed. Total I'd pay is approx. $3,500. Sails and rigging all seem good. Roller furling on both main and jib. Wiring all seems good, although I'd have to get new GPS, etc.

It needs cosmetic work top to bottom, and the cabin needs attention. Structurally, I would rebed the stanchions. There might be a leak in one window seal. What attracts me to it is that it's set up for off shore work. Auto tiller, strong blocks and good winches, etc. Eventually, I'd like to get out there myself, but I'm not ready yet. Is it worth investing in a boat like this with good bones and spend some time on the cosmetics, or should I just stick with a day sailer for a while and get a better boat in the future? I can buy a decent day sailer for $4-5k, but then I'd have to buy a better boat later on.

I've been sailing for a couple of years, but I'm a newbie at buying. Advice is welcome!

[roverhi]

Sounds like a good deal if the deck is solid and work involved is just cosmetics. The diesel alone could be worth the asking price and you may be able to sell the gear on board like the self furling for a few more boat units. If you cleaned it up and took care of the cosmetics probably would be some profit if you decided to sell. Would get rid of the furling main. Way too much weight and complication on a 26' boat and slab reefing is just too easy.

Yankee was a quality manufacturer and Sparkman and Stephens were the best designers of that era. Would feel confident taking the boat most anywhere if the sails and rigging are up to snuff.

[Don C L]

Sounds good to me too. You can get a day sailer for $3500 but this is much more boat and can do more. There is one for sale near me that sailed here (southern Cal.) from the east coast through the Panama canal. Yankee has a good rep and of course S&S does too. Check the keel bolts. I like the skeg-hung rudder.
I'd second that about getting rid of the furling main.

[Don C L]

Welcome here BTW and send photos of boat if you can, that helps.

[Stu Jackson]

Nice boat, go for it.

[Cheechako]

I say yes. Don't know much about the 26 but the 30's were good boats.

[Don C L]

Wait a minute, where are you? Maybe we both are talking about the same boat!

[jdwhitman]

Don,

I live in Encino, not too far from you. The boat is up in Ventura, so we might be talking about the same Yankee 26.

[Don C L]

On a trailer in Channel Islands harbor? I just went by and looked at that because I bought a trailer from that gentleman. I thought it looked like a great boat for the price, but I did not look inside. Get it with the trailer and you can save money on slip fees, though I think he needs to keep his trailer. It is out of the water so it is a great time to get a close look at it. Good island boat too! PM me if you want to discuss it more specifically.

[jdwhitman]

Thanks to all for the advice! I truly appreciate it!

[Dave22q]

Good price if the boat is sound. Assuming the issues are the cosmetics you described I would grab it, but check carefully. The price is almost too good.

[um saudade]

“I say yes. Don't know much about the 26 but the 30's were good boats.”

A small point but I would say they ARE good boats. Nearly all of the 132 built are still sailing after 40 plus years!
Even though the Yankee 28 is not an Olin Stephens design, it’s but a slightly scaled down copy of the Yankee 30 which was designed by Stephens. The 28 is just a little more boat than the 26 but both are great designs for that size of boat.
The weak link to the basic design is the in the hull to deck joint. The joint was screwed together with a thin bead of calk and the raw edge of the deck is capped by a rabbeted teak toe rail. The teak shrinks and flexes, the deck gets wet in the core and the joints leak to the interior.
Eventually they all will require attention and there is no cheap fix.

[cwyckham]

Sounds like a very good deal. If you can, have a friend with a lot of boat owning/fixing experience come and poke around the boat with you to make sure there isn't anything scary that you're missing. Pretty hard to go too far wrong with that price, though.

[dondoo]

Don C L "There is one for sale near me that sailed here (southern Cal.) from the east coast through the Panama canal."

Supposedly, it was. I looked at it over a month ago. The "sailed from Florida" is entirely what someone else had told someone else to someone else before. Needs a lot of work, before it hits the water again. Trailer not included either.

[Don C L]

Point taken, I did not confirm the story. I did tell him the keel bolts may need re-bedding too yes. And I did not see the interior. But still not a bad boat for the price I thought