Columbia, Nautica, Newport, Cal T/4 -Merged

[knockout_mice]

We just got a slip in Waikiki. We have about three weeks to find a boat to put in it (they can extend the deadline but I'd rather not). So far, I have found 4 boats that will fit in our petite 20'-28' slip at Ala Wai marina. We are going to look at the boats this weekend. Any advice anyone has regarding these boats, makes, models, years, prices, etc would be very appreciated. This is our first boat. We have sailing experience and are looking forward to sunday fun days off the coast in our little boat. We'll be day sailors. No inner island stuff, no racing. Just real laid back leisurely relaxing sailing close to home. We also have our first baby on the way.

We are looking at these four boats this weekend. Should we look out for anything in particular? Any thoughts are very appreciated!

66 Columbia 26' (10.5k)
26' Columbia 1966

?? Newport 27' ($12k)
27' Newport sailboat

72 Cal T/4 24' ($14k)
Kokua Yacht Sales (Kapolei, HI)

79 Nautica 27' ($12k)
Fancy Dancer 27'Sailboat

[knockout_mice]

Hello!

I'm fairly new to the Cruiser's Forum. I posted the following to the off-topic forum but it might be better suited here. Sorry if that is a huge no-no! It didn't get any replies in the cost discussion. Hopefully will have better luck here because I am really hoping for some community input! Thank you in advance for any thoughts you have on the following...



My husband and I are buying our first boat. Do you have any input among these choices?

We have sailing experience. We aren't planning on doing anything except leisurely day sailing off the coast of Waikiki. No sailing between islands, no racing, no overnighters, etc.

We just got a slip for a 20'-28' boat this week. There is an urgency with finding a boat to fill the slip. I have found these 4. I think the 24' is too small and too expensive, but the owner might go down to $10k from what I hear. I also wonder about the one with a portable head--is that a messy gross thing to deal with??

Any advice and pointers would be great! We are also expecting our first child. Our more experienced boating friends tell us that's no problem with boat ownership--just get a salty baby thought I'd mention that too in case you have pointers about that as well...

So these are the boats that fit in our slip. Any advice about these models, years, sizes, specific boats, general boat-buying, etc?

66 Columbia 26' (10.5k)
26' Columbia 1966

?? Newport 27' ($12k)
27' Newport sailboat

72 Cal T/4 24' ($14k)
Kokua Yacht Sales (Kapolei, HI)

79 Nautica 27' ($12k)
Fancy Dancer 27'Sailboat

[Svanen]

I have no personal experience of any of the four boats mentioned, so can't advise regarding their respective pros and cons.

As you may know, many popular older sailboats have owners' associations, most of which will have their own websites. These often provide specific advice on known weak points and specific things to check. They also typically include 'for sale' pages, which will allow you to compare pricing.

Anyway, here are a few generic websites that you may find helpful to review before going to see the individual boats this weekend:

• Pat's Boating in Canada: Boating Inspection Checklist
• Sailquest.com: Inspecting and Surveying a Used Sailboat
• PC Marine Surveys: How to Do Your Own Survey
• Sailboatsurveys.com: Checklist
• Practical Sailor: DIY survey checklist

Personally I think you are putting the cart before the horse by allowing yourself such a limited time window to purchase a boat (buy in haste, repent at leisure!). There are so many secondhand boats out there, at all price points and in all sorts of types and conditions, and I would not be in any hurry just because I happened to have a marina slip reserved. But that's just me.

In any case, good luck with your search. Hope the above may be of some help.

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by Svanen

There are so many secondhand boats out there, at all price points and in all sorts of types and conditions, and I would not be in any hurry just because I happened to have a marina slip reserved. But that's just me.

They are looking for a small inexpensive boat in Hawaii. That narrows the choices considerably.

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by knockout_mice

We just got a slip in Waikiki. We have about three weeks to find a boat to put in it (they can extend the deadline but I'd rather not). So far, I have found 4 boats that will fit in our petite 20'-28' slip at Ala Wai marina. We are going to look at the boats this weekend. Any advice anyone has regarding these boats, makes, models, years, prices, etc would be very appreciated. This is our first boat. We have sailing experience and are looking forward to sunday fun days off the coast in our little boat. We'll be day sailors. No inner island stuff, no racing. Just real laid back leisurely relaxing sailing close to home. We also have our first baby on the way.

We are looking at these four boats this weekend. Should we look out for anything in particular? Any thoughts are very appreciated!

66 Columbia 26' (10.5k)
26' Columbia 1966

?? Newport 27' ($12k)
27' Newport sailboat

72 Cal T/4 24' ($14k)
Kokua Yacht Sales (Kapolei, HI)

79 Nautica 27' ($12k)
Fancy Dancer 27'Sailboat

I also am not familiar with those that you listed. Assume they are suitable for local ocean conditions?

I have heard good things about these??

1971 yankee dolphin yankee dolphin sailboat for sale in Hawaii

DOLPHIN 24 (YANKEE) sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

www.dolphin24.org/

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by knockout_mice

We just got a slip in Waikiki. We have about three weeks to find a boat to put in it (they can extend the deadline but I'd rather not). So far, I have found 4 boats that will fit in our petite 20'-28' slip at Ala Wai marina. We are going to look at the boats this weekend. Any advice anyone has regarding these boats, makes, models, years, prices, etc would be very appreciated. This is our first boat. We have sailing experience and are looking forward to sunday fun days off the coast in our little boat. We'll be day sailors. No inner island stuff, no racing. Just real laid back leisurely relaxing sailing close to home. We also have our first baby on the way.

We are looking at these four boats this weekend. Should we look out for anything in particular? Any thoughts are very appreciated!

66 Columbia 26' (10.5k)
26' Columbia 1966

?? Newport 27' ($12k)
27' Newport sailboat

72 Cal T/4 24' ($14k)
Kokua Yacht Sales (Kapolei, HI)

79 Nautica 27' ($12k)
Fancy Dancer 27'Sailboat

I looked at each boat.

My impressions:
They look old.
They look surprisingly high priced for their age, make, condition, and equipment.

I would look longer or further for something else. If you are going to spend $12k or more, I would want something newer and nicer.

Good luck!

[knockout_mice]

The waiting list in Hawaii can be ten years, so when you get a slip, you jump on the opportunity. We recently had an offer to share a slip at a local yacht club for a boat over 36'. We looked for three months for that size and ended up deciding that was too big for us. We're just starting out here (I'm used to sailing in the Gulf of Mexico). Lots of our friends have boats in this marina. We've been in this community for 3 years, so we're familiar with the area and what we want. We've been practicing on a Cal 20 at our local yacht club--I know I want one bigger than that.

I don't feel like we're jumping the gun at all. We've been looking on and off for years at boats all over the island. Now that we have a slip across from our house in this size, it seems like things are finally coming together.

I know I like Cal's, Columbia's, and Nautica's in general but I'm not familiar with these years and sizes.

In Waikiki, you don't have the liberty for a leisurely search. If none of these available boats pan out, we'll fill the slip with a cheap placeholder until we find something we love. But honestly, I'd rather get one now than wait. As long as the boat feels right.

Thank you for these links! I will definitely use them to do more research before tomorrow!

Any other advice or links would also be very, very appreciated!

[knockout_mice]

Sailpower--love the Yankee! It is beautiful and right price and size. It's in Kona though, too far for my pregnant novice self to sail over.

Steadyhand--thank you for the advice. I'll try to haggle them down. I think they might just be more expensive here? The 24' is definitely still overpriced. They started at 20k!

Again, thank all of you so much!

[snort]

1968 Columbia 28 Sail boat (Sale or trade)
This would be better, but sale is pending:
1965 Great Dane Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Pickings are slim in HI for a 28-footer, it seems.

[snort]

The only problem with listings on sailboatlistings is that they run their ads forever. You have to check the date or else you may be buying John Wayne's boat from the Duke himself.

[roverhi]

I'm in Kona if you want me to look at anything over here for you. The Yankee Dolphin is in very good condition but may be a bit pricey. Really like the design, who wouldn't, It's S&S, but it's a smallish boat. Center board doesn't really add much for sailing here but what the heck, I've got one. Until my eyes got big and bought a larger boat, the Dolphin was #1 on my list of boats to buy.

There is also a Santa Cruz 27 for sale here. Asking price is $10,000. Haven't really pursued it to find out how motivated they are. Think the boat sold a while back for less but owner claims to have made some improvements. As I recall, it had fairly new laminated sails when it was for sale a few years back and don't think it's been sailed much since. PM me if you can use my help.

The Newport 27 seems like a lot of boat for the size. A4 inboard is nice if you ever have to power between the islands, I have had to.

The Nautica seems like a good boat if you are more performance oriented. Diesel is a plus if it's in good condition. Looks like a race oriented design and claims to have the sails to be competitive. The IOR pinched ends can have handling issues under spinnaker though have no idea how this boat would handle. It looks really clean and loved from the pictures though they can lie.

If you need any help getting a boat between Islands, I might be talked into a short cruise. Sailing to Oahu from the Big Island is usually one long surf and really a lot of fun. Know the panic when your slip finally comes up. We were in Tahiti when our name came up in the AlaWai years ago. Instant decision to head north to nail the slip down. PM me if I can be of any help.

[Truemettle]

My first sailboat was a Newport 28 and I know all of the evils of being an owner. Most of the deck fitting were not properly bedded and water leached into the balsa core and the deck was basically two layers of fibreglass with wet cardboard as a stiffener. One the deck failed it was impossible to keep water from leaking in from the hull deck joint.

Get a good survey and pay very close attention to both of those details.

[Steadman Uhlich]

What about purchasing a boat in California and having it shipped over to Oahu? I would check into that because there is greater selection.

[snort]

Catalina 27

[roverhi]

This boat may be a few inches too long but would make a good inter island cruiser. 1975 Cascade 29 Pocket Cruiser

AlaWai Brokerage has a Ranger 26 listed. These are supposedly very nice sailing boats.

If you haven't already checked, shipping a boat from the mainland is very expensive plus you'd need a trailer unless it would fit in a container. Was going to ship a Stonehorse 23' over till I found out it was something like $5,000