Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 30-08-2007, 12:33   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 2
Corbin 39

Hi everyone. We are seriously considering purchasing a Corbin 39 aft cockpit, that was put in the water in 1989. We would be selling our Hunter 340 1997. Any opions out there in regards to a Corbin? Also, do boats like that retain their value? Our goal is to live aboard our boat in approx. 5 years. This corbin is in our marina and has always peaked or interest. The electronics are orginal Data Marine, and interior needs refreshing, but over all it looks like a very well maintained yacht.

Thanks in advance.
Heather
Heather is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2007, 15:52   #2
Registered User
 
Amgine's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 1,385
Images: 1
not a broker

The boats appear to have a very dynamic price range, which suggests they can retain their value but that surveyors are less enthusiastic about some models than others.

One thing to note is that some boats were owner-finished kit boats, which often results in diamonds but occasionally in glass or even coal. In any case with an owner-finished boat you will need an exceptionally thorough survey, and the surveyor may put a markdown just because of the lack of professional boatbuilding. Since you asked about investment value (will they retain their value?) you should be aware that an owner-finished boat is less likely to retain its value.

A boat which is maintained in cream-puff status will retain its value better than one which is let go. A restored-to-cream-puff is still not as good/valued as one which was never let go.

TANSTAAFL. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is too good to be true.

(My own opinion on the design is that it looks rather like an updated Jason, which is a fabulous blue water design but rather less comfortable as a liveaboard at the dock design. Cutter aft-cabin pilothouse looks like the best compromise for liveaboard with serious cruising plans.)
__________________
Amgine

On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog anchored in a coral atoll.
Amgine is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2007, 19:09   #3
Registered User

Join Date: May 2007
Location: Auckland NZ
Posts: 145
Images: 8
Hurricane Larry

Hiya,

My friend hurricane Larry had one of these boats. Lived on it in the caribbean and in the keys for many years before I met him. The boat was gorgeous, and he took it through one of the many hurricanes that he was in. Boat apparently washed ashore in the virgin islands and Literally broke a hole through the wall of some sort of government building on land during the storm surge.

The story goes that he and the girl he was dating crawled out of the boat and into the building and rode it out between a few large bookcases that had fallen on each other. Apparently the boat was barely hurt, but the building had a bit of trouble. He said that after the storm he only had one drawer of dry clothes in the world, and when he came back to salvage his boat a bit after the storm someone (the people who looted his boat) had opened up his sealed emergency bag and peed on them. First a hurricane and then somone pees on your stuff! Bummer.

Anyway, I digress. This is ancedotal evidence of course, but this was probably the smartest cruisers I have ever met, and if he owned one they must be pretty good. Good old uncle larry. I miss that guy. He knew absolutely everything about everything but wasn't a know it all, and would only tell you if you asked him.

Good luck,

B
brian and clare is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2007, 22:38   #4
CF Adviser
Moderator Emeritus
 
TaoJones's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Montrose, Colorado
Posts: 9,845
They have a reputation for having almost indestructible hulls. Supposedly constructed of hand-laid fiberglass, and an inch thick where it counts. Real tanks!

I agree about the questions surrounding the owner-finished versions - some may be 10s, some, well, not so much. It may be that you are just the right people who can turn one that is cosmetically lacking into a real gem. If you can get it at the right price, go for it!

TaoJones
__________________
"Your vision becomes clear only when you look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks within, awakens."
Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961)
TaoJones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31-08-2007, 04:17   #5
Registered User
 
svh2obo's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: H2OBO, World
Boat: Corbin 39
Posts: 21
Have you check index.html This is a user group with loads of information.
svh2obo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31-08-2007, 05:52   #6
Registered User
 
Vasco's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Toronto
Boat: CS36Merlin, "La Belle Aurore"
Posts: 7,557
Quote:
Originally Posted by TaoJones View Post
They have a reputation for having almost indestructible hulls. Supposedly constructed of hand-laid fiberglass, and an inch thick where it counts.
I think Corbins have Airex cored hulls. Not solid glass. Difficulty with these boats is that, as previously stated, many were owner completed. Corbin sold a variety of kits as well as factory built boats.
__________________
Rick I
Toronto in summer, Bahamas in winter.
Vasco is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31-08-2007, 09:12   #7
CF Adviser
Moderator Emeritus
 
TaoJones's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Montrose, Colorado
Posts: 9,845
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vasco View Post
I think Corbins have Airex cored hulls. Not solid glass. Difficulty with these boats is that, as previously stated, many were owner completed. Corbin sold a variety of kits as well as factory built boats.
You are correct about the Airex core, Vasco. Corbins, though, are stiff and stout as can be, and here's the reason, in Marius Corbin's own words:

"In addition to using Airex core and more layers of alternate mat and roving than recommended, we tripled the number of roving in the center of the boat (25 layers of hand laminated fiberglass including 12-24 oz. woven roving), and quadrupled the number of roving in the keel (a total of 35 layers). The sides of the keel and the turn of the bilge incorporate 21 layers of hand laminated fiberglass, including ten 24 oz. woven roving.

When we install the lead in the keel, we hand laminate 8 layers of fiberglass on top of it to isolate the keel from the inside of the boat. These 8 layers of alternate 1 1/2 oz. mat and 24 oz. roving are, therefore, added to the thickness specified for the turn of the bilge.

Our hulls are hand laminated and we are sure that no other builder offers this much. We use 1 oz. and 1 1/2 oz. mat with 24 oz. roving throughout; all this to achieve the strongest production hull in North America.

Hull lamination schedule: Gelcoat (20 mmj, 1 oz. mat, 1 1/2 oz. mat, 24 oz. roving, 1 1/2 oz. mat ,24 oz. roving, 1 oz. mat, 1 oz. mat. # AIREX: 1 1/2 oz. mat, 24 oz. roving, 1 1/2 oz. mat, 24 oz. roving.

No liner !!"

~~~~~~~~~

For the full text of Corbin's letter explaining the building process to his customers, go to:

http://www.corbin39.com/thecorbinphilosophy.htm

TaoJones
__________________
"Your vision becomes clear only when you look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks within, awakens."
Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961)
TaoJones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31-08-2007, 17:29   #8
Moderator Emeritus
 
Pblais's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Hayes, VA
Boat: Gozzard 36
Posts: 8,700
Images: 15
Send a message via Skype™ to Pblais
Close friends built one as has been indicated. The bottom line is who did it. That is why surveyors will trash them quickly. They are not professionally built so they must be bad. My friends Mag and Wendy loved the boat and Mag is a heck of a great sailor and an engineer. If you found that boat you should just buy it. The problem is it may not be that boat.
__________________
Paul Blais
s/v Bright Eyes Gozzard 36
37 15.7 N 76 28.9 W
Pblais is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31-08-2007, 21:26   #9
Registered User
 
Terra Nova's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Marina del Rey, California
Boat: President 43 Sportfish
Posts: 4,105
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heather View Post
Hi everyone. We are seriously considering purchasing a Corbin 39 aft cockpit, that was put in the water in 1989. We would be selling our Hunter 340 1997. Any opions out there in regards to a Corbin? Also, do boats like that retain their value? Our goal is to live aboard our boat in approx. 5 years. This corbin is in our marina and has always peaked or interest. The electronics are orginal Data Marine, and interior needs refreshing, but over all it looks like a very well maintained yacht.

Thanks in advance.
Heather
Yo Heather,

the Corbin 39 is quite a nice step up from a Hunter 34. I believe their hulls are well constructed, and the company enjoys its' well-deserved good reputation. As has been pointed out, the fitting-out workmanship is only everything. I'd buy the right one (but chose the Freya 39 instead).

best, andy

best, andy
__________________
1st rule of yachting: When a collision is unavoidable, aim for something cheap.
"whatever spare parts you bring, you'll never need"--goboatingnow
"Id rather drown than have computers take over my life."--d design
Terra Nova is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2007, 17:40   #10
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 2
Thanks for all the replies and advice!

Thanks to all that have replied! We are hoping to get out on a test sail this week on the Corbin. I am not sure what it is about this boat, but something tells me I should be sailing it!! I will keep you posted.

Thanks again.
Heather
Heather is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2009, 09:51   #11
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Boat: Corbin, Mark I, 39'
Posts: 1
Question Did you buy her?

Did you buy her? If yes, come join our Club at index.html .
lesterhel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-08-2009, 12:01   #12
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Boyne City, Michigan
Boat: Camper Nicholson 35
Posts: 5
While living aboard our Camper Nicholson in Tranni, Italy, a Corbin 39 was towed into the marina by an employee in a workboat going about 7 knots. Yhe owners on the Corbin had a bad engine. The employee threw off the line a few boat lenghts out of the slip. The owners headed into the slip with no hope of stopping before smashing into the solid cement seawall. They hit, while I was watching. The boat cement seawall twisted the 45# CQR anchor up like a pretzel. The Corbin bow came up out of the water as she climbed the seawall then settled back into the Adriatic. Other than a destroyed anchor, the Corbin had a few scratches on her bow down toward the waterline. The was no other damage. If you tried that with one of the newer boats you would have to call in a salvage company. Corbin'd are one tough boat!
Jack KB8RJ
iona350 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-08-2009, 15:30   #13
Eternal Member
 
capt_douglas's Avatar

Join Date: May 2003
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Boat: Vancouver 36 cutter????
Posts: 620
Send a message via Skype™ to capt_douglas
I've been aboard a number of Corbin 39s and the comments about diamonds - coal is correct, with limitations. It's my understanding that folks buying these got a basic hull and deck from a production yard. The owner was responsible for outfitting the interior. All bulkheads, thruhulls, engine and tranny, and tankage was already installed. Some of the boats were done quite simply, others with deep pockets, None of them showed gel coat cracking, bulkhead separation, or any indication of structural problems.

Since they're owner finished for the most part, chances are you'll get more boat for the dollar than a production boat. The only downside (?) I can think of is that not many were produced and they've always had the "owner built" tag when it should have been "owner finished". Or perhaps, "semi-custom".
__________________
Capt. Douglas Abbott
USCG/MCA IV/M.I./C.I. 500-ton Oceans
capt_douglas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2014, 11:51   #14
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 5
Re: Corbin 39

Hi. The corbin 39 is certainly highly touted in John Holtrops research as an all round cruiser. I have a 3 questions as well. Were any Corbin kits sold without keels? Are all the hulls made of airex. Finally, does anyone have a photo of a corbin 39 mold? Thanks, happy sailing.
ruck is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2014, 04:47   #15
Senior Cruiser
 
GordMay's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W
Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt)
Posts: 49,083
Images: 241
Re: Corbin 39

Yes Airex.
No, all /w encapsulated keels.

Marius Corbin on design/construction ➥ http://www.corbin39.com/thecorbinphilosophy.htm
__________________
Gord May
"If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"



GordMay is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Looking for Any Information About the Privilege 39 (1992) R&B Multihull Sailboats 16 23-12-2015 23:16
Cal 39 Stede Monohull Sailboats 34 07-07-2015 14:29
Mariner 39 sailorgal Monohull Sailboats 21 05-07-2012 20:55
39' Prout Catamaran Andrew Kay Multihull Sailboats 3 02-08-2007 02:28
best system? beau Electrical: Batteries, Generators & Solar 5 25-02-2007 21:09

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:44.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.