Great Boats at Great Prices?

[Capt RonB]

Good Deal?

1978 islander Freeport 36 sailboat

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Capt RonB

Good Deal?

1978 islander Freeport 36 sailboat

Cool boats. That appears to be a GREAT deal. Never seen one that low.

[klmmicro]

That does look like a cool boat! Neat center cabin design.

[Cheechako]

I believe it's a Bob Perry design..? Always been on my boat bucket list....

[spillemw]

A friend of mine bought a very similar van der stadt about 3 years ago for 35,000 EUR and is doing a circumnavigation now (www.luckybitch.be). Very robust boat, but I always found the interior a little dreary. A correct asking price today is max. 35,000 USD I would say.

[mitiempo]

Originally Posted by Capt RonB

Good Deal?

1978 islander Freeport 36 sailboat

Unless he isn't telling of a serious problem of some sort it is a great deal. I know the design - Bob Perry did design it - and I have worked on one. The Beta is smaller than the Perkins that I believe was standard and looks easier to work on if necessary. The Perkins took up nearly all the space below the sole.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

Unless he isn't telling of a serious problem of some sort it is a great deal. I know the design - Bob Perry did design it - and I have worked on one. The Beta is smaller than the Perkins that I believe was standard and looks easier to work on if necessary. The Perkins took up nearly all the space below the sole.

The problem with the beta (which I believe is the same engine used in the VW Rabbit) as opposed to the Perkins is that it is lighter and makes the boat much more tender.

[mitiempo]

I'm not sure about the engine in the VW Rabbit but it is a reliable Kubota based engine. Seems most any new diesel in a sailboat around here is Beta red now.

I would gladly take a Beta and possibly a few lead blocks over a Perkins any day.

The Islander 36 Freeport is detailed here ISLANDER FREEPORT 36 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

and lists 17,000 displacement with ballast of 6,300 for a ballast ratio of 37%. Doesn't seem like it would be too tender.

[nhschneider]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

I'm not sure about the engine in the VW Rabbit but it is a reliable Kubota based engine. Seems most any new diesel in a sailboat around here is Beta red now.

I would gladly take a Beta and possibly a few lead blocks over a Perkins any day.

The Islander 36 Freeport is detailed here ISLANDER FREEPORT 36 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

and lists 17,000 displacement with ballast of 6,300 for a ballast ratio of 37%. Doesn't seem like it would be too tender.

I owned an Islander Freeport 36 for two years and even did a little cruising in it (San Diego up into the Sea of Cortez and back). Despite the fact that my ex-brother-in-law (for whom I have a tremendous amount of respect) was president of Islander Yachts for quite a while, I thought it was a poorly made boat. Also, despite the fact that Bob Perry designed it, I thought it was a poorly designed boat.

We bought ours from the original owner who used it very little and it was the A-Plan which had a v-berth and a midship head (the more popular B-Plan had a pullman berth and the head in the bow). The construction of the boat was very light. In the v-berth, you could flex the hull just by pushing on it with your hand. The large windows in the saloon were very thin. It came equipped with a water lift that was welded out of thin mild steel.

The tall cabin made it impossible to see straight ahead from the cockpit. Granted, there were windows in the bulkhead at the forward edge of the cockpit and then portlights on the front of the doghouse but this was no way to keep a look out. The boat was slow and never really performed well under any point of sail. Ours had the Pathfinder 50 diesel which was economical enough but we still had too many problems with it.

I think the boat is best suited for day sails and possible overnights in protected waters.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[mitiempo]

I don't like the large windows/tall cabin either. Looks good but less than practical. As far as the engine location I think they are better aft where you can get beside them to work rather than just from the top. While I have no personal experience with sailing the design I am a bit surprised by your lack of performance as well as perceived weak construction - Islander isn't to my knowledge considered a builder who took shortcuts like some others.

[CR38]

Here is one definitely worth checking out!

Best Offshore Cruising Sailboats < $40K: 1989 Caliber 33' Asking $46,900

[brantleychuck]

The IF 36 for sale is mine, still for sale. Reason for sale is that I fell for another boat and two boats is one to many. I have sailed her the past 8 years around the keys, Bahamas over to Isla Mujeras, down two Belize twice, over to Roatan Honduras. I am very surprised by the comments of the fellow who owned one on the west coast and did take it down into Mexico. He did not like it, most do.Not what most owners of this boat report. If interested in more IF36 details check out the FOGers on yahoo groups.
In regards to engine access ability . My boating friends with the engine in the usual location envy my easy access to all sides of the kubota. As for the boat being tender with the less weight that the Kubota ( a tractor motor, has nothing remotely in common with a VW diesel, geez). I burn a little under 1/2 gallon a hour at 5.2 knots. This is a big heavy boat, down low the hull is a inch thick solid fiberglass, with tons of storage to carry all that stuff you will never use much less locate. Lol
With 100 gallons of water tankage, 80 diesel a few hundred pounds less engine weight is a non issue. The B plan is a perfect layout for a couple, really spacious. The forward head is very roomy as well. I installed a 5000 btu marine ac unit that services just the Pullman berth. My honda 2000 will run it all night on those humid summer nights in the tropics. Also had a 16000 btu unit for the whole boat but that's for when at a marina. Mast is fifty feet off the water, makes getting under all the Florida bridges much easier.
I keep the boat at my house in Florida. I plan on spending the summer working on the Freeport if it does not sell .Number one is to replace cabin sole with a teak holly plywood. As it is I have the bad areas covered with carpet, looks good but the bad areas need fixed, About a grand in material and the price will go from the current 20 grand to 25. Then finish installing the repaired Lofrans windlass and AP. Then clean up the refer box and replace or repair the 12 volt frigoboat freezer unit. After that then at 30 grand still a great deal. Chuck

[Tx J]

Pearson 36, 1973, project boat in apparent reasonable condition, $5000, near Austin, TX. It's on a 3-axle trailer (not for sale), which seller will haul for a fee, and rent the trailer for up to a year (as a work platform).
I have in the past corresponded with the guy offering this boat, he is established in the boat hauling business, and he seemed very knowledgeable and honest.
1973 Pearson 36: Going Going Gone

Sailboatdata Pearson 36 page: PEARSON 36 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

I don't know if this meets all the criteria of this thread, but I noticed this boat on the Corpus Christi Craigslist and thought to give it wider exposure. A Pearson 36 is certainly a solid, bluewater/offshore class boat and one of the classics.

From the detailed Craigslist ad page, this boat is going to need some work and more repair/refit $$$ (as every boat does, eh?) to be safe and seaworthy, but the initial cost seems reasonable, and it would be a shame to see it scrapped. The seller has apparently already done some amount of refit work already (and lost steam).
From the ad, the parts alone are worth much more than the asking price for the whole enchilada (to someone with the patience to sell them).
I haven't looked, but thinking a serviceable in-water Pearson 36 probably sells for $20-30K, so that leaves some room over the asking price on this moderate scope(?) project boat to make it operational, a bit more to get to 'cruise-away' status (yes, I tend to be an optimist).
Anybody interested? Look over the ad carefully, call, have a look, whatever...nice looking boat.

I don't have any interest in this other than hoping this Pearson 36 gets rescued.
Four years ago or so and I would have gotten serious with this, had it delivered to my home (most convenient to have the workshop a few feet away), worked on it 24/7 for 'some' time, and then splashed it (and continued working on it).
Maybe there's somebody else out there now looking...

[Cheechako]

This might be a helluva deal. Benford 30 PNW, $8500
30 Foot Benford Sloop

[Sondor]

Maybe not cheap at $43k ask, but cheap as chips as far as Southerly's go. And for those of us in the Americas, it's already in the Caribbean!

1989 Southerly 100