It's Been Awhile . . . Need Some Help

[Rolo]

OK...So i was into sailing about 8 yrs ago up in the north east (Long Island) ...had to sell my boat(25' O'day) do to a move. I now would like to get a boat in 30' range to sail between South Florida, the Bahamas and the florida keys. Any suggestions?

[skipmac]

Hi Rolo,

Assume you have already figured out that you will be happier with a shallower draft in Keys/Bahamas compared to what worked in LIS.

To answer your question some more information would help.

1. Budget
2. Intended use: occasional cruise, liveaboard, cruiser/racer?
3. New or used?
4. How many people
5. ?

[slomotion]

Just about any Good Condition cruiser class boat is suitable for sailing those waters. A Catalina 30 could be a good choice. They are perhaps the most popular small cruising boat ever made, and that makes it easy to comparison shop for a good one. Yachtworld lists 15 for sale in Florida:

catalina (Sail) Boats For Sale Florida FL

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Rolo

. I now would like to get a boat in 30' range to sail between South Florida, the Bahamas and the florida keys. Any suggestions?

Yes, Florida Keys is meant to be nice

Welcome

[Rolo]

1. Budget--around 10,000
2. Intended use: Fun weekend getaways with the occasional 1-2 week cruise
3. New or used? USED!
4. How many people - umm 1-4 probably

have seen a few catalinas...not bad any others ??
if its an inboard what are the more relieable and easy to work on motors?

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha,
This is a very hard question and it really is determined by the condition of the boat. $10K is at the lower (but not lowest) end of the prices. There are so many production boats that you could be getting in the 30 foot range that will do the job for you that it would be hard to make a list.
If you could tell us what boats you've looked at maybe we could eliminate some from your list for you.
Catalinas, older Tartan, older Pearsons. I like pre '72 models that were made tough. Maybe Grampian.
Condition and prior care of any of the older boats is the key to their serviceability. It would be nice if you could find one with a little diesel engine in it.
kind regards,

[skipmac]

Agree with SkiprJohn,

For $10k budget you will need to go older. In addition to the brands he mentioned try a Morgan OI 32, very shallow draft and very roomy. The others generally better sailors but not as big and mostly deeper draft.

Older diesels there was not a giant difference in how difficult they are to maintain. Major repair maybe. For regular oil change, water pump impeller changes, etc a bigger factor will be the access to the engine.