Just Starting Out - $5k 25-27' Boat Options?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Twelvizm

That's a great list, thank you!

Here's one from the list (Ariel 26) and this young lady has sailed and motored her's from Canada to Florida so far

https://www.dinghydreams.com/

[john61ct]

That Islander Bahama is a nice strong boat, can eventually upfit for ocean-going, without starting over from scratch.

[hamburking]

If you are sailing with kids, I highly recommend the C&C25 (mark1) (1973-1978). They are very common in my area, and sell under $5,000 (sometimes way under).

They are a well made boat that sails great. Very solid. Very big below, for a 25. Outboard engine means you aren't dealing with a 40 year old engine.

It has some features that are excellent for sailing with kids. I sailed one with my kids for many happy years, when they were little.

Shallow draft, big safe cockpit, big companionway hatch with a single step, simple layout below. I've had this model boat out in half a gale with my kids, and it was fine...some great sailing actually. This is a solid, safe boat.

I could go on and on. But instead, I'll just attach a few pictures.

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=611

[dakno]

I am sure any of those boats would be good if it has a good diesel, sails, electrics, cushions, gel coat, standing rigging , etc. I have had a h27 since 1983 and have spent 30k on it in the last 10 years but its a member of the family. You want a boat with all the essentials that a prior owner has spent to much money on and for whatever reason now its for sale. A 30 year old boat with 30k in improvements won't be worth much more than a tired boat of the same model.

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by Twelvizm

Oh I know it! I'm already planning how I can get into something like this:
https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/b...661579394.html

Wow; you ARE on the right track! She's a beauty, but I will never ever again own a boat with red hull. It will fade faster than any other color as far as I know. But she's a beauty!

I started with a Catalina and never regretted it...

Have fun on your journey!

[Mike6040]

I used to sell both Catalina and Hunters and owned a Catalina 25 for 15 years. I find the Catalina superior in construction for the time period boat tou will be buying. Be wary of cappet lined interior (Hunter). If you can fins a Catalina 27 for $5 K, great boat as is the 25 which I sailed NY City to Nantucket, offshore. None of the above boats would I take across the Columbia Bar. Good luck

[somanyboats]

we bought a Santana 27' for $2200. replaced the toilet and enjoyed sailing for several years. we had 5 people on board for long weekends.
Not a cruising boat but a fun sailing boat.

[John_Trusty]

Find out what the rates are for insurance, storage, dockage, club fees, etc. in you area, before you go shopping. You'll need to know how much these are for your own budget. More importantly, you need to have an idea about how much the seller is paying. People sell sailboats when they are stepping up, or when they cannot sail any longer. In either case, the seller is paying monthly for something they don't want. Use their urgency,

[normanm]

Check out the Albin Vega 27, no balsa cored deck to rot, and never a blister because of the resin they used in building

[fred4936]

I have to second the Pearson 26 option, and also mention the Tartan 27, which I have now. Both are very durable boats. The Tartan 27 tracks very well; I can lock the helm and go below briefly and the boat will continue on course. Very easy boat to sail. But the Pearson is a little faster. The Tartan 27 is also on the Atom Voyages list, for good reason!

[GrowleyMonster]

Lots of good suggestions, yeah. You may have to be patient, given your budget, to find a good boat in a high state of readiness for sailing.



You mentioned Cal 27 so I will chip in and say that the Cal 2-27 is a roomier boat and handles a bit of weather better. Also it has a bridge deck which the very similar and very popular Catalina 27 does not have, and the vee berth is considerably bigger in the Cal 2-27 than the Catalina. Otherwise the Catalina is a fine boat for a budget shopper. Either one is very likely to turn up more or less ready to sail for under $5k perhaps with an engine that needs TLC or replacing outright.



Replace your halyards, no matter what, with a good yacht braid. You might never be glad you did, but at least you won't be sorry you didn't. Cut your new one a couple feet longer than needed. Take the old one, cut off any whipping, splice, or melty part at the end, pull a foot of core out the end and cut it off. Do the same with the new one. Run the cover braid of the NEW one up into the cover braid of the OLD one. Sew through the cover and a couple inches of core in the old, then through the two covers, then through an inch or two of the new cover and core. Now just pull the old one all the way through the sheave and back down on deck, cut off the old one and excess new rope cover, and your new halyard is reeved and ready for splicing or whatever, without climbing. If a sheet fails, you can get to that to repair it. If a halyard fails you are up a creek. Or at least up the mast. And you don't have that halyard to pull yourself up with. With any new old boat, first thing to replace is halyards. Those are the lines that are used to raise sails and keep them raised. Also what you use if you don't have anything better, to go up the mast. Next thing to replace no matter what is the water pump">raw water pump impeller. Should be an annual job. Cheap and not difficult to replace yourself. There will be a thousand other things to replace right away but those two are always things.

[Twelvizm]

The more I read about the brand of boats that come up for sale around me, the more it seems Cal is going to be the best built boat for the money. Anyone have experience with the Cal 2-27 or Cal 29?

[scarlet]

We started out the same way... Bought a 1983 O'day 22 ft... for us... it didn't matter the brand.. we paid $3000. It had a solid hull.. a working outboard... standing rigging looked good. (although we quickly serviced and cleaned all our sails, and ended up getting a new main). But other than that? simple design. nothing complicated. For us we bought what we found, in our price range simple sail plan. Don't be too picky as you are just using it to learn. any boat will do.. Just get the boat, and get out sailing.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Twelvizm

The more I read about the brand of boats that come up for sale around me, the more it seems Cal is going to be the best built boat for the money. Anyone have experience with the Cal 2-27 or Cal 29?

My current boat is a Cal 2-27 so I am not exactly unbiased. It is a very roomy boat down below and sails nicely. Wide fin, spade rudder, rather heavily built like most 70's boats. Most were equipped with Atomic 4 gasoline engines, raw water cooled, so if used in salt water the engines are getting a bit long in the tooth and you could be looking at a catastrophic block failure in the near future. Beta has a drop in replacement, and Universal made a diesel that is also pretty much drop in, if you can find one. Moyer Marine has new cast blocks so you can build up a new Atomic if you want, maybe using some or most major parts. And you will want fresh water cooling, not raw water cooling, unless it will be used in fresh water only. Within your price range, you will find a lot of boats carrying aging Atomic 4s or raw water diesels, some of which are no longer made, and difficult to find parts for. A heavy duty outboard bracket and a Tohatsu 6hp outboard are often the expedient cure or backup for this. Once you get above 25' or so, sailing in and out of the marina becomes a less attractive option, and I can count on the fingers of one foot how many times I have seen a 27' sailboat under oars. So you will want mechanical propulsion of some sort.


One of the first modifications I made to this boat was removing the dining table and constructing a shower stall on the port side just aft of the bulkhead where the table was hinged. I was single at the time and enjoyed sailing alone so I didn't need to "sleep six in comfort" as the original brochure said. So almost half of the port side berths were sacrificed so I could stand up and shower inside the boat. I later moved the head into the shower and where the old head was, is now an office nook. I also added a 25 gal crap tank so I don't have to go to the pumpout so often. Removed the pressurized alcohol stove rather than rebuild it. Added a Sea Swing gimbal modified to hold a one burner diesel camp stove for cooking away from the dock. Wired the boat for 110. The PO "wired" it for shore power with a single outlet with integral circuit breaker. I put in a 50a shore power breaker and a proper breaker box, and added a bunch of outlets throughout the boat, and dockside, my cooking is electric. Sometimes away from the dock, as well. Biggest modification was removing the Atom Bomb and repowering electric, so now I have a really big bank for stuff like that.



The boat sailed surprisingly well in light airs and went nicely to windward for such a beamy keel boat and high freeboard. She did seriously want to round up when close hauled, and so perhaps the main is very slightly oversized. Resist the urge to sheet it all the way home. The PO raced it, in fact, and reportedly did rather well with it. I lived aboard for about 7 years I guess, and it was not too bad for a single man. I sort of still do live aboard but lately when I am home I sleep at GF house mostly. When I first bought it the Atomic was not running and the next day I added an outboard mount and a 6hp long shaft Nissan, which I relied on for several months until I got the Atomic running. The 6hp pushed the boat nicely though it was difficult to reach and manipulate the outboard tiller from the cockpit. I usually tied it down and steered with the rudder until I had to start thinking about docking. Then I had to practice a lot of yoga moves but I gotter done.



Many of these boats originally had wooden spreaders, and they should all be pretty well dry rotted by now, but you can replace them with aluminum. Also the original standing rigging was found to be prone to failure, and most boats upgraded to bigger wire. If yours was not, then definitely replace it. If it does have the upgraded rigging and it is less than 10 years old, you are probably good if you are not rounding cape horn or something like that.



This is IMHO the best of the three 27 footers that Bill Lapworth designed for Cal, later Jensen. Definitely the most successful. The Catalina is as I said, a close cousin, and ought to usually beat the Cal in a head to head race but by a slim margin. The Cal is the better liveaboard and better cruiser, again by a small margin. These two are the best represented boats in your preferred size range that might meet your budget constraints. Neither is what I would call a serious ocean crossing cruiser, but such has been done. Both are great coastal cruisers or weekenders.

[Twelvizm]

Also, as a 14 year, two deployment Army combat Veteran, this story moves me, and gives me a little more faith in getting a Cal 2-27

https://www.cruisingworld.com/from-fallujah-to-fiji