New to sailing, buying first boat

[radar912]

Hi, I have caught the sailing bug and am looking at purchasing my 1st boat, I have been a power boater for many years, my biggest being 18ft. I live in Kingston Ontario so have easy access to lake Ontario and the St Lawrence. I started looking at boats a few weeks ago and have decided to start with a smaller boat that I can handle by myself if need be as I want to spend alot of time on the water and it may not always be easy to find a crew member. I have found a 1982 Tanzer 25 shoal draft keel with furling genoa, fully battened main, autohelm and other upgrades that make this boat look fairly easy to sail. I understand that the boat may be a bit slower than a C&C 25 and is not super roomy inside. My question is, would this be a good starter boat, should I be looking for something smaller/bigger, should I wait until spring, will this boat be too slow or boring in good wind or very hard to control in weather? I should mention that I would like to do some weekend sailing, two people max most likely, and lots of day sailing, as well, storage of the boat for the winter will be included in the sale, I will assist the present owner in preparing it for winter. Any feedback would be appreciated, John.

[Ex-Calif]

Welcome aboard John!

Last year we embarked on the same journey. My boat partner and I were getting back into sailing. We wanted a weekender coastal boat that had the "luxuries" of a big boat.

We have a 25 foot fin keel, pretty heavy boat 2.5 tons. It has inboard power, electrics, head etc. that make it truly weekend capable.

Furling sails, tiller steering, lazy jacks and an autohelm make single handing a breeze.

25-27 feet is excellent for what you describe.

[Vasco]

Radar,

The Tanzer will do you just fine. Buy it now and learn how to lay it up for the winter from the owner. Of course you've still got about two months of sailing left. Starting to get a tad cool though.

[radar912]

Thanks for the info, I feel I am putting the cart before the horse a bit being I still need to learn to sail! Having said that, I will attend white sail 3 training next spring and am doing lots of reading at the moment. The deal seems good and probably won't be as affordable in the spring, hence my thought that this is a good time to buy.

John

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha John,
You didn't mention a price on the Tanzer. I would say $5 to $6K if it were in very good condition. Prices will continue to fall until our economy makes a turn around. The Tanzer will not be much slower than the C&C. Speed is a function of the length of the waterline and the way a skipper sails his boat to get the max out of it.
Unless the price of the boat is considerably less than what I said above then my best advice is to take the courses first and find out from your experienced sailing friends if there are other good deals out there.
Kind regards,
JohnL

[radar912]

Hi John, thanks for the info, to be honest the asking is 11k, I ws considering an offer of between 6 and 7, the boat is in good condition, has a vhf radio, honda 4 stroke, dodger, bimini, auto helm, speed and depth indicator, fully battened main with lazy jacks, furling genoa, assymetrical spinnaker with snuffer, compass, shore power, head etc. Seems to be very well appointed, perhaps they go for more up here in the north or perhaps I am adding too much value for the addons?

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Radar,
Your offer price seems reasonable with all the added gear. Since this is your first boat I'd hire the services of a surveyor. One that you pick from the yellow pages (not a friend of the seller) to survey the boat so that there are no surprises after you close the deal.
First, make your offer contingent on the survey results. Then if the surveyor finds something wrong, get an estimate of what it would cost to repair, then make your offer again subtracting what it would cost to fix said problem.
These are just suggestions and my opinions on how to proceed.
Most all us old boaters know that we more or less buy what we fall in love with and little of what we do is by common sense. I'm not condoning that procedure but that's what happens more often than not. I think the boat is the right size for what your purpose is.
good luck,
Kind regards,
JohnL

[radar912]

John, he had a survey in 2005 and all was well, I will ask around and see who is recommended, thanks again for the advice, I can see how someone could buy with their heart very easily with sailboats.

Ragards, John.

[Shawn T W]

A Lot can happen in three years . . .

Shawn

[Curmudgeon]

Do you plan to get insurance? If so you will need a recent survey, so you might as well get one.

[radar912]

I will definitely insure the boat, I am told a survey is required every 5 years, and yes a lot can happen in 3 years. I am going out sailing with the owner Monday evening, if the boat works well, I will strile a deal to include a survey.

John