Purchasing boat - place to start

[Cheechako]

Gonna be tough on that budget and size but I imagine you will find something. As mentioned check the sales sites on line. Then BE SURE to go look at a lot of boats, huge difference in them sometimes.
It sounds to me like you are looking for a $25k boat that has a good engine and good basic sails. Either of those things can throw your plan apart if they are not good. You will find it easy to spend another $15k on a basically good boat.
Trying to think about what yo may find.
Cape Dory 36-probably not at that price.
Alberg 35 is a possibility!
Older Islander with long keel might work.
Fuji 35 is good
Endeavor 37 has a skeg
There may be a 35 -ish Gulfstar. Some GS are poor built and some are good from what I hear.
My favorites of the above would be the Alberg 35 and the Fuji 35.
There's a big difference in various boats of the same length. Some old narrow 35's feel like a 29 inside.

[djanis]

Be warned. This is his own site.

[dkroar]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

I'll leave the choice of boat to others but I do suggest you read my Marine Survey 101 which will help you pre-survey the boat before you lay out money for a surveyor.

I recommend your site to everyone who asks this question, here and on other forums. I'm glad to meet the author, thank you so much for taking the time to document such complete information for the benefit of others.

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "I recommend your site to everyone who asks this question..."

Why wait for the question :-)? Boatpoker's sample survey to be found somewhere on this forum is so superior to the one that came with TrentePieds, that I printed out Boatpoker's and gave it to MyBeloved together with TP's last survey with a request that she "contrast and compare".

'Our task, this season", said I, "is to bring TP into such a condition that if Boatpoker comes poking, she will bring a smile to his face!"

A tall, order, I know, but you gotta start somewhere, and since MB is a novice, we might as well get her off on a sound footing :-)!

TP

[markpierce]

Even with those "solid" 1960-like boats, I'd be particularly concerned about the condition of the engine, rigging, and sails. Replacement of those items can be in the four and five figures.

[Sailsarefull]

I personally would prefer a full-keel boat if thinking about crossing an ocean. That is why I bought a Cheoy Lee-Luders 36. I love the lines, they are very stout and can handle anything I get into. I would not go over 5.5' draft as that does create some issues in the islands. I would look at Robert Perry or Bill Luders designed boats. They are classic, very nice designs and you have a number of choices from full-keel to fin-keel. Many from the 70's and reasonably priced. But, I would be surprised if you found a decent boat in the $25k range that didn't need a fair amount of work or atleast a fair amount of upgrades in terms of electronics. Good luck.

[Cyrus Safdari]

Originally Posted by OhNoItsKamryn

HWe have a budget of 40,000 at absolute maximum

You can buy a boat for 10K and then spend 30K fixing it. I would actually recommend that, to really learn about your boat, if you[re thinking of living and cruising on board long-term. But it will also take quite a bit of time. Either way, any used boat is going to require work. Don't underestimate that, time or $-wise. And to fix anything, will require fixing a bunch of other things. And then before you know it you've spent 2 years living in a boatyard sanding fiberglass and have gone way beyond your budget. Join the club.

The other approach is to just buy the boat, make the min necessary repairs to get it going, and then deal with the problems as they arise but while you're cruising and try to do the min amount of work necessary to get you through until you decide to give up cruising or buy a bigger boat.

[dakno]

Hello

From what I read here, from what I know after owning over 10 sailboats and sailing for 40+ years, a Hunter Cherubini 36 or 37 in very good condition is what you want. There are owners groups that will tell you what to look for. Absolutely the most bang for the buck with a large cult following, also the Catalina 36. You can find 1 of these boats where the owner has spent 60-80k in the last 5 years for 25-35k, their loss is your gain. Good shopping

[Don C L]

Something else to consider, the boats built in the 60s have hulls of thick, hand laid up fiberglass cloth with high quality resin. But in the 70s the quality of resin declined and construction techniques suffered. The infamous "chopper gun" came into use for production boats. A boat from the 60s may be cheaper because it's older and folks are not aware that older, in boats, is not necessarily a liability. Boats from the 70s can be cheaper because people DO know of the liabilities those hulls may contain. Be aware that 70s hulls are more likely to have "oil-canning" issues and osmotic blisters under the water line, which are rare in boats built prior to that. A 60s hull with a fresh engine and young rigging and sails (or at least sails that have not seen much sunlight) can still be an excellent and economical choices. And even better, (older) folks in the know will stroll out of their way, down the docks, of out-of-the-way ports, to say things like "My grandfather used to take me sailing in a boat like yours when I was a kid! What a great boat!"

[sv soulianis]

We were in your shoes and just recently bought a Morgan 38. I had about the same budget, and roughly the same goals.

It's a little bit of a project boat in that not all the systems are installed, but she is in absolutely beautiful shape otherwise and I'm extremely excited to finish getting her ready to head south.

We're starting in the great lakes and hope to make it to Florida/Caribbean next season.

This is me on our first day going through the boat:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUVhqKjFwYh/

[Hoodsail]

If you are still boat hunting this Winter, a good Winter-read is
Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts


by The Technical Committee of the Cruising Club of America (John Rousmaniere, ed.)
Although written 30 yrs ago the information is still applicable to today. Provides detailed descriptions of what to look for in a blue-water boat along with a little theory as support for said recommendations. Would nicely supplement the other advice given earlier.
Enjoy the hunt.

[subs57]

I am not suggesting for a minute that this is the boat for you. But..........

You might wish to consider a Nicholson 35. 35' with proven ocean capability. Lots and lots of information, reports and reviews on this type. Around 222 hulls were manufactured and this is Hull 203 (I think) So one of the later ones.

1985 CAMPER & NICHOLSON Nicholson 35 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Story behind this is that the UK owner sailed across the Atlantic and for the last 10yrs -
12yrs paid yacht storage fees for it to be on the hard. The last 18months or so, no fees were paid and the yard sought, and was awarded, outright ownership. This listing started out at around $16K Its down to $9K I spoke to to the yard myself and they really want shot of this.

I seriously looked at this, but living in the UK, it became too expensive to get back home. Good NIC35's command $25K - $50K.

Its in very poor material condition inside, but I suspect that a hull survey might show it to be structurally sound.