Buying a Boat

[Soldierofortune]

Greetings honorable cruisers.
I'm relatively new to cruising, I've had a good amount of experience in small boats (up to 20 feet) but recently I've started looking at upgrading to a larger boat. being completely honest I favor the Morgan 382, from my limited experience on larger boats, but hull 101 is a bit outside my budget for the moment. I found a Pearson 30 for sale near my home location for under 4000 dollars, I was wondering if anyone here might have any advice for me?

[haw1961]

Welcome aboard soldier. Buy the Pearson. Check out this website. atomvoyages.com

[Soldierofortune]

I appreciate it, sir. I should have it in the next few months if things hold together.

[haw1961]

Good luck. It's all about the fun, and that is about the perfect fun size. Not too much maintanence. etc etc

[Capt Gary]

Pearson makes a good sailing boat. I would make sure I had a good survey done however, as they commonly have some moisture in the decks. Not usually deal busters, but make sure you know what you are getting. That being said, I agree that a 30 foot boat is a good compromise between size, maintenance and sailing fun.

[Soldierofortune]

y'all have my thanks.
what do you think about the Morgan 38 series?

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Soldierofortune

y'all have my thanks.
what do you think about the Morgan 38 series?

Nice boats. Pretty good sailors, roomy, have not heard of any serious design or construction flaws. My brother-in-law-in-law (that is, my brother-in-law's brother ) has a 382 and I haven't heard him complaining yet.

[Soldierofortune]

cool, I've seen some great reviews, the only bad think i'v heard is that some of the earlier 382s have had some hull warping, supposedly they were recalled and repaired though. I'm looking at hull #101, in great condition, so pretty sure its a good one

[Capt Gary]

If your looking at an 80's aft cockpit, I think it is a pretty boat. I've never sailed a 382, but Ted Brewer designed some really nice boats over the years. I'm not too keen on the center cockpit models, but that's just personal preference. If this is your first big boat, I'll warn you to make sure you have enough money left over for the immediate things that every used boat will need to have done. I purchased a 39 ft Pearson last fall (I knew it needed quite a few things done to bring it up to my standards), and I've easily spent 30% to 40% of the purchase price in upgrades/replacements. As I planned on it when I bought it, I was OK, but just make sure you have a contingency fund.

[TFrere]

I own a Morgan 382 and love it. I have it hauled right now and am dealing with a few blisters. Nothing too deep but filling and applying a barrier coat. There is another M382 for sale in Madisonville, Louisiana in pretty good shape. The broker is Bill Evans with Whelton Marine.
Feel free to contact me about any questions related to the 382.

[JK n Smitty]

Originally Posted by Capt Gary

Pearson makes a good sailing boat. I would make sure I had a good survey done however, as they commonly have some moisture in the decks. Not usually deal busters, but make sure you know what you are getting. That being said, I agree that a 30 foot boat is a good compromise between size, maintenance and sailing fun.

I would highly recommending taking this advice. Make sure your surveyor is familiar with these boats and is going to use a moisture meter and sound the hull and deck.

A quick check before even bringing in a surveyor would be to look at the stanchion bases. The problem with the wet decks is typically due to the use of gaskets instead of bedding compound on the stanchion plate/deck connections. If you see dry, cracked gaskets you will likely find moisture.

As said by others, moist decks are not a deal killer. My 2001 Catalina 310 had moisture around the stanchions. If the moisture is localized, it is just a maintenance item. If it's wide spread it can be thousands of dollars to fix it and could exceed the value of the boat.

On the subject of buying a boat now, definitely do it! Don't wait for what you think is your perfect retirement boat. Owning a boat will change your perspective on what's important. What looks like a great boat to you now may have significant differences to what you want after a couple years of sailing and cruising.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse
s/v Smitty |

[Suijin]

A few thoughts to consider as you contemplate what route to take.

A 38' boat is a much bigger boat than a 30'. More difficult to single-hand unless properly equipped for such, almost a foot deeper draft, more expensive to slip, to maintain, to insure, and to run. Do you really need that big a boat for what you want to do? There is a general adage that you should buy, particularly for your first boat, the smallest boat that fits your immediately anticipated needs.

Consider carefully how and where you expect to use the boat, and which boat best fits those criteria. For example, a 5' draft boat has access to about 3-5x as much water as a 6' boat in the Chesapeake, meaning it's a much better choice for gunkholing.

In general, the best strategy when selecting an older boat is to find one that has been recently refit. Let the previous owner take the hit for those costs, which will be depreciated significantly at sale. A $4,000 boat can very quickly turn into a $15,000+ boat after you find out it needs an engine rebuild, new standing and running rigging and new sails, where as a recently refit example of the same boat might go for $10,000.

Just to echo what has already been said, a 30' boat is an excellent size for a "starter" cruiser. Many can comfortably sleep four or more, they have good stability and range, and the costs of maintenance are lower than larger boats. When I was growing up my family of five spent 3 weeks each summer cruising the eastern seaboard in our Cheoy Lee Bermuda sloop, and I don't recall us ever feeling cramped. Then again, I was pretty small back then

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by JK n Smitty

I would highly recommending taking this advice. Make sure your surveyor is familiar with these boats and is going to use a moisture meter and sound the hull and deck.

A quick check before even bringing in a surveyor would be to look at the stanchion bases. The problem with the wet decks is typically due to the use of gaskets instead of bedding compound on the stanchion plate/deck connections. If you see dry, cracked gaskets you will likely find moisture.

As said by others, moist decks are not a deal killer. My 2001 Catalina 310 had moisture around the stanchions. If the moisture is localized, it is just a maintenance item. If it's wide spread it can be thousands of dollars to fix it and could exceed the value of the boat.

On the subject of buying a boat now, definitely do it! Don't wait for what you think is your perfect retirement boat. Owning a boat will change your perspective on what's important. What looks like a great boat to you now may have significant differences to what you want after a couple years of sailing and cruising.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse
s/v Smitty |

Concur exactly. My 1984 Pearson had leaking around the stanchions that were not bedded but set on gaskets. Some moisture in the balsa core but not terrible. Did the standard repairs IE overdrill, refill with epoxy, etc.

[Soldierofortune]

thank you all. I'm looking for a boat to live aboard and do some long range cruising, thought the Morgan looked pretty good for that, but the Pearson is close and cheap, so probably going to end up going with that for now. I appreciate all the help

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Soldierofortune

thank you all. I'm looking for a boat to live aboard and do some long range cruising, thought the Morgan looked pretty good for that, but the Pearson is close and cheap, so probably going to end up going with that for now. I appreciate all the help

Well in my opinion the Pearson is not a bad choice but I am obviously prejudiced. But do be aware of the potential for wet core, especially in the decks.

Do you know how to do a DIY thump test to check for that problem?