Seeking Advice on an Older Boat Purchase

[Exctyengr]

Welcome aboard, SeaDog! You have already received some sound advice from others addicted to messing about with boats. I would add a few thoughts of my own.
(1) I recommend that you learn to sail first. You can do that by taking some hands on courses there are a number of them who can teach you the fundamentals over a few weeks. Many have charter/training courses and I suggest that it may be a way to both learn and decide whether the sailing life is for you and your spouse.
(2) Catalina's are good boats, Good initial build quality (not great, but certainly good), the key is the maintenance. There are several on Yachtworld for well within your budget (many in the $15K range asking). I owned a Catalina 36 and was very happy with it.
(3). Condition is the most important single factoring making a final choice on a boat. Deferred maintenance is a definite "no-go" as it will cost you big time to get caught up. This includes the engine. Look for maintenance records. Also "needs cosmetics" is code for "the previous owner could care less about the boat and just sailed the crap out of it and put it away wet"
(4) Make sure you have a place to keep the boat before you agree to purchase it. In many parts of the country, finding a slip is a real challenge.
(5) Check out "Marine Survey 101". Some real solid tips on looking carefully at a boat before getting it surveyed.

(finally) Have fun with this new adventure, take your time. Remember the journey is the fun, not the destination

[Scubaseas]

Many moons ago I looked at both 30ish foot Catalinas and Pearsons. I needed a tall person boat being 6'4" at the time. Went with a Pearson 323 and lived aboard for about 5 years. Still have it if you're interested but it's up in Maine at the moment. Feel free to PM me in interested in details. For your budget there are tons of options. If you are going to cruise some look for tankage (water, fuel, holding) and storage in addition to layout and sailing ability.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by RainDog89

First and foremost I'd like to thank you for having me here on your forum! I've found this forum to be an excellent source of information and decided to finally join up.

I'm writing because my wife and I have decided that we'd like to get into sailing, but the shear amount of things we need to learn seem astronomical. To begin we've been doing the best we can to educate ourselves with resources such as this forum, and a guide titled Your First Sailboat by Daniel Spurr. We also have the Boat Maintenance Bible on order, but have not received it yet. If anyone has any must read titles, I'd appreciate any recommendations!

A little bit about us. We are a young couple in our early 30's and do not have any children. Although my wife doesn't have any experience on the water, I grew up in a coastal community. I spent my weekends growing up fishing with my father on his 25' Grady. I also took some sailing lessons, although that was almost 15 years ago. Additionally I've completed a boaters safety course. In college I worked as a commercial fisherman as a set-netter. Although I have some salt water experience, almost none of it has been on sailboats. I don't have any mechanical experience or knowledge, although i'm willing to learn. We both intend to take sailing lessons this summer.

Our goal is to find a boat that we can weekend on, and either day sail or do some coastal cruising around Long Island Sound. My budget is $25,000 to cover a boat purchase and all of our first year expenses, and would like to avoid financing. Additionally, I'm over 6' tall and therefore am hoping to purchase something I can stand upright in when below. I really like the look of the 80's Catalina 30, which seems to be in my budget and from what I have read is a forgiving beginner friendly vessel.

Almost all of the Cat 30s I've looked at are equipped with 30 year old Universal M25 engines. Not knowing they're service history, how hard they've been run, or how well they've been maintained, I'm reasonably worried about them. Does anyone have any advice on what to look for when viewing these boats? The M25 is out of production, how readily available are parts? I understand that a well maintained diesel engine will run a very long time. How concerned should I really be? I understand replacing an engine can easily run in the tens of thousands, something i'd like to avoid.

Does anyone have any tips on shopping for these boats? We are not in a giant rush and are willing to take our time to find the right boat. Also, anything I plan to purchase I will be sure to have professionally surveyed.

Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

-RD

Here's a good piece of free guidance you can use originally posted by another member here - so I can't take credit Marine Survey 101, pre-survey inspection With that out of the way, it sounds to me like you're going to be in a bit of a budget crunch here with a 30'er. All older boats are going to need something and unfortunately most of them cost big boatbux just to get sailable. Finding one in your budget that has recently been refitted would be optimal but may be a tough search.

[gonesail]

if the engine is seawater cooled and 30 years old then keep looking

[Tillerjockey]

you might also want to consider an O'day 30/31 or a hunter 30/31

[CSY Man]

Catalina 30 is a good choice.
Have a survey done and have the diesel looked at.
If the vessel was maintained it should all the be good.
If the previous owner was an idiot, don’t buy the boat.
Simple really.

[Don C L]

So far I have found, to repeat Pizzazz's suggestion, that the Hunter 31 could be a good choice too if the Catalina doesn't offer enough headroom.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...om-228378.html

I know some of the old Columbias had great headroom too, and an old one that is in good shape could be a good choice too. Again, older boats with keel bolts should have those checked. A well-maintained Columbia 8.3 (27 footer) might be a possibility, I THINK it may have adequate headroom.

[hamburking]

You might consider a 70's Pearson 30. They are well built, sail great, good headroom, and sell for next to nothing. That makes resale a breeze. I had one and it was a delight. Encapsulated keel means no keel bolts to worry about.

Buy a boat. It won't be perfect. That's okay.

As I tell my kids.... Trying is the hardest part.

The moment you buy a boat, you become a MUCH more interesting person!!!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by hamburking

You might consider a 70's Pearson 30. They are well built, sail great, good headroom, and sell for next to nothing. That makes resale a breeze. I had one and it was a delight. Encapsulated keel means no keel bolts to worry about.

Buy a boat. It won't be perfect. That's okay.

As I tell my kids.... Trying is the hardest part.

The moment you buy a boat, you become a MUCH more interesting person!!!

I will second the recommendation for Pearson and an encapsulated keel. Have owned external and encapsulated and much prefer the later.

[RSB333]

Hey RainDog, that Universal M025 is a good engine. I had one in my Pearson 10M and now have a 1984 M-25 in a Pearson 34. I did have an engine survey when we bought the boat. Have a knowledgeable friend or qualified mechanic check the engine before you settle on the price. Some parts are scarce but most of the essentials are available. Hanson Marine in Marblehead had a one-day course on diesel engine maintenance that was well worth the cost. Good luck, you're going to love it.
RSB333

[SurlySailor]

Welcome aboard. First thing I will say as a Sailor in the Long Island Sound is please don’t pay 25k for a Catalina 30 or any of the boats mentioned thus far on this thread. While tempting this time of year it’s almost universally a bad idea to do it. I would suggest looking for a good deal in the 30 foot range and try to pay 5k if you are just learning or buy a slightly bigger boat and pay more for something in really good shape. There are a lot of boats in the sound and a lot of people are trying to unload them, brokers won’t really deal with anything in this price range so you are best off asking around at local marinas. As a real live case study I overpaid for a Sabre 30 a few years ago and sold it two seasons later for 2k dollars in the fall. ( after seriously considering scrapping it) while I had a great time and it taught me a lot about boats, it was an expensive way to upgrade into my current boat.

Also another thing you should know about the sound is that it is tidal and has surprisingly strong currents. If time is a factor for you ( you have a job ) try to find something that has an engine that can keep you going at 6-7 knots boat speed and is relatively fast. It’s a big deal to be able to take off Thursday night, take an overnight passage anywhere on the sound and be back at work Monday( that gives you two days at your destination) vs having something slower and a much restricted range. . You may be running into a 2-3 knot foul current so an extra knot or two of boatspeed really helps.

PM me if you want more info as I was in your shoes not long ago. / have a breakdown of the annual running costs of keeping a boat on the sound.

[Hoodsail]

raindog, welcome to sailing on long island sound....not knowing where on the sound you are, just a heads up that sailing improves as you get more east. tortuous coast along connecticut provides many places to sail to. would buy acouple of paper charts and study them at home when the weather is ca-ca. Familiarize yourself with your local harbor and surrounding coastline.....summer winds are flukey. would buy a copy of eldridges tides/currents - comes out annually. I had a catalina 27, never a 30, but would assume somewhat similar - responsive helm, moves along even in light winds, excellent boat to begin with. i had a 1984 with original Universal diesel....started easily, ran well, and could drive the boat at 5 knots...as noted earlier would have an engine survey and if not included would do a compression test...dont be afraid of a diesel with 30 yrs on her...good luck in your hunt..