Novice looking to purchase our first boat.

[PaulDebra907]

Apogee907

My wife and I are in a similiar situation and will be taking a sailing course in June. As small as alaska is we of course have been looking through some of the very same vessels. I have personally become very interested in cooper 353 in seward it looks great for our area. However it appears after some back and forth with a less than excited broker that there may be some issues with it. Not that it cant be fixed, but as a new sailer i would like to sail. I would be happy to share any information I collect if you would like to do the same. I am driving from the interior (North Pole area). Needless to say your thoughts on some of these would save me a lot of time and miles. PM me if you are interested.

[Apogee907]

Originally Posted by PaulDebra907

Apogee907

My wife and I are in a similiar situation and will be taking a sailing course in June. As small as alaska is we of course have been looking through some of the very same vessels. I have personally become very interested in cooper 353 in seward it looks great for our area. However it appears after some back and forth with a less than excited broker that there may be some issues with it. Not that it cant be fixed, but as a new sailer i would like to sail. I would be happy to share any information I collect if you would like to do the same. I am driving from the interior (North Pole area). Needless to say your thoughts on some of these would save me a lot of time and miles. PM me if you are interested.

Hi Paul. I'm currently outside and just downloaded the mobile app so I'm not sure if this is going out private or public.

Sounds like you are a little more engaged in the process than we have been so far but we do plan to look at a few boats later in the month and would certainly be game to share our findings back and forth.

Mike.

[PaulDebra907]

Thanks mike I appreciate it .... I'm not sure if it went public or private either. However I'm sure someone will tell us.

[Mimsy]

Public.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day to both Alaskans and welcome to CF.

First of all, a reality check: in the price range that you mention, any 35 +/- foot boat will need additional money invested and work done. This is just a fact of life, one that is often ignored by novice boat buyers until too late. For a newcomer (and in fact for an experienced amateur) judging the amount of work and money required is tough. A good surveyor can help in this, but really, even these pros often miss important things.

Second, in an area like yours where there is a limited pool of candidate boats, the problem is exacerbated, and it is easy to run out of patience and buy unwisely. Surveyors cost a significant fraction of the purchase price in your range, so it would be really helpful if you can find a mentor who can help you do a "pre-survey" evaluation of any boat that you are seriously considering. Some trolling around local yacht clubs might be productive along those lines... lots of yotties enjoy being helpful to newbies. There are books which lead you through doing your own survey as well.

The waters that you will be sailing can be pretty challenging to vessel and crew. The 30+ years of usage that your examples have seen can lead to some structural issues that are not easy to evaluate -- things like chain plates, keel bolts, core (if present) rot, engine difficulties and others. A compliment of electronics and shiny varnish don't mean that these critical areas are in good nick.

I hate to sound so negative, but we see all too many folks who fail to understand what is involved in these purchases. You may have noticed a concurrent thread entitled "At my wits end"... these people have suffered from just such issues.

From your postings you seem to have a reasonable plan, and I wish you the best of luck in finding the right boat and enjoying her use.

Cheers,

Jim

[PaulDebra907]

Thanks mimsy


Jim thank you for the advice. I have been experiencing what you have described already. we have also found the type of boats we would like to see ourselves on don't fair well in out current environment. But of course we are used to that scenario, nothing fairs well at - 50 lol.

My lovely wife and I have not put ourselves on a timeline for purchase. We want to hit the escape button tentatively in the fall of 2015. We are fortunate that we have power boating and open water experience. Unfortunately that experience will not get us far with fiberglass and sails. I welcome any advice and input that the folks on this forum are willing to provided.

I'm sure we will provided everyone with some interesting and entertaining questions in the near future.

[Folie]

We purchased "Folie" --- 2 years ago--- your 32 ft Ray Richards Choey Lee.

She's in the water in Seward-- O dock-- O17. Stop by anytime!

Rick and Patti

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

For a newcomer (and in fact for an experienced amateur) judging the amount of work and money required is tough. A good surveyor can help in this, but really, even these pros often miss important things.

........... so it would be really helpful if you can find a mentor who can help you do a "pre-survey" evaluation of any boat that you are seriously considering. Some trolling around local yacht clubs might be productive along those lines... lots of yotties enjoy being helpful to newbies. There are books which lead you through doing your own survey as well.

Jim's right.

Here's a resource:

Boat Inspection Trip Tips - SailboatOwners.com

Happy hunting, good luck.