Contessa 26 Budget

[Celestialsailor]

Sounds good...As a suggestion...maybe offer 25% less based on those changes...can't hurt.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by somasized

I'm making an offer on this boat.

1982 Voyager 26 Cutter Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Well, let's keep finger crossed ;-)

I'll join Celestial with some points that you should look at after you become the proud new owner ;-)

The bimini indeed. You should not care about looks too much but I see more; Test if the main sheet stays clear from the outer aft edges of the bimini frame. If they touch, make sure they can never catch on, try that while simulating tacking (tight sheet) and gybing (loose sheet). Second point is that you are gonna need more UV protection once you're sailing for the tropics. You will need side-screens and probably an aft awning too. Not much of a problem.

The boom. It can hit the solar panels. I hope that some other Voyager 26 owners join in as they can tell you if the boom was raised at the mast or not. (to make room for the bimini). I would revert that if so, lowering the Bimini. If that's okay, you must develop the discipline to hoist the boom well above the panels before hoisting the sail. Another option is to move the panels to the outside of the lifelines, in a swing-up, swing-down setup but check if the sheets don't interfere if you plan of deploying them while underway.

Second point is that it looks like the boom-vang has disappeared. Now you're lucky that it's a smaller boat so very cheap to put one back (simple block and tackle with cam-cleat on lower block.).

It should not cost much to get 120' of anchor chain and a regular quality head like Celestial hinted at.

Last item is the icebox: should be easy to convert with small Danfoss unit to fridge with little freezer compartment inside the evaporator.

Also, I see that this boat is located quite close to Roatan already ;-)

I hope you get it!

cheers,
Nick.

[Cheechako]

That's a sweet looking little boat. Great Bahamas boat! Am I missing something?....The bimini is that high so you can stand under it!

[cagney]

Nice looking yacht. Best of luck with your offer!

Have you thought about the layout of the interior?
This one is similar to the Contessa, and it is a bit of PITA.
The companionway leads directly in to the combined sleeping-lounging area.
So whats happens when you come down below with all wet oilies?
What happens going downwind in the trades and a squall hits and you have to go down below for some reason?
It gets wet exactly where you desperately wants it to stay dry.
A layout where you can arrange a "wet area" next to the companion way is
much better.
But then as always....a lot of things on yachts are compromises.

Thomas

[Cheechako]

maybe consider these?
1977 Bayfield 32 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
1977 Bristol 32 Ketch - NEW DIESEL Sail Boat For Sale -
1977 Dreadnought Boatworks D-32 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
This is a sweet sturdy design: 1979 Ericson Independence Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
Here's a 31ft double ender...1980 Southern Cross Cutter Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[nautical62]

Originally Posted by somasized

Who knows, I might end up circumnavigating someday and I want to have a boat I can accomplish that in. My current plans are much more tame, but I want a boat that will not need to be upgraded as the plans progress.

Any thoughts on planned costs and whether or not they are out of line?

I have a couple thoughts:

1. Buy a boat for what you really think you will do in the near future not what you may end up doing some day. If your plans evolve to include pasagemaking with time, you can always change boats to meet those plans, but it's silly to buy a boat based on what you may never do and suffer the performance, cost or comfort consequences immediately.

Very few boats are blue water ready. You will likely need to upgrade any boat for blue water cruising. I think that if you only wish you consider boats that are blue water ready, you are unnecessarily limiting yourself.

2. It's hard to evaluate a budget, since so much depends on the particular boat and your priorities. What I can tell you is I also started out with a 26-foot pocket cruiser I cruised seasonally starting on the Great Lakes and then in the Bahamas. I purchased the boat for about 10K and sold it eight years later for 8K. Maintenance and improvements were about 1K - 1.5K/ per year doing most all work myself. Storage on a trailer was very affordable. Insurance varied greatly ($275- $1,300) depending on where I cruised and whether or not I was comfortable going with liability only coverage. Overall, I think I spent half of what you have mentioned over an 8 year period, but again this can vary greatly.

The Contessa was near the top of my list when I started looking at pocket cruisers but in the end, I decided to go with a solid cruiser that had 5-8 standing headroom through out. I just didn't want to live with the space limitations the Contessa had for cruising, given many other boats in that same size range have much more headroom and more interior space overall. Many Contessas, however have proven to be very capable bleu water boats.

[Cacique]

s/vJedi has given some good advice but I personally would try living aboard for a while before fitting any type of refrigeration, they require a lot of electricity to keep cool. Cacique circumnavigated 1990 to 1993 with just an ice box which wasn't too difficult. If you stand the beer in a tray with 1" of water in the bottom covered in a wet cloth and a breeze the evaporation of the water cools the beer a bit, as for keeping fish fresh for a few days, we are gentle with the fish we catch and remove the hooks carefully and put them immediately in a bucket of water, if they are still alive after about an hour we put them in the laundrey basket tied onto the stern, they stay alive and fresh for a few days.

[Cacique]

PS the boat you are looking at looks good and would suit you quite well. My only thought is what is the standing headroom and how tall are you?
Best of luck

[bkodl]

somasized,

Sounds like you are approaching this correctly but do yourself a favor and read Tom Neals book "All In The Same Boat". It is an excellent book that lays out all the things that you will never think of before setting out to live aboard. I found it extremly helpful.

Good Luck

[somasized]

Thank you all for your advice and encouragement. During spring break (I am a teacher) I drove to Florida to look at a few boats. I decided not to buy one as I realized how naive I really was. I have decided to wait until next Spring to buy the boat, which will allow me to take sailing lessons this summer and hopefully go into the boat buying process with a lot more knowledge than I currently possess. I also will be able to spend a bit more money if I wait a year, which will open up the choices of boats I can buy. The Pacific Seacraft Orion and Dana will be within my range by that point, and from what I have read and seen in pictures it sounds like I would be better served with one of these beauties. Again, thank you for your help and I will make sure to make a post detailing the process. -Jake

[dave24680]

I wish I would have seen this posting earlier. My father-in-law has a gorgeous contessa 26 in immaculate condition that he would be willing to sell at a great price. Tons of upgrades, everything is either new or like new. He is the type that doesn't get to sail much (mostly due to his age) so gets his enjoyment out of just having the boat and constantly trying to make it perfect. If you or anyone is interested, just drop me a line. david.skinner@us.army.mil

[haulback]

Another boat well worth your while to look at might be an Alberg 30, Lots of them around and probably well-priced. A slightly large version of a Contessa 26 - only with head room.

[bencoder]

Nick Jaffe has just returned to australia after sailing 3 quarters of the way round in a Contessa 26. He's now selling his boat for $20,000AUD. It comes with a lot of good gear as well.

For Sale » Bigoceans | Tiny Boat

(I'm not associated with this or anything, just thought it might be useful for someone)

[barnakiel]

25 asking. Expensivish. Is it a NEW boat?

b.

[Napoleao]

Hello, I need some help!!!

I want to stop dreaming with this sailor life and move aboard, I am planing
live aboard for a couple years,to renew the boat and learning a little more.
I have no experience and at this very fine moment I have some crucial
questions,if someone can give me some ideas,directions and etc...will be
extremely helpfull.
What is the best and cheap brand for sailboat,some thing capable to cross
any ocean,safety,confortable.
What is a good boat size,I will do by my self,singlehand,what is the maximun size someone c

an do in this condition,thank you kindly.
Fair winds for you all....