The Cost of Sailing a 27 Foot Boat

[sluissa]

I too thought it was 77 feet.

About the outboard. I use a 6hp outboard on my 20 footer that weighs somewhere around 5000 pounds(actually, the paperwork says 3.5 tons or 7000 pounds. But I thought it was less, and really don't see how it could weigh that much, but whatever.). Pretty close(or much more) to your 2100 kg. it really does the job fine. I can motor at least as fast as I can sail in just about any reasonable conditions.

[never monday]

WHAT
All this time I too have been convinced it was 77 ft not 7.7m

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by ksmith

So what does a maxi look like

I was thinking something like this:



Instead of this:



Can't wait for the response

[Ex-Calif]

Damn - I'm outted - Sorry to disappoint everyone...

Actually - It has come up a couple of times. It's easy to think of it as a 77 footer based on the name - Pelle nailed that one - Ha, ha.

In my intro post a year ago I described the purchase and the fact that this was a first boat after a many year lay off. Sort of a practice boat. Also I thought my Avatar might give me away too...

Like everyone I have 3 feet-itis and constantly think about going up to a 32, 36 or 38 footer - It's never big enough - LOL.

What has become very clear in the last year is what I want. This year defined what I need as a boat - that's what the starter boat does for you. It's cheap and you learn what you want. You get out on the water with a lot of other guys and get to see a lot of other boats and talk to a lot of other guys about what they like and don't like.

I am saving the war chest for a 38-42 foot cat. It will be my liveaboard and retirement boat. I am pretty much there financially (I intend to pay cash) and just want to make sure the "life" cushion doesn't get depleted too much.

I have considered a bigger boat now but honestly the boat I have is cheap and I have never been successful financially trading up.

However, far and away the biggest advantage is it's size. We usually sail with 4-5 people on board but even single handing I can be off the buoy in 5 minutes and under sail. Coming back is probably 10 minutes tops.

In fact I will probably keep an interest in the boat no matter what I get as it is so painless to go for a sail.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by David M

It may be a mistake to think of a boat as an investment. Boats are an expense but an excellent life experience and that is what you are paying for.
<snip>

The value is how much a buyer is willing to pay for it and if you cannot find someone willing to pay what you think it is worth then it is only worth what someone is willing to buy it for.

David - I agree 100%. I don't consider the boat as an investment. I would hope my investments actually make some money - LOL.

But it is a capital asset. The value of which can be dramatically affected by the level of maintenance. I just get sick to see otherwise perfectly good boats go to rot because no one is doing the maintenance on the boat to keep it in as good a condition as possible. We have several boats in our club on moorings that have to be pumped out every couple of weeks or they would sink.

These owners think they have a $30 or $40k boats but one of them is a Maxi 77 and I wouldn't take it for free.

In terms of selling price you are also 100% spot on but I think it cannot hurt to have impeccable maintenance records and to be able to show the potential buyer, what you replaced and upgraded and when.

Within a class of boat it is better to have a nicer one until you reach the point where the upgrades pay no return.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by sluissa

I too thought it was 77 feet.

About the outboard. I use a 6hp outboard on my 20 footer

<snip>

it really does the job fine. I can motor at least as fast as I can sail in just about any reasonable conditions.

I don't question the ability to push the boat. There are two reasons we insisted on inboard power.

1/ As a starter boat it was important for us to have a boat that has all the "big" boat systems. Diesel engine, alternators, battery banks, house wiring etc. were important for us to be able to learn these systems. We've had an impeller failure and an alternator failure so I guess we are learnin'

2/ The convenience of having basically unlimited power is great. We run the fridge, DVD players, big cabin fans. This has made the boat enjoyable for the kids and the spouses.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by yfwong57

BTW, are there still many Maxi 77 is Singapore? It is definitely a nice boat to sail and does not burn a hole in the pocket!

Wong

As you know, Wong the Maxi 77 was made here for a while. I am told over 300 hulls were laid here and there used to be a lot more than there are now.

Our club has 4 active and one trying to sink. There are 2-3 at SAF Sembawang and 4 (I think) at SAF Changi. I think 2 at SAF Changi are "training" boats.

Recently we've had a couple of "invitational" twilight races. 3 weeks ago we had 4 Maxis start. It was great and we not only beat all the Maxis (nearest was 4 minutes back) but we also won overall on handicap (our first win).

There is something about having same design boats in a race that's ups everyone's game.

Last week we had 2 maxi's. At one point we were over 1km ahead but the wind died and everyone bunched. We were literally with 1/2 boat length 300 meters from the finish. We ended up piping them at the post - great fun.

We are also trying to get enough enthusiasm up (6+ boats) to petition for a class in of the Regattas this year. Don't know if that will work out though.