Want To Buy: 24ft + Pocket Cruiser, budget ~$7000

[manowar]

Hello All,

My wife and I are looking for something to cruise around the Caribbean on, with enough space for 2 adults and a small child.
We are trying to get experience with a cheaper boat in order to learn what we ultimately want.
Boats we have an interest in should have a marine head, so boats like The Cape Dory 25D seem appealing.
In any case, I look forward to the feedback from the forum!


Thanks 😀

[Matt_Watkins27]

Watkins 27. Very roomy, diesel, very sturdy. I have one on the Chesapeake Bay.

[Jhowell5558]

We have a 1985 Cal 27 for sale - $7000

Put her back in the water about a year ago - here is the short
list of what I've recently done to her:

Painted hull and bottom
Replaced all 4 thru hulls and seacocks
NEW North Sales Main
Two Jibs
NEW salt water pump on engine
Engine is 15HP Yanmar diesel inboard - 100 TOTAL hours -
was new in 2006

I have a web page with pictures and videos and project list

cal-27-forsale

Located on the upper gulf coast of Florida - near Destin

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by Jhowell5558

We have a 1985 Cal 27 for sale - $7000

Put her back in the water about a year ago - here is the short
list of what I've recently done to her:

Painted hull and bottom
Replaced all 4 thru hulls and seacocks
NEW North Sales Main
Two Jibs
NEW salt water pump on engine
Engine is 15HP Yanmar diesel inboard - 100 TOTAL hours -
was new in 2006

I have a web page with pictures and videos and project list

cal-27-forsale

Located on the upper gulf coast of Florida - near Destin

" this looks like a good deal"..Nice boat and trailer..

[capt-couillon]

'69 Pearson 300 on the hook, Marathon Fl... $8000
3.5' shoal draft (long keel)
6'-4" headroom
Turn key setup.

New bottom paint (Nov refit)
New standing rig
New main
Roller furling jib
3 cyl Yanmar Diesel (starts easy, runs well)
New 200W solar mounted on davits
New composting head (USCG/FWC legal)
Rocna anchor with new chain
Davits with hard dink and outboard.
Garmin chart plotter
Wheel steering

Very clean well equipped pocket cruiser, perfect for the Florida Keys / Bahamas. Currently at anchor, Boot Key Harbor Marathon Fl. City marina mooring balls available for $300/month including dinghy dockage, showers, laundry, parking etc.

My buddy got a deal on a somewhat larger vessel he couldn't pass up just after Mojito's refit. Can't deal with 2 boats so firesale price. PM me for Carl's contact info if you are interested or have questions.

PEARSON 300 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

[Adelie]

Where are you?
What is your budget for the starter boat?
Would you buy a trailerable?
If so what do you have for a tow vehicle? Do you have a parking spot for the boat?


A house is but a boat so poorly built and so firmly run aground you would never try to refloat it.

[Don C L]

Better look at this one!
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ew-170890.html
Not $7000 but you won't find a better CD25

BTW welcome here!

[Don C L]

If you find a Columbia 26 or 29 Mark 1 in good shape, take a close look at 'em. For the money they go for, they are definitely 2 of the better pocket cruisers. In the 60s glass was laid up by hand and thick. Keels are molded in to the hulls, no keel bolts. They don't draw much too but if you do run aground, they just bounce off and keep going. And they sail very well for their vintage too!
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=467
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=806
They both have 6' headroom.

[Hieuhuule]

I've got a question that's pretty relevant. I've always heard the expression at BOAT stands for "Bust Out Another Thousand". When shopping around for a boat, if you've got $7000 to spend, does that actually mean you have $3000 to spend on a boat and $4000 for unexpected repairs or upgrades?

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Hieuhuule

I've got a question that's pretty relevant. I've always heard the expression at BOAT stands for "Bust Out Another Thousand". When shopping around for a boat, if you've got $7000 to spend, does that actually mean you have $3000 to spend on a boat and $4000 for unexpected repairs or upgrades?

Welcome here! My own take on it is "it depends." But generally, that may not be such a bad yardstick to go by! It depends on what size boat, what age, what quality and what the boat really needs to be sea worthy and how badly you insist on bringing it back to bristol condition. If you are fairly handy and a DIY kind of person, and you make some friends in the local boatyard and shop wisely you may get a BOAF, bust out another five hundred. I have what to me is a great boat, older but well-built. I got it pretty cheap and haven't put in too much, but I shop carefully, don't get carried away at the chandlery or on Amazon, I do my own work and my boat is simple. If you have 7000, yes, you can find a good ol' boat in decent shape and be out sailing safely for that, maybe just not as pretty as you'd like. But you can chip away at cosmetics over time.

a boat like "Mojito" is a great prospect, check if she is still for sale perhaps?

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by Hieuhuule

I've got a question that's pretty relevant. I've always heard the expression at BOAT stands for "Bust Out Another Thousand". When shopping around for a boat, if you've got $7000 to spend, does that actually mean you have $3000 to spend on a boat and $4000 for unexpected repairs or upgrades?

There are no "unexpected" repairs or upgrades on any used old boat.

The first question for the buyer of such a boat should always be "can I afford or DIY these repairs/upgrades?"

As a proponent of buying one's first boat in such a class I look at the initial ownership costs as school tuition. Yes you tend to spend much more than you ever anticipated (both in $$ and time) but you also learn so much more than a guy who plunks out $$ for a new boat and always has enough $$ down the road to hire the best yard in their area for maintenance, etc. The problem with the latter approach is that while cruising more than 30-50 miles offshore there are no "AAA trucks" to help you out, not even a Sea Tow.

[UNCIVILIZED]

There's rarely a shortage of boats within that price range, or even for significantly less. And I've steered those starting out towards many good boats in the last year. It is wise to spend but part of your budget on the boat initially, reserving some of one's funds for repairs & outfitting. Since it's rare to find a boat that's got all of the gear that you'd like, or need it to have. But, like the boat, much of the gear can be sourced used at deeply discounted prices. Thus it doesn't hurt the wallet quite so much.
Also, if it isn't obvious, people here on CF are more than happy to steer you towards boats that should work. If you give us your location & budget.