Want To Buy: 36-42' Bluewater Cruiser

[Island Time O25]

To OP:

Your basic trade off when looking in your price range is time and perhaps some travel expenses. If you have both and are willing to devote a good portion of it to your search you will eventually come up with a deal. But can't be guaranteed to happen in 3 months or 3 years or 3 weeks.

The unstated point of most posts which advise you to move up in price range significantly is that if time is of the essence or you are limited to a particular geographical area (especially the one with limited marine activity) chances to find that deal are not great. But you are correct in looking outside the usual and predictable venues such as Yachtworld or such. My friend who found his $7K 45'+ racer deal stumbled upon it semi-accidentally. He was in Maine picking up a delivery to some point South, when he struck up a conversation with an old salt at the docks mentioning to him that he just sold his previous boat and was looking for something larger as a replacement. The salt pointed him to a boatyard nearby (of which my friend would otherwise be unaware) as a place to ask to see if they had anything for sale. and true enough they did have a few boats which were either for sale or in the process of being donated to some charity. My friend happened to to like the one he ended up buying. Of course it was not in a sailaway condition. It needed a new engine, sails, etc. But otherwise it was in decent shape. All the seacocks were freely moving, the huge grinders were in great shape, as was the hydraulics, etc. He actually ended up selling all the racing gear for good money to offset his other expenses. He worked on her for a few long weekends commuting from his base 100mi away and 2-3 months later she was splashed and is still going strong 12+ years later. Boat's only "drawback" is her almost 9' draft which does present challenges in a near coastal cruising.

When I was looking for my 36' boat there was a Wigger 37 for sale (actually at the same yard in ME and with the same charity as my friend's boat) which had the asking price initially in the high $20s but was later dropped to $19K then to $12K and sold for around or even under $10K. By pure coincidence I bumped into a guy who helped to deliver her from Maine to MA and he was saying how great of a boat that was even not taking the price into account.

[Tafa]

Thank Ainia,

I would love to hear your concerns about the Hughes 38. My experience with H38 is quite limited. (day long races in Lake Ontario)

The specs, design, construction, boat's behaviour etc. seemed fine to me. I heard some hulls may have blistering problems. Considering that they provide same hulls to Hinckley (for Hinckley 38) I assume the production quality has to be at certain level.

It would be great if you can share your experience and/or opinion on H38. (Then I may cross it out from my list)

Thanks in advance,

Tafa

[Tafa]

Thank you very much,

This is really helpful. Do you (by any chance) remember the name of the ME boatyard?

Cheers,

Tafa

[double u]

Tafa: you writing "...between 36-42' loa..." suggests to me that you definitely should dig deeper into the subject "boats": cost, weight, upkeep, volume, loadcarrying capability, etc. goes up with the 3rd power! a 36-footer & a 42-footer are 2 totally different animals in every aspect (length-factor cubed is 1.58)!

[Tafa]

Definitely agree,

We believe that we can squeeze in a 36 footer minimum (and make our sailplans accordingly)

I am just trying to be more flexible in order to stay in my budget.

I.e ..... a Pearson 365 for $20K (needs new electronics but rest seems serviceble) vs a Tayana 42 for $35K but needs a full refit incl joinery, electrical, plumbing and electronics)

I believe Pearson would be cruise ready with $30-35 total cost versus Tayana would cost $70-80K (which I can't afford) That's the reason I am looking for a range of boat size.

Thanks,

Tafa

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by Tafa

Thank you very much,

This is really helpful. Do you (by any chance) remember the name of the ME boatyard?

Cheers,

Tafa

I don't but I believe it was in Falmouth, ME area, just north of Portland. There are quite a few boat yards there. You might just google them or look them up on yachtworld.

Actually Maine would be a good place to start a search. The season is very short, the owners are often very anal about keeping their vessels in Bristol shape (often they're still the original owners) and many of them are getting on in years or are already gone. The only drawback there is that the yards or the brokers start out with very high asking prices often scaring off potential serious buyers who are afraid to make a more reasonable (to the buyer) but a low ball (to the seller) offer.

You'd find actually hundreds if not thousands of boats for sale in that area, some are just so called "pocket listings" which never get the wide exposure such as Yachtworld but are sold from the word of mouth or local ads and connections. Per capita Maine has perhaps the most sailboats of all states. May be Florida would have more but in Florida they get beat up year round while in ME they're sailed for 3-4 months and babied the rest of the year. My 2nd preference (and only because of the distance) would be to look in Great Lakes area. Florida would probably be my last choice to look for a real deal.

Couple of years ago a I have gotten 1979 O'day 25 (whence my CF nickname) which spent the most of its' 35 years in Maine. It was in great condition even if it were 10 years old. I got it as a place holder for a mooring and it was easy to sell quickly as it showed almost like new.

My current boat, before I got her, spent 20 years in Great Lakes, 7 years in FL and 3 years on the hard in New England. The surveyor told me that 80-90% of whatever issues he found originated from its 7 years in FL. And that without these FL use related issues it would otherwise be in pristine condition.

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by Tafa

Definitely agree,

We believe that we can squeeze in a 36 footer minimum (and make our sailplans accordingly)

I am just trying to be more flexible in order to stay in my budget.

I.e ..... a Pearson 365 for $20K (needs new electronics but rest seems serviceble) vs a Tayana 42 for $35K but needs a full refit incl joinery, electrical, plumbing and electronics)

I believe Pearson would be cruise ready with $30-35 total cost versus Tayana would cost $70-80K (which I can't afford) That's the reason I am looking for a range of boat size.

Thanks,

Tafa

Also if the condition of these boats as you state you will start cruising in that Pearson at least a year earlier, which should be added as a big + on your measuring scale of the two boats.

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by double u

Tafa: you writing "...between 36-42' loa..." suggests to me that you definitely should dig deeper into the subject "boats": cost, weight, upkeep, volume, loadcarrying capability, etc. goes up with the 3rd power! a 36-footer & a 42-footer are 2 totally different animals in every aspect (length-factor cubed is 1.58)!

Spot on.

I would lump 36 footer in the 34-38 range and a 42 footer in the 39-43 range, or thereabouts. But that's just my personal take on it. I was actually looking in the 29-33 range when I stumbled upon my 36 footer by accidentally hitting 36ft instead of 33 but keeping the price range the same.

I was reluctant at first to even consider going up a whole level up but was prevailed by my two marine pro buddies (who had no stake in that deal) to do it. Their biggest argument was that even with small crew I will eventually outgrow 29-33 footer and will want a larger boat. Which will entail losing $$ and time selling plus $$ and time buying. Luckily for me I listened to them and 5+ seasons later still think that for my own needs and wants the 36 footer hits the sweet spot. Now if I had a family full of kids or relatives that sweet spot would've been different. Or if I only wanted to sail solo. But in my own particular situation - day sails or short weekend overnights with sailing friends, most of the other days/nights usually just myself or with my gf, this is the perfect size boat.

[Tafa]

Agree again

Our ideal size range should be 39-42... The only reason I went down to 36 because of some particular made/designs I do not wat to miss; such as Cabot 36, Downeaster 38, Pearson 365, Hughes 38, Gulfstar 37, Rafiki 38 etc..... I believe those also would respond to our needs to cruise Eastern NA, Carribbean, Gulf and Central America areas.

[Yogane]

Hi
I have a 38ft Reve d Antille , hard Chine steel sloop. Currently in Trinidad. She's just completed over 3000miles from Panama to Trinidad and she's in good shape. We're looking at selling for around $12000 you can contact me at rodsteyn@gmail.com for more info

[davy jones]

I have a proven blue water boat that has sailed the southern ocean, full keel two masted yawl. her next sail is/was northwest passage ...more info

[Suzagnes]

Please see our 37' blue-water cruiser ad in this forum: "10.5 m Campos-design" ... or search "Abrazo" - She's in Pto Montt, Chile right now and might very well be worth a visit. (It's summertime there!)

[svseachange]

One of my favourite budget cruisers to dream about, a Pearson 365, anchored next to us in Sydney Harbour yesterday.

It was owned by an American couple who had crossed the Pacific. According to their blog they paid US$30k for it. Look for "Journey" out of Portland OR on Sailblogs.

We passed another Pearson 365 heading west in the Erie Canal a few years ago. The owner had fully equipped it to cruise but when they hit New York his wife decided she did not like salt water. Bet that guy sold it for under US$40k because the boat is not worth much on the Great Lakes.

If you are patient, take time and look hard you'll find something.

[Don C L]

Out of curiosity, are you looking to find a boat in the Toronto area? Your budget is quite low for what you are asking for, but, I have seen very good boats at low prices.. just not quite bluewater-ready. I happen to like the value you can find in those classics from the 60s that have been well refit which is why I think you might find what you seek in something like a Bounty II. But it is not a roomy boat for its length. This is another caveat for the length thing, you need to know the design. I have a Columbia 29 but put it next to a Rawson 30 and by the numbers they seem like they should be comparable, but they really aren't. The Bounty II is 41 feet but it is really more of a 32 footer stretched fore and aft. I happen to love the design, but I know it is not for everyone. There was a Columbia 38 recently for sale, 1966 I think, beautifully refit, stout and sea-worthy design IMO with sale price of 30K but located in Sitka or Juneau Alaska. That kind of thing is I believe one that would fit your budget and suit your desires. You'll be hard pressed to find boats built as well as they were in the 60s for the budget you have. If you want to move to Hilo HI, I just saw a Pearson Vanguard (33) for sale there, don't know the price though, might be too small for you.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Out of curiosity, are you looking to find a boat in the Toronto area? Your budget is quite low for what you are asking for, but, I have seen very good boats at low prices.. just not quite bluewater-ready. I happen to like the value you can find in those classics from the 60s that have been well refit which is why I think you might find what you seek in something like a Bounty II. But it is not a roomy boat for its length. This is another caveat for the length thing, you need to know the design. I have a Columbia 29 but put it next to a Rawson 30 and by the numbers they seem like they should be comparable, but they really aren't. The Bounty II is 41 feet but it is really more of a 32 footer stretched fore and aft. I happen to love the design, but I know it is not for everyone. There was a Columbia 38 recently for sale, 1966 I think, beautifully refit, stout and sea-worthy design IMO with sale price of 30K but located in Sitka or Juneau Alaska. That kind of thing is I believe one that would fit your budget and suit your desires. You'll be hard pressed to find boats built as well as they were in the 60s for the budget you have. If you want to move to Hilo HI, I just saw a Pearson Vanguard (33) for sale there, don't know the price though, might be too small for you.

oops. I see you are willing to travel for a boat. Generally it is much smarter to shop locally.