1973 Islander

[Ruffriders]

Hola from Costa Rica
Hey all
My wife and I have recently relocated to Costa Rica from Canada, we plan to buy an older boat that I can fix up, I have only sailed once so I am as green as they come, I will probably have lots of questions so please be patient with me as I ask the stupid ones, we are going to look at a 1973 islander 37 tomorrow morning here is the listing...

37' 1973 Islander Sailboat w/ mooring, dinghy, trailer, outboard motor... - $28000 (Playa del Coco, Guanacaste)

1. Costa Rican registered vessel,
2. Ownership is in a corporation,
3. Length-37ft., Beam-10ft,,8in.,Draft-5ft.,8in,
4. Weight- 14,000 lbs.,
5.2006 new Yanmar diesel 29 hp (approx. 270 hrs),
6.2003 new Selden mast,boom,standing rigging,
7. (316 S/S),,running rigging/2003 new,
8. 2009 new wiring 12 v system,
9.10 ft. Apex dinghy, hard bottom (80 lbs) with trailer,
10. 2009Yamaha outboard 8 hp (8 hrs). More information upon request.
11. Watermaker (pickled with new membrane),
12. Autopilot,
13. Propane stove-3 burners,
14. VHF radio,
15. Refurbished mainsail & jib,
16. Sewing machine with extra sail material & fabric for covers,
17. Handheld GPS,
18. Many areas of the interior have been updated with teak,
19. Deck & hull are up for her biannual repainting (price has been reduced due to this).

The interior needs to be completely redone I will do this! I would also have it surveyed prior to making a deal, I'm not asking about the price point as you probably think it is high, as do I , us buyers always do
Give me your thoughts

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Ruffriders.

[justwaiting]

Originally Posted by Ruffriders

Hola from Costa Rica
Hey all
My wife and I have recently relocated to Costa Rica from Canada, we plan to buy an older boat that I can fix up, I have only sailed once so I am as green as they come, I will probably have lots of questions so please be patient with me as I ask the stupid ones, we are going to look at a 1973 islander 37 tomorrow morning here is the listing...

37' 1973 Islander Sailboat w/ mooring, dinghy, trailer, outboard motor... - $28000 (Playa del Coco, Guanacaste)

1. Costa Rican registered vessel,
2. Ownership is in a corporation,
3. Length-37ft., Beam-10ft,,8in.,Draft-5ft.,8in,
4. Weight- 14,000 lbs.,
5.2006 new Yanmar diesel 29 hp (approx. 270 hrs), Installed as a new motor 6 years ago, aka not new any more
6.2003 new Selden mast,boom,standing rigging,
7. (316 S/S),,running rigging/2003 new, So the question is why did this all have to be replaced? and any way insurance companies like standing rigging replaced after 10 years - if the running rigging has 9 years of tropical weathering it may well be passed its used by date
8. 2009 new wiring 12 v system,
9.10 ft. Apex dinghy, hard bottom (80 lbs) with trailer,
10. 2009Yamaha outboard 8 hp (8 hrs). More information upon request.
11. Watermaker (pickled with new membrane),
12. Autopilot,
13. Propane stove-3 burners,
14. VHF radio,
15. Refurbished mainsail & jib, but how old are the sails and in what condition, who "refurbished" them. note "16"
16. Sewing machine with extra sail material & fabric for covers,
17. Handheld GPS,
18. Many areas of the interior have been updated with teak,
19. Deck & hull are up for her biannual repainting (price has been reduced due to this). code for we will not reduce the price for this reason

The interior needs to be completely redone I will do this!The add talks about the interior being updated. I would also have it surveyed prior to making a deal, I'm not asking about the price point as you probably think it is high, as do I , us buyers always do. There are things that dont quite add up to me - has the boat been sunk or storm damaged
Give me your thoughts

Greetings and welcome aboard

[IceDog]

I live in Costa Rica (well sort of) and I've looked online at the boats for sale that have come up there over the last three years or so. I have thought this boat seems to be the best value I have seen, given that I haven't seen it in person.This is a different market than the US.
There just aren't many sailboats for sale there...You can check ricaboats, craigslist, encuentra24, or yachtworld and rarely see more than about 8 or 10 boats...and most of these are the same boats on the market for years. It will cost you about 40% to import a boat, so unless you buy one of the few that are already Costa Rica registered you have to consider that cost. What I like about this ad compared to other boat ads in Costa Rica is that at least they give you basic information about the boat and equipment with years bought or installed. Keep in mind that I am inexperienced also and have mostly looked from afar. If I hadn't decided on a multihull, (and just bought one!), I would have been looking at this one in a month or so.
There was a nicely equipped Endeavour 38 center cockpit in Bocas Del Toro, Panama that looked interesting if still available...You would have to get it to Costa Rica and register it (pay the taxes).
All in all, I would definitely be looking at the Islander in Playas del Coco!
Pura Vida!
Kevin

[Ruffriders]

Hey icedog
Where in cr do you live? I looked at the islander today, it needs a tone of work! I will keep looking, I'm not in a rush but am ready to buy, congrats on your purchase where did you find it

[IceDog]

That's too bad about the boat. It's going to be hard to find a really well maintained boat in Costa Rica I think. Most of the boats for sale seem to be from expats leaving the country, and they tend to not be well loved. We are in Playa Zancudo, near Golfito. There are two boats for sale in our area that I know of. One is Haiku, a Kantola 44 trimaran. It is a beautiful boat that I have chartered but is a much different price range. The other is a larger monohull across the bay in Puerto Jimenez. It doesn't sound well maintained though I haven't seen it.
I ended up going as far away as San Carlos Mexico to buy a boat. I found it through Cruisers Forum and followed the progress here as the owner did a major refit on it. I plan to keep it in Mexico. I might bring it to Costa Rica eventually if I get to the point of being there year round to take care of it. The climate in Costa Rica would be hard on it as it is an older (but beautiful) plywood boat. You can see the details on page 92 of the "Trimaran, especially Searunners" thread in the Multihull section.
You might find a decent deal in Mexico and have someone deliver it to Costa Rica, even crewing on the trip to get experience? I think Haiku's Captain might do deliveries or you could certainly find qualified people here on the furum.
The other thing is to evaluate the work that the Islander needs. If the equipment is in good condition, the cost of labor in Costa Rica is low and there are excellent people there. You just have to be careful like everywhere else, get references and monitor the work. I have worked side by side with the locals and learned stuff from them about building maintenance in the tropics anyway...