Age of your boat?

[Crew of Turning]

Our boat turns 40 in August of this year, Ditto to those that believe that a good build and sensible care will give good returns from a fiberglass hull. Boat we have will out live us carbon based bits for sure.

[paulajayne]

1978

So 38 years and going strong.

Mind you a concrete hull will last.

[got seashells?]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I have to ask, why such a large boat?

It doesn't have to be that large, I stumbled upon this one and it is close to us so I suggested we go look at her. That sparked the discussion on the age of the vessel. All in all I am trying to get a feel for what is reasonable and it helps to have the knowledge of others. While we fully intend on making our own mistakes, and I am positive there will be many, learning from others helps with the learning curve.

[rbk]

We both turned 36 this year. Tayana 37 without teak decks, and the bar is anywhere you want it to be.

[robert sailor]

After 5 years from new all bets are off and how it was looked after becomes much more important. I'd rather buy a 25 year old high quality boat that was continously refit and refurbished than an 8 or 10 year old boat that was ridden hard and put away wet. Buying a real nice older boat is much more challenging however so don't leave it till the last minute, it really takes time to find that diamond in the rough. There is nothing wrong with buying a newer boat often the newer designs are much larger with the added beam brought back plus the larger cockpits are great but expect more depreciation. Keep in mind that you are unlikely to get a dime back on any refurbishment you make on a boat so it just makes sense to buy something that has been really looked after. Enjoy the search and I hope you are able to pull off your dream.

[a64pilot]

40' not too long ago was BIG, most cruised in 30 something boats.
I originally was looking at mid 30's myself as that is big enough, I found a nice 32, wife thought it would be too small on a rainy day with four of us below. Now I was buying a Retirement boat, wife was thinking still about our kids, and who am I to argue, so we got a 38', which I think is plenty big enough. Much bigger than 40 and it takes more experience than I have to handle, they are not learner boats, those are for people who already have years of experience, and costs do escalate with size.
55' will I think be real expensive to maintain, price a set of sails to see what I mean, and the forces those big sails can generate are enormous, this can be mitigated with money of course with electric winches etc., but that is surprisingly expensive

[robert sailor]

Depending on your age and experience level in my experience a cruising boat between 40-50 feet is plenty big enough for a cruising couple. As a64pilot has pointed out the costs rise exponentially with each couple of feet. Everything is much more expensive to look after and maintain. Friends of ours are cruising on a 57 foot boat and tend to motor to many places because of the work to set sail. Yes you can offset this with electric winches etc but there go the costs. When he needed work on the mainsail we had to get a small cherry picker to meet at the dock because the sail weighed close to 350 pounds. When everything is working large boats are great but you really need much deeper pockets to cruise on them, which is wonderful if you are not on a budget.

[JPA Cate]

Build quality matters with timber boats, too. and steel, Mike. Consider "bleeders", or questionable welds, or panels.

To the OP

We have never bought a 30 yr. old Taiwan built boat. Our present boat was 13 when we bought her and she's 26 now. Age isn't a problem by itself; other things might be. It is the condition of the boat that is important. Everything you have to do to her will cost a lot more than for a smaller boat, also insurance and mooring costs are greater--enough to make a big difference. If this boat is significantly bigger (6 ft or more) larger than the others in its price range, there is likely something "wrong" with it. Simple economics, no free lunch and all that.

Once, we saw a Tayana 55 that had a collision with a fishing boat, the impact occurred just aft of the chainplates, and the fiberglass parted vertically from deck level to just above the waterline, the owners were able to sail it heeled to the other side safely to get to port. Most of the port side furniture had been dislocated. The layup looked light to us.

You will want to find out about it's tankage, has it already been renewed? otherwise, you may be facing a furniture-destroying difficult job there. If they are 'black iron', they may be nearing the end of their lives.

Imho, they are a nice looking boat, and they look beautiful inside, but I wouldn't consider buying one. For me, the issue is all the stuff you can't find out about her, stuff that requires taking apart to see.

9000 hrs. on the engine: how has it been maintained? Diesels can go on a long time, but not so much if they haven't had their oil changes. They sometimes require to have the injectors checked, serviced, or replaced. Pumps get tired. If you invest in an engine oil study, you can find out a lot about its condition. [Our first Insatiable had been re-engined following one.]

Imo, you would learn more if you asked A64pilot how much he paid for his IP 38, a much smaller boat of American manufacture, and how much he has so far put into her and for what, to get an idea of what you and your husband can be facing with buying that particular boat. Stuff like electronics costs what it costs, but your costs for big boat things would be higher than his. It's just how it is, with boats.

Ann

[dfelsent]

Built in 1972, 45 years old this May. I am the 4th lucky owner.
Well designed, solidly built, maintainable. On her third engine and second rig, all due to maintenance. She has many miles.
The PO maintained her well.
Any boat is a constant series of projects. Brand new boats have maintenance issues. Older boats have maintenance issues. It comes down to the designer and the build quality to start, then it is up to the owners along the way.

[bvander]

35, cruising Bahamas right now

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Build quality matters with timber boats, too. and steel, Mike. Consider "bleeders", or questionable welds, or panels.

All great points Ann. My wood/steel comment relates to the nature of the material vs fibreglass. Both wood and steel will naturally deteriorate over time without significant and skilled effort. Fibreglass requires much less effort to maintain. So if we’re wondering about the effects of age on a boat, age has less of an impact on fibreglass hull vs wood or steel (not sure about aluminum…).

But of course, maintenance matters in all cases. A well built, well designed but poorly maintained 40-year-old fibreglass boat will likely be a disaster. Although unless there’s actual hull damage, odds are the basic integrity of the vessel will remain. Not so if it was a wood or steel hull.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

40' not too long ago was BIG, most cruised in 30 something boats.
I originally was looking at mid 30's myself as that is big enough, I found a nice 32, wife thought it would be too small on a rainy day with four of us below. Now I was buying a Retirement boat, wife was thinking still about our kids, and who am I to argue, so we got a 38', which I think is plenty big enough. Much bigger than 40 and it takes more experience than I have to handle, they are not learner boats, those are for people who already have years of experience, and costs do escalate with size.
55' will I think be real expensive to maintain, price a set of sails to see what I mean, and the forces those big sails can generate are enormous, this can be mitigated with money of course with electric winches etc., but that is surprisingly expensive

Couldn't agree more. Met a couple last summer who had spent the last 35 some odd years cruising the word in their Shannon 28 and still going. To me layout is more important than overall length. You can have a 40 ft boat with a terrible layout or a really smart layout on a 30 ft boat that is more user friendly than the 40 and will feel bigger. I’ve been on 27 ft boats very well laid out that seem to have endless storage and great functionality and 35 footers that lave you wondering ‘where they managed to hide the additional 8 feet of boat?’

And don't get caught up in 'where' the boat was manufactured, Taiwanese boats are as good and/or better than those manufactured in the USA or Europe, there’s always horror stories no matter where a boat gets built here and abroad.

[Sailmonkey]

40 this month!!

[tfrank]

Scorpio is a 1962 Creekmore with a bulletproof hull, a rebuilt Perkins diesel and new North sails. Haven't seen a newer boat I'd trade her for but that's a long personal story.

[GILow]

36 years old, ten years younger than her owner and in much, much better condition.

Decks need some work, but then most of the hair has left the top of my head so we both need deck work I suppose.