Columbia, Nautica, Newport, Cal T/4 -Merged

[crashkahuna]

Good idea to get extension on slip - it used to be fairly easy. Don't rush into anything. Hawaii is a small and different kind of market and can be frustrating. I have found the brokers there to be generally helpful and will in fact one day sell a 10k boat and the next a 200k boat. Be sure to haulout and survey - a bit of a pain now since no boatyard in Ala Wai. But in some ways going farther is a better sea trial. Many boats there not maintained well - the little stuff adds up. Anyway you have the slip and that's the hard part - something will come along.

[knockout_mice]

Originally Posted by snort

Too bad Hawaii isn't Florida (trust me, this is the only time or situation I'll say this)
This is what you'd like to find at that price point:
1977 Morris Frances sailboat for sale in Florida

Oh, be still my heart!!! This boat is beautiful!

I looked a little in California on Yachtworld. It looks like they have a great selection at great prices too. It just seems ridiculous to pay $5,000 to ship a $9,000 boat. But we are willing to do that if that's what it comes down to. Plus, there's the rigamarole of flying to California to see any boat we'd consider buying, especially considering how pregnant I am.

Something might have come up here through a friend of a friend, a boat that isn't listed yet...

And a few friends have agreed to help us sail something over from Lahaina (Maui) if we find one there, so this broadens our search a little bit at least.

Thank all of you again for the suggestions, support, and comments. This is a grueling process and all of your input is helping me to make it through!

[knockout_mice]

Originally Posted by patn44

Must you put a boat in the slip to keep it?

There are a few ways to do it.

1) decline and this gives us a 6-month extension but after the 6 months if we aren't ready we'll have to wait another year or two (go to bottom of wait list). I think this is free for the six months.
2) get 120 day extension ($250/month)
3) fill it with random junk fitting size requirements until find dream boat. This is the slip price: $9/foot

We are thinking our best bet is probably to do option #1. If we find a boat before 6 months, we can use temporary mooring at this harbor or the yacht club next door. I think there's a chance we could even retrieve this same slip.

If we don't find a boat within 6 months, our broker friend has a Cal-20 pretty far away on the island (Ko'Olina) that we could put in the slip (but it would be a crappy, crappy, rough day getting that little boat over to our slip).

So we have options for waiting, which is a good thing. I really think it will happen and we will find the right boat. Six months is still a pretty tight timeframe, but people do it here all the time. We have been hoping for this time to come for years now.

[knockout_mice]

Originally Posted by crashkahuna

Be sure to haulout and survey

Yes! Thank you for saying this! The folks selling the boats keep acting like we are nuts to want to do this since these boats are so "cheap" and surveys are so expensive. But it's our first boat and we need to know what needs fixing.

[VinnyVincent]

I can tell you...my boat only cost 2 grand and I wish I had gotten a survey. It all worked out in the end, but had I gotten the survey some potentially dangerous situations could have been avoided.

I dealt with the same types of people acting as if you are crazy for wanting a survey. Honestly these kinds of owners probably also neglected important maintenance because it was a "cheap boat" and you probably don't want to buy their boat anyways.

[snort]

Don't forget that there are people on this forum who will check out boats for you, if you're thinking of buying one on the west coast.
I'll be moving back to CA or OR in a month and will be traveling from San Diego on up the coast.
If you see anything interesting on yachtworld, sailboatlistings, etc..., I'll try to have a look for you, if I'm close enough to it.

[roverhi]

Maybe things aren't so cheap on the mainland. This Newport is the same asking price as the one here and it's outboard powered.

Sailboat, Newport 27, best offer or

[VinnyVincent]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Maybe things aren't so cheap on the mainland. This Newport is the same asking price as the one here and it's outboard powered.

Sailboat, Newport 27, best offer or

Yeah but look at all the extra equipment it comes with. I think that is mostly what you are paying for on that one.

Plus it has new(er) sails and rigging, which is a big deal.

[crashkahuna]

That Newport looks to be in nice shape. Boats without side decks not my cup of tea but nice to see something that looks well maintained.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by knockout_mice

We just got a slip in Waikiki. We have about three weeks to find a boat to put in it (they can extend the deadline but I'd rather not). So far, I have found 4 boats that will fit in our petite 20'-28' slip at Ala Wai marina. We are going to look at the boats this weekend. Any advice anyone has regarding these boats, makes, models, years, prices, etc would be very appreciated. This is our first boat. We have sailing experience and are looking forward to sunday fun days off the coast in our little boat. We'll be day sailors. No inner island stuff, no racing. Just real laid back leisurely relaxing sailing close to home. We also have our first baby on the way.

We are looking at these four boats this weekend. Should we look out for anything in particular? Any thoughts are very appreciated!

66 Columbia 26' (10.5k)
26' Columbia 1966

?? Newport 27' ($12k)
27' Newport sailboat

72 Cal T/4 24' ($14k)
Kokua Yacht Sales (Kapolei, HI)

79 Nautica 27' ($12k)
Fancy Dancer 27'Sailboat

Funny I just posted a note about some boats for sale in Maryland and one of them is a Columbia 26 MK1. I am presuming that the Columbia 26 you are looking at is the MK1 by its age. If it is the MK1 then I'd say that is a great choice as a pocket cruiser for many reasons. The MK2 isn't bad, but the MK1 has many positive points. First, the hand lay-up of fiberglass is very good, very strong and I doubt there is even one blister on it. The cabin is roomy, it sails very well, the keel is cut away in the forefoot to allow better turning, the rudder is protected being hung on the keel, the keel is molded into the hull (no keel bolts,) good ballast to displacement ratio, you can put an outboard in the lazarette well (preferable over an inboard to me)... For the size range you are looking at I'd say the Columbia may be the best pocket cruiser around for the money. I used to own a Columbia 24 and now I have a 29, of the same vintage and I cruise the Channel Islands in California where we get all kinds of wind and sea conditions and these old boats do just fine. Check boats built in the 70s more closely, there may be some issues with blisters and they generally were not built quite as strongly as those from the 60s. Good luck!

[Don C L]

oops, missed seeing the photos. Yes the Columbia is a MK1. One of these days I'll learn to follow a thread correctly.

[roverhi]

Here's another boat that might work for you. A tough boat good for inter island cruising if it's good condition. 26' Rhodes (great boat)

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Here's another boat that might work for you. A tough boat good for inter island cruising if it's good condition. 26' Rhodes (great boat)

That Rhodes is a great little boat. It is not really a 26 though, in fact it is a little under 25. I think they were called Meridian 25s. If you don't mind the porta-potty under the V-berth, it may be just the boat! Looks like it is in good shape. Does it have an inboard? For that size I'd say without inboard would be better but if it is all in good shape then it could be a good deal.

[knockout_mice]

Time for an update!


($10.5k)
26' Columbia 1966
Wes, my husband, went on a trial sail on this bad boy last Friday. Very solid boat indeed. Full keel, I think, and solid fiberglass hull. I couldn't go on the sailing excursion because I'm too pregnant--vertigo, dehydration, etc. just not a good idea.

So they head out early evening Friday. Not the easiest time to sail--same time as the weekly races--lots of boat traffic. I checked out the boat, met the owner, and decided to wait in the car while they did a quick buoy run.

So an hour goes by and my parking expires. I'm texting my husband asking if they're okay and he isn't responding. I'm getting worried. Turns out the 7hp outboard petered out right after they left the harbor. (This is the motor the owner wanted us to pay extra for, by the way.) One of the tacks to come back in was unsuccessful and they ended up about 4 feet off of magic island, facing all the gawking tourists and on full display of all the Friday night racing pros.

A few racers stopped by to give them a tow back to the slip and all they had to pay was the hefty price of pride and taking a few jabs about not doing it right.

When I finally did meet up with my husband, he never wanted to sail again. It was a very bad experience. He ended up coming around. We had an appointment with our good friend who is a boat broker for the Cal 24 on Saturday and Wes was back and focused when we met up with Brad.

Lessons learned:
1. Wes doesn't like the positioning of the traveler on this boat. I think it was too far back and got in the way while steering with the tiller.
2. The tiller is positioned at a weird angle (I think Wes said this).
3. The boat is too heavy and clunky for a beginner. If we mess something up, we need to be able to course-correct as quickly as possible. Lighter boat is needed. We won't be able to do as much with a lighter boat but maybe we aren't ready to go to another island or around Oahu anyway.
4. We need a very strong, reliable engine to use like training wheels and for peace of mind until we are super salty.
5. Wes is awesome to keep up the search and not throw in the towel.



($12k)
27' Newport
Still haven't seen this one. This is the owner who stood us up after we wasted an hour in traffic getting around to Ewa Beach. And I really don't do well in traffic, especially with this vertigo. But that Atomic 4 engine is looking pretty good now after the cruel death of the Columbia's 7hp hunk of junk. Interior layout looks good too.

We're planning to give it a look. This boat could take us to other islands one day.



($14k, would offer $9-$10k)
1972 Cal T/4 24'
We really liked this one. Saw it Saturday after Friday's drama, and its small size, maneuverability, and similarity to the Cal 20 were all big pluses in our book. The owner apparently poured lots of money into it--new hardware on all of the rigging, great condition amenities, even these little over-the-top "fender tenders"

Turns out these are less than $12 on Amazon, but it just shows you the attention to detail this guy has.

Of course there's a catch. The salon's ceiling has a bit of rot and needs to be replaced. Water's seeped in through a screw. The deck's fiberglass is okay, fortunately. It's about 2 square feet of space. Is this hard to fix? It would be our first handyman project. Would we be in over our heads? Would we ever be able to confidently walk across that part of the deck?

We're loving that fin keel for now. I hate that heeling stability and responsive maneuverability are a trade off.


($12k)
1979 Nautica 27'
Saw this one on Sunday. No head closet is a deal breaker for me, being that my biological plumbing requires a little more privacy and amenities for relieving myself. The boat needs to be comfortable for me and my girlfriends, so no head closet, no boat sale. The engine is a 1-cylinder diesel inboard--we want more than that.

The boat was nice though and in much better condition than the 26' Columbia. The owner used to teach sailing to troubled teens. I think we will give him a call and see if he's interested in earning a little extra cash giving us 2 or 3 lessons once we find a boat.


As far as this newest find--the Rhodes, we're back to the peeing in privacy problem. Sorry, I should have mentioned this requirement sooner.
I don't think a porta potty under the v-berth will work for me or my fellow female friends. The location isn't the problem, but the lack of privacy would be. We pretty much want something really comfortable for anchoring off of Waikiki and SQUBA / snorkeling. Something easy and safe for us to learn on.


Good news:
We got an extension on the slip, so the search is not so dire, but we still want to have this nautical "baby" by August so we can focus on human baby literally due on Labor Day in September.

Thanks again for all of the advice! We are getting closer!

[Don C L]

Sorry to hear about the bad experience with the Col. 26. Where I am cruising I like the characteristics it has. But for where you are and the kind of sailing you are planning, the Cal is a fine choice. It is on the small side but it is very maneuverable and pretty fast too. It will be a fun boat and that will help to win over sailing skeptics in your midst. You might check that Meridian 25 shown earlier, but it too may feel too sluggish compared to the Cal. Hard to say about the rot in the cabin top without seeing it, but I wouldn't consider it a deal breaker. If it brings down the price a bit, all the better for you. Get an estimate at a local boatyard. And yes, you would definitely be able to walk on it. You'll be amazed how strong fiberglass can be. Just because it flexes doesn't mean it is breaking.