Downeast 38 - Next Step?

[caribsail]

Originally Posted by gonesail

downeast 38: I looked at a few also. beautiful lines and a full keel. the ones I looked at had been sailed hard and were almost 30 years old ... they were too much of a rehab for me to consider.

I have a Downeast 38, fully restored in 2002, with ongoing improvements through 2007, including engine, electronics, mainsail and more. If you're looking, please contact me.

[caribsail]

Originally Posted by jpcraw

I am not familiar with boats/prices in that region, but the one in Singapore on Yachtworld appears to be over priced in comparison to the couple here in California and Mexico. All of these are asking around 50-60K. There is one in Mexico that has a pretty extensive list of cruising gear and was sailed from Alaska to Mex. that started at 68 and is currently at 59. In speaking with the couple directly (instead of the broker) they told me to make an offer and they would consider it.

The Downeaster - Down East Yachts is a decent website with some info. I read Latitude 38 monthly and have found several 32s and a 38 that are currently roaming the SPac as well as a couple that have circumnavigated...so I know that they are capable.

I still love the looks and lines on that boat. The only reason the big windows are a concern to me is because I plan to cross the Pacific. I know that people have done it in the 38 and even the 32. The question is, can I get past that love at first sight.

My boat does NOT have the large windows, but rather, six opening ports in the salon. These are sturdy aluminum ports and do not leak. They provided much needed ventilation in the Caribbean. I also re-powered with a Kubota 42 HP engine in 2003. 30 years is not old when virtually everything has been replaced. My boat can be found at sailboatlisting.com with this link:
http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/7936
I have a listing sheet available with more info if you'd like. The boat is loaded with relatively new equipment.

[tikiboy]

I'm also looking at the Downeast 38. I've never sailed one and I am looking for some answers on how wet the cockpit will be with water coming over the bow. The cockpit is almost flush with the toerail....it has a small foot well ..and advantage for following seas, I know....but how does one stay dry back there with water coming all the way back from the bow and not washing out the scuppers or something..? On a long run would you and your passengers stay wet?

[johnpair]

DOWNEASTER 38

LOA 41'9"
LWL29'0"
Beam 11'10"
Draft 4'11"
Disp 19,500lbs
Ballast 8,000lbs
Sail Area
Ketch 761 sq.ft.
Schooner 721 sq.ft.
Fuel 90 gal
Water 50 gal
Designer Down East
Production 1975 - 1981
The DownEaster was in fact a 41' boat that came standard as a cutter with the option of a ketch or schooner rig. She was full keel and deck stepped mast. She came standard with a Farymann diesel with a range of about 730 miles. Her interior offered a fixed table with settees port and starboard with a double berth created when the back of the port settee is swung upwards. An optional arrangement allows for a U-shaped dinette that converts to a double berth or a second option replaces the navigation station starboard aft, via a door, into an aft stateroom with a double berth. These changes did not alter the exterior profile. Her interior also offered an abundance of teak and teak trim. The DownEaster 38 was the first model DownEaster manufactured and kept her going until closing in 1981.
I also have the drawings for the 32, the 38 and the 45, if you are interested.
J.P.

[bfloyd4445]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Once again drawing on the vast knowledge here. I have done a fair amount of web searching on downeast yachts and the downeast 38 in particular.

Does anyone have any specific information about this boat?

There is one in Singapore and I am being asked to take a look at it. I like the boat because it is a pretty heavy, full keel yacht. There seems to have been a fair few made and it meets my requirement to be a cutter rig for ease of sailing. This one is repwered with a universal engine.

I may have an opportunity to look at this boat this week and potentially a chance to sail it.

Here are some links to take a look at.

boats.com - Search Results

The Downeaster - Down East Yachts

YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale

they were made by Don Poole in Santa Anna Ca at his company, Down East Yatchs. and all were constructed to the highest standards of the day. He made DeFever trawlers and sailboats like the 32-38. His company also built the last of the westsails another boat noted for its incredible seaworthiness like all Poole's creations. To bad he had to die so young. After his death the company lingered on under his son the last boats built in 81 I think and then doors closed in 83.

[MarinaOnMaui]

The wonderful thing about a 30 year old fiberglass boat is the thickness of the hull. If you aren't buying steel, then you want as much between you and the sea as possible when you are in the middle of the Pacific. Have you ever bumped into something hard, at night, that shuddered the whole boat? I have, in a steel ketch. Steel is the best, but over-built fiberglass to Lloyds standards is the next best. A new boat, with it's transparently thin hull, is lighter for sure, but not safer. You can't see the sun through a Downeaster's hull above sea level, which is reassuring.