Hylas 49 - Any owners or folks that have first hand knowledge out there?

[robert sailor]

Good luck with your offer. If it is a real nice boat that has been updated and maintained well its doubtful that you can low ball him much below market and make it work. Real nice boats are hard to find.

[Jbingham]

A. Buyers market.
B. No one offers asking
C. I never said low ball!!
D. Are you the seller haha!!?!

[cpa]

Originally Posted by Jbingham

After much debate and some advice from several trusted friends we are putting an offer in this week on the 53' little harbor. Bank is already on board with the loan. I really hope we can get the seller in line with our budget. She's such a beauty!!

Wow! What a gem! I hope it works out for you.

[lifeofreilly57]

The Hylas 49 is an excellent yacht, but have to agree that the Little Harbor is an excellent choice, they also hold their value well, solid, pretty, well built. It would be hard to lose with either choice.
Good luck.

[robert sailor]

No I'm not the seller LOL but yes your right cash is king and there are tons of boats for sale BUT there are still very few desirable (sought after) really nicely maintained and kept boats for sale. In my experience having just bought my 7th boat a year ago it is hard to find a real good one. In my mind it is always better to buy the best boat in the best condition and pay a "fair" price for it, whatever that means than to steal a boat that needs work. No one ever budgets enough money to fix boats up and we end up putting way more money in these fixer uppers than if we had bought a better boat and paid more to begin with. I only shopped for boats in excellent condition, I had sold boat sales figures for the last 10 years on the boats I made offers on. All my offers were for full market value (not asking of course) and were not low ball but my offers were turned down on the first 4 boats so guys with quality boats will not give them away because they know what I know. It is rare indeed to steal an excellent boat.

[CR38]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

It is rare indeed to steal an excellent boat.

The larger the boat the more true this statement. It is actually relatively easy to buy amazing boats in the 30'-38' range at great prices. I am a novice and have done it twice now in the last 6 months.

[robert sailor]

No debate there. Smaller boats are much harder to sell and many can be purchased for low prices, sometimes very low. Lots of product very few buyers.

[lifeofreilly57]

It seems to be an extension of our lifestyle as a whole, bigger houses, bigger cars, bigger boats. I see some really good boats sitting in boatyards unsold because they're too small at 34, 36, 38 feet. In my experience the smaller boats I've owned have been as rewarding if not more rewarding than the larger boats I am now on. The lower cost, ease of handling and simple systems made them easily handled and made it easier to just hop on and go.
I'm not sure if it's the overwhelming direction of marketing or the increasing expectations of owners that leads people to own a 40' or larger boat as a first boat.
Too bad, there are plenty of totally competent smaller boats out there. Maybe this will help bring in younger sailors since the market for them is depressed and the prices more than fair?
I know the price of entry in larger boats does preclude many from the sailing life, it's the cumulative cost of maintenance, insurance, dockage, etc that kills.
I certainly don't have the answer, I do know there are a lot of very competent boats in the 30-38' range.

[robert sailor]

Couldn't agree more, I think a 36-38 is a great sized boat for most people but the market has convinced buyers that anything less than 40 feet is a non starter. Does make it great for new sailors though, lots of bargains in the below 40 foot range.

[nhschneider]

The Hylas is a great boat with excellent layouts for the cruising family. However, we have been extremely pleased with our Contest and it was extremely well-suited to us when we cruised with our three children. Even though my wife and I cruise by ourselves now, our boat's high-quality construction and comfort under long passages means that we seldom think of owning anything else.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[Jbingham]

We are now the proud owners of a beautiful 53' little harbor!!! Thanks for all the wonderful input everyone!! Time to start a new thread!

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by Jbingham

We are now the proud owners of a beautiful 53' little harbor!!! Thanks for all the wonderful input everyone!! Time to start a new thread!

Congrats, gorgeous boat!

[cpa]

Originally Posted by Jbingham

We are now the proud owners of a beautiful 53' little harbor!!! Thanks for all the wonderful input everyone!! Time to start a new thread!

YES!

[CR38]

Jealous!

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Couldn't agree more, I think a 36-38 is a great sized boat for most people but the market has convinced buyers that anything less than 40 feet is a non starter. Does make it great for new sailors though, lots of bargains in the below 40 foot range.

We are looking for a new blue-water live-aboard boat and have found very few boats under 40' that meet our requirements.

1. Separate shower.
2. Keel stepped mast.
3. LPS over 130.
4. Modified fin keel with skeg rudder.
5. Lead ballast.
6. Quality design and construction.
7. Dedicated nav station (not shared with a bunk or settee).

The closest we have been so far is a 2000 Tartan 3700, it was sold before we could sell our 36.7. The PSC 37 would work if we could get past the flooding sinks and no dedicated shower. The deck-stepped mast design in this boat has been used for decades without any problems that I know of.