There is one obvious problem with the first boat in the series of pictures. The owner apparently has no idea about how to fly an asymmetrical
spinnaker. What else has he done wrong with the boat? The
head looks a bit tight on space.The second boat has a bigger
head. The third boat, Calypso, has an in-mast roller-furler main. This is a major problem for performance under sail. It also appears to have a shoal
draft, which further impacts sailing ability negatively. Do you want to sail or spend time burning
diesel with the
engine instead? Seaduction doesn't show many obvious faults. They may be behind the settees or under the floorboards and not shown in the photos. The blue
cushions on the next boat are hideous and would have to be replaced. La Dame (sail #8176) has a midships
galley. These are not fun to use under way, but are ok in port. She also has
teak decks. Newer
teak decks are not screwed down so they don't leak as much as older ones. They still wear out and need replacement, which can cost more than the boat itself. The
ketch DOES have a screwed-down
teak deck, which is a leaking nightmare waiting to happen if it hasn't already started. A friend with such a
deck took three years to fix his - ripping off the teak and re-glassing the
deck instead. You can also see how much fun it is to climb aboard the
ketch from a
dinghy. The bulwarks add extra
work to boarding amidships, and the lack of a stern platform is highlighted by the "step" that they have hanging on the starboard quarter. Imagine climbing aboard from your
inflatable in a 30cm chop. Wet is the word. The list goes on and on. Every boat is a series of problems. What some people see as a problem others consider an asset. (Roller-furler mains are an example of this.) What sort of problems are you looking for and which ones can you handle?