Just Starting Out - $5k 25-27' Boat Options?

[Scout 30]

Not your typical Clorox bottle. This is a sweetheart of a boat .

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/b...659461425.html

[john61ct]

Gorgeous, sturdy as heck, and what a bargain if sound!

But at under 8' beam I bet tight below? Headroom?

And better train the kids to enjoy laboring in exchange for their passage, refinishing all that teak 8-D

______
And I love this, Nugatory! :

Please note: Before you respond to this advertisement, ask yourself if you are truly ready and able to come to Spokane to see this. If that is beyond you, then getting the boat and doing the bit of elbow grease it needs, and the regular maintenance demanded of a fine boat, will also be too much for you. Coming here is a nugatory effort, but if you are not actually ready to do this, please don't call.

[Twelvizm]

I’ve chatted with the seller about delivering ito to theColumbia so I can make the 3-4 day sail down the Columbia.
I have been warned repeatedly away from buying a wooden boat to start with, as I’ll spend more time at the dock and the bank as I will sailing. Although, every part of me is in love with how that boat looks. And it makes the list previously posted. But, I don’t think a I have the ballad or bank for a wooden boat.

[Twelvizm]

Here’s what I got from the seller:

The deck is fibreglass with a teak overlay, and the teak is in very good shape, though coated with Cetol, which is intact.
The trips you have in mind are easy enough in this boat. You would need to do an oil change and normal engine maintenance before starting, which is also easy on the Betamarine diesels.

Before doing any sailing offshore, I would change the standing rigging. You can take all the stays to the Fisheriessupply and they can copy them, but also change the turnbuckles. The main and genoa are as I stated in the ad. The rest of the work is just that, no real expenses involved.

Nearest place to launch would be south of here on the Snake River, but it would cost (I am told) $500 for a crane. Better to haul to a marina that does such work and which has a travel lift.

The Columbia should present no difficulties you can't handle. I am considering doing it next month in my Catalina 22, which I bought for river trips.

These boats were not shipped from Hong Kong on completion: They were all sailed to their buyers by delivery skippers, which I find amazing. But we planned to ship the boat to Lisbon and sail the Mediterranean west to east. The main thing is keeping stowage to a minimum. It's a great boat for one person if you plan to go solo.

But as I said in the ad, unless you can achieve making a trip here to see it, then forget it. I get a lot of responses about this, but the eventual buyer of it will not care about coming here, he will have the money, and he will know Cheoy Lees and want one of these to restore.

Originally Posted by john61ct

Gorgeous, sturdy as heck, and what a bargain if sound!

But at under 8' beam I bet tight below? Headroom?

And better train the kids to enjoy laboring in exchange for their passage, refinishing all that teak 8-D

______
And I love this, Nugatory! :

Please note: Before you respond to this advertisement, ask yourself if you are truly ready and able to come to Spokane to see this. If that is beyond you, then getting the boat and doing the bit of elbow grease it needs, and the regular maintenance demanded of a fine boat, will also be too much for you. Coming here is a nugatory effort, but if you are not actually ready to do this, please don't call.

[john61ct]

Yes **not** a "wooden boat".

Just a FG boat with a lot more (very lovely) wood that adds to the annual maintenance load.

IMO worth the trouble, and a character-building job for kids 8-D

[Mike Banks]

If you are looking in the 25-30 foot range, I would get a trailable sail boat. Preferably a trailable multihull, such as a Trailer-tri--one I could launch easily by myself with only minimal assistance--because that is what is available unless your wife is a seasoned sailor.

Get one that needs only an outboard, or if it does have an inboard diesel, make sure it works. It makes the trailed load lighter if it can be lifted off and stowed in a towing car or light truck, with a multi hull one does not have to haul a ton of ballast up hills as well as the weight of the hull and rigging.

Having said that--sometimes a mono, ballast and all, is all that is available at reasonable cost,. Deceased estates often have little-used vessels going reasonably cheaply--some have been stored unused for years--owners could not bear the thought they might never sail again--so hung on to them to the end.

Being able to drag a vessel home for maintenance, and not having to pay marina fees, or leave it on a mooring at the mercy of thieves and vandals--as well as a offering much wider range of places to sail, will make the whole trailer-boat thing more pleasant and less stressful, and people have lived aboard a 25 footer permanently and sailed them extensively, so they should suffice for a weekend on the water or maybe even a couple of weeks..

[Don C L]

OK well I'll put this one in because I think it may check most of your boxes, if you can find one. Columbia 26 MK1. It will likely be cheap, but if it is in good shape, they were built well, they have standing headroom, they sail well, seaworthy IMO, the outboard's well is enclosed (and can be made to tilt up the engine which is really not a bad alternative to a diesel,) and the keel is molded into the hull (no keel bolts) and the rudder is protected being attached to keel. It won't be as roomy as the Hunter or the Catalina 27 though, so it may not be your cup of tea, but someone else reading this may find it interesting. I used to have the Columbia 24 with an outboard in the well that tilted up and it worked really well.
If you 're interested in the Cheoy Lee 27, you might find an ol' Columbia 29 appealing, I sure love mine.
COLUMBIA 26 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com
Columbia 26 Specifications

[Jim Cate]

FWIW, good friends of ours circumnavigated in a Cal 2-27 back in the seventies. Only electronic thing on board was a flasher type depth sounder. They continued to live aboard for some time after the RTW.

Perhaps not the best boat for the job, but a successful one!

Changing subject... don't be obsessive about what the first boat is. Most any typical production boat of the size and age that you can afford will do for training purposes. The main thing IMO is to not buy a project, and not to pay above market. With those two provisos, you can buy, learn, use and then sell without great financial hits. When then looking for your next boat, you will be far better informed about what works for you... that's the time to start obsessing!

Jim

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Twelvizm

I’ve chatted with the seller about delivering ito to theColumbia so I can make the 3-4 day sail down the Columbia.
I have been warned repeatedly away from buying a wooden boat to start with, as I’ll spend more time at the dock and the bank as I will sailing. Although, every part of me is in love with how that boat looks. And it makes the list previously posted. But, I don’t think a I have the ballad or bank for a wooden boat.

If you're referring to the Cheoy Lee 27 it is a fiberglass boat. There's something to be said for having a boat that you can't take your eyes off of as you row to shore. Life is too short to own an ugly boat.

[rickmcdonald]

last year I traded a guy a 1975 19 ft glass ply had about 4k invested straight across for an 1982 macgreagor 25 on a trailer its a great boat didn't need much but I had to fix it up galley running water stove, just enough I can spend 3 or 4 days on it in comfort and no morring fees no barnacles and I can work on anytime I want cause its right out front door !

[Twelvizm]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

If you're referring to the Cheoy Lee 27 it is a fiberglass boat. There's something to be said for having a boat that you can't take your eyes off of as you row to shore. Life is too short to own an ugly boat.

I can see that being more relevant on the next boat. As for now, that extra woodwork is more distraction than desired feature. That boat tempts me more for the adventure of sailing it back home down the length of the Columbia than anything else. It is really pretty though with a great cabin layout.

Originally Posted by rickmcdonald

last year I traded a guy a 1975 19 ft glass ply had about 4k invested straight across for an 1982 macgreagor 25 on a trailer its a great boat didn't need much but I had to fix it up galley running water stove, just enough I can spend 3 or 4 days on it in comfort and no morring fees no barnacles and I can work on anytime I want cause its right out front door !

Sounds like a good time. Unfortunately I don't have the space to park a sailboat, nor do I have a vehicle suited for towing. Fortunately I'll be on freshwater, so I don't have to worry about barnacles either. With that said, I don't have an interest in a drop keel/trailer boat. A big perk of having a sailboat for me, it the marina life. Having a quiet place to go sit on the water and have a beer and get away from my wife and kids when I need to escape. I also prefer just going to the dock, and having a boat already set up to disembark without stepping a mast and pulling off a trailer.

[SanSimeon]

I picked up a Hake Seaward 23 for $4500. The owner was very particular about maintaining the boat consequently it had no issues plus a lot of extras. If you are not rushing to buy and can sail or trailer to your home port - you’d be surprised at the deals you might find. This boat was the result of 8 months of searching. Dk

[Twelvizm]

That’s a pretty boat!

My wife an I found a boat, unfortunately it’s a bit premature as were waiting to close on a refi to buy the boat. The boat we found is a 28’ Newport, well maintained, with records, new sheets, sails, chart plotter, radar, Bimini, and a pretty minty interior.

Now here’s to hoping it’s still around in 3 weeks.

[Sailing Pastor]

I have to sell my great Bayfield 25 as I am relocating to Scotland. Sadly, you are on the opposite coast as I am in Charleston ,SC. I would let "Wen-D" go for your price range as I am not looking to profit but quick sell.

[Dove1955]

It's hit and miss but if you don't mind a fixer-upper sometime you can get a good deal on ebay with Boat Angel donated boats.