Opinions on my "short" list?

[four winds]

You're welcome Dan, enjoyed our conversation. I was long winded but we were talking about one of my favorite subjects.

Sorry that one didn't work. Consider other 323's if you come across one. BYW, headroom is 6'2" all the way through.

Never liked the idea of covering the standing rigging with anything. But an engine refit would normally include bolting the rear mounts down, no?. That one takes the cake. Makes one wonder about other work.

Best of luck with the continuing search.

[kpse]

This is a super helpful thread. Sounds like we are in similar situations @theunknown. Our budget is similar too. We were in Annapolis about two weeks ago looking at a couple of sailboats. We are in saint Petersburg now looking at boats. We looked at the 1967 Morgan today. Its in great shape for its age. We're just concerned about the space because there are 4 of us. Good luck to both of us!

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[Theunknown]

Wow! Sorry to hear the boat wasn't all they said it was. I hate the fact that you spent all that extra cash due to the fact that the broker wasn't honest with you. It would have been a different story if he would have told you the areas needed work but to say "bright and shiny" is ridiculous. I thought the boat was in good shape from the pics...guess pics are really worthless. Your experience has helped me make up my mind for sure to make an extended trip out and look lots of boats in person versus flying out for a specific boat.

At least your down there now and there are tons of boats to look at. I'm sure your going to find one you like even better! Good luck with the inspections and thanks for the update.

[Scout 30]

Why don't you post the Broker's name & business name. Might help someone know who to avoid. Plus, a little bad publicity might get him to rethink how he's doing business.

[Scout 30]

To KPSE: Here's a listing you might want to check out since you're already in St Pete. It's about an hour north & you can see the manatees while your at it. I recommend the state park at Homosassa.


37ft steel sail boat-For Sale

[Scout 30]

Looking at those pics on the steel sloop in Crystal River I'm rethinking posting the link. It looks pretty rough although it appears to have been quite a boat in it's day.

[Theunknown]

kpse - Good luck in your search. Ton of boats out there now so it can be overwhelming to narrow it down. Lots of boats seem to pop up in the Tampa area daily so you are in a good area to find the one!!!


Thanks everyone for the additional boat info!


Jeff

[kpse]

Thank you scout 30! Will definitely look into that!!

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[brownoarsman]

I've got no problem with that, Scout. The boat is listed by Wilson Yacht Sales of Fort Myers, broker Mike Kelley: 1978 Pearson 323 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com. I'm not sure if he was being dishonest or just didn't know, some of what he was doing was just relaying the owner's info, but it took me just an hour to discover these issues, and I expect brokers to make at least that thorough a once-over before listing a boat. I emailed him the pictures to justify a price reduction, but haven't heard back, and frankly, where there are issues like this, there are probably bound to be more.

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by Theunknown

A strong diesel is at the top of my list. We will be motoring up and down the ICW for around 1400 miles and I want to minimize the chance of engine trouble. Great tip on the Volvo parts I didn't know there was a big price difference.

Thanks for the buying/search tips. They will come in extremely helpful! I'll definetly post pics of the potential boats as I narrow down the list. I'm calling on some more boats this weekend to gather some more info and hopefully find some that need a closer look.

Will any surveyors do a quick pre inspection. Being a long distance buyer it's hard to narrow down the search before I fly out. It would be helpful to pay them a smaller amount to do a quick look at the top 2 or 3 boats before I ordered a full survey to rule out obvious problem boats.

Thanks
Jeff

We had our broker in San Diego fly to Seattle to do a first inspection while we were still in Australia. We had him engage a local mechanic, video the survey and interview the owner and we had them run engine and trans oil tests.

We then headed up to Seattle ran our own inspection, sea trial and had a local surveyor complete a survey. The surveyor was sloppy in his paperwork. Cut and paste issues but its needed for the insurer.

I'm a mechanic, airframe welder and toolmaker by trade. I also have 3 engineering degrees including a masters in materials science. This allowed me to coordinate the remote survey.

What really sold me was the cleanliness of the engine room and mechanical systems. Good wiring, routing and choice of high quality systems was also a green flag.

We bought the boat, a Liberty 458, and have been sailing regularly and living aboard for over a year now.

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[brownoarsman]

Just agreed to purchase a Pearson 28: smaller than I wanted, older engine than I wanted, and it's like a cruising boat of yore (no pressure pumps or head shower), but everything else is new or recently updated, and it's in good, solid shape. More like camping than cruising, perhaps, but it'll work, and the price was alright.

For those looking at purchasing in this size/price range (30'-34', less than $25,000) and it seems like there are two on this thread, one of the brokers I spoke with said he had a ton of boats like this in October, but snowbirds come down, snatch them up, head to the Keys or the Bahamas (or Cuba if they're Canadian) and then put them back with the brokerage in May/June when they come back. May be worth looking in those months rather than now. Also, deal-hunting is great when you can get it, but the really good ones sell that day; I checked sailboat listings and CL every day, and in two instances solid boats were sold within 12 hours of the post going up. I wouldn't get hung up on the deal and instead just find something that works at a good price.

For what it's worth, I've driven over 1,000 miles across Florida looking at a lot of trash. If you're thinking of these, I can save you the trip or encourage you to make one.

Morgan 34s:
St Pete: 1967 34' Morgan Sail Boat Didn't see her but talked to the owner by phone. He is a great guy, but he'll be honest with you that this boat is not set up as a cruiser. Original standing rigging is still on her, and expect to invest in things like an autopilot, instrumentation and solar. Probably a pretty clean boat though, I wouldn't cross it off your list out of hand.
Miami: 1966 Morgan Yachts Morgan 34 sailboat for sale in Florida Don't come near it. Mast step is rotted as is the block for the centerboard. Engine was redone but bilge is covered in filth. Wood frame for floor is rotted, and flooring is crappy home build that is warping. Cable snapped due to rusted block, but it's still in the steel tube and connected to the centerboard (bronze). Winches need some serious maintenance. Don't bother.

Pearson 323 Fort Myers: 1978 Pearson 323 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com Covered earlier in this thread: rear engine mounts not bolted, filthy bilge with tons of water just waiting to cover the exposed battery terminals in the bilge, chain plates should probably be condemned. Lots of other issues.

Neptun 31: This is a really beautiful boat. Stick built, gorgeous craftsmanship, great engine access, crisp sails. But she needs some work. There's a thread on it, but shortly: new running and standing rigging required, bilge full of rust probably from a leaky hull/keel joint (backing plates rotted but no idea on bolt condition), and possible electrolysis/blisters from sitting for five years in the water. Would also need new chartplotter and autohelm. Sleeps only three, but could sleep four if you unscrew some hinges and add a cushion. Visit her, fall in love, and spend the money and time if you have it. I can send all my research and documentation if anyone wants it; it's pretty extensive. I was budgeting a yard bill of $8,000 to $15,000 (if you really want to fix every detail, vs. Navionics on a phone and a tiller pilot, for example) and dry time of two plus weeks as the yards I called were pretty busy.

Elfea 36: Wet throughout, and it's made entirely out of balsa and epoxy. Your gamble.

Chapman school of seamanship donation boats: Lots of wrecks with high asking prices.

I looked at/called on some other boats. Feel free to post on here or PM me if you're looking at something you think I may have covered.

[Scout 30]

I believe you said you were going to look at this Morgan 30. Did you ever make it down there?


https://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/boa/4877393734.html

[brownoarsman]

I meant to, but have to confess that I was pretty taken with the condition of the Pearson 28 and didn't get done inspecting her until 4 pm, so decided not to call on the Morgan 30. The other reasons were that the Morgan 30 has a wheel instead of a tiller, and while I could have converted her to a tiller with a tiller pilot, or added a wheel pilot to the wheel, the cost of either would have been a significant portion of the boat's purchase price. The other reason was that after seeing the condition of the Miami Morgan 34's centerboard block and mast step, I just sort of assumed, probably wrongly, that they'd all look similar, if she is, indeed, a Morgan 30 and not a Morgan 30 OI.

[Scout 30]

That's cool. I'm glad you found the right boat for you. When that happens you know it & there's little reason to keep looking at other boats.

[tominny]

I've done the trip down the East Coast to the Bahamas and back with a Tartan 34C. Great boat to sail, strongly built, small interior. Only 4' draft, so great for Bahamas. Friends did the same with a Tartan 30 which for some reason is almost as roomy, but less stowage space. As long as you keep the water out, watch the weather, have good ground tackle you'll be fine in most boats for this trip. The cheapest way to do this is to find a boat that has already bern set up for cruising. Another $5k added to the purchase price can get you $15-20k in gear plus installation costs.


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