James:
I'm coming in late, I know, and much of what needs to be said has already been said. Let me add this, though:
The Hunter 27 is NOT a difficult boat to sail. It is quite an easy boat to learn on. That the particular specimen is mucky below is of no consequence whatever. Just muck it out and wash all hard surfaces with an appropriate cleaner. Soapy water (dish washer detergent followed by a wipe with clean water, and then another wipe with vinegar) goes a long, long way.
Cushions can be spot cleaned and aired. So the state of the universe below decks is not worth getting in a sweat over.
96 hours on the engine is maybe true, maybe not. If it is, a change of the suspect impeller (for the raw
cooling water, I take it) is dead simple, and it's a skill you need to acquire, so that is not a deal breaker either. Do test start the engine. If it starts easily, the 96 hours may well be true. SailboatData sez the engine in these was a Renault. Renaults would no doubt be difficult to get
parts for, but if the engine was swapped out for, say, a Beta, 96 hours ago you'll be just fine. to have a professional replace the engine with a new Beta would cost ten or eleven grand.
A difficult engine start may be due to defunct
batteries.
Batteries are "consumables". A Hunter 27 sailed by a
novice can get by with two 27 series
Marine Deep Cycle batteries. These are really deep cycle. That's
marketing fluff. They are just dickied-up automobile starter batteries, but a pair of them should last three or four years at a cost of say US$200.
Standing
rigging is the sort of thing you do yourself one bit at a time. If you put some thought into it, you can do the re'n're of individual bits yourself after having a new bit made up by a
rigging shop. That is if the terminals are swaged. It they are mechanical fittings, you can can change them yourself. Again, doing that is a skill that every cruiser should have.
Running rigging is another easily repaired thing, and for a boat costing 2 grand, just bite the bullet and replace what needs to be replaced. Blocks, and such, are relatively expensive but don't often need replacing, but if they do you can do it yourself.
Rope is also fairly expensive, but is easy to swap out. Standard practice is to "demote" line in high stress applications, to less stressful uses until a given bit of
rope is conclusively worn out. When it is, you can make fenders and "puddings" from it :-)
Fibreglass hulls have to be ASSISSINATED when you want to end their lives. They never croak on their own. So
hull maintenance really just amounts to keeping her bottom clean and her topsides washed and waxed. Bottom
cleaning may require a haul-out, but I do that only every three years. Sacrificial zincs can be change by a diver every year at far less cost than a haul-out.
When you look at the boat, the REALLY important thing to have a look at is the condition of the
keel bolts where they come through into the
bilge. To change
keel bolts is not a job for a new owner, so if the bolts are suspect, they should be changed by a professional, and the
price should be reduced to reflect the cost of that.
If the keel bolts and the engine are alright, then EVERYTHING else is fixable by yourself, little by little as time and
budget allow.
Having said all that, I must tell you that the annual
OWNERSHIP costs of TrentePieds (a 30 footer obviously) are still Can$1,000/month here in the Salish Sea. Costs vary according to location, but do not be blind to the fact that if you buy the Hunter for two grand, then your personal budget should
permit of allocating US$10,000 to the boat in the first year of
ownership, and probably about US$8,000 every year thereafter for as long as you own the boat.
All the best to you.
TrentePieds
Even for a weekender lake boat?
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