School Me More on Bristol 27s

[rowingdude]

Originally Posted by kismet

I have a friend, also in Md who has a 27 for sail for $3000. He is selling it without the outboard motor which will be sold separately for $700. The boat is in good condition other than a little dock rash on the upper hull. I will post some pictures later. If interested send me a PM for more info.

PM Sent, I think I'd save money on this if your friend's boat is in good condition

[Capt.Don]

As others have said, this boat needs a lot of work to bring back to life. If you can purchase one for $3,000 is usable condition, the difference ($1,500) is money well spent. Cleaning supplies alone are going to cost a couple hundred dollars, not to mention all the items you'll discover when pealing away the dirt and grime. There's a reason no-one is bidding on this boat.
Don

[rowingdude]

Yeah, thanks again. If this other one is pretty much ready to sail, I don't see why I couldn't go take a gander at it. I'd really like to be heading down to the Bahamas this fall .. Winter bites

[kismet]

Bristol 27 for sale $3,000
Bristol27.com » Chesapeake Gem

[boatman61]

Looks a really nice tidy boat.... easily worth 3K... if the steaks come with it..

[rowingdude]

Well, now it's going to be a run between this bristol 27, or a pearson renegade 27' with an inboard a4-petrol

[kismet]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Looks a really nice tidy boat.... easily worth 3K... if the steaks come with it..

Yes, the boat looks like a good deal, but I thought the steaks looked over-cooked..

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by kismet

Yes, the boat looks like a good deal, but I thought the steaks looked over-cooked..

Thats OK.... don't like mine too rare.....

[ghostwriter247]

So i just did what you are thinking about doing so ill shed some light on my experience. I bought a bristol 27 in VA for $1000 and it is the outboard model. The hull and decks were sound and luckily when i looked inside it had two new headsails so score for me. I can do all the work myself so that will save me a lot. If i had to do it again i would.

Here are my costs so far

Transportation was a shade over $2000 and i did the shipping. I paid a little over 800 for a cradle. this was a must as i had to rent a flatbed. I owned a 2500 gooseneck

Renting a trailer to ship one of these mandates a 2500 as with this size load across the mountains u need electric brakes.

I got quotes between 2500 to 5k to have it shipped plus the download.

obviously loading on each side was about 350 each.

I just paid about 1400 for a new mainsail and added a strong track for around 600

The strong track is not a must but a very worthwhile upgrade.

Double that if you need new headsails

The bare minimum to get here sailing on running rigging and new blocks is about $600

In order to lead everything aft and add my spinnaker blocks total for everything is about 2k for new hardware and running rigging.

Mine doesnt have a motor either so figure on 750 to 1100 for a used one or 2400 to 3k for new.

Now notice i have yet to touch any hull repairs thru hulls or interior, electronics.

and it will probably take me three to five years to finish seeing as how i will take sailing seasons off for any major work

Like i said I still think i made the right decision but I bet the minimum i have in her when im done is 15 to 20k prolly much more but she will be pristine when Im done. all for a boat that modestly will prolly be worth oh 10 - 12k. Food for thought. good luck with your decision.

I just enjoy restoring old stuff so its worth it to me.

[rowingdude]

Well, I am saving now for more of a turn key boat, since I have limited sailing experience, it'll be better for me if I can just get out there an go. For 15-20k that I'd spend fixing up a boat I'd later want to sell, just isn't worth it to me. That same money would easily buy a 32' boat that needs nothing but someone to sail her. So, it's back to saving the pennies up!

I did make the decision though that any boat I got, I'd replace all the winches, blocks, etc. I'd also like to redo all of the running rigging and color coordinate everything so it's easier for me to work quickly.

I appreciate your insight!

[Tbrad]

Hey Dude, there's your first adventure. Fix up the boat and then sail her up through the canal and then over to Michigan.

[thomm225]

Well, you still may want to hold off on spending that $15-20K. Maybe the example that guy gave wasn't the best. I was all set to buy a 1986 Catalina 30 for around $20K. It was a nice boat too, but I couldn't quite "pull the trigger" on it. It got sold.

I ended up stumbling upon a 1974 Bristol 27 Hull Number 335 (out of a possible 337 built) for $2000.00. It was at a small marina and didn't even have a for sale sign on it. I thought it was a Pearson Triton and went asking about boats for sale on the lot. I bought it a month or so later "as is" for the $2,000.00. It was an estate sale and had been sitting there on the hard for 4-5 years!

I have since gotten the engine (10 hp bukh diesel) running, cleaned the crap out of the boat inside and out, painted the bottom, and am now screwing around trying to get the stuffing box repacked. I'm actually letting my body heal up from the first attempt in 96 degree heat and 3-4 hours of this work.

The boat came with an almost new jib, older storm jib and main plus a dodger/bimini. The seller(original owner’s son) also sent me the gps, depthfinder, radio, and chart plotter for the boat. The boat is an awesome boat, but it is still cosmetically challenged. I'll try and attach a before/after set of pictures. This is two months of weekend work. The boat is about 75 miles from me on the Chesapeake Bay.

Btw, I’ve own lots of boats mostly junker power boats when I was under 24 years old. (i'm 55 now) My last 4 boat were catamarans (two Hobie 16's, a NACRA 6.0, and an Inter/NACRA/F-17 with spinnaker) which I raced about 9 months out of the year on the gulf coast so I know some stuff. This is my first “heavy “ sailboat with an engine.

The paint is peeling off the hulls something terrible, but the pictures don't show that. She's about to go in the water so i can determine whether or not this is the boat for me. I have spent maybe another $1,000.00 on her since the purchase. She came loaded with spare engine parts and everything else since the owner was on a return trip north from Florida.

Tom

ps. She also came with dinghy davits and roller furling.

[thomm225]

I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea though, this boat is a long way from picture perfect. I have just gotten it into good enough shape for the 70 mile voyage to my home location.

There's still tons of work to do, but I did get the engine running, and all the leaks stopped, bottom sanded and painted, and stripe added. I still need to do the upper hull and deck. Plus the interior is kinda plain. Lots of plywood, but I do have a boat capable of the trip to the Bahamas or Bermuda. And no, I'm not going to just jump on and sail her home. I'll spend a few weekends cruising the local waters where she is parked.

My point here is you can find a nice boat cheap, but it's helpful if you have been around boats for a while. This boat does not look good, but it's very seaworthy is my opinion.

And as for the sailing, I have many years of experience. I see lots of guys on here saying.............I haven't sailed much, but I want to buy a cheap boat that will circumnavigate!! Nice, good luck.

Also, I mentioned to a guy today that I would like 18-22 knot winds when I do sail the boat down here.........he's like 18-22? Really? I'm like, yeah, really!

Tom

[thomm225]

I was amazed at how good the bottom turned out though. It was my first shot at it.............

also, the dude above says he would like to replace all the winches and blocks on his new boat. I reckon he hasn't priced those yet. My boat has flat winch handles the winches are so old, but I plan on using those until they will not work. I might even do some maintenance on them when all the other crap is done.

[thomm225]

this is a better "before" type picture.

This is all I have done to this point and I'm guessing it cost around another $1,000.00 plus lots of sweat. Okay let's say $1,500. And it's still and ugly old boat, but it's coming along. Plus, it's kinda fun. I've even lost a few pounds that running and cycling wouldn't take off. It was the muscle work of sanding, painting, scrubbing, and working on the engine and stuffing box in the cabin/sauna.