An older boat should have the chain plates pulled, inspected and replaced if evidence of crevice
corrosion. You won't be able to see the
corrosion till the plates are out of the boat. Standing
rigging should be redone if swage fittings are more than about 10 years old.
Sails need to be flown and inspected to check for shape and condition. Old
sails aren't necessarily bad but if they've been out in the sun a lot and carried in too strong a
wind, even a fairly new sail can be crap.
If the
engine is the original
salt water cooled
Volvo, it may need a
rebuild soon.
Engine was designed for use in
salt water so everything that touched
salt water is replacable, cylinders and heads, but
parts may be costly and hard to find. Engine is rebuildable in the boat except for the main bearings which could save you some time, effort and
money. Love those old Volvos especially since you can hand crank them which I did for 10 years.
The rest of the boat is probably pretty much bullet proof as long as it hasn't had long term
leaks onto
plywood. Bringing the
interior back could be a lot of spit and polish. Be careful of
plywood pieces as you could easily sand through the exterior veneer which will mean you'll have to
paint it to look good. That's a plus in my opinion as I like the Herreshoff look of painted flat surfaces and varnished trim. If the gel coat is getting porous and thin, you may want to repaint her. That is a costly undertaking if you have a yard do everything.
As far as value, check what the Hinckley Pilot 35s are selling for. They are a comparable boat from an equally respected
builder. If the boat is in rough conditon, wouldn't expect to pay much more than $20,000 as you could easily put that much and more into her. I've been redoing a
Pearson 35 and it's amazing how much things add up even using Ebay and swap meets to buy most of the upgrades.
Newer boats have more interior volume though much of it is unusable for a sea boat. The worst thing is they are butt ugly with the emphasis on the butt. If they were a date, wouldn't take them anywhere I'd be seen in public.
As far as sailing ability, it's an S&S design. That says it all. Should go to
weather like a demon. Will do okay off the
wind but not a great surfer. Should have no handling issues and be a great sea boat.