We bought our first yacht

[Blakhomer]

Long time lurker. Never wanted to be put in the dreamer category so I never posted. Last week that changed though when our offer on a 2006 Beneteau 423 was accepted. It was actually the first boat we visited. We saw another 2 that afternoon but the 423 was in a far better shape albeit a much bigger price.

For some context, we haven't really had COVID-19 in our city for about 5 months. Our state has only 5 active cases and that number has been hovering between 1-5 for several months now. But there biggest state in our country has been having significant issues containing the virus and we feel this will likely spread across the country within a few weeks and that the country will operationally revert to where it was at the beginning of the outbreak.

We have been looking casually for a few years, doing charters a few times a year and thinking about transitioning to buy a yacht once we had the house paid off. The virus accelerated our thinking and we decided to live for the moment rather than off in the future.

We experienced on average 320 days of sunshine in this city so we'll get plenty of time to make good use of the boat.

Thanks to anyone who ever posted something that motivated me to get onboard.

[Fbfisher]

Originally Posted by Blakhomer

Long time lurker. Never wanted to be put in the dreamer category so I never posted. Last week that changed though when our offer on a 2006 Beneteau 423 was accepted. It was actually the first boat we visited. We saw another 2 that afternoon but the 423 was in a far better shape albeit a much bigger price.



For some context, we haven't really had COVID-19 in our city for about 5 months. Our state has only 5 active cases and that number has been hovering between 1-5 for several months now. But there biggest state in our country has been having significant issues containing the virus and we feel this will likely spread across the country within a few weeks and that the country will operationally revert to where it was at the beginning of the outbreak.



We have been looking casually for a few years, doing charters a few times a year and thinking about transitioning to buy a yacht once we had the house paid off. The virus accelerated our thinking and we decided to live for the moment rather than off in the future.



We experienced on average 320 days of sunshine in this city so we'll get plenty of time to make good use of the boat.



Thanks to anyone who ever posted something that motivated me to get onboard.

Congratulations on your purchase. As the owner of a 2005 Beneteau 423 for the past 13 years, I can say that she’s fulfilled all of our dreams so far. A great boat. Ours is the two cabin version, with teak decks, electric winches dual chart plotters etc. fully loaded and set up so that I can easily single hand her.

If you’re not yet familiar, there is a very active 423 forum with many very informed members who can likely address any issue or question you have. You can find it on Groups.io and search for Beneteau423

[Jim Cate]

Well, congratulations and welcome to CF and the peculiar world of yacht ownership.

Now that you have become a more active member, would you please fill out your personal profile? Having all that info easily at hand makes answering any questions you post much easier and often saves several back and forth posts trying to sort out things like your location and possible experience and so on.

Thanks, and enjoy your new boat!

Jim

[Blakhomer]

Originally Posted by Fbfisher

Congratulations on your purchase. As the owner of a 2005 Beneteau 423 for the past 13 years, I can say that she’s fulfilled all of our dreams so far. A great boat. Ours is the two cabin version, with teak decks, electric winches dual chart plotters etc. fully loaded and set up so that I can easily single hand her.

If you’re not yet familiar, there is a very active 423 forum with many very informed members who can likely address any issue or question you have. You can find it on Groups.io and search for Beneteau423

Thanks Fbfisher. I have been going through all that info recently. Good source.

I'm organising a new tender this week and opted for a polycraft Tuffy 300 with a 9.9HP Yamaha. This will double as our fishing vessel.

I also noted Jim's advice and updated my bio.

[Today]

👍🏽 Have a great time.

[ScottMeilicke]

Congratulations and welcome!

[OzDean]

Hey Blakhomer, Welcome to CF from a fellow QLDer, enjoy the boat and the reef, the 423 will serve you well, Cheers Dean

[Tetepare]

Beautiful cruising area there, I did it some years back- Magnetic, Palm, etc. GBR was astonishing. However, one morning anchored off Magnetic I went on deck and found it cool- and thought wow this is COLD! It was 6 degrees. Locals said they'd never seen it that cold.

[sailorboy1]

happy voyaging

[Fbfisher]

Let’s see some pics!

[Blakhomer]

Haha. She's not quite picture worthy yet. But I'm organising a vinyl wrap for her and hope to have that done in a few weeks time when we haul out. The interior feels very...adult movie like...at this time so I'm also having the cushion covers replaced. She'll still have some warts but those two things will help. The survey suggested everything seems to be in good shape or better. The rudder has some movement and this will need to be addressed in 1-2 years time. The prop shaft will also require some attention in similar time frames.
We had already factored the replacement of the rigging into our offer and that will also need to be done in the next 4-6 weeks.

[Fbfisher]

Take before and after pics, will make for an interesting story to follow. It’s always interesting to see the transformation.

[Blakhomer]

After watching how much windage she has due to the high freeboard, I'm debating whether a bowthruster might be the go.

[Fbfisher]

You can inquire on the Beneteau423 owners forum, but my impression is that the vast majority of 423’s were produced without bow thrusters. Free board of the 423 is certainly less than Hunter, and likely similar to Catalina and other production cruisers of that era. The shallow bilge and wide beam makes for more interior volume while achieving a relatively low profile for a cruising boat.

The 423 handles really well in tight space, and depending on your prop, you’ll be able to learn to use any prop walk to your advantage gaining maneuverability.

Get to know her, maybe get some instruction, and I’m guessing your concerns about needing a thruster will subside as your familiarity grows.

[Blakhomer]

Well its been about a month since we took possession and we've been doing our best to get out on the water as much as possible. We've had the standing rigging replaced which has taken a bit longer than expected as 6 of the 8 turn buckles were seized and needed to be cut. We're waiting on just the back stay now as the rigger had received the wrong part so that will get finalised next week. We are also waiting on the new headsail as the old one looked like a ghost sail out of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie that ripped apart when we opened her up after taking possession. We had assumed it needed replacing anyways and had factored that into our offer. That should be delivered in a few days time (and also two weeks past the estimated delivery time). We aren't operating on a tight schedule so there's no drama.

Those big jobs aside, I was hoping to wait to replace the thruhulls after the summer season here but already one of the forward head thruhulls doesnt seem to close properly and another in the aft head looks dodgy so I will be hauling out to replace those next month. She'll get a fresh bottom done too and I've also organised all the materials and tools I need to polish the top sides. I've opted again the hull wrap at this time so as to save money because I may need some expert help to service/replace the lower bearing in the rudder as well as service/replace the stern bearing on the prop shaft.

I've got a bunch of photos on my phone that I will need to transfer to my laptop so that I might share the journey visually and I hope to get to that before my haul out. Loving every bit so far, even knowing we have a lot of cash sinks in our future.