What Do You Make of This For Sale Ad?

[jeagles]

I have bought and sold in the Nanaimo market in this price/size ratio. Key issue is age. Seems expensive to me. I have been monitoring the market and lots of good boats out there - although slow now in the winter. Do not like exterior chain plates - indicates problem in past.
Do not like Contessa - small and dark.

[KetoNomad]

Originally Posted by hamburking

You made a good call. The boat is usually no better than the owner. If there were good things to say, he would have said them.

I looked at a contessa 26 when I was looking at boats. I found it to be like a coffin below, due to the lack of sliding main hatch found on just about all other boats. Yes, excellent pedigree if you are looking at crossing oceans, but not much storage space, living space, or comforts.

FYI, from my local kijiji:

Contessa 26 for sale | sailboats | North Bay | Kijiji

Thank you, I couldn't agree more. Being in no rush to buy an expensive headache I think I will avoid this, can't really see dealing with deceivers going well.

[KetoNomad]

Originally Posted by jeagles

I have bought and sold in the Nanaimo market in this price/size ratio. Key issue is age. Seems expensive to me. I have been monitoring the market and lots of good boats out there - although slow now in the winter. Do not like exterior chain plates - indicates problem in past.
Do not like Contessa - small and dark.

Yes, the pickings are slim for boats of this variety. And yeah, for $15500 it should at least have a working heater and workable rigging for the next couple of months. C26 is my last pick for boats I would buy so with 10 weeks of vacation left and, undoubtedly, much repair and upgrade work to be done, I will not cry myself to sleep over letting this pass

[KetoNomad]

Originally Posted by Tessellate

It is quite common for boaters to not know all that much about their boat, especially if they've only owned it 5 months and if you're asking fairly technical questions about the boat's history, like the specifics of a rerig.

Remember not everyone is as passionate about the hobby and spends their waking hours reading sailing books and CF. Especially for boats under 30 feet, where their goal might just be to get out on the water occasionally in the summer.

I haven't seen any red flags from what you've told us. The only thing would be make sure it's not a Craigslist scam like one other poster suggested - no interior pics + generic conversation on the phone suggests the (remote) possibility it's not their boat and they'll ask for a cash deposit which they disappear with. This should be easy to confirm or disconfirm though.

Very good to know; I do not know many boat owners, and those that I have met led me to believe they tend to know their boats well (the people who cruise, at least). Still, I am in no rush to purchase so I'm not going to bother since the guy ostensibly lied about the condition (the engine specifically) and if he's owned the boat for this amount of time and knows nothing it's very unlikely this boat will be more of a sailor than a project. I have ten weeks of vacation left so if I buy anything I want something that is truly ready to sail, at least with only minor issues.

[KetoNomad]

Originally Posted by topmast

Keto If you decided to look I can pick you up at Departure Bay and drop you at Gab ferry. Can pick up for return to DB .Owner on other side.?? I'm in south Nanaimo. Not a fiber glass fan but will assist anyway.

That's a very kind offer, thank you I'm definitely not going to look at this boat, however, I'm sure it would be more work than it is worth to me.

Just curious, what kind of boats do you like? Are you a "Brent Boat" fan or a fan of other steel boats? I'd like a steel boat, or at least I like the idea of one, might even buy one if I get the chance, sure takes the edge off when watching out for logs in the way

[RPZ]

Originally Posted by KetoNomad

Well I just got off the phone with the seller, nice enough seeming guy but he didn't know much about the boat, he mostly just talked about sailing, kind of makes me leery.

While the chainplates are now external and aluminum the owner doesn't know when they were last replaced (I don't know much about chainplates but aluminum seems like an incredibly poor choice given its tendency to fail catastrophically, wouldn't it get worn out, too? I'm assuming chainplates experience some friction normally where the turnbuckles attach. Anyway he doesn't know when the shrouds or stays were last replaced and figures the mast is original doesn't know the hours on the engine says the engine works well but seemed to be, shall we say, embellishing the truth (don't ask how I know, lol) doesn't know what kind of seacocks are on it or throughhull fittings and didn't have it surveyed or even hauled out when he bought it 5 months ago! Oh and it has no heater and no stove. Seems like a LOT of money considering all that. Lot of work too. Not sure I even want to go see it now. It might be decent but I'd be surprised if the standing rigging didn't need replacing.

Thoughts?

Gut feeling. Its a marina derelict or other cheap buy, this guy bought it to flip and make a few bucks.

[topmast]

Keto Back when everybody I knew was building ,Brent's steel offered a lot for the buck Still do if you are a serious cruiser .Even Godfrey running into the beach at Todas Santos and numerous others meetings with logs ,ice and rocks prove their worth.I choice yellow cedar strip plank and a massive gaff rig.Nothing practical ,even very work prone but what a chick magnet (see three hour sail) Each to their own. Silas Mariner was for sale recently and I heard of a steely in Ladysmith. Dinky little(under32') are all over the place and all have problems .Boats are like that

[KetoNomad]

Originally Posted by topmast

Keto Back when everybody I knew was building ,Brent's steel offered a lot for the buck Still do if you are a serious cruiser .Even Godfrey running into the beach at Todas Santos and numerous others meetings with logs ,ice and rocks prove their worth.I choice yellow cedar strip plank and a massive gaff rig.Nothing practical ,even very work prone but what a chick magnet (see three hour sail) Each to their own. Silas Mariner was for sale recently and I heard of a steely in Ladysmith. Dinky little(under32') are all over the place and all have problems .Boats are like that

Ah yes that does sound like a beautiful boat, I can't imagine anyone not appreciating it

Yeah the whole Brent Boat thing seems so contentious I was leery of even mentioning it. Two reservations I had aside from the obvious difficulty of inspecting for rust is that they seem to be less stable: IIRC they have less than 40% ballast. In a gust, the one I was on didn't do that well, haha. Plus no bilge! I don't know if that matters that much but it seems like a good idea to have a bilge! Makes leaks a lot more manageable.

Been out on the water lately? Hope so, there've been some nice days up near Qualicum lately.

[topmast]

Thanks for thought,Closest I get to the water these days is walking the dog on the beach,,lament, lament. Offer still stands if anyone needs help looking at local boats or even farther if renumeration is offered.The Lexus is a guzzler. Good luck on finding the (near) perfect vessel

[KetoNomad]

Originally Posted by topmast

Thanks for thought,Closest I get to the water these days is walking the dog on the beach,,lament, lament. Offer still stands if anyone needs help looking at local boats or even farther if renumeration is offered.The Lexus is a guzzler. Good luck on finding the (near) perfect vessel

Ah well walks on the beach with a 4 legged friend aren't a bad consolation prize

Thanks for the good luck, I will probably need it, haha. Something tells me the only boat I'll be getting on in the next year or two will belong to someone else, good things take time, I suppose.