Help! Wannabe Liveaboards

[Rustedspoon]

Hello! My girlfriend and I are looking to purchase our first Liveaboard sailboat! We were looking for one about 26-30 feet. And then we saw this adorable cheap sailboat for sale. It is only 20 feet however it looks like it has sufficient space. It does need a little work. It's also a junk rig which we are unfamiliar with sailing wise. Any info or opinions are much appreciated. Here is the link to the boat 20' junk rig sampan w nice trailer Outside Victoria, Victoria - MOBILE

[Scout 30]

Wow, cool boat! Kind of more of a houseboat which is OK. I'd want to find out who designed it, who built it & what materials they used. Apparently never sailed because the sail is unfinished so who knows how it handles. Looks like it would be easy to trailer & would work as a camper on the road which would really open up some horizons. Steel trailers that aren't galvanized are worthless around salt water so bear that in mind. The motor is kind of expensive but it's pretty new. If you're really interested check for rot everywhere, especially in the decks & around the windows. Could be a fun house boat.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Unless you really know what you're getting into, I'd pass on this one. It looks like someone's backyard project, maybe it's a diamond in the rough, maybe (probably) it's a turd. The materials in this project are worth well over the cost, why are they selling it so low?

Also, the use of household door hinges in the companionway makes me wonder about the construction of the rest of the boat.

[ThomasWeiss]

Originally Posted by Rustedspoon

It is only 20 feet however it looks like it has sufficient space.

I can assure you that (unless you're both very tiny people) 20 feet with an 8 foot beam will NOT be sufficient space. My advice would be to take some time, look around for a production boat (you can find them cheap if they need to be fixed up), and put some money away because you will inevitably find a use for it no matter what type of boat it is.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Rustedspoon.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Hey guys....Welcome to the CF Family.
The question you asked is probably one of the most commonly asked questions on Cruisers Forum. Type Liveaboard (or Live Aboard) into the search function Box up in the tool bar and you will see dozens of posts with lots of good advice.

Two things:
1. Don't let your newfound excitement cause to you make a jump you will regret (and in my opinion that boat is a regret waiting to happen, but at $2500 we have all wasted more than that on Boat..ha ha ha)
2. Don't listen to people that call you crazy...you are...and that's a good thing compared to the "sane" people in the world these days.

[a64pilot]

Look for a decently kept older, factory boat, preferably one with a following and a users group, in particular the group can be incredibly helpful as they have the same model and it's likely whatever is broken and needs fixing on your boat, others have fixed and know the ins and outs, the pitfalls and the best way to go about it.

One off boats are frankly hard to give away, a factory boat with a following you can easily sell if you decided to trade up or maybe this isn't for you.

[Calif.Ted]

It's very cute, but it's more of a floating playhouse than a sailboat isn't it ?

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Calif.Ted

It's very cute, but it's more of a floating playhouse than a sailboat isn't it ?

That's the impression I got too. It looks like a cute boat designed almost like a children's playhouse. While that looks like fun for kids, if you want to sail a boat I would choose something else.