Hello from Borneo

[dryhillsjon]

Hi all

Complete novice who is contemplating dipping my toe into the world of boats. (No pun intended!) Hoping to learn the basics in the waters off Brunei before venturing further afield once confidence and skills have increased. I have half an eye on a nice looking Freya 39 for sale in Langkawi and just wonder if this boat is a good size? 2 adults - teens heading off to uni. We both work here so won't be living on board. Just heading out during holidays and weekends. I look forward to listening to advice and reading through various threads shortly.
Cheers
Jon

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Jon.

[RaymondR]

I have very fond memories of Scotch dancing nights at the Brunei Town yacht club.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy Jon, Welcome aboard CF!

As I recall, there are some Freya 39 owners here on CF.

Here are some previous discussions of that boat design:
https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=011403...039&gsc.page=1

Good luck on your decision and boat hunt and bon voyage on the forum too!

[TrentePieds]

I would think the layout of this boat is just about optimum for 2 adults - always provided they are friends :-)!

Remember that with two adults sailing the boat, ONE of them will always be single-handing while the other is off-duty. Do you know how to sail, i.e. 1) do you know how to do the work on deck? 2) do you know how to navigate a boat? 3) do you know how to skipper a boat - which is a whole different thing?. 4) do you know how to do the ongoing and eternal maintenance?

Does you friend know what you need to know in each of those four rubrics?

If you do NOT know any of those things, don't despair :-) If you were close by, I could teach you item 1) in a couple of weekends. Item 2) would require two weeks of hard work. Item 3) takes a lifetime to learn, but if you are just entering university, you HAVE a lifetime to learn it:-). Just go at it steadily! Item 4) is more of a trick because doing this work requires skills that one would normally serve an apprenticeship to learn, not because the work is particularly difficult, but because there are "tricks to every trade". But there are a great many yotties who are autodidact and still do a great job.

On you displacement of, what?, 22K lbs, you'd need a 40HP diesel. When you buy a boat this age you are essential buying a diesel with some other stuff "thrown in". If it happens that the diesel is sound, you'll be fine. If the diesel packs it in, to replace it with a brand new diesel "marinized" from, say, a basic Kubota industrial engine will cost you about US$20K, so as long as you've budgeted for it, you'll be okay. Similarly with your sails. If they are good, you'll be okay, if they are not, a new suit of just the basics three sails for a 40-foot cutter will cost you US$20K. As long as you have budgeted for it, you'll be okay. So to buy a $45K boat (I expect that that is the listing price) you'd want need to have $80K or $90K available, i.e. $40K in cash to buy the boat, and a "reserve fund" of $40K or $50K to cover anything that may go sideways. The reserve fund need not be actual cash but should certainly be in reasonably liquid funds, perhaps in the form of a "pre-approved" Line of Credit hypothecated by real estate.

You would obviously have a survey done by a competent marine surveyor before you shell out you money, but provided the engine and the sails are okay, all other deficiencies can be dealt with piecemeal as money becomes available. A caveat, though: Standing and running rigging CAN be replaced piecemeal, even by yourself, but mind that you don't leave it too late! The standing rigging is carefully engineered to balance one force against another, and if one piece fails there may be a consequent catastrophic failure of the entire rig. That can be EXTREMELY dangerous. The salvage value of a boat like this with the rigging having failed is essentially zero!

I have said those things, things we all have to face, or have had to face, not to dissuade you, but rather to give you "hooks" to hang further discussion on, since you are a novice :-)

TP

[daletournier]

There's a good surveyor by the name of John Champion that resides in Langkawi. He is completely independent of the brokers.