If yours is the one listed in Mx on Yachtworld, she does indeed look like a good find. But only a detailed look will show for sure. And she seems underpriced, which is probably due to the location. I think they typically sell in the mid to upper $50k (USD).
I inherited a letter from the
designer, Stan Huntingford, where he talks about the
concept for the boat. It was purpose designed and built to be a long distance quality cruiser for a small crew; typically a couple. As such, the systems are simple yet stout, as is the whole boat. She really is heavily built in all the places that matter.
I do have the blueprints for these boats. I’d PM you so we can exchange emails. I don’t want to post them publicly here, b/c I assume they are still the intellectual protected property.
They are cored hulls down to a foot or so above the
keel housing. It is an airex
core, and I’ve never heard of any problems. I had to replaced and
rebuild transducer housing a few years ago, so got to examine the
core in that area. It was in perfect shape.
Chainplates… I actually can’t tell you much about the originals b/c mine have been modified and moved
outboard by a previous owner. The original ones did penetrate through the deck, which I suspect may have been a source of problem on my boat.
As for issues, mostly these would be similar to any good ol’ boat. Decks are balsa cored, and most of these boats came with screwed in teak decking, so you can bet there is likely some
water intrusion. This is not necessarily a show-stopper, especially given how over-built the decks are (indeed, everything on these boats is heavily built). But it is something to look closely at.
Other than that, look at the
tanks. I think they all came with mild
steel (black iron)
diesel tanks that are deep recessed into the
bilge. They have been known to rust out. My boat has two tanks. The forward (small) tank failed a pressure test so is sealed off. My main tank tested fine, but may become an issue in the future.
Sailing … contrary to the stereotypical view, Rafiki’s actually sail quite well. She’s a
cutter rig, which makes for great versatility and
safety out on the big briny. Put
wind on the beam or aft and she moves really well. She’s no up-wind champ, but even here she performs quite well. She actually carries a lot of sail, which probably explains why people rank Rafiki’s a better sailers compared to similar boats like the Tayana-37.
Anyway, hopefully you can get my PM so we can exchange
email. I’ll send you the link to the blueprints. They show how well designed and built these boats are.
Planning on upsizing to go cruising.
.
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