Want To Buy: Looking to purchase in California

[Cmechilln]

Hello Cruisers


Im looking for a yacht for my family. There are 4 of us 2 boys 7 and 11yo plus 2 dogs and a cat and 2 parakeets. We are looking for a yacht that we can stay on for a few weeks at a time along the west coast of California.

I have a little sailing experience but am almost finished with lessons and will be able to Sail a larger boat soon. We are trying to Move from our current location in Mesa AZ to our RV and a boat we will spend time right away between our RV and the boat. So ill need a slip or mooring. I have a dinghy.

We like Southern California since that's where our family is but would be willing to consider something more north or south but would have to add that in to our all in budget of no more then $65,000 and that would include financing. Id rather have an all in of $45000 but i know how this stuff goes,

Im very handy and can fix damn near anything but will definitely hire a surveyor to inspect so not lemons. im looking for something we can start sailing right away locally to Catalina and Channel Islands.

My wife would like the largest bed possible. and a shower.

My kids want something that attracts Dolphins.

In the future we like to take longer trips so a boat that could handle some longer passages is a must too.

I have researched and then researched more. Im so confuused and lost and being 400 mile from the beach isnt helping my search either. everything is getting take before i can even plan a trip to CA.

Wider Style like.
Pearson 40 for its width but would like a yacht with 3 berths. id like it to sleep atleast seven for occasional friends.

If anyone can help id owe you big. Thanks i appreciate you.

[Don C L]

I'm not sure right now what's available locally, but I can recommend Channel Islands and Ventura harbors simply for the beautiful conditions and unspoiled islands nearby, and lots of dolphins and other critters... great for kids! Catalina is nice too. There are slips available in Channel Islands, though I am not positive for 40'.. gotta check; Ventura had some a while back, if you buy elsewhere and want to move in here.
I'll keep an eye out for something for you.

[Don C L]

Quick look at Ventura Craigslist brings up a few good possibilities IMO. Even though that Cheoy Lee 38 may need a new engine, certainly worth a look! And 2 Tayana 37s. There are others, and as they say, it's a buyer's market these days.

I will say though that since you are new to this and far away, that it will be very tough to make a well-informed decision. It would help if you knew very clearly the kind of boat you are looking for, or better yet, models and years. It may be too soon in your sailing experience to be trying to make this decision especially from so far away. Have you been in touch with any brokers?

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Cmechilln

Hello Cruisers


Im looking for a yacht for my family. There are 4 of us 2 boys 7 and 11yo plus 2 dogs and a cat and 2 parakeets. We are looking for a yacht that we can stay on for a few weeks at a time along the west coast of California.

I have a little sailing experience but am almost finished with lessons and will be able to Sail a larger boat soon. We are trying to Move from our current location in Mesa AZ to our RV and a boat we will spend time right away between our RV and the boat. So ill need a slip or mooring. I have a dinghy.

We like Southern California since that's where our family is but would be willing to consider something more north or south but would have to add that in to our all in budget of no more then $65,000 and that would include financing. Id rather have an all in of $45000 but i know how this stuff goes,

Im very handy and can fix damn near anything but will definitely hire a surveyor to inspect so not lemons. im looking for something we can start sailing right away locally to Catalina and Channel Islands.

My wife would like the largest bed possible. and a shower.

My kids want something that attracts Dolphins.

In the future we like to take longer trips so a boat that could handle some longer passages is a must too.

I have researched and then researched more. Im so confuused and lost and being 400 mile from the beach isnt helping my search either. everything is getting take before i can even plan a trip to CA.

Wider Style like.
Pearson 40 for its width but would like a yacht with 3 berths. id like it to sleep atleast seven for occasional friends.

If anyone can help id owe you big. Thanks i appreciate you.

If you want to sleep 7 then the P-40 is fine, quarter-berth, 2 settees, 2 pilot berths and a v-berth that sleeps 2. Really, you should just worry about having 1 more berth than you need for your family and if there are guests people can sleep in the cockpit. If you think you are going to have 7 people on a long passage like to Hawai'i or to Cabo, not on a 40' boat. There are groups of 7 people that could work on a 40' but not many, even family. If you are on passage, the V-berth will not generally be usable, too much motion. You need to plan for 3 good seaberths and a good place for the watch person to sit below during the night. For just your family the P-40 would still be fine.

If you meant 3 cabins, then you need to reconsider your budget.

You might also want to reconsider southern California, the mooring & berthing situation is a serious problem here. No just costs but waitlists that stretch into years, some into decades.

Boats to consider:
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/pearson-40
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/cal-40
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/cal-36
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/cal-34
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/columbia-39
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/columbia-43
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/yamaha-36
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/yamaha-37
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/alajuela-33
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/westsail-32
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/ranger-33

These boats are larger than the newer boats that you could pickup with your indicated budget.

For a shower you will probably need to put one in yourself.

Don't get a wheel, a tiller is cheaper, simpler and WAY easier to maintain and hook up to windvane self-steering. After the first couple of months any regular crew (you and your family) will be used to the tiller. Wheels are primarily good for occasional sailors (bareboat charters) and boats that are so big the steering forces are so high that the added mechanical advantage possible with a wheel are needed. The dividing line is somewhere in the 40'-50' range and depends on the specific boat model and how it is rigged.

Count on spending 30-50% of purchase price on outfitting for offshore. If you want to outfit for liveaboard, and just coastal cruise for several years locally then you go higher on your initial price but will need to earn to make up for it before the boat is ready to go offshore.

[Capt Phil]

If I were you, I would stuff the family and pets( after checking the shots required to enter Mexico) into you RV, and head to either La Pax or San Carlos on the mainland side and find a vessel at a cheap price that suits all of you! Prices are cheaper because gringos sail down but don’t want to sail back up hill so prices can be very reasonable, particularly if a vessel has been left on the hard but is large and sound.r
I admire your dream... stick with it!
You will find for that amount of $, you won’t find anything to suit(hold) your family in SoCaL!
Phil

[Cpt Mark]

Don't get a wheel? Give me a break. That's just your opinion and biased preference. It doesn't matter which you get and you can get a wind vane autopilot for either of them.

The bit about V-berths is spot on.

I would avoid the Cheoy Lee's and all the leaky Teaky's. They were are superbly built but I've yet to see one that's been properly maintained which means leaks and rot in the sundecks if not more.

Tayana 37's are great mono's. Very well built.

Size. Not as important as you think. What matters is how the boat is laid out. I've seen 50' monos without storage and much much smaller that had storage and room for all you'd need. Start touring boats of any price range and start looking at layout, features, could you really live on this? Where's all your stuff going to go? Don't forget you'll need spare parts, tools, emergency stuff, water toys, clothes for summer through winter all stored somewhere and then there's cooking stuff, food stuff... See if you can find a brokerage or several that have an open boat weekend. This is where they just open up every boat at their docks for sale and you can tour them without hassle.

Back in the 70's, the average size cruising boat for a family of 4 to sail the world was 27'. Today, everyone wants/thinks bigger is better. Is it? What happens when all hell breaks loose at O'dark thirty and you or your spouse is out of commission? Can the weakest member handle the boat solo? Anchor by themselves? Handle the sails by themselves? As much as we'd like it to be all fun and games, calm conditions etc.. that is not the real world.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

If I were you, I would stuff the family and pets( after checking the shots required to enter Mexico) into you RV, and head to either La Pax or San Carlos on the mainland side and find a vessel at a cheap price that suits all of you! Prices are cheaper because gringos sail down but don’t want to sail back up hill so prices can be very reasonable, particularly if a vessel has been left on the hard but is large and sound.r
I admire your dream... stick with it!
You will find for that amount of $, you won’t find anything to suit(hold) your family in SoCaL!
Phil

Great suggestion for the op to checkout La Paz and San Carlos as a place to sail from. Particularly San Carlos is an easy drive from AZ. I think Tucson to San Carlos is about a 5 hour drive. Sea of Cortez is less expensive than SouCal or anywhere stateside. Amazing nature and great experience for the kids to be exposed to a different culture. If it was me, I would base the RV somewhere with elevation in AZ for a cooler summer and base the boat in San Carlos. Without air conditioning on the boat the summer would be intolerable and I would not spend time on a boat in San Carlos in the summer with air conditioning. If it was me I would go for a place South of Tucson with elevation closer to San Carlos within about an hour of Tucson. But that is personal taste for the op and what the kids need for schools and wife need to be happy: A place like Tucson or Phoenix or a little town, etc.

[fatherchronica]

Sailboatdata.com is a useful tool in sorting through the trillions of ads that you will likely look through. It is a good idea to research enough to come up with parameters that you feel you require. Not just berths and showers, but sail area, speed vs. comfort, ballast ratios and a lot of other big and little considerations. While it may be frustrating to the point of pulling out your hair I found you do not need too much hair to cruise if you get a nice hat. There were several boats we let slip through our fingers through procrastination or over researching them, but we feel that we were destined to own Mana when we found her.

[Cmechilln]

Thanks everyone. I love the idea of going down to mexico. Ill need to prove to my wife that its safe for Gringos but shed be onboard with it once she knew.

[SV Sailfish]

I have to say... you lost me at "2 dogs, a cat and 2 parakeets."

In a house... no problem. On a boat??? (not trying to be funny here but maybe Noah is looking to sell his ark?)

The tips above on looking in Mexico, (La Paz/San Carlos) is great advice. The new highway from Nogales to San Carlos is 90% done and a piece of cake. I know, as we live down here. It will take 4 1/2 to 5 hours and is an easy drive.

Suggestion... plan a weekend trip south to boat shop. Check out Yachtworld and sailboatlistings.com for what's available in San Carlos/Guaymas before you come down. Way better prices here than in So Cal. Lots of desperate, disillusioned former Baja Ha-Ha sailboat owners where the man had the dream and the wifey says "no mas!'. Sorry but true fact. We have seen it hundreds of times.

We are animal lovers too and have had the menagerie in the past, but no way would we take that bunch sailing. Just sayin. Right now, we have brand new sailboat owners on our dock that spent 65k on their "dream boat" only to find out that the wife's 2 cocker spaniels want absolutely nothing to do with sailing or sail boats and start shaking and throwing up the minute they put them aboard. (and when they start the engine it gets way worse!) They have only owned the boat for about 2 weeks. They told me today that they are probably going to sell it because "she" can't part with her babies.

Another dream bites the dust!

Good luck to you! I do hope your dream works out. But you better have your priorities in order and not kid yourself.

[Cmechilln]

Thanks for the reality check. I do have all the animals. However I own a home in California that I can leave the pets at and a good friend will look after them.

In your opinion where should we stay when we come to town? Can you reccomend a broker or a pro that could help me find the deals? Any boat yards I should check out?

[sail sfbay]

You might begin with a broker such as Cruising Yachts since they have multiple offices in CA https://cruisingyachts.net/marina-del-rey/). I recently purchased a 2005 Hunter 46 from their Alameda office.

[jmorrison146]

I highly recommend Cruising Yachts and lead broker Ian Van Tuyl in San Diego.

[SV Sailfish]

Boat brokers in San Carlos...

Don at San Carlos Yachts. (part of the Mazatlan Yachts group) If you google Mazatlan Yachts you will see links for San Carlos and La Paz also.

The other broker here is Avenger Yachts. They are on facebook. I believe they are tied to United Yacht Sales in the USA. The broker's name is Marisa.

Places to stay... budget: Hotel Creston, or Los Jitos. Upper end: San Carlos Plaza Hotel and Marina Terra Hotel. Just Google San Carlos lodging and lots will come up. Also look at Air B&B for deals.

There is also a boat yard/dry storage in Guaymas at Gabriel's Yard. (lots of boats there on the hard for sale also)

Just search Yachtworld. The San Carlos/La Paz brokers are all on there. Or set up a search on Yachtworld for sailboats in Mexico. Also look at Sailboatlistings.com and put Mexico in the search option. Lots there also.

FYI... there are literally hundreds of boats here on the hard baking in the unforgiving Mexican summer sun. They will all need work. Even the ones that just laid up from this past season. But any boat here in Mexico that has spent multiple seasons on the hard with no attention will need LOTS of reconditioning. LOTS!

You can get bargains down here but... sometimes after purchase, all the unseen/unknown work can lead to divorce papers being filed. So... no starry-eyed dreaming and take off the rose colored glasses. Caveat Emptor. You have been warned!

Good luck!

[Cmechilln]

Originally Posted by SV Sailfish

Boat brokers in San Carlos...


You can get bargains down here but... sometimes after purchase, all the unseen/unknown work can lead to divorce papers being filed. So... no starry-eyed dreaming and take off the rose colored glasses. Caveat Emptor. You have been warned!

Good luck!

You've warned me now twice. Did your wife/hubby decide to high tail it home on ya? Ive put a lot of work fixing crack in my marriage over the last 20 years. My wife even helped me take care of my dying livin grandmother with out complaint for 4 years. Im sure she can handle the marina life. Shes amazing and a badass when she has to be.