Long distance boat shopping

[waughoo]

"Do you want to spend your time shopping or sailing?"

I have wanted a boat of my own since I was 10 and even started a boat savings account that I would put lawn mowning money in to go towards that goal.  I het pretty particular in how I want things and for years would look at boats I could NEVER afford and keep being dissappointed that I was still stuck on dry land.  I would even scoff under my breath at someone with a rag tag boat out having a GREAT time.  I was WAY TOO proud.  At some point I gave up on my perfect list and decided to go get one.  I was tired of shopping and wanted to go sailing.  Plus, ANYTHING can be fixed, and no survey will catch EVERYTHING!!  Do what you can to avoid getting fleeced but just go get a boat.  Once you're sailing, the rest becomes less important!

[glennd3]

I would rather wait for a 34.

Not to beat a dead horse, but here's a story.

Wife grew up on a boat, and I came to sailing later in life. After 2 years of dinghy sailing lessons and then basic keelboat, we set out to search for our perfect sailboat - a Catalina 30. After three months and dozens of boats, we found nothing that met even our preliminary requirements, my father in law took us aside and asked us this:

"Do you want to spend your time shopping or sailing?"

The point was clear - much like the Pardys "Go small, go simple, go now." We ended up buying a Catalina 28MkI that was seaworthy, but met maybe half of our earlier "requirements". The difference was that we would be on the water in August, with plenty of a season left. We probably put 20k into that boat over the 6 years we owned her and sold her for $18k last year. (Again, did we want to wait for the most amount of money we could get, or did we want to buy a 34?) If we were a bit more selective about the first boat we bought, there were pitfalls that we could have avoided. But then, it would have taken longer to find the right boat. In the end, we had a lot of fun on the 28 and made her a much better boat than when we found her. I wouldn't trade those experiences for any amount of time or money.

I'm not trying to put down your list - these are things that you absolutely need to know about your boat. Clearly you need a boat that is seaworthy. But with a list of requirements this stringent, you're going to shopping for a while. Do you want to shop for boats or sail them?

[scgunner]

Whether you have to ship a boat across country, sail it several hundred miles or it's in the slip next to your current boat the goal is still the same, find a sound boat that's right for you. Keeping in mind that even if you have to go through the hassle of buying a long distance boat you'll only have to do it once. So whatever it takes, get the right boat rather than settling for one that's convenient.

When I'm buying a boat I'm looking first for a boat that is well used by the seller rather than one being sold because it's never used. Ideally I'm looking for a boat being sold because the owner is moving up to a bigger boat. You'll usually find these boats well cared for and well outfitted. I'd avoid a sailing club boat, while they are well used they're typically sparsely equipped and used hard by people who don't really care about that boat.

You'll probably have a list of upgrades you want for your boat, like; dodger and Bimini, a nice dinghy, an upgraded electronics package, etc.. The more of these things that the boat already has the cheaper it will be in the long run. The resale cost of these additions is a fraction of what it will cost if you have to add them after you buy the boat.

[waughoo]

You'll usually find these boats well cared for and well outfitted. I'd avoid a sailing club boat, while they are well used they're typically sparsely equipped and used hard by people who don't really care about that boat.

This is very true.  Mine was in a club of sorts and I've worked at a few sailing clubs.  I call this sort of wear and use, "club rash".

[scgunner]

Alex,

There's nothing wrong with a club sailor, in fact they do have some advantages, since they get sailed a lot they're well run in so any issues the boat might have will quickly arise and have to be addressed so the club can keep sailing the boat. If you can get it for the right price what you get is a basic sound boat. The downside is being a basic boat you'll have to spend some money to bring it up to your personal tastes.

[waughoo]

I agree completely on what you say about club boats: I bought one :-)  the word rash I chose explains the lack of care from multiple users that are often less experienced.  I've put a lot of "ointment" on my boat since she left the club and she is looking a lit better.

[Brad Young]

When buying a boat, wether it be long or short distance. You should look at how the boat is set up and how you plan to use it.
Racing, cruising, or afternoon sailing on the lake. It can be quite expensive to convert a racing boat to a cruising boat, or vice versa. Think also about where the boat is being sailed and compare that with the sailing of where you plan on sailing. A boat with new sails that sails on a lake in Texas, may just be the bare minimum if you moved that boat to San Francisco Bay.