[jarcher]

Hi All...

Sorry for the long first post, but I am hoping a Cal owner or two can help me.

I am in the market for a 30ish foot sloop and I mentioned this to a friend of mine. He told me that a friend of his has a Cal 29 for sale. I'll be taking a close look at it Wednesday evening, and would appreciate any advice about what to look for. I know nothing about cal boats.

What I know about this boat is that it has been out of the water for 5 years and the atomic 4 is frozen. I'm told it has been well wrapped to keep animals out and the owner has taken care of it each year. Supposedly it has a new head (enclosed) and a new stove. The wood is all supposed to be in good shape. It needs all new sheets and halyards. The mast and boom are said to be in very good shape as are the stays. It comes with only 2 sails, a main and a jib, but the owner didn't know what size jib. It is supposed to have a depth sounder, compass, VHF, doger and lights, and other stuff I can not recall. Oh, an auto pilot thing for the tiller. I have never used one of those.

The owner is asking $4,000.

I have no idea what year this is or even what model it is supposed to be (ie, 29 vs 2-29). Is there any way to tell by looking? Is there a hull number somewhere I can check? What is the difference between a 29 and a 2-29?

One thing I noticed from looking at pictures of different Cal 29s on the Internet is that there seems to be no hatch on the front deck, above the V birth. I would think this makes for very little air flow below up front. Is this a problem?

Can someone tell me what I should expect to pay for sails for a Cal 29? I would like to have a 150 genny and spinnaker.

Thanks very much. It will be August in a few days and if this is a good boat I am going to stop shopping around and buy it, so I can get some sailing in before winter. I would appreciate anything that would help me decide.

Best,

Jim