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New Old Boat

4K views 25 replies 18 participants last post by  gamayun 
#1 ·
Hi All,

I have been a sailor since 1985, all on rental sailboats from the Navy , friends boats etc. Never owned one, just a lifelong dream. I'm 56 years strong now, my new wife of 2 years is also 56 and I took her out twice now on a friends old 26' Columbia (on nice days of course) and she is hooked. So we started looking for a boat. The first attemp, a San Juan 28, blew the motor on the sea trial (found tons of other things that quickly turned that 1980 boat into a project boat. Now our offer on a 1979 Allmand 31 has been accepted. It's in pristine condition, turn key ready. We go for the water test next Saturday, and of course the survey after that.

My wife asks me last night, "how many people buy 34 year old sailboats"? I don't know, so I'll pass the question to you readers. The price of a new 27 footer is just jaw dropping! :)

Dave
 
#4 ·
Three years ago I bought my first boat, a 1966 Pearson Triton. Just bought my second boat, a 1986 Catalina 34. Chances are a fiberglass hull will last longer than you will, so if the boat has been well taken care of age shouldn't be an issue.

The survey should give you an idea of what might need attention, some things (hardware, rigging, etc) might be nearing end of life and need replacing. Depends on what the previous owner has done.
 
#5 ·
For buying my first sailboat, I'd been given sage advice to buy an older one that was well taken care of. Mine is just a baby (25 years old), but looks and runs great. A 34-year-old turnkey boat sounds like a good deal to me. The only issue might be trying to get financing on an older boat and here's hoping you don't have to do that, which makes it an even better deal.
 
#8 ·
There will be things that will break and there are things that need replacing. They may not be expensive things and if you are handy you can fix or replace them yourself. For example, there will be a number of rubber hoses: intake for the engine, intake for the head, drains... all those hoses are going to be old and brittle. You should consider replacing them. The cost will likely be a few hundred dollars and a lot of choice curse words. Practice cursing...wait, you were in the navy.

My boat was built in 1976. I have another I am selling from 1973. No way I could afford a brand new boat.
 
#9 ·
My wife asks me last night, "how many people buy 34 year old sailboats"? I don't know, so I'll pass the question to you readers. The price of a new 27 footer is just jaw dropping! :)

Dave
So long as boats are taken care of, they can last a long time.

My boat was built in 1981 and aside from some cleaning up it needed when I bought it and some upgrades/repairs I plan to do in the future, it is in great condition. Looking back, with the boat in the condition it was in when I bought it, I would do it again. I've only had my boat a little over a year. I love my boat. ;)
 
#10 ·
My current boat is 34 years old. Bought her when she was 30. I think it's feasible to by a turnkey boat that age if there are signs of renovations and improvements in the last 5+ years. At 30+ years you definitely see major systems that need a replacement, rebuild or overhaul - rigging, deck hardware, engine, plumbing, paint, electrical. It may not be drastic, but it requires some thoughtful attention. Our rigging was the original from 1979. We demasted and replaced everything with improvements. It also may be the case that this work could be spread over several seasons.
 
#11 ·
Thanks Everyone,

We just read all your replies, we have been on vacation. The water test, survey and haul out were great. The surveyor said he'd take this to Hawaii without reservation. All he did was point out upgrade after upgrade and good maintenance and how the owners took such good care of it. I have some little things to take care of, but nothing major or expensive.

Waiting on the oil lab report for the 34 year old 24 hp Atomic, and a possible closing this Friday in time for the 3 day holiday. Fingers and toes crossed.

Dave
 
#13 ·
First off thank you for our service, glad to see the survey went well. Once ou pick up the boat, I'm assuming you're going to take the plunge, go to Amazon or a bookstore and buy Don Casey's book on sailboat maintenance, refinishing, electrical, etc. they will help immensely with the small things that will happen. Congrats and good luck.
 
#19 ·
When I bought my 1968 Hinterhoeller 28-footer 3 years ago, the surveyor just kept shaking his head and muttering "wow, they really knew how to build them back then" or words to that effect. Sure, I had a punchlist of upgrade and repair work to be done, but knowing the boat had good bones gave me the confidence to invest another few grand and many (mostly fun) hours.

Another resource I highly recommend is Good Old Boat magazine. They sell back issues on CD and their issues are chock full of ideas for repairing and upgrading older sailboats. Their advertisers may be valuable sources for your refit needs too.
 
#20 ·
It's ours!!!!!!!

Hey All,

The lab report fro the oil couldn't have been any better. We close tomorrow! :) We'll have it for the weekend. First thing Saturday morning we have to motor over to our new (temporary) slip in Anacortes, WA, then in 3 weeks, it's down to our home port of Everett. Will take some pictures Saturday. Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement.

Dave
 
#23 ·
1970 Newport 27 built like a tank. Original Atomic 4. After 43 (yes FORTY-THREE) years still a great boat and we enjoy it about every weekend. Bought for $3500 with trailer two years ago and put maybe two grand in it since then.
Worth every penny and would do it again any day and twice on Sundays.
 
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