1st Boat a Columbia 26 MkII?

[sprtlvr]

After just a year of sailing lessons/rentals, I''m ready to take the plunge (leap?!) and purchase a modest sailing vessel. Any tips/advice much appreciated regarding the purchase of an aging (yet attractive!) Columbia MkII, and I apologize for a long-winded post in advance.

I''ve discovered a 1970 Columbia Mk II in the San Diego area and hope to make it my own for around $5k.

The boat is in the water (comes w/slip which is hard to come by in San Diego!) and is lightly equipped:
limited sail inventory, VHF, 8 hp outboard, no holding tank (is that standard?).

From a newbie''s once-over, the interior appears very clean -- contrasting the handful of other low-budget 30-yr olds I''ve checked out. Wood trim, cushions, storage all very clean. Exterior looks a bit rougher and sails feel crunchy. Forward hatch is just a piece of plexiglass right now...

Yet to do seatrial/survey (both soon), but I''m guessing I''ll need:
-sails
-ports replaced
-forward hatch
-bottom/topsides painted (some dirty nonskid on top right now)

After checking the main Columbia sites, it looks like I should be wary of ports, keel bolts, but anything else I should watch out for during either the sea trial or survey?

I''m hoping I can maintain an objective perspective on a boat I''m pretty excited about. Most of what I''ve read indicates the Columbia would be an excellent starter boat for a novice.

Thanks for your time!

That is a very high price for that type of boat and that age of boat. You should be able to buy that boat for less than $3,000 (at least around here). Beyond that by the time you get done putting that boat in shape you could easily end up putting another $3K-$4K into the boat. I would suggest that you try to find a boat in really good shape, with good sails and gear for closer to $8K-$9K and you will be far and away ahead of the game.

No matter what you do, on a boat that age get the boat thoroughly surveyed. Deck or hull delamination problems can quickly add thousands in repair costs.

Good luck
Jeff