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Just purchased one but turns out not to be an islander 29 but a contest 29

3K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  reminosouci 
#1 ·
Hi everybody!!! Thanks in advance for any of your support...
I just purchased a boat. I'm a sailing instructor in france for small catamaran 12 to 18 feet. So I know about sailing but nothing about cruisingcruising and I want to cross the Pacific. So here I am in California.
I don't know much so I preferred to buy a boat to someone I feel I could trust. So a guy told me that he had a great boat for the Pacific a islander 29. I did some research and it's seemed to be a good one.
But after one week, I realized the inside was different from the other one and did a research and find out that it was a contest 29.
My question :is a contest 29 blue water, I'm concerned about the system to rotate the mast vertically to horizontally is it strong? And is a islander 29 cost less than a contest 29?
 
#2 ·
I would think that Contest 29 is a better boat than Islander 29. Better design, better build quality. But these are very old boats now and crossing oceans in them will require extensive updates of equipment and a thorough inspection of all systems. Initial price of the boat is often less than 1/3 of what you need to invest in making your boat seaworthy. It makes a lot of sense to buy a boat that is already updated and fixed up.
 
#3 ·
There is a reason the Contest costs more than the Islander, but it really more about the sailor. Heck Remus drifted most of the way across the Pacific on a San Juan 24 (or something) and that is a light weight protected water boat (not really even designed for coastal) so if you have the time just about anything is possible. Of course I think he did loose his rig, and he abandoned it because it was basically un-repairable.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for your messages. It's so great to have differents opinions, specially when there are positives ? (or not too negatives). I was a bit sceptical about the pivot on the mast but you confort me. I'm learning, and even if I'm not doing everything the easiest and the cheapest, when there's a wheel there's a way.
 
#6 ·
Yes, this...

Did you get a bill of sale and registration information? Mine was CG documented, so I don't know how it works with the state, but you could contact California DMV and ask them about the boat if it has a CF # on it. If you don't have a title to the boat, you might have bigger concerns, though I'd agree with the others that the Contest would likely be the better boat.
 
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