SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Quality boats 28-32' from 70's or 80's

8K views 33 replies 12 participants last post by  MikeOReilly 
#1 ·
For coastal cruising in PNW:
What boats were built solid and will hold resale value?




What boat makes do I steer clear from?




I am looking in the $10,000 -14,000 range
 
#2 · (Edited)
I don’t know the PNW cruising scene, so can’t offer specific boat names, but I will say that given your price and age range, a vital factor to consider will be maintenance history of the boat. A well designed and built boat is important, but a good boat that has been poorly maintained can easily be worse than a lesser-built boat with excellent maintenance.

A boat of this age range will likely have depreciated to near the bottom of its scale by now, so they will continue to hold their dollar value as long as they are properly maintained. Inflation will take its toll though.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Regionally typically available:

C&C 29Mk1, 30
Cal , 29, 30s, 31
Catalina 30 (likely A4 power at that price)
Ericson 29, 30, 30+
Ranger 29, 30 (California)
Ranger 28 (Kent)
SanJuan 28
Newport 27, 28, 30
Cheribuni Hunter 27, 30
Crown 28
Spencer/Sun 27/838, Sunstar 31

IMO in good shape these would be reasonable coastal cruisers for the area, most examples of which will be within or close to budget. None are likely to seriously lose value because that will have plateaued already.
Sure you've done this but:

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...h=28&slim=quick&is=false&rid=107&rid=108&No=0

Boats to avoid (again IMO)
Any Buccaneer except perhaps the 295
Reinells (yes, they made 'sailboats')
I'm sure there are more but they escape me at the moment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Register1
#5 · (Edited)
The S2 9.2C would be a good boat to steer clear of due to build quality, and sailing qualities problems, plus small center cockpit boats are a hard sell around here.

One of my favorite boats of this size and price range is the Tartan 30 (ideally c)

Jeff
 
  • Like
Reactions: Register1
#7 · (Edited)
Register1,
I think you said you were in the US. It might be worthwhile looking on the Canadian side of the border. With our dollar at 75c, you may find some bargains! I don't know what the markets out there is like, but here in Ontario, you could buy a lot of boat in your price range (10-14k $US = 13.5-18.7k $C). Other than brokers, Kijiji is a place to look. Buy or Sell Used or New Sailboat in Greater Vancouver Area | Boats for Sale | Kijiji Classifieds - Page 2 Saw a Crown 28 for C$8500 and a Catalina 27 for C$6500. Those are older boats; you may find newer and bigger boats more in your price range, perhaps at brokers.
 
#9 ·
This. even if you can stretch your budget to 15-16K will give you a lot more possibilities, but you'll still have to poke through the just to find those gems. They are out there!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Register1
#12 ·
^^^ I did a Kijiji search of BC to see if I could see anything when R1 posted. It seems the selection in BC is significantly less than we are accustomed to in Ontario. It looks like the entire province of BC has less sailboats for sale than the city of Toronto alone, without considering the rest of Lake O, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal and the other 3 Canadian Great Lakes. The prices seem to reflect that shortage of supply too- more expensive.
 
#13 ·
those crown 28's out on the coast look pretty good,,good reviews and have seen some good,reasonable prices on them,...look also in the okanagen area of B.C. a lot of boats on that lake and...they are fresh water used..of course and it barely freezes there....Ralph
 
#15 ·
I am trying to make a list of makers to aviod,
feel free to chime in for a collaborative list

My list is more visceral in looking at photos
Macgregor (boxy IMO)
Reinell
Buccaneer
Columbia
Catalina or anything with a pop top
Grampian apparently
S2 Yachts



I like 28-30's with the aft sleeping berths and the V-berth, what about O'Day?
 
#16 ·
Viable aft doubles in that size, yrs, and budget will be tough to find. In many cases even if they exist cockpit clearance is often an issue esp for the even mildly claustrophobic.

Not sure why you're discounting Catalina, unless it's an aesthetic decision. I think ODays would be similar on the quality scale at best.

The euro-inspired ODays from the 80s are interesting. I'm faintly recalling a connection with Jeanneau or another French builder.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Register1
#21 ·
Love the comment about claustrophobia! Our O-34 has a very large aft cabin double berth, but the person looking up at the lovely vinyl liner a foot over their face might not enjoy the view. :)
OTOH, our boat has a huge forepeak berth and both of the settee berths will sleep a person 6'2". There are going to be compromises in every boat.

About the Catalina, while not in the upper echelon of production boats for several reasons, they are a decent cruiser for near-shore trips. Only downside is that some of their models were clearly designed (like most all the H__ters) from "the inside out" and are no fun to sail.

Rather than bait the owners of the bottom-end boats into vitriolic responses, better to just name the really good ones for design, construction,and engineering.....
Tartan, Ericson, Olson, Yamaha, Cascade, HR, Hinterhoeller, C&C, just to start out. Also some of the Cal's like the well-regarded Cal 34 mk 2 or 3.

Happy shopping...
:2 boat:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Register1
#32 ·
My only aversion to the catalina is the pop-top ones, even if they give more headroom. I just dont like it aesthetically.
I might be wrong, but I think the only pop-tops Catalina made were the 22 and the 25, not the bigger boats you're talking about.

I rented a Catalina 28 for five days in March. It was the Mk II, so newer than what you're looking for, but I thought it was a great boat. Very well thought out both for living and sailing.
 
#18 ·
Not sure how Grampian found it's way on to your list of affordable boats to avoid. Is it just because they're old? My Dad's boat when I was a kid was a Grampian and my first liveaboard was a Grampian 30, I have never seen any evidence they were poorly built or sail poorly, in relation to other boats of the same vintage.

I'm even more perplexed to see Catalina on the list of boats to avoid. I kind of think of Catalinas as almost the baseline family cruising yacht.
 
#22 ·
We had a lot of Grampians around here, and in fact our first family cruiser was a Grampian 26. They were budget affordable boats. Nothing fancy. Kind of low level interior cabinetwork. Could not be compared with more expensive boats like C&C at that time. Nevertheless, our family was young and we had some great times in that boat! We even won a couple of major races! Never sailed a 30, but I guess it was more or less similar. G28 was a later boat. A friend had one. I seem to recall it too was a bit cheaply finished, but otherwise quite a solid boat like it's predecessors. All had pretty solid glasswork. Lot's of resin in the laminates, so few osmotic problems.

No problems with Catalinas. Always quite stylish and reasonable sailers. They must have done something right to have been around for so long. Catalina 30 provides a lot of boat for a 30 footer.
 
#19 ·
I read somewhere Grampian had a quality issue but can't find it now. I saw one I like but it had the Volvo sail drive and I hear parts are hard to find and $$$$.
I like old boats and don't mind if they are big and heavy.

New list:

Macgregor (boxy IMO)
Reinell
Buccaneer
Columbia
anything with a pop top
S2 Yachts
 
#20 ·
Grampians really weren't all that heavy. My G30 for example was about 8600 lbs, compared to other boats of the same vintage like a Hunter 30: 9700 lbs, Catalina 30 10200 lbs. I think people assume they're heavy because of their dated looking lines, but on more than one occasion my old G30 out sailed bigger, nicer newer yachts, and she could take a beating too. The other issue with Grampian that I have observed is they were very bare bones, not many frills, which might actually be a good thing in a boat that age. I don't blame you for being wary of the Volvo sail drive, if something doesn't sit well with you, best to move on.

Also, you may be right about quality control issues, my experience aboard Grampians is limited to 3 boats, all 1974's; two 30's and a 23. I sailed quite a bit on two of them though.

I still see a lot of beat up looking old Grampians merrily carrying families to out of the way cruising grounds on the great lakes, which is more than I can say for some significantly newer and less beat up looking boats ;)
 
#23 ·
Register1 - Just a note about buying an outboard powered boat.

Today, forecast for our part of Lake Ontario was for 15knot winds diminishing to 10knots. When we went out it was at about 20 and later we saw gusts in mid 30s!

While out, we saw an outboard powered sailboat, approx 26ft get driven onto a rocky treelined shore. It appeared that their motor was ineffective in getting them away from the shore. We could see it bobbing up and down.

Maybe OK in quiet waters, but outboards don't work well just when you need item in waves and wind.

PS: We did call CG and we were advised that they did come. Crew apparently safe, but boat probably not. There were multiple distress calls on VHF today!
 
#28 ·
Register1 - Just a note about buying an outboard powered boat.

Today, forecast for our part of Lake Ontario was for 15knot winds diminishing to 10knots. When we went out it was at about 20 and later we saw gusts in mid 30s!

While out, we saw an outboard powered sailboat, approx 26ft get driven onto a rocky treelined shore. It appeared that their motor was ineffective in getting them away from the shore. We could see it bobbing up and down.

Maybe OK in quiet waters, but outboards don't work well just when you need item in waves and wind.

PS: We did call CG and we were advised that they did come. Crew apparently safe, but boat probably not. There were multiple distress calls on VHF today!
Thanks FreeAgent. I am really steering clear of outboards at this point. We do get some swift currents up here and I prefer the aesthetic of the inboard, the recharge capacity, the inverter, and mostly I don't want to be underpowered. The scary thing about this is motor age and how well it has been maintained.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Not that this needs to be a Grampian fan club, but I too owned a Gramp (the 34’ ketch) for a number of years, and sailed both 26s and 30s. All were well built, straightforward boats. All were pretty good sailors. Nothing much fancy about them, but solid, and easy to maintain. Interiors were basic, but functional. All are old now, but a well maintained version would be a good inexpensive boat.

BTW, the Grampian 34’ ketch came with a large aft cabin and a fair sized V-berth. Has 7’ of headroom in the main salon, with 6’6” (ish) in the aft and forward. I say “ish” b/c I’m 5’6”, so I never cared. It was actually too tall for me.

P.S. FreeAgent, we may have been in the same stuff as you. Called for max. 15. We saw 37 with sustained 32 on the windy. Crazy winds. Heard at least three maydays from Kingston area. Sure glad we had our reliable Perkins churning away to move us into our anchorage.
 
#25 ·
P.S. FreeAgent, we may have been in the same stuff as you. Called for max. 15. We saw 37 with sustained 32 on the windy. Crazy winds. Heard at least three maydays from Kingston area. Sure glad we had our reliable Perkins churning away to move us into our anchorage.
Sounds like it. One of those calls was from us reporting the boat on the rocks.!

Recall there being a yellow Grampian 34 is our area. Not many of those around. Started life as the Triangle 32. Later I think someone built an aft cockpit version using moulds picked up from Grampian bankruptcy.
 
#26 ·
Outboards aren't THAT bad :)

I think I was out in the same/similar winds to you guys today (less waves if you were on open L.O. though). I did drop the mast to reduce windage. I could likely have sailed with a double reef, but with only a toddler and basset hound for crew I would have had my hands full.

Just did a quick video upload, unedited. Speed never dropped below 3@75%. Engine is a Honda 2.3 long shaft.

 
#27 ·
We had a G26 in our race fleet for several years. In a breeze upswing it was pretty darn quick.

None of them would be called the prettiest girls at the dance, though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Register1
#31 · (Edited)
We once won a 70 mile overnight race with our G-26. We beat all the 1/2 tonners boat for boat and won overall on handicap. With chute up she could fly! Back then we used IOR - no PHRF yet. We didn't have a measurement, but one G-26 somewhere had. We used their rating (21.3 vs 21.7 for 1/2 tonners, I think)! Another G-26 won one other of our local LD races. So they could sail, but not as good all-round as boats like C&C27 and even 25s around the pins. Stock cruising Genco sails may have had something to do with that! OK, no more war stories ;)

One negative that I forgot to mention that applies to Grampians, Tanzers and probably several other makes, is that they have cast iron keels. If these had not been kept up, a lot of rust developed. Not a serious problem, but a lot of work to correct. More of a problem in salt water.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Here are some interior Pics of my old Grampian, taken around 2012 when I was living aboard her. Pretty basic, but watertight. Cabinetry was solid wood, as was the cabin sole. Cheap veneer on the bulkheads, but really not that bad of an interior, electric furnace, atomic 4 auxiliary.

But she could sail... In the video we're in about 20 knots ish, slightly reefed genoa and slightly reefed main (I like to reef, It's one of my personal idiosyncrasies). She is making about 7 knots ish through the water and holding her line well (not much leeway).

 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top