Boat I am considering with pictures

[saurav16]

I know I have posted a lot lately but this site and all your wisdom have been very helpful to me. I saw this boat and am convinced I can get it around 5k. Its a Cal 2-30 1969. I have posted pics of the condition. It has the original Atomic 4 , and then deck in front part of the boat creaked when walking over it (1'x1' square). That sorta had me bothered. Also when I opened the bilge it had water in it which I thought was odd for a both that was on jack stands all winter and is still on land now. The paint inside the cabin as you will see was pealing from the fiberglass. I guess this would be easy to fix. Also when walking over the cabin floor it sorta flexed a lil. What does that indicate? Anyway please let me know your thoughts on the boat. The pics are posted on shutterfly.com below. Thanks again!

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AauWbZs2bNWLiA

[sailingdog]

Saurav16-

It isn't all that unusual if the deck has serious leaks. It sounds like the deck may be delaminating, usuallly due to water leaking into the core and rotting it out. I'm not that familiar with the Cal 2-30, but if the cabin sole is creaking and flexing that usually means that the support for the cabin sole is rotted or weakened in some way.

Both of these are potenitally expensive repairs, even if you are able to do them yourself. The cabin paint peeling from the fiberglass could be due to the fiberglass being "wet" from osmosis, or it could be due to bad prep work from when it was painted. Is the paint coming of in little chips or in big sheets?

I would recommend you get Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual, and read the section on inspecting an old boat. This will tell you if the boat is even worth looking further into. If it is, don't purchase it without a survey.

[saurav16]

Yeah I have that book its really good. The paint is flaking off in in liek 4" squarish pieces in the cabin. What does it mean that the bilge was full of water though the boat has been on land all winter? Is there a leak in the hull and the boat is taking on water from last summer?

[Jotun]

Is there some reason you want THAT boat? You could find an older Catalina 25 with a lot of new equipment for the same money.

[sailingfool]

The early Cal models are some of my favorites, so I certainly think the 30-2 is a good boat to buy. You need to look closely at whether this particular one is worth $5K or anything at all. The cosmetics are very poor. If the engine runs and mast/rigging/sails are in satisfactory condition, it might be worth a few thousand as is. Then consider the repairs needed. Would you be able and willing to do the repairs yourself? If no, move on because the cost of yard work would quickly put you upside down financially in a boat like this. If the major components are operable, and you can do repairs, offer a few thousand and see.

If your offer is accepted, have a survey to find if the deck or cabin sole, or anything else needs repair. Have an engine mechanic survey the engine. If you feel very comfortable that you can do all necessary repairs, close the deal and start your project...otherwise walk away.

If you are careful you still run a big risk of ending up spending more than the boat will ever be worth, unless you are confortable sailing the nautical equivalent of a pigsty. Realize that new cushions, a sail or two, replacement instruments, new batteries, can quickly add up to $10K, and totally ignoring your time and sweat, it wont be hard for this boat to end up cosing as much or more than one like this, YachtWorld.com Boats and Yachts for Sale= but never be as nice. I do believe that the surest path to a boat bargain is to pay the cost of just buying one the way you want it, if you need to take a 10 year loan to do so, you still make out in the end. This board is well populated with threads started by buyers of project boats, subsequently populated with periodic stories of $$ surprises, and then stopping as the owner decides not to talk about it anymore, or quits boating.

[saurav16]

Well I am looking at 27' boats as well. But I was just wondering about this 30' to see what it was like since it was local. But I guess its a bad bet though

[sailortjk1]

As has already been said, If your able to make repairs yourself and like doing that type of work, than it MIGHT be a good fit for you.
Cals in general are good quality boats. But you would have to invest a lot of time and money in this one to get her back in shape.
If your looking for a boat to sail this spring, than keep looking.

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by saurav16

Yeah I have that book its really good. The paint is flaking off in in liek 4" squarish pieces in the cabin. What does it mean that the bilge was full of water though the boat has been on land all winter? Is there a leak in the hull and the boat is taking on water from last summer?

It probably means that there is a deck leak... probably at the chainplates, and that rainwater has made its way into the boat.

I believe I did say this in my first post, if you read it carefully.

[saurav16]

Yeah you did mention the osmosis missed it, sorry

[Valiente]

Looks very tired. Really, this is a function of your money, your time and your skill. If this is all the boat you can afford, you won't have the money to fix it up, and you will never get your money back if you sell it. So get used to that right away. If you don't have the skill, you'll have to learn and make mistakes (takes time and money) or hire someone to do it (more time, more money). The good news is that almost anything on a good old fibreglass boat can be remedied and renewed. The bad news is that it is hardly ever worth it after a certain amount of decrepitude has set in. You'd be better off getting a newer boat or a boat that had been kept up more carefully. This usually means finding estate sale boats where one owner bought a small, well-found cruiser in the late '60s or early '70s, took great pride and care in its upkeep, and died, leaving it to non-sailing children for whom the boat was a hot, stuffy place that reeked of seasick and "when can we go home, Dad?"

There are many, many boats with this story coming available all the time as the 1965-85 generation of small boat buyers becomes too old to sail or have died. Those boats might sail very well and might be very comfortable for a couple, but to many modern eyes they appear cramped and primitive.

This is better for you, obviously. Try to visit a lot of boat clubs and marinas and see if "for sale" signs are tacked to their corkboards. You may easily find something a lot better than that in the "make me an offer" category.