first boat purchase

[RManning66]

I'm thinking of buying a 25ft 1980 Bayfield sloop, with a roadtrailer. The asking price is $15,000 Canadian. Any thoughts would be much appreciated:

yachtworld.com/boats/1980/Bayfield--1874523/Midland/Canada
I am particularly interested in the "trailer" part of the deal since I live on a farm and can store and work on the boat here.

Also, are there any books I can buy on boat buying?

thanks
RM

[Faster]

Check the "Sailnet How-to" forum for a good post on boat inspection tips.

The Bayfield 25 is a cute little character cruiser, a comfy boat if you don't need much room, but will be a bit sluggish performance wise. The trailer is a definite bonus, but in today's market I'm not sure that it wouldn't go for a bit less.... but in pristine condition (trailer included) it's a starting point for sure.

[CrazyRu]

Nada guades has used boat pricing. It's good to check the asking price against it. There are many variables in boat pricing, however, NADA may give you some benchmarks. It seems like CN 15000 is high even for a boat in pristine condition
Used 1980 BAYFIELD BOAT YARD LTD BAYFIELD 25 prices, values, specs and options at NADAguides

[farmboy]

How do you envision your usage of the boat? Do you want to overnight, or are you just looking for a solid daysailer? How many people will you be taking out? Are you starting from square one as far as learning? Depending on the answers to these questions, you may want to look at other models of boat. There are a lot of options (trailerable) that may cost much less and that may suit you better. Not that I have anything against the Bayfield (in fact I know nothing about it). There are some very knowledgeable Great Lakes sailors on this site that would be able to help you. I would be leery of a "sluggish" boat.

[Sailormann]

The Bayfield 25 is a cute little cruiser but it is quite possibly the slowest boat of it's size afloat. They are well-made and quite safe for a small family. If you are willing to deal with the performance issue, it could be a great little cruiser for you. The following link will give you an idea of the ASKING PRICES
of boats that have been advertised for sale recently. Note that they would have sold for less.

boat for sale-classifieds

The boat that you are looking at has a diesel, which was optional on those boats, and if it is in good condition with the trailer, then you should expect to pay north of 10K for her - but 15K is too much. Offer 10 and let them chew on it for a while.

Good Luck !