Looked at a Valiant 40 Today

[montenido]

Hi all,
I looked at a Valiant 40 today that was located near me (Ventura, CA). Wow, what a great looking boat for cruising! At the risk of heavy flaming, I will admit that my current boat is a Catalina 36, and that I am planning on sailing her to Mexico and the Sea of Cortez. My dilema is that I might want to make the Pacific puddle jump after that. I know the C36 is not considered a "Bluewater" vessel, which is why I thought I would take a look at one that is.

This one is old (1976) which is good from a blister standpoint - not one of the bad years. It has lots of cruising gear including a full suite of sails, storm and otherwise. Watermaker, vane, SSB, weather fax, etc., and is in pretty good shape. All the standing rigging is bullet-proof and oversized. So the general ballpark cost of outfitting a boat that I have heard here (25-30% of purchase price) should be much less. The boat is listed for $99K. If I was actually going to put in a bid, I would go somewhere around $70.

Now here is where I could use some advice. My current boat meets the first part of my future cruising plans, Mexico and the Sea of Cortez, which will be in about 1 1/2 years. Not so if I continue on with the puddle jump. Should I try to sell my boat now and get the boat that I will eventually need, or stick with my current boat and do Mexico to see if in fact I want to venture further? If I keep my boat, I will be putting some time and $ into her to get her ready for the trip. This same money could go towards getting the "Bluewater" boat ready also.

Opinions?

Thanks in advance, Bill

[youmeandthed]

It could take a while to sell your old boat, or you will have to drastically reduce the asking price.

My advice is at no point own two boats. If that is the case you will never get to go.

Other than that it's all about time and money. I wouldn't try to sell the Catalina in Mexico, you will probably get less for it down there.

good luck

[erps]

If I keep my boat, I will be putting some time and $ into her to get her ready for the trip. This same money could go towards getting the "Bluewater" boat ready also.

I personally don't have the resources to do it twice, so I would try and do it only once. We went through the same decision making process a few years back when we were trying to decide whether to keep the Catalina 34 we had for local cruising, or get the next boat a little earlier than we needed to. Upside, a bigger better boat to enjoy sooner. Downside, bigger expense for insurance, moorage and maintenance over a longer period of time. Wish I had a goose that laid golden eggs.

[Faster]

Yeah, if you're quite certain that the second phase of your cruising is going to happen it would make more sense to get THAT boat now.

We've had a couple of friends buy mid 70s Valiant in the past few years.. no one paid over $80K.. one of them was a 'blister boat'. I was sorry to see that that didn't just mean underwater blisters.. the cabinsides look just awful in the setting sun - bad case of pimples.

[night0wl]

Wouldn't underestimate the costs of restoring a 1970s era valiant. By now, that engine is probably nearing 40 years of age. Think about a car or truck engine that old!! Repower on a yacht like that is probably easy $15k.

Rigging may look good, but I've seen more than one blog of catastrophic failure of chainplates on older Valiant...or not the chainplates, but the knees themselves. All appeared fine on the surface, but the issues were subsurface cracking and substandard metal. On a 40 year old boat, those should be replaced anyway...they've well outlasted their useful life if original.

Why look at the low-end of the market? Why not try and cherry pick a valiant thats gone through an extensive re-fit at a reputable facility and has had owners plans that have changed. A boat like this (or similar like Baba/Tashiba/Panda, Pacific Seacraft, Nordic/Norstar) comes up about once a year. Just be ready with cash to pounce on it with a near full price offer!

[SloopJonB]

I may be off base on this - if I am I'm certain I will soon be corrected, but IIRC Valiant had a unique position in the history of blisters in that the Parent corporation, Uniflite, used a fire retardant resin that was particularly prone to blistering.

[night0wl]

Originally Posted by SloopJonB

I may be off base on this - if I am I'm certain I will soon be corrected, but IIRC Valiant had a unique position in the history of blisters in that the Parent corporation, Uniflite, used a fire retardant resin that was particularly prone to blistering.

You're on track...Valiants from roughly 1976 - 1980 used a fire retardant resin that never really kicked with the glass and tends to wick out and form hundreds of pimple blisters. Some have said this is cosmetic and other say structural. The legal issues around this failure led to the bankruptcy of the Uniflite yard, and the eventual buyout of Valiant by a dealer who relocated to Texas. Unfortunately, they stopped production in Jan-2011

I dont really know about the whole blister situation...the very thought of resin not kicking and not bonding with the glass makes me think that the structural integrity of the glasswork is not as strong as it should be, which is scary. But then again, there are no stories of Valiants splitting in two or being holed by a structural blister...just lots of time in the yard grinding, filling, fairing, & painting. Valiants are out there plying the seas as we speak...although it seems more and more are now in port, tired and worn out looking for a full refit that may never happen because the cost wouldn't justify the return due to depressed resale values because of the economy and blister issues.

[aeventyr60]

All the more reason that the Valiant 40 may be the "diamond in the rough"...a proven pedigree no doubt, bought for a song, breathed new life by an enthusiastic adventurer who understands that the sum of the parts are worth more the whole...why is is that every everybody seems to know the cost but not the price....it works both ways. seen many a Valiant plying the distant seas, more then one owner I know who is laughing his head off about the bargain he got and the miles he's put on...Easy for the naysayers to wax their gobs off on this stout sailing vessel....

[night0wl]

Originally Posted by aeventyr60

All the more reason that the Valiant 40 may be the "diamond in the rough"...a proven pedigree no doubt, bought for a song, breathed new life by an enthusiastic adventurer who understands that the sum of the parts are worth more the whole...why is is that every everybody seems to know the cost but not the price....it works both ways. seen many a Valiant plying the distant seas, more then one owner I know who is laughing his head off about the bargain he got and the miles he's put on...Easy for the naysayers to wax their gobs off on this stout sailing vessel....

Thats one perspective. But many people think of cruising for 4-5 years and then need to sell the boat to get back into life on land. When you spent $60k buying a boat, poured in another $100k to deal with upgrading and blister jobs...finish your cruise and find that the boat is worth $80k at resale minus brokerage costs, it tough gruel to swallow.

Valiants are fabulous boats, they're on my short list. But I'd be looking for one thats already has a blister bottom peel already done with a nice set of cruising gear already included thats in relatively new shape (<5 years). One of these boats comes up for sale every year...

[montenido]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies so far. I guess I should clear up the fact that I am not planning to make an offer on, or purchase this particular Valiant. Just looking and weighing my options. It is well set up for cruising though.

BTW, here is a link to the boat.

1975 Valiant Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com


Cheers, Bill