What do you think of this boat to buy?

kldzx9r · #1 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

I already made an offer of 65K depending on the survey. 1976 43' Westsail Ketch shown in yachtworld in Oxnard, CA. The sails are off the boat and the broker says there will be no sea trial with sails up because the block of wood the mast rests on is cracked and not safe so the mast needs to be removed to fix that block. There is not yet a survey done which will be done.

I looked at the inside and it looks very good. The broker said it was beautiful and I cannot disagree with that. there are no signs of neglect or abuse. The cosmetics look just fine inside. The current owner is a boat captain and buying or already bought another boat.

The autopilot is not working.

I will be working with my broker who Rick told me about and Greg Kovsky is a good guy. He, (the broker) is located in san diego and the boat is in Oxnard and he is willing to work with me on that. A close trusting relationship with the broker is important to me and he told me about the boat so I am sticking with him.

I searched for Westsails and some sell for 130K. I am not trying to make money on this boat and if it is worth more than 65K I am guessing it would already be sold. There was a previous survey and previous buyer but he backed out I am told not wanting to fix the mast from day 1 of owning the boat.

I am leaning towards buying this boat upon survey results and an engine survey and my broker mentioned the possibility of offering less than 65K depending on how much an estimate amounts to.

CharlieCobra · #2 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

Uh, ya oughta get a rigging survey if there's known rig issues. The standard survey won't cover rigging if I recall. Good luck with that boat.

TSteele65 · #3 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

this one?

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi..._id=15744&url=

I don't have any direct experience with hydrostatic drives, but they seem like a bit of a headache when things go wrong.

The listing says the mast needs to be pulled, re-wired and painted. Is there something more to it?

KeelHaulin · #4 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

Why would the boat not have a repaired mast step before selling? It seems that the owner would be able to ask much more for the boat if the problem were fixed. I'd be careful with this one; a prior survey with the buyer backing out is a BIG red flag. If you can get a copy of that survey it would greatly help your decision to go (or not go) forward. A complete rigging survey would be a good investment; as well as getting all info on when the boat was last re-rigged. If the rigging is original it's probably time for a complete refit.

Can't understand why the owner would not repair the mast step before selling. It seems that you would want this work done instead of putting the boat up for 50k below market. Be careful; there may be something worse hidden in the details (why else would the owner not drop a dime on a basic repair?).

johnshasteen · #5 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

I love Westsails, I sailed quite a bit with a friend on a 32, never the 42, but it's a neat boat - all Westsails are. The sailboat in the movie The Perfect Storm was a Westsail 32, and although the movie lead you to believe the sailboat sank, it didn't - it was found washed up on a lee shore, the owner did some repairs to it, sailed it around to Clearlake TX and eventually sold her.
Just be sure you get a good one - or one that you can fix and outfit within your budget and "handy man" capabilities.

JohnRPollard · #6 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

kldzx9r,

Your statement that the "block of wood the mast rests on is cracked and not safe" seems to contradict your assertion that "there are no signs of neglect or abuse". A failed mast step is serious enough that you are forbidden from conducting a proper sea trial of the boat. This alone should be setting off all kinds of alarms in the rational side of your brain, not to mention the other points raised in previous posts.

7Psych · #7 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

What He Said!!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

kldzx9r · #8 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

Thanks for the replies... I only looked at one westsail boat. I searched and some are listed and sold for 130K+ and a broker told me of one that sold for 80K so I don't know if some are really bad or others having lots of extras.

I presumed the block of wood the mast sets on was a maintanence issue. I didn't realize that may be a neglect or abuse issue. I will try to get access to the previous survey.

CharlieCobra · #9 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

Cracked or knuckled mast steps are BAD news and usually deal killers by themselves.

cardiacpaul · #10 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007

Theres a reason the kiln dried, big, heavy, harder than the hubs of he** chunk of wood cracked. None that I can think of are good ones.