Boat offer prices? Ericson 29?

[halekai36]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Halekai-

Unfortunately, using a moisture meter properly is a bit of an artform, and there are a lot of things that can throw it off. If the boat was recently hauled out, the hull will show a relatively high, but usually misleading, moisture content. If there is water in the bilge, it may also throw the meter off.

That's why I was very careful to say things like;

"With your own moisture meter, and some studying, about proper use"

and

"TRUST me it will pay for itself during the first use if used properly."

Art form? Now that's a bit of a stretch.. Gelcoat repair and Awlgrip work is an art form learning how to use a moisture meter requires common sense and a bit of a learning curve but not a practiced skill that takes years to learn to do properly. I certainly don't consider it rocket science just common sense and a bit of learning.. I've saved thousands of dollars over the years by owning and knowing how to properly use my own moisture meter.

BTW the meter Holland sells is the identical meter to the one I own except I got HOSED on mine. At the time I did not know about Holland Marine Products... Wish I did..!!



With the above said I'm going to inject a little opinion garnered in 35 year's of boating and over 25 owned boats. Oops make that 25+/- as I just bought another boat on Monday.. Someone commit me!! If you don't agree, fine, but do take the time to read it because it CAN save you money even though it seems counter intuitive..


Here it goes;

All boats are bottomless pits but a fixer upper is NO DEAL! Trust me on this one. Many of the other long timers on here will also agree. Spending a little more on a boat in good to pristine condition pays off in the long run in more ways than one!

My buddy & first time "big boat" owner knew everything and refused to take mine or other friends advice. We tried to talk him into a very, very nice, & exceptionally well maintained, 1988 Catalina 30 for a 30k asking price (read; bargain). When all was said and done he ignored our advice and chose the 17k asking 15k buy 1980 Catalina 30 (read; piece of crap).

The end of the story, even now, is nowhere in site and at this point, 20+ months later, he now has, at last count, 37k invested in a boat still worth, on a good day, 19-20k at best!

Here's what he's had to do so far: New furler, new sails, new interior cushions, new running rigging, new bulkhead, new spreaders, new steering cable & chain, new keel bolts, new exhaust hose, removed the wooden laminate in the keel stub & re-glassed it, new exhaust manifold & elbow, new water pump, new batteries, new wiring, new head, new plumbing, new running lights & mast wiring, etc. etc. and on and on. He's still facing an engine rebuild, at minimum, and about 30% of the deck needs to be re-cored. By the time he finishes he will have well over 45k maybe 50k into a 19-20k boat, on a good day, and he's done 90% of this work himself...

Cheap boats are NO DEAL even if you do ALL the work your self. A SURVEY IS A MUST !!!!!!!

After 30+ years and 25+ boats, I now only buy 1 PERCENTERS. A 1% boat is that needle in a haystack boat that is in absolutely pristine condition with maintenance, upkeep and upgrades done only with the best materials and care for quality. These boats are hard to find but they do pop up. You'll at least want a boat in the top 15%, condition wise, or it's going to cost you.

The devil is in the details. This is one of the drawers in the v-berth of our 1979 1 percenter. No mold, no scratches, no discoloration of the wood no drips, runs or sags in the varnish. The P.O. of our boat knew boats and boating so he finish sanded each of the boats drawers inside and out then varnished them to prevent & minimize mold, mildew and moisture absorbtion. A 1% is a boat that has been finished well above and beyond factory standards.... Did I mention that this boat is a 1979!!!! and this photo was taken in 2007. You get what you pay for especially with boats.

Take this advice or leave it but the gain from buying a top condition boat up front saves you in lots of areas! You may pay 10-20% more, up front, for the identical boat (vintage wise) in pristine condition but that 10-20% pays you back HUGE !!! Trust me you'll never get the cheapest worst condition example of a particular model to the same condition as the finest example on the market with a 10-20% upgrade budget even if you do all the work your self..

Just my .02...

[BarryL]

Hello,

Maine Sail wrote:

"All boats are bottomless pits but a fixer upper is NO DEAL! Trust me on this one. Many of the other long timers on here will also agree. Spending a little more on a boat in good to pristine condition pays off in the long run in more ways than one!"


I agree - if you plan on keeping the boat. If you aren't sure you like sailing, or know the type of boat you want, or think you may move up soon, then you can buy something cheap.

Don't buy a piece of crap, but you can buy something that you can sail now, but needs cosmetic or some other repair. Buy the boat, sail it often, have fun, and learn more about what you want / don't want. A few years later you can sell the boat for something close to what you paid, and then buy the right boat for you.

I paid $4500 for my first boat, a Catalina 22. I sold it a year later for $4000. I didn't put any money into it. I bought my second boat (Newport 28) for $15000. Sailed it for 3.5 years and sold it for $14000. I did put some money into it, but not too much.

Good luck,
Barry

[cardiacpaul]

"That's why I was very careful to say things like;

"With your own moisture meter, and some studying, about proper use"

and

"TRUST me it will pay for itself during the first use if used properly."

Art form? Now that's a bit of a stretch.. Gelcoat repair and Awlgrip work is an art form learning how to use a moisture meter requires common sense and a bit of a learning curve but not a practiced skill that takes years to learn to do properly. I certainly don't consider it rocket science just common sense and a bit of learning.."

it's the "bit of learning" that gets well intentioned "new" folks in a pickle and a half.

Depending on the boat, construction method, & materials, (I know of a very well known brand that will show wetter than a babies bottom even after a month on the hard) bottom paint, topsides paint (if any), ambient temp humidity, timeline of recent wet weather patterns and subsequent dry sunny hot days, length of time "on the hard" and which flip-flops I put on that day...

I can make a moisture meter read like a saint or a sinner. Not to mention where I decide on the boat to get my readings.

In short, the guy can spend 200.00 on a meter, wander out to a boat, ascertain that the decks are spongebob square pants in the morning and walk away.

Or, I can come out at 4:00pm the same afternoon and pronounce it either dry or wet, depending on the matrix above.

If was buddy that just bought his 200.00 meter, how would he know???

Yes, you've got 35 years of experience over 25 boats. This fellow... doesn't.

No, its not magic, but "it ain't that eazy neither"
oh, just as a general comment... that drawer sure does look nice, but for me, I'd wonder where the water is coming from.....

[sailingdog]

The 35 years of experience over 25 boats learning curve pretty much covers why I said it is a bit of an artform to read a moisture meter properly.

[rperret]

You say you have limited experience and this is your first boat. How limited is your experience? What boats have you sailed in the past? How quickly will you do offshore to Bahamas, etc?

May make sense to get something smaller and in better shape - provide you with an opportunity to "experience" boat ownership -time involved, expense, etc.

my $0.01 or share of Bear Stears stock...

[southernsmoke]

Originally Posted by rperret

You say you have limited experience and this is your first boat. How limited is your experience? What boats have you sailed in the past? How quickly will you do offshore to Bahamas, etc?

May make sense to get something smaller and in better shape - provide you with an opportunity to "experience" boat ownership -time involved, expense, etc.

my $0.01 or share of Bear Stears stock...

I sailed various smaller boats when I was younger (sunfish up to daysailers that are 18' or so) but once I got out of high school I never had the opportunity to do it anymore. Now I've moved back to the coast and I'm near the beach. I see the water every day and I cant help myself!

I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon, but I want to learn how to handle boats of this size. I looked at trailerables, etc, but I have a place I can store a boat for free in the water until at least jan 09.

[gentryd]

First I'm by no means a sailboat expert and fairly new to sailing myself. By no means new to boating though with 35 yrs of boating on the gulf coast. I agree that buying a cheap peice of crap is a money pit. There are however alot of good deals out there on that size range boat. Craigslist and ebay are decent places to shop, like anything else with due caution. I think you'll get better deals dealing directly with owners than with brokers. For instance I bought an 81 Hunter 27 last year for $1500, my 1st sailboat, and yes I know what most on here think of Hunters but if you read the reviews of those that have them I've yet to see one that says anything negative. At any rate I basically paid what the guy owed in back slip fees and took the boat. With a bottom jod, replacing the hatches and port window glasses, fuel line and impellar replacement on the 8 Hp Renault, and some elbow grease cleaning, I have about $3500 in it and a very nice boat for my purposes, i.e inland bays and Texas gulf coast.
My two cents for what its worth basically is if you're patient and look around you can get into sailing with a decent boat for less that 5K. FYI, there's a Morgan 28 OI on craigslist in Wilmington, NC right now for $3500. Might or might not be a good deal but as described looks like it might. Again, I'm not an expert, just my opinion.