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Hello everyone, Im a long time reader of this forum but never really post anything. I in a point in my life where I considere taking 1 or 2 year off to travel and clear my head and look for new opportunity and horizon.
I am new to sailling, I have a Tanzer 7.5 that i bought 2 years ago and i have been sailling the st-laurence river in Québec city for 2 years now. The river is fun to sail but can also be challenging with the 20' tide that we have.
I would like to go cruising for 1 year or 2, got some money aside +/-75k. What would you suggest I do. I look at different option. I shop for a 28 to 35' boat around 20 to 30k. I wonder if I should cross the atlantic from halifax to azores than go to carrabean or cross form Florida to carrabean. I have zero open water experience I read alot on the subject.
English is my secong language so excuse the many grammatical error that i probably did.
Im looking for guidance, idea, tips on where should I start if I want to go cruising.
Hey everybody , I'm looking for a surveyor in the ottawa region. If you know any reputable one in the area I would like to contact them.
In the meanwhile here's some picture I took of the boat that I'm interested in buying. I really like the Tartan34 but cannot find one in my budget and close buy that has Diesel engine. Is ti foolish to consider buying one with the old Atomic-4???
Here are the feature in this boat that I really like. Cape horn windvane, Tiller steering, great ground tackle (Mantis, CQR, Danforth) Propane range, solar panel, 3 head sail(110%,135% and 60%), 3 reefing point in mainsail, 6 new stainless opening port.
Only thing really bothering me is the engine really and maybe the rust showing on the bow roller.
I would not worry at about the rust on the bow roller. It happens and cleans up pretty easily (and happens again of course). I have had an Atomic 4 and several diesel engines. For extended cruising I much prefer a diesel. The fuel economy is much better and in a few, more obscure places diesel fuel is more readily available and often cheaper.
The best thing to do may be to buy a boat on the US coast south of you where there will be a much greater selection and prices may be cheaper. Two possibilities:
1) It is not hard, and quite a pleasant trip to bring the boat home. From New York City to Quebec City is about a week up the Hudson and through Lake Champlain. Most of this will be motoring btw with the mast down from Albany area to Sorel. Add to the week the time needed to go from where you get the boat to NYC.
2) Don't bring the boat home and start your journey from wherever you buy the boat. With this approach you don't have to pay HST (it is payable when you actually import the boat). The restriction is that you have a one year cruising permit in the US (this does include time spend on the hard, but you need to talk to the officials to arrange this exemption).
The boat you are looking at does look very nice, except for the engine. Note that I have nothing against Atomic 4s for normal coastal cruising.
My dilema really comes from the engine, Here are my 2 option:
#1 - 1972 Tartan 34 reg : canada(plus) price : +/- 20 000$
atomic-4 (minus)
cape horn windvane (plus)
gimbaled propane range (plus)
6 new ss opening port (plus)
ais recevever (plus)
good sails (plus)
#2 1972 tartan 34 in new jersey reg : us (minus) price : +/- 20 000$
m4-30 diesel engine 1995 (plus)
no gibaled stove (minus)
no windvane (minus)
stock opening port (minus)
no solar panel etc.
For argument sake lets assume both hull and deck are in similar condition. Does the diesel engine justify going trhough the assle of importing a us boat in canada. Cost of registration.. and less gear to start with etc..????
Plan is still to go south next year will probably be doing some passage 3 to 4 days at some point, lots of coastal cruising and island hoping. Thinking more and more about doing shakedown cruise here in the gulf of st-lawrence (ile de la madelaine, gaspe, nova scotia etc.) next summer.
There seem to be quite a few Tartan 34s available. The one in Maine (see below) seems pretty nice (diesel) and is US$18500. Also note that these are asking prices and this is an excellent time of the year to be buying a boat. The Maine boat has not been in the water since 2011. I suspect the seller is quite motivated and would not mind avoiding another winter of storage cost.
The cost of importing is not much and the paperwork is not a big issue. One other question I would have is whether the genoa winches (at least) are self-tailing on any of these boats. As for sail quality, the age of the sail does not tell you much. I have a 2009 Hood 135% that I could sell to you very cheaply. Only problem is that it has been used for 30,000 miles. You really have to inspect the sails (or have a sailmaker look at them) to know how good they are.
Final comment, the vane steering is a very nice feature and you likely would need to buy one for your boat if it does not come with one. On the other hand, if someone put one on a boat chances are good that the boat has a lot more miles on it than a boat used for daysails on days but only when the wind was under 15 knots.
Thank you killarney_sailor , I went twice in Maine to look at this boat, I could of had it for 8k but there was so much work on it to be done that I gave up.
I like your input about the windvane, #1 has been cruising intensly the past year, All around nova scotia, out in the atlantic down to bahamas and cuba then back.
Should this concern me?? It was actually giving me confidence in the boat.
Has the one is Maine been fixed up a lot to justify a 10k increase in the price? I think the fact the boat has done that trip should give you confidence in the model itself. A lot of things on a boat are consumable items - even if they are very expensive ones. A sail has a certain amount of life in it. Going to the Caribbean and back (5000+ nm) is using up quite a bit of life.
Windvanes are less of a concern in terms of wearing out. Various bearings and bushings on our Monitor are pretty worn, but we have bought replacements for everything ($140 I think) and will be doing a rebuild when we get back to the Caribbean. The number of engine hours matters too, but probably more important is how rigorous the maintenance schedule has been. Hard to tell this without a good (believable) maintenance log.
Did you check out the boat in Vermont? It is closer to home at least? The at Shelter Island has a diesel, radar (nice depending on where you go), and a very good price.
We bought a Tartan 34c this time last year and spent almost every weekend this year prepping her to be a liveaboard/cruiser. We should launch in two weeks. Ours has a yanmar 3gm, no windvane though. A windvane and a diesel would be ideal but if the atomic 4 runs good now than its just a matter of keeping up with routine engine maintenance, especially water separator filter changes. If the A4 runs good, degrease the motor and paint it. pop the engine compartment open on a routine basis, a freshly painted engine will quickly reveal any new leaks or drips and alert you to any issues. the 34c's are nicely set up, with the engine box off you can get to all sides of the engine without having to be a contortionist. good luck on your adventure
I saw the boat in Vermont. We were thinking of buying it, but my husband likes the Ericsons better. It is a nice boat. I really liked it. It has the engine in a weird place,though, right near one of the "sofas." (Can't remember the name of the sofas, sorry) You can see it in one of the pictures.
My experienced sailor friend looked at it with us and said it would need some work, but was a solid boat. From the same broker, he had looked at a 1980 something Sea Sprite which I really liked but it was out of our budget, about 33k, I think. He hurt his back, so isn't looking right now.
The broker is Steve from Bruce Hill Yachts. He's a good guy. I trusted him.
Nancy
BTW, as a cautious new sailor, I'm going to push my husband for the Tartan over an Ericson. The Ericsons are great boats, but owners tell me they are faster and the Tartans are more sturdy. I like sturdy.
FWIW- Whoever told you that Ericsons were faster but are more solid does not know both boats all that well. The very last Ericsons built by Pacific Seacraft were more solid than the Tartans but they were heavier and so did sail as fast as the earlier ones.
Hello again, Im closing the deal on the Tartan34 with the A4. Somethings came up, I got the price as low as I can but when the owner hauled out his boat last week and he told me that he suspect water intrusion into his rudder and that he think that his mainsail is to be change. He says the rudder is a easy fix and that he wont move on his price even with those 2 issues.
I have a surveyor booked to go over the boat this Sunday but the owner made it clear that he wont bring the price down anymore even if there other things that we find during the survey. Should I still go through or is this a RED light that I should consier.
I think my probleme is that I fell in love with that boat with all her shinny SS port and equipement It really is a well equiped boat but has the A4 RCW engine, main sail that has to be change and a soak rudder .
This is a worksheet that I made, what do you guys think am I going to kill my cruising kitty trying to make this my dream boat? or is this plan still viable.
...SNIP...
he suspect water intrusion into his rudder and that he think that his mainsail is to be change. He says the rudder is a easy fix and that he wont move on his price even with those 2 issues.
...SNIP...
Fixing a water filled rudder can be BIG $$$$. It may NOT be an easy fix.
Pay for the survey and go from there. Don't forget if you pay for the survey, IT's YOURS not the owners. If he wants a copy, he should pay half, at least.
BE READY TO WALK if he will not adjust for fixes needed!
A GOOD deal is only good IF both parties are equally unhappy!
I agree...I'd be ready to walk, unless you're getting her for a steal. Add up the cost of the repairs in your head, and add it to the cost of the boat. Is the sum close to or more than what you'd pay for another boat? Don't let shiny widgets blind you, either - if you can't sail her, or if they won't get used most of the time, the shiny widgets won't do you any good, so don't include them in the calculation.
To paraphrase the old saying...there are other boats in the sea. Besides, if you walk, the owner may change his mind. Maybe not...but maybe.
Ok so finally we manage to agree on a price for that 34'. It is now mine, so stoke about it. Thank you everybody for your input and feedback. Now it's time to prep everyting so I can be ready next spring to cast off.
congrats! Now the "fun" begins. Fact of life, NOT many rudders are dry. even the one on my boat with epoxy coating and all that still gets water in it. Thing is to not let the water stay in the core.
My rudder was actually split along the front seam, filled with water. I drilled a half-dozen 1/2-inch holes in the rudder, and allowed the water to drain out for three months while on the hard. I then connected a Shop Van and vacuumed out as much of the moisture as possible, which was only a bit more. Then I heated the entire rudder with a heat gun for about three hours, which steamed out most of the residual moisture.
The next step was to inject epoxy into the rudder core, which I really don't believe did much, but there is really no way to determine this. Next, grinding an indentation around each of the six holes I drilled, then placing stainless bolts, large fender washers, and lock-nuts to provide structural integrity to the rudder. Finally, the entire job was covered with several layers of fiberglass matting and roving, and after curing, a couple coats of antifouling bottom paint was applied. So far, after three years, it seems to holding up quite well.
Now, I did have serious thoughts about installing a new rudder, a foam filled rudder that is custom made in Florida. The cost was about $1,100 and I had to ship them my old rudder to be sure the size was perfect for the replacement. These rudders are very well constructed and well worth the expense. The major difficulty is removing the old rudder and replacing it with the new one. The boat must be lifted fairly high above the ground in order to obtain the needed clearance for removal and installation.
You can let the shop vac run overnight, and use duct tape to seal the rudder against the vacuum hose.
You can add a hole to add additional airflow through the vaccum, if you want. It will be kinder to the shop vac, but the cost of a sheap shop vac is much less than a rudder.
Yeah, I have remove the rudder last week-end. It went well, all I had to do was remove the the bottom cast iron shoe and the attachement at the tiller and it came off. It's now in my 2 room appartment wich I have now transform into a boat shop . I had 2 option in mind either split the whole thing in 2 and have a good look at what is going on or simply do like you did and drill holes to let the water out and fill it with epoxy.
Gary, what you have to do to get the rudder off depends on where you are sitting. If you are on dirt you can dig a hole to drop the rudder. Sort of a raise the bridge, lower the water thing.
I split my Niagara 35 rudder and had the mild steel web that was welded to the stainless shaft replaced. Don't know if it was necessary or not but there was piece of mind.
This is how the PO covered the boat for the winter. I wonder if the opening space at the bow and transom are a probleme? I think its good to allow airflow, but the way it is set up its leaving large opening for snow to get on deck. I was wondering if its a big deal?
I suspect that may just be this size of tarp he had. Would not hurt to put a Canadian Tire el cheapo tarp at each end using the mast for support. One hint, don't use the el cheapo grommets on the el cheapo tarp. Run light lines through the grommets over the top of the tarp and tie at both ends. A bit of snow on the deck will not be a problem. Some people do not cover their boats at all and have not for many years. I have a friend with a Viking 33 that he has owned since new (39 years) and he does not cover it.
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