Dear EvecircleM,
I own a Buccaneer 285 center cockpit with the Volvo md6b diesel. I live in Oceanside, on the South Shore of Long Island. I would be happy to talk with you about your boat and I invite you and a guest down to take a look at mine. She is in the water all year, so we might even go for a sail.
I am the webmaster of a site called The Buccaneer''s Home Port, which is deadicated to sharing knowledge and experience related to the Buccaneer. The site grew out of my frustration with trying to find info about the boat when I bought her. It seems to have grown into quite a resource for sailors, so take a look. The address is www.geocities.com/buccaneersailboats
Feel free to email me at buccaneersailboats@yahoo.com
In regards to the questions raised on this message thread, I wish to post a question that was sent in to my site and my response. I think it relivant. Here goes:
Rob writes:
I recently saw an ad for a 30'' foot Buccaneer which caught my attention. Curious as to what a comparable boat would be. Catalina? Lighter of heavier construction? Any info would be appriciated.
I can be contacted at Robertmaccallum@home.com
JollymonJeff replies:
For documentation on the boat that may shed some light on how it''s built and it''s features, check out the owners manual on Kevin Bell''s great site: www.cnw.com/`bell/ownersmanual.html and the specs on the main page here at the Buccaneer''s Homeport.
As far as a personal opinion, as the owner of a Bucc 285C and previously an O''Day 23, I can tell you what I like and don''t like about both.
The O''Day has a solid glass hull. I prefer a solid hull to the Buccaneer''s balsa cored hull for its lower chance of problems. I have had to do repairs on both boats, blisters on the O''Day and replace a section of core on the Bucc. The cored hull was fin when I got her. I made a stupid mistake and left some leaves covering the cockpit drain. After a week of rain I came down to the boat to see 5 inches of water in the cockpit Anything higher washed into the boat and found some spyder cracks in the inside layer of glass. The water was pumped out and the boat cleaned up and all was well I thought. A year later I was walking aft when i heard a distinct "squish". I knew I had water in there and after a few test holes in the inner skin once I was on land, I found out the extent of the damage and that it was fresh water, not salt ( You really DON"T want to taste it, trust me) and I figured out how it must have gotten in there. The repair itself was easy as the boat has no interior pan liner and there is access to most places. With the guidance of a surveyor nieghbor of mine, I did the repair myself in about 20 hours of work over two weeks time. I used about $300 of
epoxy, glass and balsa mat. A local yard wanted $900 for the repair and would have certainly have done it in less time.
That repair is common to balsa cored hulls in general, not just the Bucc.
The keel, which is internal (no keel bolts to worry about!, except for the Doug Petersen designs) offers no access. It is plywood and glassed over. If water ever gets in, it has no way to get out. A common owner retrofit is a bilge
pump and access panel supplementing the factory one under the inboard engine.
The O''Day had balsa cored decks that had turned to mush from years of fresh water leaks from deck fittings. The inner linner/core/outer deck left no way to repair the damage. The Buccaneers use a marine plywood deck that is a rot resistant, if a little heavy.
Another easily fixed issue is port light leaks. The ports are plexiglass with silicone sealant in plastic frames. The silicone should be replaced every few years as preventive maintainance.
I would say the Buccs compare favorably with Catalinas and Hunters from the same period, perhaps leaning more towards Hunters. They are VERY roomy for their length and can be obtained cheaply given their size. They have great headroom. Like any 20 year old boat, it should be looked at by someone knowledgeable to spot the small problems that may be bargining chips and the large ones that tell you to move on.
They are a lot to fun to sail, stable and spacious. They are great coastal cruisers but not generally thought of for open water crossings. They are not the fastest boats (again, with the exception of the doug Petersen designs) and they don''t track as well as boats with a longer keel, but with a 3 foot draft they can gunkhole where the other boats can''t get to...so don''t be surprised if you find yourself at some beautiful secluded anchorage with the place to yourself...even if it does take you a while to get there.
End of letter
Inregards to Buccaneer''s history, Jeff H is pretty much on target. There is more detail on my site. In regards to Jeff H''s Comments, I too think that he is quite knowledgable and think his comments are accurate, although I have found only hand laid glass in my hull and a mix of chopper glass and hand laid roving in the deck unit. Their rep is worse than it should be, but that keeps the price low too. If you have a sound boat, enjoy her and when you outgrow her, you can certainly move up. Don''t spend $10grand trying to make a $5k boat into a $15k one, it won''t happen. But if you got her for a reasonable price you may have gotten a deal. I paid $3k for mine, and she was usable as was. I did put in some money but wanted to completely refurbish her to learn how. It was not nessasary. Even with the money I put in, I have a total of $8k in a boat worth $8-10k for insurance purposes and $5-7k for real world sales purposes. But she is a 28'' inboard diesel that is in virtually new condition. I rebuilt the diesel, all the electrical and mechanical systems, new interior, new plumbing..the works. She is ideal for the shallow South shore with a 3'' draft. She has TONS of room an is surprisingly comfortable in a 3-4'' swell. I sail in the Ocean off of Long Beach and in the bays on the South Shore. I would not take her to Burmuda, but for coastal cruising she is fine. There are 6 other Buccs on Long Island that I know of.
I hope this has been helpful,
JollymonJeff
The Buccaneer''s Home Port
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