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Important Things (You Know Now), To Look For When Buying A Used Sailboat?

5K views 30 replies 18 participants last post by  SanderO 
#1 ·
From experience of what you found out 'after' you bought yours, what are some things to look for that you normally would not be aware of, when shopping for a used sailboat?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Pretty much the biggest thing I didn't see coming on this boat was the lack of ventilation in the aft end of our aft cabin. There is no place for the air to pass through the cabin, even though there are 4 opening portholes, a large hatch, and a dorade box, the after most is at the foot of the bed. Aft of that toward the headboard, nothing. However, we will be addressing this problem this summer.
If you are even thinking about taking a boat to the tropics, think seriously about the ventilation below decks. Some of the most beautiful and well-built boats on the planet come from northern Europe, and they are the most horrible boats to sail to the tropics because they are from very cold climates and have very poor ventilation below.
 
#3 ·
Buy a copy of this book https://www.amazon.com/Caseys-Complete-Illustrated-Sailboat-Maintenance/dp/0071462848/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530799295&sr=1-1&keywords=don+casey%27s+complete+illustrated+sailboat+maintenance+manual&dpID=512xP2qabWL&preST=_SX258_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

When looking at a boat have a checklist on clipboard and take pictures.

If planning a stay in a warm destination think about ventilation. My first cruising boat only had one hatch and it opened from the rear, [ not good] my current boat has 7 hatches all of which open from the front and 8 side portholes which open. [good]

If planning on having a professional survey done be aware that virtually all surveyors will not go up the mast or lay out the sails, rarely do they run the engine and test the gearbox.
 
#4 ·
Inspecting the Aging Sailboat is great... and yes, make your own checklist and do your own "survey" on every boat you look at it. If I had done that on the first boat we tried to buy I would have caught a bunch of pretty basic things and not had to spend the money on having a professional surveyor tell me not to buy the boat (he was right, I just could have figured it out myself with a little more structure to my looking at those first boats).

We decided we didn't really care about the electronics we were more interested in a fundamentally sound boat, and we're happy we did it that way, the electronics thing is pretty easy to take care of with some basic depth/speed and then a laptop or tablet to navigate with.

Biggest thing I got lucky with was our dinghy... wasn't really on our radar as a big factor, ended up with boat that came with a Walker Bay that is perfect for our use and just fits nicely on the foredeck when we want it out of the water... having to buy that after buying the boat would have been a big headache and a few grand potentially. So make sure you check out the dinghy situation when buying.

Other consideration (pretty obvious, but worth repeating to onesself) is how equipped it is... solid hull and rig and engine and tranny are key, obviously, but don't discount how much money you might end up spending on things that aren't part of the boat itself (safety equipment, PFD's, fire extinguishers, anchors & rode, dock lines, life rings, etc etc)

-- Bass
 
#5 ·
Unless you have experienced it, you may not appreciate how bad old sails can be, even if they look fine. Before buying any particular boat in the future, I will do some research to determine how much it will cost for new sails, new standing rigging, and new running rigging. I will subtract that cost from my purchase budget to determine how much I can afford to pay for the boat, then negotiate to a purchase price that is not higher than my budget.

If you are not experienced in boat repair, set-up, and maintenance, an active owner's association is worth several thousand dollars, IMO.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Another thing, but on the plus side for us, was the dodger/bimini set up on our boat. We can easily stand up and move the whole length of the cockpit under the bimini, with inches to spare (about 6'2"). On several sisterships, their biminis are at least 6" shorter and I could not stand up under them, even at the helm. That really is a huge deal IMO; crouching over to steer and move around the cockpit! The second thing that we lucked out on is that our dodger has clear side panels, not solid cloth. It may not sound like a big deal, but with the solid panels it's like entering a tunnel to go below, and you don't have 360 degree visibility if you are just popping your head up the companionway in a squall or to check out a boat anchoring alongside, so you have to go out into the cockpit.
These are things we would never have known or thought we just had to live with, and we just got lucky. Now, of course, we know better. Also, if you are having a dodger/bimini built, think about these things.
 
#18 ·
A Canadian fresh water boat will be far better than any Florida boat plus you have the advantage of a 30% discount with the Canadian dollarette. Give Trump anothe 12 months and you could have a 60% discount .... of course you will be out of work too by that time as we all spiral down the trade war toilet :)
 
#22 ·
I'm glad I got a survey!! It saved me in the long run. The boat was 15 years old, which meant new sails and rigging since everything was original. The boat had low engine hours and had barely been broken in according to the manuals.

My #1 thing though is finding someone who can work on boats that's reliable and other people recommend. I've had a really hard time finding someone. Or go to some seminars if you want to do your own work & have never owned a boat. Youtube is my BFF
 
#24 ·
With all due respect this question shows someone who is clueless about boats and what they want and what they need.

What any member on SN wants, needs, and would or have looked for in a new to them boat is completely irrelevant to YOU/

Of course you don't know what you don't know. Everyone faces this problem. But each person is in a different place in life.

It's self evident that an older boat, even well maintained is going to have more expense in terms of service, maintenance and needed refits/upgrades... especially if it has been normally used. Unlikely to find a used boat all tricked out to what you want and need that is in bristol condition and rarely used

You definitely need to figure out your financial situation to drive your choices, purchase and refits/upgrades. No one can give you much advice on this. Some are conservative and risk aversion... others the reverse.

Look at the reputation and various owner's comments about the boat you are interested. Take everything with a grain of salt.

And then you need skills to tackle the work on your boat... or pay for someone else to do it and hopefully understand what they are doing and charging and so on.

If you see a boat that you can afford going it, get a surveyor and have any closing subject to surveyor's findings. Tell the surveyor what sort of sailing you intend to do.

Go back and do your homework.
 
#26 · (Edited)
With all due respect this question shows someone who is clueless about boats and what they want and what they need.

What any member on SN wants, needs, and would or have looked for in a new to them boat is completely irrelevant to YOU/

Go back and do your homework.
I think the OP asked a good question, and I think the answers given here in this thread have been quite helpful and on point. This is his doing his "homework". As you have pointed out, no one knows everything, and sites like this provide a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience. The OP wasn't asking "tell me what I should be looking for in a boat"; he was asking "tell me what you missed when you were picking your boat". Not everyone's experience will be germane to his own boat search, but it may be helpful to someone else's. At the very least, they are all good reading.
 
#28 ·
I assume Dispatch is looking for "gotcha" items, the kind of things that surveyors might miss or be unable to evaluate, not, "I wish I had standing headroom in the aft cabin" stuff that seemed livable at purchase time.

I'll contribute mine: my first boat had chainplates and cleats buried in the deck (wood boat!). I was lucky the chainplates were held up to my gentle use, and I did have a cleat pull out at the dock due to bad sealing and rot (hello, your cored deck can rot too...).

Current boat has all chainplates nice, shiny and exposed below, bolted to the bulkheads. Bottoms of all deck fittings are easily accessible, at worst have to climb inside a lazarette or open the medicine cabinet.

If you can't inspect it, better assume it needs replacement!
 
#29 ·
one thing I would do before you actually go look at a particular boat is google search for a owners forum group. Chances are if they made more than five of something, boat , car, hot tub , even toaster ovens , there's a web-group dedicated to it! Once there search the site for known problems and the fixes for them . You'll be better armed knowledge wise when you see the boat in person . Take pictures of everything on the boat your looking at , even in all the nooks and crannies. You'll probably only spend an hour physically on a boat but you can review the pics at your leisure possibly picking up a issue .
 
#30 · (Edited)
Sandero - its not worth it to try and help an idiot like this.

Dispatch - get a clue. If you want to learn from these guys, you need to cut the crap and listen. Some old sailors are rough and direct - don't take offense and open your small mind. You badge an gun mean NOTHING here kid. You can't arrest the waves or shoot the wind, and 99.999% of the time any of us would rather have a real cruiser with many thousands of sea miles like SanderO on board than some Florida cop with an attitude.I can list maybe 6-8 posters at SN who have the knowledge that makes it worth coming here to read. They are why we come here. Do us a favor and don't piss any of them off!
 
#31 ·
Sandero - its not worth it to try and help an idiot like this.

Dispatch - get a clue. If you want to learn from these guys, you need to cut the crap and listen. Some old sailors are rough and direct - don't take offense and open your small mind. You badge an gun mean NOTHING here kid. You can't arrest the waves or shoot the wind, and 99.999% of the time any of us would rather have a real cruiser with many thousands of sea miles like SanderO on board than some Florida cop with an attitude.I can list maybe 6-8 posters at SN who have the knowledge that makes it worth coming here to read. They are why we come here. Do us a favor and don't piss any of them off!
Not pissed off... It's always the noobs who come on gang busters with their questions almost expecting to be spoon fed. It's the ... what boat I need to sail away and pursue my dream??? What do I want in my next boat??? Quite different than asking for comparison of two boats? Or types of rigs or sails, and so on.

But one has to expect a mix of experience on a site like this... and people are here to share their experience.
 
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