[David2676]

I am looking at this 32' 1968 Chris Craft Sloop, Aside from having a survey and all the things that might be wrong with it, needs pant, cleaning, plugged cooling line, which could mean over heated blown motor, batteries ect... has a couple lights not working so likely some electrical issues. the owner claims to boat has made a couple trips from SF thru the panama.

What I am asking is weather or not this is a good boat to own? Sea worthy in bad weather. Since I have little experience and never plan on racing I prefer a boat that can handle strong weather over speed. I can find very little about this boat, I have been looking for a west sail only because I was told they are bullet proof in weather, if that is possible. If anyone has information about the boat please ? it does come with a bunch of gear.

I plan to have it hauled out and surveyed, feel free to offer any advice I have no friend who sail or know anything more than I do about sailing or buying boats. so I have to move cautiously.

 

[Faster]

For everyone's reference:

CHEROKEE 32 (CHRIS-CRAFT) sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

Good pedigree as an S&S design, but any boat that age will be sure to have issues, and you've already found a few red flags. Eyes wide open, have a realistic idea of what can be fixed and what it might cost, very easy to get sucked into a 'deal' that ends up costing more in the long run compared to having bought something newer/in better shape the first time around.

 

[christian.hess]

check for delamination in the cabin top and decks, but especially the cabin top...dont remember where I read that they suffered from this and some were structurally compromised...

other than that good boat

 

[Jeff_H]

These were pretty good boats for their day. Reasonably fast for a boat of that era and a little more easily handled than many of the boats of that era with keel hung rudders. But like most production boats of that era, they were designed as coastal cruisers and racers. Like most boats of that era, these are boats which require more frequent reefs and sail changes in building conditions than many of the designs which came after them.

Chris Craft was not known for consistently high build quality. Some of their build details are very high quality, while others were not. For example, on the ones that I worked on, they tended to use non-marine plywood on the interiors and ferrous fastenings below decks.

But getting to the heart of your question, it sounds like you are looking for a good seaworthy boat with reasonable sailing characteristics. In that era and the immediate period afterward, there were designs which were intended to be dedicated cruising boats rather than cruiser-racers, and these boats would better suit your needs. There were also MORC race boats which were better suited to your goals than CCA race rule designs like the Cherokee 32.

Respectfully,
Jeff

 

[miatapaul]

They are beautiful to my eye. Kind of unusual layouts in some of them I have seen listed, and have an almost wooden boat (not high end) kind of look to them below but are nice. I have never heard horrible things about them, but they are old now so it will really depend on condition. Keep in mind that a motor will likely cost more that the boat is or ever will be worth. Sails will be close to as much as well and standing rigging as well. Not to scare you but your description is not of a boat in good condition. What may sound like simple fixes are often not.

Didn't someone recently start a circumnavigation on one? Or was that a Comanche or Apache other good looking S&S designs.

 

[Chas H]

Chris Craft was not known for consistently high build quality. Some of their build details are very high quality, while others were not. For example, on the ones that I worked on, they tended to use non-marine plywood on the interiors and ferrous fastenings below decks.
Respectfully,
Jeff

If my memory is correct, Chris Craft had used galvanized steel keel bolts which could rust and require replacement.

I've had the pleasure of sailing an Apache 37. It was great! She moved well even with older sails.

I looked at a Cherokee 32 on the market for a year and dreamed of ownership (a freshwater boat). The issues with the keel bolts concerned me the most. I did not buy it.

S&S designed boats attract attention.
-CH

 

[christian.hess]

thats it! good memory

there is a chris craft 35 next to me down here with some issues

in fact some chris craft models have keel bolts that let you adjust the position of the keel...

the galvanised bolts on some models let to HUGE keel hull joint gaps...

so check that