[TyTy]

We're looking at ~30 foot boats, mostly all from the 70s, $5,000 - $10,000. We currently have a 1982 O'Day 25 Centerboard.

We will be using the boat for daysailing and cruising either side of Long Island, the Hudson River, and Upper and Lower New York Bay, and hopefully a summer trip out to Martha's Vineyard.

We're looking at a 1975 Santana 30 and a 1979 Cape Dory Intrepid 9M that are similarly priced and both seem to be well maintained and turn-key. Also being considered are the Catalina 30, O'Day 30, Columbia 9.6, and the Grampian 30.

Here is what we don't like about our current O'Day 25:
1. floats like a cork at anchor, too light for anything but the best conditions
2. porti-potti & no stove
3. too slow, although we are not planning on racing (I race on other boats)

 

[Faster]

Imagine my surprise when the Cape Dory turns out to be a finkeel/skeg-rudder design!!

IMO you'll enjoy the Cat 30 for the sheer volume, though the G30 and G28 (close relative to the CD 9M) may rival the space. Another factor is the fact that of all of them, Catalina is the only one still in business and they are known for continued owner support.

The Santana 30 is typical of the IOR influenced designs of the day, twitchy downwind, narrow smallish cockpits, but when well sailed will likely outperform most of your other options. The Santana 35 is probably a better boat all around, and they are going pretty cheap these days but would strain your budget a bit and would be quite a 'step up'.

Good luck.. plenty to choose from these days in that budget and era, lots of decent boats!

 

[krisscross]

Cape Dory Intrepid is a rock solid boat, much better IMO than other boats on your list. I would also look at Tartan 30. They can be had dirt cheap and are very good boats in terms of design, performance, and safety.

 

[TyTy]

Cape Dory Intrepid is a rock solid boat, much better IMO than other boats on your list. I would also look at Tartan 30. They can be had dirt cheap and are very good boats in terms of design, performance, and safety.

Thanks! What makes the Intrepid 9M better? When you say it's rock solid, do you mean in terms of having superior construction?

 

[krisscross]

Thanks! What makes the Intrepid 9M better? When you say it's rock solid, do you mean in terms of having superior construction?

Yes, superior construction and components, as with other CD boats. Nothing greatly innovative about the design, but it is a stiff boat (40% displacement is the lead keel) that sails well.

 

[TyTy]

If anyone has experience on the Intrepid 9M, is the quarter berth wide enough for a couple to sleep? It does not appear the side berths fold out to be a double, and I'd like to have the ability to sleep 6, or at least allow 2 couples to sleep next to each other.

 

[Markwesti]

Typically a quarter berth (pipe berth) is for one person . On our boat we can get 2 in the vee berth , 2 on the break down galley table , 1 in the pipe berth . My vote is the CD , what engine ?

 

[TyTy]

Typically a quarter berth (pipe berth) is for one person . On our boat we can get 2 in the vee berth , 2 on the break down galley table , 1 in the pipe berth .

Right. I don't think the Intrepid 9M has a break down table that turns into a double, the others (including our current boat) do.

 

[Markwesti]

INTREPID 9M sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com
If you are handy , I see some possibility's , like the drop down dinette ,make a extension for it and a way to lower it, you could get 2 on that side . Fill the cutout in the vee berth , there you have it 6 . Yikes I men't 7.

 

[TyTy]

My vote is the CD , what engine ?

Yanmar 2GM 20f diesel

 

[krisscross]

If anyone has experience on the Intrepid 9M, is the quarter berth wide enough for a couple to sleep? It does not appear the side berths fold out to be a double, and I'd like to have the ability to sleep 6, or at least allow 2 couples to sleep next to each other.

I have seen people modify these tables. Not much to it and I would never hold it against such a good boat. When you are talking sleeping 6 people on a 30 foot boat, I would rather sleep in the cockpit under a boom tent. On the Intrepid the tiller swings up and there is a lot of room. Heck, you could stick 3 coolers in the cockpit well and have 3 more sleeping bunks. :laugher

 

[Markwesti]

That's a good engine , we have a 2QM 15 Yanmar . Although for ours some parts are getting hard to find .

 

[TyTy]

I have seen people modify these tables. Not much to it and I would never hold it against such a good boat. When you are talking sleeping 6 people on a 30 foot boat, I would rather sleep in the cockpit under a boom tent. On the Intrepid the tiller swings up and there is a lot of room. Heck, you could stick 3 coolers in the cockpit well and have 3 more sleeping bunks. :laugher

That's a good point. I'd like to think I am pretty handy, so an extra bunk mod shouldn't be too hard to handle. We've slept 6 on the O'Day 25 a few times! Never more than one night in a row, though.

 

[krisscross]

We've slept 6 on the O'Day 25 a few times! Never more than one night in a row, though.

6 people on a 25 foot boat is hard on people and on the holding tank. One night might be the limit.

 

[trevoryx]

My wife and I live on our Intrepid 9m (hull #34) with two cats and a big old dog. The quarterberth is storage and dog-area for us, and it's big enough for about 1 and a half people. The settee backs on ours latch in the up position, which makes for surprisingly comfortable wide single berths.
We love our boat, and think she's just the right fit for us. Let me know if you'd like more info.

 

[TyTy]

My wife and I live on our Intrepid 9m (hull #34) with two cats and a big old dog. The quarterberth is storage and dog-area for us, and it's big enough for about 1 and a half people. The settee backs on ours latch in the up position, which makes for surprisingly comfortable wide single berths.
We love our boat, and think she's just the right fit for us. Let me know if you'd like more info.

Thanks trevoryx. We're looking at it again tomorrow.

• Are there any Intrepid 9M-specific questions that you think we should ask?
• Do you think I could easily make a modification that would allow me to convert one of the settee berths to a double?
• What do you think is the biggest drawback of the Intrepid 9M is?
• What things have you done to yours that you might recommend us doing, if we do get it?

 

[trevoryx]

Thanks trevoryx. We're looking at it again tomorrow.

• Are there any Intrepid 9M-specific questions that you think we should ask?
• Do you think I could easily make a modification that would allow me to convert one of the settee berths to a double?
• What do you think is the biggest drawback of the Intrepid 9M is?
• What things have you done to yours that you might recommend us doing, if we do get it?

9m-specific questions? Hmm. besides the usual old-boat stuff (does the seller have maintenance records, is there water in the decks, when was it last hauled for paint, when was the rigging replaced), I think i'd want to know what "upgrades" the PO has done.

I suppose it would be possible to fabricate some sort of sliding system for the port settee to make it a double (something like the one in From A Bare Hull). Realize, though, that you'll basically lose the ability to move about the boat once it's slid out - the walking area down below is the size of a yoga mat (we know this because we use one for non-skid for the dog). Who was it who said a proper cruising boat should "sail six, dine four, and sleep two"?

Drawbacks are few. I'd prefer not to have a molded headliner or a wheel, but I can live with them. The icebox (which is enormous and surprisingly well-insulated) drains to the bilge, so I have to pump it every week. The tiptoe-style foot pump for the head sink is noisy. The original dish storage on our boat was poorly thought-out. The cockpit scuppers don't quite drain the last 1/4" of water when it rains. The icebox lid lifting ring is inconveniently small. It's time to revarnish, so the teak is currently a drawback. once the varnishing is done, it will be a feature again. It is difficult to find a good spot for the laundry hamper.(Perhaps we should rename our boat "First World Problems". As you can probably tell, we adore her.)

We haven't done very much to ours. We removed the built-in dish storage, since our plates wouldn't fit, and are redesigning something more effective. We've also taken off the door to the v-berth, since it just got in the way and was silly when only two people are on the boat. Since we live in the Seattle area where it rains occasionally, our biggest upgrade has been a beautiful dodger from Iverson's Designs. A few weeks ago, we finally caved and bought a toaster oven so we can bake at the dock. We have shoe pockets hanging along the settee, and hammocks for produce hanging from the grabrails. We've not quite lived on the boat for a year, so other changes may come. We're discussing removing the sink in the head and building more storage instead, and we haven't quite figured out what to do with the drawers under the v-berth and their associated cat-hiding holes.

Does that help? I can send you pictures of ours, if you'd like.

 

[trevoryx]

oh, we also replaced the v-berth cushions, bought a Froli sleep system box spring, and had a custom dog-bed made for the nav-table part of the quarterberth.

 

[trevoryx]

If you go to my Facebook page, you should be able to find a video tour i made back in august, before we really moved a bunch of stuff onto the boat.
Search for "trevoryx" on facebook, then look for videos. I made it public, so let me know if it doesn't work.

 

[TQA]

Catalinas come in a variety of guises, I would want the deep draft tall rig version.