[TSOJOURNER]

Hello: Considering moving forward on a 1966 Morgan 34 and am wondering if the Morgan community on Sailnet could give me their thoughts on this boat...

According to the owner, this was Charley Morgan's boat and he had designed it for himself for cruising (don't know if that's true or not). It has a split galley (to both port/starboard), no quarterberths in the stern (it's all storage in the stern and has stern locker), but two pilot berths in the main cabin along with a v-berth.

Atomic 4, been sitting on the hard for 3 years, tiller, hank-on sails, few if any electronics, and 20 gallons each for fuel and water.

My vision would be to get a survey to see if it's worth sinking money into..

questions are please:

1.) would this be a good cruising sailboat (at least coastal) for a family of four (son- age 8 and daughter and 10)?

2.) Anyone have any experience with Morgan 34s in terms of their sailing performance?

2.) Any big issues that I should be aware of, i.e. Atomic 4, centerboard, peculiarities of this make and model?

what are folks thoughts?

thanks in advance....

 

[Duck401k]

Spirit 1969 Morgan 34

Yep - I have a Morgan, The lay out is different than the one you are looking at. We have two quarter Berths, and galley is on starboard. It is a great sailboat for small family. The layout below gives us a lot of room for a 34 and the cockpit is roomy as well. The large deck also gives us some space for kids.

The survey went well and the hull was solid. A new engine was put in about 5 years ago by a prior owner. I did some work on the head, seacocks and centerboard pulley. but all works. The head is small....

The boat is easy to sail and the tiller is fine. She is not terribly fast but has very little weather helm when trimmed right. I am not sure that I would go off shore with her, but the chesapeake is fine. I think she sails fine.. Charlie Morgan has a web site and before I bought mine I emailed him with a question...he emailed back a day later. Morgan 34's look great on the water.

any more specific questions please let me know...I have some pictures but I am not sure how to upload..I can try if you like...Good Luck

 

[TSOJOURNER]

price point

Hello:

thanks so much for your reply.

What price point would you think would be a fair price for the boat I just described?

Also, what do you think would be an outstanding deal on a '66 Morgan 34?

Kindly,

jason

 

[Duck401k]

A wild guess and I mean wild w/ out looking..if everything works enough to sail, you say sitting on the hard for 3 years so my visual is not great, but 15 to 20k...now what is the owner asking ?

My morgan in very good condition, in todays market might be worth 25, there are some for sale on Yachtworld check it out...best Jeff

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Hi Duck401K

they are asking $5,500.........

i checked out prices on boats.com and found similar numbers to what you were mentioning....

 

[Duck401k]

Sounds like she might need some work. If you need info email Charlie Morgan

The MORGAN YACHT CONNECTION he has helped many people with old Morgans.

At that price, it might need some work. Where do you plan to sail ? I have found that my kids can understand the simple rigging and enjoy the room. I have virtually no electronics and the boat is very easy to maintain.

I am sailing this weekend on the CB

Good luck

 

[TSOJOURNER]

have fun out there in the Bay!

I think the vision is to sail out of the Great Lakes in a few years and down the coast to Florida. From there, I don't know..

Once I get some pics I'll email Charley (thanks for the link, by the way) and get his thoughts on the boat. Undoubtedly it will need some work. Any boat that sits on the hard will accumulate water so I'm worried about what kind of damage has been done to her while she's sitting.

I like the idea of my kids having a simple, safe boat to live aboard on for a year or two. You don't feel safe taking your boat out on the ocean? Not quite set up for it? Kids too little?

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Amundsen -
Where is the Morgan 34 you're considering purchasing?

 

[inshallamiami]

We absolutely LOVE our 1969 morgan 34. We have sailed her to Rio Dulce, Guatemala and back and were very happy! pm me if you need more info
Sue K.

 

[cboudart]

I have hull #110 , bought it 4 years ago. I paid $12,500, we started at $22,000. It was in good mechanical shape. Good Old Boat magazine did a nice article on this boat. I love many things about this boat ( sails well, is quick, and turns a lot of heads ). I think 1967 was the height of the bronze age. I have a solid bronze centerboard, winches, winch handles. The hull is solid fiberglass. Very sturdy boat.

Now for the negatives. Look at the base of your mast, I had to replace the step/centerboard pulley. The outhaul winch is slipping. Do you have a waste tank? The fuel tank could have gunk in it. The side fixed ports can be troublsome. Does your boat have a bimini? I will stop here. Each one of these items can be big projects to fix.

It's a strong, well built boat for the money; if it was taken care of. Pay for a survey, it is well worth it.

Sea Treasure
Worton Creek, MD

 

[Duck401k]

Hey Sea Treasure - I have a 69 Morgan, Spirit in the Wye River, We love the boat. Had some good sailing this year...when are you coming to St. Mikes?...Do you know of other Morgans in the CB...

Amundsun 72 Did you get your boat yet ? We did put a waste tank under the forward setee seat. The head is small and I am tall...you will like the boat but it is slim on extras or comforts, under sail handles great.

Best J

 

[maarty10]

Hello: Considering moving forward on a 1966 Morgan 34 and am wondering if the Morgan community on Sailnet could give me their thoughts on this boat...

According to the owner, this was Charley Morgan's boat and he had designed it for himself for cruising (don't know if that's true or not). It has a split galley (to both port/starboard), no quarterberths in the stern (it's all storage in the stern and has stern locker), but two pilot berths in the main cabin along with a v-berth.

Atomic 4, been sitting on the hard for 3 years, tiller, hank-on sails, few if any electronics, and 20 gallons each for fuel and water.

My vision would be to get a survey to see if it's worth sinking money into..

questions are please:

1.) would this be a good cruising sailboat (at least coastal) for a family of four (son- age 8 and daughter and 10)?

2.) Anyone have any experience with Morgan 34s in terms of their sailing performance?

2.) Any big issues that I should be aware of, i.e. Atomic 4, centerboard, peculiarities of this make and model?

what are folks thoughts?

thanks in advance....

I hope this thread is still current. I lived aboard my Morgan 34 for almost a year, 93-94.
Speaking to your first question; this is a great boat for a family of four. The V birth is very spacious, and with the sliding pocket door gives privacy from the bulkhead forward.
The one I had was with the galley aft (superior use of space in my opinion). The pull out birth on the port side was very wide, and had a pilot birth on the same side, above it.
This boat is ideal for coastal cruising, and anywhere the water is thin: Bahamas especially.
To the second question:
This boat sails like a champ. With any point of sail off the wind and she takes off, and will leave many more modern boats in her wake. With judicious use of the center board you will also sail very close and fast.
Third question: peculiarities.
The original atomic 4 is prone to salt water precipitation. ie, salt water starts to cake up inside it, clog it, and eventually lead to over heating. The cure is to spend $400 dollars for a fresh water heat exchanger (no big deal: easy to install. Spares for the engine are plentiful, and on the plus side, bacteria will not grow in gasoline. It can in diesel. On the down side; no oil filter. Install one, or change the oil every 50 hours. I have heard of specialty filters that can go for a year. We use them on fire trucks. I have no personal knowledge of them having been used on boats.
I would sail with nothing less than propane bbq and stove. Forget about alcohol. Refrigeration is easy to install. Adler Barbour makes a great 12volt dc unit. Get a wind generator. We had a Windbugger. It was awesome.Use a 3 battery system with two deep cycle batteries for house use, and one regular one for engine use only. Use neoprene bladders for storing water, to augment the built in monel tank. The boat should have a sewage holding tank, but for offshore use a Y valve will keep things smelling sweet.
The center board takes about 65 turns of the winch for a full range of motion. Word has it that the 1/2" x 24" SS pipe through which the stainless pendant is epoxied can corrode at the swage. Mine was fine after almost 30 years.
The hull had some blistering in about 30 individual spots (detected with a moisture meter) By the way anything less than 10 percent is nothing to panic about, but when its up around 15 to 25 its time to get out the grinder.
This is an uncored hull. It is easy to repair. (Follow the West System procedures. They have a great, and usually free booklet.
The rudder was slightly delaminating on the lead edge, so I dropped it and rebuilt the forward 6 inches. Not a big deal.
The boat, all in all, for the 15 to 25 thousand you can get them for, is a helluva good boat that actually won a lot of races before the racing rules handicapped them too much.
She is a classic.
My only regret is having sold my Shalimar, and now I am looking for another one.

 

[TSOJOURNER]

I am doing a complete rebuild on a Morgan 34, same layout below as yours. Gutted to bare hull, new Yanmar diesel, new wiring, etc. It is for my daughter and her husband to sail to New Zealand from here (Hawaii).

It is a great classic design, safe offshore, perfect for a couple or a couple with one or two children.

I would be happy to share experiences with you via e-mail if that would be helpful.

 

[Movingrightalong...]

If you are going to be day sailing or possibly overnighting with a family of four it will be fine. Longer periods will get cramped. My sense is that mine had the interior room of a newer boat several feet shorter...but that was then and this is now. No Hunter or Catalina looks as nice in the water. Boat #1 is gone, wife #1 is gone, I'll let you guess which one I miss more.

 

[cdy]

The thread is from 2009 - his kids are probably in college and maybe on his second wife, wonder if he still has the boat?

 

[oysterman23]

thought Id add an image of a 34 #19 I photographed today from my Morgan 24/5 both were built 1967 the 34 is solid with a new rebuilt yanmar not fully hooked up yet. Her centerboard and pennant all redone this summer. Owner was just doing a shake down after a long surfing season.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Moby Dink]

The thread is from 2009 - his kids are probably in college and maybe on his second wife, wonder if he still has the boat?

5 years later... Kids have graduated college, with kids of their own. On wife #3 by now? I see a very similar boat for sale near me, wonder if it's the same one?