[Kimmi]

I tried to keep this short and sweet

But I couldn't post a link yet.

new sailor couple looking for boat to learn and grow on.
Thoughts on Islander 32 in general and prices??

 

[gedaggett]

I believe this is the boat in question.

For Sale or Trade 1977 Islander 32

A couple thoughts on Islanders. We have 2 I36's in our fleet and we love them. THey are the boats I take out when the weather kicks up and I we have 5-8 footers. They were very solidly built boats and have a good reputation. They do fairly well with age so long as the decks are solid. There is a bit of a mast heel thing that if you have to pull the sticks some time the aluminum heel is welded to the mast and you can actually lift the boat with the mast with no rigging. It requires a cutting of the mast and a built up part to replace it with. I have made this part before and it is not a deal breaker on the boat. The boat is a stout boat for 32 feet and was built with the ocean in mind. The I32 is of the same vintage and build quality as our I36's.

With this boat in particular I wouldn't really factor how much they spent on the boat upgrades to how much you should buy it for. I could put $40k into a 1992 Plymouth Voyager but I should not expect that I am going to get anywhere near that out of it.
When it comes to the boat look around at some comparable boats outfitted similarly and see what they go for, make an offer way lower and see what they say.

 

[Faster]

The I 32 is a pretty nice boat..

Looks like a lot of good gear, but all of it subject to confirmation, of course. I'd remove the outboard for aesthetic and trim reasons.

What are they asking? YW listing prices range from $14 to 23K.

 

[Kimmi]

Yes. The is the boat. Thanks for posting the link!

 

[gedaggett]

The reverse steerage issue can be solved by installing a more powerful prop so you can get her moving a little quicker and make faster stops. Se does want some water over that rudder in reverse to turn but if you pla out your docking well you will be fine.

 

[miatapaul]

If that is in fact the boat, looks like the workmanship on some of the "improvements" is a bit rough. That headliner, if it is as thick knotty pine as it looks is putting weight where you don't want it (up high) and what were they hiding? The one shot of the settee where you can see the fixed sidelights, looks like there is some water leaking. Those aft chain-plates look pretty suspect from the distant shot. The cutting of the trim around the tachometer looks like it was done with a reciprocating saw and is not an indicator of quality work. And that green is well, quite green. While the engine is relatively new, it looks pretty dirty for how old it is, so that would need some investigation. Especially if they are saying it only has 4 hours on it? I would expect it to be shiny, and they should have cleaned up the engine compartment while putting it in. If the boat has such a great diesel why do they still have the outboard hooked up on the bracket on the stern with that great PVC extension? That green does not look like gelcoat, so by new gelcoat do they mean paint, what quality? If not done extremely well that will reduce the value because it will have to be sanded off to be done right. That new "frige" that is where the stove is supposed to be, again lowering value. New stove will be well over a grand, though it does list a "new Orgo stove" so it must be somewhere.

This is the Robert Perry version of the boat, so it has that going for it and should sail quite well. I love how he has what looks like a sheep skin rug on the v-birth, I remember how I wanted one as a pre-teen.

Image from sailboatdata.com if you are not familiar with it, is a great resource.

The price seems high especially for Florida (where prices seem quite low normally) so if you are really interested have a surveyor go over it and they will likely give a recommended price. Now it may sound like I just ripped the boat apart, but just the things I would look at if I were to look at the boat from the included shots. Keep in mind those are likely the best shots of the boat, and who knows how old. The biggest things that hit me are the chainplates and the engine does not look like it has 4 hours on it. If it were me replacing the engine I would have cleaned all the wiring up and repainted the engine bay before installing it, but that is me.

 

[Kimmi]

Thanks for the great advice. We will certainly take all given into account.

Just to clarify one thing, it is in Jacksonville, NC not Florida.

I was on a Islander 32 years ago and really liked the layout so when I saw this one locally offered I was interested to find out what experienced people thought of the boats in general and this one in particular. We may try to take a look at it soon and get more photos/video if possible.

 

[gedaggett]

Thanks for the great advice. We will certainly take all given into account.

Just to clarify one thing, it is in Jacksonville, NC not Florida.

I was on a Islander 32 years ago and really liked the layout so when I saw this one locally offered I was interested to find out what experienced people thought of the boats in general and this one in particular. We may try to take a look at it soon and get more photos/video if possible.

A little insight to the headliner thing. If the original had been taken down often for adding things to the deck it was likely trashed and that is why they did the "custom" job. The original headliners look nice till they get a little worn out and then they really don't look good or function well.

With all the other stuff Miatapaul mentioned, a good survey will tell you what you need to know. Be there for the survey and ask questions.

 

[Faster]

The reverse steerage issue can be solved by installing a more powerful prop so you can get her moving a little quicker and make faster stops. Se does want some water over that rudder in reverse to turn but if you pla out your docking well you will be fine.

The above is probably in response to my original comments (since edited out) about reversability.. but I was confusing myself and thinking of the I 36.. I see no reason why the Perry I-32 would have any difficulty there.

 

[krisscross]

Looks like a nice boat, reasonably priced. I would have it surveyed prior to purchase, especially since you are relatively new to sailing. Good thing it has a shallow draft - you will be happy with that sailing in NC.
It is a lot of boat to learn sailing on. Maybe you can get someone experienced (possibly the seller?) to sail with you a few times. That would be money well spent.

 

[scratchee]

Not sure about your budget and plans, but for a couple of new sailors I would recommend a boat in the 27-29 foot range with an inboard motor. You should be able to find plenty of them for less than $10k. If you want to spend $17k that's fine, but I know when I started looking for my first boat a few years ago, I assumed I was going to have to spend a bunch of money. I told a friend of mine that I was searching yachtworld.com in the $10-$20K range.

We had this exchange:

Friend: "Why are you cutting it off at $10K?"

Me: "What should I cut it off at?"

Friend: "Zero."

Obviously the very bottom end is littered with garbage, but there are plenty of good boats for less than $10K, and I bought one of them.

 

[Faster]

Nowadays, 32 is the new 22...

Agree that one needn't spend as much as that, but we often see first timers spending closer to or over $100K... in that context this doesn't look so bad.

At 17K it's mid range among ASKING prices on YW.. so not a bad starting point. Seems to me now if you're fairly confident you are going to enjoy/continue/embrace the sailing life jumping into a still-manageable boat like the I-32 avoids that inevitable first 'move up'.. at least for a while.

 

[miatapaul]

Thanks for the great advice. We will certainly take all given into account.

Just to clarify one thing, it is in Jacksonville, NC not Florida.

I was on a Islander 32 years ago and really liked the layout so when I saw this one locally offered I was interested to find out what experienced people thought of the boats in general and this one in particular. We may try to take a look at it soon and get more photos/video if possible.

AH, I am not familiar with Jacksonville NC. Most of my experience with NC is inland and western.

The Islander 32 was designed by one of the greats of modern day boat design. It is known to sail quite well, and likely one of the least expensive ways of getting into a Robert Perry designed boat. My biggest issues are why a motor with 4 hours looks so dirty (could just be the picture perhaps it is shiny in person) and that green is well quite green and that refrigerator. If it is something you could live with or even like (might look great in person) then OK. But the basic boat design is excellent and would be on the top of my list of boats in this size range.

 

[bobperry]

Gosh Miata, either your nose is growing or my head is growing.

 

[miatapaul]

Hey what can I say. I like your boats. But seriously when you consider the competition in this size range there's not much that looks as nice. Besides what other designer would be commenting about a a 35 year old designs on a forum.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[bobperry]

Miata: They are all my "children" I can't abandon them. I'm just a guy who likes boats.

 

[Kimmi]

If we end up with her we will give "your girl" a loving home!!

 

[gedaggett]

I have been waiting for a good Perry boat to come available up here in the great lakes so that we can add it to the fleet but nothing has materialized yet. An I34-2 would be fantastic.

 

[Kimmi]

I am now fixated on the GREEN, thanks for pointing that out so am wondering how much it would cost approximately to change it to a more subdued green color should the boats paint/gel coat otherwise be in good condition?

 

[gedaggett]

I am now fixated on the GREEN, thanks for pointing that out so am wondering how much it would cost approximately to change it to a more subdued green color should the boats paint/gel coat otherwise be in good condition?

You have to find out what paint they used. If you are lucky they did a quality job using a product like Interlux Perfection two part. If that is the case you can often lightly sand with 240, clean thoroughly and then apply the same paint over it. If you not lucky it is going to be a pain in the but involving sanding down to the Gelcoat, priming 2 coats and then topcoat 2 coats......If you want it to last. Bottom line is you have to use like products.