Trying to come up with an offer

dparilla · Jul 23, 2011

The price is high for the vintage and stated condition. If you can get the price down to around 2500 and the trailer is in good shape you are then in striking range. Keep in mind that new sails will be around 1000-1500. Plus there is always random work to be done that can quickly add up to another grand. I would always get a survey, or at least get an experienced friend to give it an objective look over. In all, I would probably keep looking. Where is the boat right now?

Joe11688 · Jul 23, 2011

ali23060 said:
I am looking at 1986 O'Day 222 and trying to come up with a reasonable offer. Here are the issues I see:
1) Main Sail is original and have few tears and need to be replace.
2) Water storage bladder has a leak and not usable.
3) Bottom not painted.
4) Hull need to be cleaned and waxed.
5) Center board need some work.
6) I did not get a chance to pay attention to rudder so I am not sure.

The boat is in ok condition not so great. They are asking $5,900. I need someone's help to give me a hand. This is our first sailboat and do not have experience in this area. Also, do you recommend to survey the boat at this price range? Thanks

A new mainsail for this boat will run you between $800 and $1100 depending on where you go.
A centerboard for this boat is big bucks and they don't come pre-drilled, nor do the rudders. Check out Rudy's site for prices: http://www.drmarine.com/
This boat came with a five gallon plastic water tank and they are no where to be had. Most of these boats came with a complete roller trailer.
I would pay strict attention to the rudder blade on this boat. The original blades were molded in two halves, glued together, and pumped with foam. The original blade is easily recorganizable by the seam that goes around it and these blades are notorious for opening at that seam and eventually breaking. I broke two of them so I know. Check out the side chainplates for bulges on the deck under them and also check out the "L" shaped brackets on the bulkhead in the cabin that the bolts from these chainplates are attached to. They can crack at the bend.
I think they are asking too much for this boat for the additional amount of money that you're going to need to invest in this boat to be able to sail it. You could probably buy an O'Day 25 in great shape for the money that these people are asking for this O'Day 222. To me, wax and bottom paint are just minor compared to keel centerboard and possible rudder blade issues and the mainsail is the heart of this boat. You can't sail this boat without a decent mainsail. The O'Day 222 is a great boat, but you may want to also check out an O'Day 23 manufactured from 1974 up. These are also great boats albeit a little larger than the 222 but smaller yet than the O'Day 25 which in my opinion is a good compromise.
You may want to take some pics of this boat of any areas that you feel are suspect. Then upload them to this site for a free evaluation. Go back and look these things over good. Then if you're still interested in buying this boat, it's your call on whether to have a marine surveyor check it out for you. Good luck and keep in mind the old adage, "Let the buyer beware."

RECESS · Jul 23, 2011

I would keep looking. Even if you get it for $1500 to $2000 you could have $3k to $5k to make a safe boat for your family, Never fall in love with a boat when you are shopping. I have made that mistake and it is an expensive mistake. The market is full of good boats at good prices.

Happy Dolphin · Jul 24, 2011

Price High - keep looking -
Are you going to trailer or keep in water?
Get as much boat as possible; but, keep your usage paramount - get as much good equipment and inventory as you can - everything is costly - If you have specific repair and reworking skills, then purchase a boat that you can handle! Learn as much as you can before buying... If a boat cost $2500 multiply by 2 and you will have a good $4000 boat...
PS: the ODay forum is an excellent learning site - These sailors have been very helpful!

dparilla · Jul 24, 2011

I sail here on the Chesapeake and Potomac through December, so I would not rush to buy. There are alot of day sailers available, trailerable with centerboards or swing keels and otherwise. If you find one near the bay, I would be happy to help look it over. Best luck. Keep us posted.

MGoBoat · Jul 24, 2011

I just bought my boat this summer. I looked at a lot of them, from $1,000 - $4,000. Many were beat, and you didn't need an expert eye to realize it.

My first step in looking for a boat was making sure I to buy something that had parts readily available. That thinned out a few boats but left plenty to choose.

Then my list became, sail-able with minor repairs or less. Everything I read said plan on 15-25% to the purchase price to get safely on the water. That number proved accurate in my case.

My boat was owned by one family. While it needs some cosmetic work this summer, all the major required parts (sans one later discovered part) were in working order. My guess is the boat sat in the marina most of it's life and was not sailed much.

I paid less than $2000 for the boat and trailer. Added the required $500 of parts and a trolling motor to get out of the marina and dropped it the water for it's maiden. All said I'm in for less that $3000. Well within my budget for a relearning to sail vessel.

I'd avoid any boat missing major components, and find out before you buy if the little replacement pieces are out there. It has worked well for us and we now sail every weekend.

bear62041 · Jul 24, 2011

ODay

MGoBoat said:
I just bought my boat this summer. I looked at a lot of them, from $1,000 - $4,000. Many were beat, and you didn't need an expert eye to realize it.

My first step in looking for a boat was making sure I to buy something that had parts readily available. That thinned out a few boats but left plenty to choose.

Then my list became, sail-able with minor repairs or less. Everything I read said plan on 15-25% to the purchase price to get safely on the water. That number proved accurate in my case.

My boat was owned by one family. While it needs some cosmetic work this summer, all the major required parts (sans one later discovered part) were in working order. My guess is the boat sat in the marina most of it's life and was not sailed much.

I paid less than $2000 for the boat and trailer. Added the required $500 of parts and a trolling motor to get out of the marina and dropped it the water for it's maiden. All said I'm in for less that $3000. Well within my budget for a relearning to sail vessel.

I'd avoid any boat missing major components, and find out before you buy if the little replacement pieces are out there. It has worked well for us and we now sail every weekend.

I agree, $5900 is waaaaay too high for this boat, and $2000-2500 is more in line. Also, as Joe warned on the rudder, check the rudder for wear at the pivot bolt. The rudder may have serious wobble from side to side. There is an easy fix for this, if you have this problem, as I did.

48dodge · Jul 25, 2011

My 222 was listed at $4k years ago when the boat market was still good. I paid 3k, but after digging in I feel like I paid way too much. It did come with an outboard, trailer, spinnaker, replacement rigging, and a fairly new rudder blade. I had made a really lowball offer on a cat 22 that was listed at 5k, but didn't hear back until after I bought the 222 that they would take it. And it was in better shape. Something I could've sailed immediately. As for the expense of my 222, since I did all the repairs myself it only cost me about $5-800 to repair and paint to get back to sailing condition. I repaired, replaced and added things that cost above and beyond that, though. Im sure i probably spent about 3k on everything. SS nuts and bolts are more costly than you'd think and add up quickly. Just getting the safety equipment required by law plus the few things you should have add up. I still have to replace my interior cushions and most likely the sails soon, so another 2-3k right there.