Sailboat buying guidance

Jimm · Dec 30, 2019

Hard to beat a Morgan CC at that price for comfortable/ safe cruising..

markwbird · Dec 30, 2019

There are a million choices. My best advice is to find something in good shape with all or most of the things you want rather than getting a fixer upper. Fixing up a boat or adding things is never cost effective. With a $200K budget you should have no problem. The other advice is go with the smallest boat you can be comfortable on. Costs go up exponentially with size.

kloudie1 · Dec 30, 2019

Welcome to the forum !!
Hope.. check your private messages.. a friend just passed away and his wife is selling their boat.. Take a look at the link in the PM.. It is in Oriental, NC.. (42' Beneteau CC)

dlochner · Dec 30, 2019

Let's start at the beginning.

How much sailing experience do you have?

How much boat repair experience do you have?

A couple of guidelines, boats listed as in "sail away" condition may not really be in the shape you want them. And free boats are the most expensive.

In addition to relying the sage advice on the internet and in a forum, working with a good broker will be helpful. A good buyer's broker will help you understand the market, advise you about boats to look for and boats to avoid and be a real asset when you go to buy. A buyer's broker works for you and gets a split commission on any sale that is made.

In Florida, you might call Allan Pressman at Windswept Yacht Sales. I don't know him personally, however, he is on a email list that I am on and he is always willing to be honest about the business. If you call Allan, tell him you found him by way of SBO and the Sabre Sailboats group.

Don S/V ILLusion · Dec 30, 2019

HopeToSeaTheWorld said:
Hi everyone! My husband and I are in the shopping phase of our dream boat! We’re at the very beginning. My husband was leaning towards a Morgan ...

Welcome.

First, I respectfully suggest you or any novice sailor has no clue what their "dream boat" is at the beginning. You may like the interior of a Morgan but many sail like a barn door.

My only suggestion is you gain some experience and rely on friends who have experience (as opposed to strangers on the internet) to help guide you away from something you perceive is great but isn't once you better understand the reality over the dream.

sail sfbay · Dec 30, 2019

Talk to sailboat brokers, go visit marinas and talk to sailors, look at lots of boats, join a yacht club and talk to the members with sailboats, charter sailboats, join crusiersforum and read their threads and finally buy the largest sailboat you two can sail and still find a marina to berth her.

dlochner · Dec 30, 2019

HopeToSeaTheWorld said:
Thank you so very much! My husband and I will definitely need to do more research & contact some brokers - I mentioned that to my husband but he thought that all they’d want to do is “make a sale” and not help us find the perfect fit for us- we will most certainly give Allan a call! Thank you so much!

Like most other things in life, there are good brokers and bad. And there are good boat buyers and bad.

Basically, yacht brokers work in the same way as real estate brokers. Yachtworld.com is the major multiple listing service for yachts, just like MLS is for real estate. One difference is that yacht sales are not public information, real estate sales are. Yacht brokers have access to recent selling prices not available to the public. That is helpful information to have, a selling broker will be hesitant to disclose that information, a buyer's broker will be less hesitant, his/her goal it sell you the boat you want. The selling broker's goal is to sell you the boat they listed. The buyer's broker works for you, the buyer and gets paid by the seller.

Brokers do not like tire kickers. Folks who come and take up their time and are just looking. If you are uncertain of what your are looking for, get a buyer's broker. They will invest time in effort to make sure you are satisfied and find a boat to your liking, especially if you are talking about boats in $100K range. They may be a little less energetic when you are looking at $20K boats. The standard commission is 10% and when a buyer and seller broker work together they split the commission 50/50. Of course a broker would prefer to sell a boat they have listed, but most are happier to have a satisfied customer who is going to spread the word, than no sale at all.

dLj · Dec 30, 2019

HopeToSeaTheWorld said:
Thank you so very much! My husband and I will definitely need to do more research & contact some brokers - I mentioned that to my husband but he thought that all they’d want to do is “make a sale” and not help us find the perfect fit for us- we will most certainly give Allan a call! Thank you so much!

That would be a sales person that is looking to sell you the boat. Getting a broker that is working for you to find you the right boat will really work on your side. That advice from @dlochner is spot on!

A question you haven't answered is how much sailing experience do the two of you have?

If you are both fairly new to this, then I would very much recommend you do some sailing charters first. You can check out to see if you really like being on a sailboat for a couple weeks at a time. You can get to check out several sailboat designs. You can also get to see some beautiful areas by chartering in different regions. Like, do a charter in the Greek Isles, somewhere in the caribbean, the North Channel, the San Juan Islands - just to name a few.

Nothing worse than spending a couple hundred grand and finding out two months later you actually hate what you are doing...

dj

TheCruisingExperience · Dec 30, 2019

No question.... $200,000 is certainly enough money to purchase a modern Bluewater sailboat and set off, but knowing what to buy and the amenities you'll need for successful cruising in areas you plan to frequent, are the questions for which you need answers. Is selling up and sailing away always the best choice? In most cases the answer is no, as we've watched at least 80% of the couples who set off in pursuit of "The Dream" quit within the first year. Maybe renting out the house and purchasing a boat on credit might be an option worth exploring, as it will enable a return to land-based society if things don't work out, or there's always the option to rent or own an apartment for part of the year like we do. Sailing part-time seems to work best for most people.

Presently, my wife and I own two Oyster yachts... an Oyster 53 in Greece (June-October) and an Oyster 62 in the Caribbean (November-May); please drop me a private message or call if you have any questions on your mind regarding the lifestyle or boat choices, we'll be pleased to help out..

Cheers

Ken

Bad Obsession · Dec 30, 2019

Wow....Where to begin.

I truly envy you as I am the same age but I have a 17-month-old daughter so I am not escaping anytime soon. Heck, I had to sell my boat a while back and I am currently stuck in a powerboat. That is the way of life though and there are a lot of things that you should look at.

1. What type of sailing are you going to do? Are you going to stick to the ICW and maybe Bahamas or do you want to do blue water? This has a lot of bearing on what type of boat that you will buy.

2. Okay, $200,000 is your BOAT Budget, what is your cruising kitty? What have you budgeted to spend each month for life expenses and the boat? What will be your income. That should have a bearing on the boat you buy as well. Some boats require more than others and there are huge differences in cruising lifestyles from those that spend hardly anything to some that spend a lot.

3. What is your sailing experience and what type of sailing experience do you want to have? What I mean there is do you have a background in sailing and making passages or are you relatively new to this? Guess what, sailing is actually pretty easy, but it is the seamanship that can get you in trouble. Do you know how to handle a gale if you run into one? Have you ever hove a boat to? Don't worry, these things are easily learned, but these things need to be learned.

4. What types of boats have you sailed on? There is a huge difference in the performance of different boats. Some boats are lead sleds and go fast but they beat the crap out of you if it gets rough. Others are build like a brick house and slower but are much more comfortable when the stuff hits the fan (and trust me, it will).

5. What styles of boats do you like? Do you like an old school full keel look or an ultra modern boat. Guess what, where you plan to cruise MAY also limit the depth of the keel you get. Also, for bluewater, you definitely want a different style boat.

Wow....There are so many questions. Funny part is there are more answers than questions. The biggest part is where to start.

Take the knowledge that you already have and start researching. Better yet, start sailing. Find some people to sail with. Sail a lot of different boats. Charter boats and take classes if needed. Learn what will fit you. It wouldn't hurt to take it slow and spend a season on a smaller boat coastal cruising and learning those basics.

One other tip. Take it or leave it, you probably want to get some basic knowledge about boat repair and diesel repair. Those are crucial areas and also money in the bank when that oh crap moment happens.

Sorry for the lengthy response. As I said, I am truly envious. I have spent most of my life sailing and now I am stuck watching others sail. I am in my 40s as well and I spend my 20s and 30s cruising all over the Chesapeake Bay. I grew up racing sailboats all over the Chesaepake Bay as well. Hopefully when my daughter is a little older my luck will turn and I will be back cruising the Chesapeake Bay in a sailboat and not fishing from my damn powerboat. Sailboats have souls, I am not so sure about powerboats but I don't think that they do.

capta · Dec 30, 2019

In my opinion, livability is the most important thing to consider when looking for a boat to live on and cruise. This includes a galley that someone can make a good, warm meal in no matter the conditions, but also includes plenty of storage space for all your kitchen supplies, appliances and stores.
Having a good bed, in our case a centerline queen with an over the counter mattress (custom mattresses are very expensive), that can be made without being on it is a huge plus, and at least one head with a separate shower stall, instead of the shower in the head.
Don't forget ventilation! If you aren't going to be on a dock most nights running your AC, or running a genset, then you want a boat with lots of opening ports and hatches. But keep in mind how you can rain proof these as it rains several times a night in the tropics and the last thing you'll want to do is get up to close and open these every time it sprinkles. How comfortable a boat is at anchor is also very, very important. Just ask anyone who has a boat that sails or rolls excessively at anchor. There are a lot of nights those folks wish they'd chosen a different boat!
Way too many folks buy a boat without a really comfortable place to lay about in the salon and watch movies or read. Usually, dinettes aren't those places. Then there is storage space for your personal gear, tools and spare parts. This is most important if one is going for extended cruises. Since you seem to want a pretty big boat for two to handle, keep in mind that if the boat you buy isn't set up for short handed sailing, it can be rather expensive to do so.
These things are much more important IMO, than a boat's speed, pointing ability or looks. It takes most folks at least three tries to get the right boat, so consider chartering several of the boats you are interested in before you buy.

David in Sandusky · Dec 30, 2019

From your post, it seems you will live aboard your sailboat. The next question is do you want to cross oceans (blue water cruising) or stay within 8-12 hours of a safe harbor (coastal/Carribean cruising).

i would really recommend reading “Choosing a Cruising Sailboat” by Roger Marshall. I bought it on this site. It’s an excellent education in about 200 pages on what you need to consider, and how to evaluate different models versus your objectives.

Good luck! We did our search (with a buyer broker) 20 years ago. We bought smaller and older than you seem to be thinking. After 500+ nights on our boat in the Great Lakes (and another 100+ on larger chapters around the world) we are still very happy with our ‘77 Hunter 27. I offer our broker, Terry Freeman’s advice, “Don’t forget the fun factor!”

rgranger · Dec 30, 2019

If you have not done a lot of cruising... I’d recommend you buy a much less expensive starter boat and start cruising now while you look for your “dream boat”.
So many factors go into a “dream boat”. Where do you want to cruise? What draft works well in your cruising areas? What type of sail plan are you comfortable working?
Will you spend a lot of time at anchor? Will you spend time at a marina? Is a swim platform a priority?

You will learn what trade-offs are important once you start spending time on your boat.

it took me five “starter” boats before I learned that I’m a shoal draft sailor who likes to trailer to-new places each summer...and I like a walk off transom and a nice queen berth.

JohnShannon · Dec 30, 2019

Where you planning on sailing? Why don't you charter some boats, get a feel for it. Best to kill these dreams early

ggrizzard · Dec 30, 2019

Sadly the OP hasn't answered any of the important questions that would give us a better chance at pertinent responses. :huh:

Scott T-Bird · Dec 30, 2019

Who knows? You might even find that a catamaran is best for you!

TheCruisingExperience · Dec 30, 2019

It's only been eight hours since the OP's original post, let's give them some time.... It's all about slowing down and relaxin'

"Everything's gonna be alright...."