1985 Pretorien; Shall I buy it?

[FastSailR]

I am seriously considering buying a 1985 Pretorien 35. She's a fresh water boat, seems well found, well cared for, if in need of some cosmetic TLC for hull and deck. The gel coat seems original and I can imagine buffing like crazy this spring and awlgripping the hull deck and mast in another year or two. But the design seems excellent, if a bit too IOR for my taste, and her mechanical systems are solid. New wiring, relatively new teak decks, straight shaft Volvo, minimal electronics. Who has one? Anything I should look closely at? I am suspicious of a two large aluminum fuel tanks, one beneath the vee berht and on under port settee. The are "suspended" from hardwood "rails" tha make up the furniture, do not contact the hull, and while solid to the "shake", I feel they should be be better secure for offshore. Are these installations common? I am on the point of making an offer. Hope all are well out there!

 

[jehosofat]

similar query

Hello, Let me know how you get on with your enquiry as i'm in the same boat!Cheers Paul

 

[Al]

Doubt aluminum fuel tanks are standard

I own a 1984 Pretorien and it has a single 25 gallon fuel tank aft of the engine. It has 30-gallon stainless steel water tanks under the two settees. I’ve seen several other Pertoriens in the Northwest and they all have this basic set up, so I think it is the standard configuration. The aluminum tanks were probably an owner modification. Take a close look at all the seacocks. They're not the best quality. I had the engine raw water one break off at the thru hull ... thankfully the boat was out of the water when it happened. I relocated the strainer and added a new thru hull and seacock to the same area where the galley sink drain thru hull is.Only other issues I had when I purchased the boat were some chaffed hoses, wrong hose type on fuel tank vent, and some chaffed halyards.I had the standing rigging replaced this past fall. There were just a couple of small cracks in swage fittings and some work hardening on the baby stay. One possible factory design issue with the standing rigging is the angle of the stem ball fittings in the spreader sockets. The lower spreader sockets were machined for the normal forward and aft lowers, but the Pertorien has the shrouds in-line with each other. This resulted in the stem ball fittings having a bend in them, which adds some extra stress to the fitting. The riggers were able to grind the spreader sockets out a little to get the lead angle correct, so it’s not a big problem. I haven’t heard of this causing a failure, but I’d check for cracks. If it’s still the 20-year-old factory standing rigging, it probably should be looked at carefully.The sail plan has pretty high aspect ratios. So it can keep you busy if you’re looking to maximize speed. Be prepared to use mast bend to flatten the mainsail. Excess heeling can generate weather helm quickly. The stern is a little pinched so keeping it in balance going downwind in any kind of seas is important. I’ve found that in most cases when the winds come up the mainsail is what has to be reduced first.In general the Pretorien is a fine boat. I’m very happy with mine. Basically they’re built to take you around the world. For viewing pleasure I’ve added a link to photos of the 2005 Wauquiez Rendezvous in Port Townsend, Wa. Good Luck and Fair WindsAl

 

[dan]

slide show

Al, that's a nice slide show. Wish we had something like your Rendezvous around here.Dan.P35 #157

 

[Frank Ensenat]

Pretorien tankage

My 1985 Pretorien came with stainless steel tanks,26 galons fuel tank, aft of the engine, two water tanks under the seats in the main cabin,45 galons each and one under the V birth 35 galons, all suported the way you said and had no troubles during the eleven years that I owned the boat, just came back from a two years outing to Newfounland and I'm very please with the performance of our Pretorien, good luck with your decision