Coronado 35

Hermit Scott · Apr 24, 2009

"very limited income" is a very relative statement. If I was on a "very limited income" I would not buy a 35' boat.

As far as the engine dealer's advice, he is in business to make money not give advice. Unless he is your trusted friend I would take his advice like a compliment on my looks from a blind woman.
Good news though you have come to the right place to ask about the boat. What year is it, and do you have any photos?

Stu Jackson · Apr 24, 2009

Your pocketbook, your choice

Whatever you choose to consider, and whatever your budget, you may want to check out this great post from Sailing Dog: http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=102541

Westerbeke engines are supported by www.marinedieseldirect.com

General conclusions about boats "that need a lot of work" -- what are your skills and do you want to spend the first two years working on it or sailing it. If you want to sail, buy something in better condition. You may pay more up front, but repair bills add up very quickly and many times can exceed the difference between a fixer upper and one in solid condition that may need some elective upgrades.

RECESS · Apr 24, 2009

Fixing up a classic car or a sailboat can cost you more than buying one in mint condition. You can get a good deal with one that needs a little TLC, but the massive project boats are usually a really, really, big hole to throw money into.

Hermit Scott · Apr 24, 2009

I bought a boat that sat for 4 or 5 or 8 years. I really don't know. My immediate goal was to get the boat in motoring condition with everything below the waterline finished so I can work on it in the slip and motor it whenever I want. The boat cost $3500 the repairs were somewhere around $4000 more. I took my time and looked for good deals on the things I needed. Boat parts are REALLY expensive compared to automotive parts. The parts to rebuild my singel cylinder diesel were $1500. Your's probably has 2 cylinders. I did all the work myself and was in a yard that is very cheap compared to most. I have a lot left to do, but I finally have it in the water and motorable. Watch ebay and craigslist for parts you know you'll need that are too expensive to buy new.
What part of the country are you in?

sailingdog · Apr 24, 2009

Since you're a novice sailor, getting a much smaller boat that is far easier to maintain and less expensive to own, store, dock, haul, etc., would probably be an excellent idea. If you were to buy the Coronado, chances are very likely that you'd keep working on it for a year or two...and then begin to resent it...since it isn't in sailable shape from the sounds of it—then you would probably end up selling it at a significant loss...

Buying something like a Catalina 22 or 25, especially if it has a trailer, makes so much more sense, since your storage costs would be far less, since you could probably find someplace to store it on the trailer that would be far less expensive than marina winter storage rates. It would also give you a far wider area to explore, since a trailerable boat can do 55 MPH to windward...

I'd also second the thread of mine that Stu pointed out, as it will give you a much better idea of what kind of shape a boat is in, and give you a fairly good idea if the boat is even worth going ahead with or not. Generally, regardless of your budget, I would highly recommend getting a survey of the boat done.

sailingdog · Apr 24, 2009

Be aware that people have lived aboard boats much smaller than 35' LOA. The weliveonaboat.com blog originally started out with the couple and their infant son living aboard an Alberg 30. They have since upgraded to a larger boat, and added another child IIRC.

If living aboard and cruising the boat is a priority, you will find that you can often make it work on a smaller boat. The sailingsimplicity blog is about a woman who lives aboard a Nor’sea 27 with her cat. Her philosophy of simple living is a good one IMHO.

Hermit Scott · Apr 24, 2009

If I was going to live aboard I would want something around a 35' boat. My 30' is cool but the galley is a bit cramped and the head is a little small to be showering in. It's just my wife, my self and our son Arnold(15 lb. miniature schnauzzer).
I looked up some pics of that type of boat. It will be a task to fix it up. Some would recommend you go smaller, like getting a starter wife. I think you should get the size that you want but know the commitment that is involved. You have to have the time to commit to it like it's a job for a while. There is a lot of time required for some of those projects.
Few people that start a project like this finish, or even get to where they can use it. I can show you a pic of the marina my boat is sitting in. There are 20 boats in there that get sold over and over and get worked on by each owner and never move.
The answer to this problem is the answer to all things that are awsome but hard to do; just be one of the ones that make it. Make a realistic plan and stick to it!

Dean5735 · Apr 25, 2009

LOTS OF GOOD BOATS IN MAIN ALL READY AND WAITING FOR YOU. If you want to fix something up, do like I do and get a 16-20 footer that needs work, fix it up and sell it, then find another one and do it again, they are sitting all over if you look. I like to find the ones for 0 to 500 bucks and go from there. I sail them a couple times a year too.

sailingdog · Apr 25, 2009

HS—

Part of the problem with buying a first boat is that you often don't know exactly what you're looking for in a first boat... and the mistake of getting one that is too big for you is more expensive to get out of usually than getting one that is too small for you. There are generally more people looking for smaller boats than bigger boats.

Don Casey even mentions the fact that many people buy their first boat, sail it for a few years and the sell it and buy their second boat, which they often keep for decades—based on what they learned about what they liked, wanted, hated, needed on their second boat from having the first boat.

Going with a bigger boat that is in rough shape and in need of work has probably killed off more people's dreams of going cruising than almost anything else. I have seen a lot of people who bought a bigger fixer upper, because they wanted more boat than they could really afford, and got sucked into a financial tar pit by owning it—ended up never really having any fun sailing the boat, and selling it for an overall loss, resenting the boat and not being able to sail it.

Getting a boat that is in decent shape is almost always far less expensive than getting the same make/model in project boat shape and restoring it to the same level as the one in decent shape. Unless you love working on boats as much or more than sailing them... project boats aren't all that great a deal IMHO.

I'd also point out that most project boats are horrible boats to liveaboard. The fact that they're project boats, means that they'll be in need of some serious work, and that makes living aboard them difficult, if not completely impossible.

Hermit Scott said:
If I was going to live aboard I would want something around a 35' boat. My 30' is cool but the galley is a bit cramped and the head is a little small to be showering in. It's just my wife, my self and our son Arnold(15 lb. miniature schnauzzer).
I looked up some pics of that type of boat. It will be a task to fix it up. Some would recommend you go smaller, like getting a starter wife. I think you should get the size that you want but know the commitment that is involved. You have to have the time to commit to it like it's a job for a while. There is a lot of time required for some of those projects.
Few people that start a project like this finish, or even get to where they can use it. I can show you a pic of the marina my boat is sitting in. There are 20 boats in there that get sold over and over and get worked on by each owner and never move.
The answer to this problem is the answer to all things that are awsome but hard to do; just be one of the ones that make it. Make a realistic plan and stick to it!

Stu Jackson · Apr 25, 2009

Big boat fixer upper

There's a saying in business: "Yea, we got a big, huge contract!""OK, let's get real, that means we have more we can lose on it, so we should be real careful!"

We had a C22 which was a 1981 and it was one year old when we bought it in 1983. In very good shape, but I had to add halyards led aft, didn't have roller furling, but we only had one jib anyway...added an autopilot.

In 1987 we bought our second boat, also a 1981, C25, in very good condition. It took a few years to get it in what we call "Sail it, clean it, sail it" condition. Had an 85% and 110% jibs. Added Loran, a new stove, autopilot, took the motor off the old boat (which took a long time to sell because this was when people started buying bigger boats) and generally had a lot of fun with it.

Spent ONE entire year finding a C34. Looked and looked and looked and looked. Surveyed one. I knew a lot about boats by then and knew exactly what we were looking for in that particular boat - didn't look at anything BUT C34s, except for one day. The survey on one C34 that looked OK cosmetically said I'd have to spend as much as the purchase price just to get all the systems working BUT the boat "looked" fine. It's only when you KNOW what you're doing that the flaws become apparent. After I rejected that "deal" - which was NO bargain - we found Aquaviite a week later, a 1986 boat, in 1998. It was pristine. I knew what I wanted and actually got more: roller furling, Harken batt cars on the main, a solid boat.

BUT, I spent the next few years making it mine but also doing NECESSARY work, like a reliable electrical system (new charger the old one was killing the batteries), new alternator regulator, solar panel, new dodger material (old frame), new standing rigging, new furler (the old one was cr*p), needed a new raw water pump and other engine work, including a new exhaust riser... You name it. That took over a few years.

This kinda story is prevalent, and is based on a lifetime of sailing and knowing what I wanted. In your case, I suspect you'll be looking at that beautiful Maine coast and kicking yourself if you buy that boat or any other boat that's a fixer-upper.

Buy one in good condition, take sailing lessons on your new boat and enjoy. heck, none of us know how much time we have left to us, and sitting in a boatyard with parts strewn all over, is NOT my idea of fun!

Given the knowledge on this and other forums, and the input so far, I guess you know how we feel for you.

There are other, better boats out there. A Coronado 35 in good shape is a fine boat. Any XYZ boat that's fixer-upper just isn't. Unless you're Hermit Scott, who's done a great job on his boat. But he's younger than all of us put together!

Buy or at least read the first two chapters in Don Casey's mentioned book, This Old Boat. I'll open your eyes.

Good luck, fair winds.

It's not whether you're handy or not, because I'm always learning as I go, it's what you want to do with your life. If sailing is one of 'em, a fixer-upper ain't your answer. And if I was able to sail in Maine, I'd buy a boat that worked, and then really fix it up, to what I wanted.

BobM · Apr 25, 2009

You have posted about this boat a few times, as I recall. Any boat that needs re-powering from the get go should be half a comparable boat like this that does. A 35 footer is a lot of work if it needs a total restoration. If you love the boat and don't mind if you spend the next five years restoring her and not sailing her go for it.

Loving your boat is an important thing. But if you want a boat you can sail soon and have little or no sailing experience this boat is a lot to handle. That being said the boats have a reputation for decent performance and being roomy for living aboard.

MrBee · Apr 25, 2009

My wife and I just purchase a our first boat that will be kept in the water. I knew what I wanted... an Irwin 10/4. I was not against a project boat EXCEPT, the boat HAD TO BE SAILABLE AND WITH A RUNNING MOTOR when we bought it. I also like working on boats and I figure why spend money on a boat that has things that I don't want and will replace anyway, We CAN sail our boat and motor NOW then fix the other stuff as we have time and money.
Buy a boat you can use as your fixing it. DON'T buy someone else's headache that will stay on the hard.
Just my opinion...and we all have those.

Ross · Apr 25, 2009

All ofr my life I have wanted to build a boat and I know that it will take a long time. So I bought a boat that had the shape that I wanted and spent ten years and 35000 dollars making it the way I wanted it. The boat was next to my house and shop the whole time so I could work on it for an hour and not spend an hour and a half traveling.
I suggest that if you don't have the dream of building your own boat but just wish to own an affordable boat that you can sail, find something in better condition.
You don't indicate the extent of your disabilities but I think that for rebuilding a boat you need two good hands at the very least. There are places where you will be working just by feel and you won't be able to see both of your hands.

Hermit Scott · Apr 25, 2009

$35,000?! Wow. That's a lot of oak and fiberglass. I take it that doesn't include yoru labor?

Ross · Apr 25, 2009

Hermit Scott said:
$35,000?! Wow. That's a lot of oak and fiberglass. I take it that doesn't include yoru labor?

That is a lot of cypress, fiberglass, airex core, Lewmar ports, wire, circuit breakers, plumbing, engine system, rigging, sanding disks, safety and protective clothing, dust masks, bronze screws, copper rivets, hinges and handles, upholstery, ventilators and no it doesn't include my labor.

RECESS · Apr 25, 2009

Ross said:
That is a lot of cypress, fiberglass, airex core, Lewmar ports, wire, circuit breakers, plumbing, engine system, rigging, sanding disks, safety and protective clothing, dust masks, bronze screws, copper rivets, hinges and handles, upholstery, ventilators and no it doesn't include my labor.

You forgot about the 1000 wood plugs?

Ross · Apr 25, 2009

RECESS said:
You forgot about the 1000 wood plugs?

I cut them from the scrap. I didn't mention the tools.