Input from H280 Owners Please . .

[Clark]

Well, we saw a 1996 280 Monday and there was a lot to like. The cockpit and cabin looked/smelled clean and felt very good - interior wood surfaces just have minor wear. Galley is small but we won't be doing heavy duty culinary work. Aft cabin will do and the engine looked brand new. Sails and running rigging looked OK; prolly all original. Owner looked to have never waxed the boat so there was very little shine left and some areas were chalking. My one worry is about two areas above the rub rail on the port side. One area is something like parallel stress cracks (very thin and not deep) that run fore-aft for about 12 inches. The other area is a convergent stress crack - multiple strands 12-14" long that converge to a small tangle of cracks. Again, these cracks appear thin and shallow. Are these like other 280 owners have seen? The boat is very light for a 28 and I wonder if it is a bit too limber for the gel coat. (The new 27 is about 1000 lbs heavier). I fully intend to have a survey done *if* we make an offer and its accepted but I don't want to take it even that far if these sets of stress cracks are unusual. BTW, there seem to be a lot of 1996's for sale ??Thanks for all your input !!

 

[Steve O.]

strees cracks

Stress cracks are not unusual. They are a pain to fix and usually come back anyway. Only problem would be if the owner hit a dock piling real hard on the port side.

 

[Clark]

Not unusual huh . . .

It could be that the owner did argue with a dock. There is nothing involved right at the rub rail; the cracks are about 2-3 inches above it but I can see where a strong thump against a dock or pilings could cause flexure/cracking if the laminate there is not up to the task.

 

[Honeyman]

I had...

a 1987 28.5 Hunter that was very lightly used and "chalky" at 10 years of age, but it responded well to good washing and waxing. It looked as good or better after I sailed it for another 7 years after I bought it. If you buy a grill to hang off the stern rail, you won't use the galley for much other than rinsing dishes. Can't speak directly about a 280, but our 28.5 was a LOT of boat for it's size. Yes, shallow stress cracks are very common and generally not worth fixing.

 

[Clark]

Friday is Decision Day. Any last minute thoughts?

I'm about to make an offer on a clean 280 that is close enough for reasonable arrangements (if you want to call it that). I'll have to pay a good bit for Surveyor mileage and haulout is via a rented crane. Don't ask what that will cost. IF we do offer tomorrow, I'm going to have to take that into account. The only competitor to a mid-90's 280 that the Admiral likes is a C270 and they are quite scarce and expensive and just does not have the head room that the 280 has. Any last minute thoughts from this august group?? Thanks for all your help!