I just bought a 1965 Cal 28 on Ebay, sight unseen for $2850.00. It was an emotional purchase. My wife walked through the door with 3 minutes left on the auction. I yelled out she had to make up her mind fast, and she said, "do it." I did. So the general question is, does it appear I was ripped off? The boat is a sloop rigged good looking craft. The auction did not mention if the engine actually worked, or whether it was an inboard or outboard. It said the engine was a Nissan. How hard is this boat to sail solo, or with a clueless crew? What certification, if any, is required to sale a boat this size in California? I've sailed Catalina 25's on San Diego's bay. Is it going to be much different? Any other comments that will not make me look a greater fool than I might be? Where is the absolute cheapest place on the water near San Diego to keep her? Anyone know anything about Tijuana? Rosarita? Thanks, Bruce
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Hell of a lot of Boat for $2850
Bruce- In my eyes you did fine. $100 bucks a foot is awesome. Buyers remorse sucks, but you shouldnt have any. Just get the boat and have fun. Sure you might have to stick a few more bucks its way, but that is truly half the fun. Enjoy
Bruce- In my eyes you did fine. $100 bucks a foot is awesome. Buyers remorse sucks, but you shouldnt have any. Just get the boat and have fun. Sure you might have to stick a few more bucks its way, but that is truly half the fun. Enjoy
Sounds good
Sounds like you got a good deal. I would guess the Nissan is an Outboard. If that is the case, any replacement is real easy. A broken inboard is far harder and more expensive to replace. Trust me, I've been there. Otherwise, all you need is a sound hull and a strong rig and sails. Everything else is nice to have. Enjoy and congratulations to a new owner of a Good Old Boat. Tim, 1971 Ericson 29
Sounds like you got a good deal. I would guess the Nissan is an Outboard. If that is the case, any replacement is real easy. A broken inboard is far harder and more expensive to replace. Trust me, I've been there. Otherwise, all you need is a sound hull and a strong rig and sails. Everything else is nice to have. Enjoy and congratulations to a new owner of a Good Old Boat. Tim, 1971 Ericson 29
Nice Boat Bruce
Bruce - Nice boat! I bought my catalina 30 on eBay too! Just come here often for advice and help and you will find that there is almost nothing a DIYer can't tackle with a little online help! Good luck and welcome aboard - Rob
Bruce - Nice boat! I bought my catalina 30 on eBay too! Just come here often for advice and help and you will find that there is almost nothing a DIYer can't tackle with a little online help! Good luck and welcome aboard - Rob
Good Deal!
Bruce; The boat looks great in the picture and sounds like a wonderful deal. Since you mentioned you are not an experienced sailor, maybe you can connect with another Cal 28 owner in your area and get a lesson or two. If you are lucky, you will make a new friend. Good luck and good sailing. John
Bruce; The boat looks great in the picture and sounds like a wonderful deal. Since you mentioned you are not an experienced sailor, maybe you can connect with another Cal 28 owner in your area and get a lesson or two. If you are lucky, you will make a new friend. Good luck and good sailing. John
Great boats
Cals are great boats....Go onto the Cal list on Yahoo....some great guys that know a lot about these boats. A few of the guys worked at the original factory. There are many listees that reside in so cal. I have a 1977 Cal 34 III. Greg 1986 Pearson P36-2 - new
Cals are great boats....Go onto the Cal list on Yahoo....some great guys that know a lot about these boats. A few of the guys worked at the original factory. There are many listees that reside in so cal. I have a 1977 Cal 34 III. Greg 1986 Pearson P36-2 - new
Let us know
Sounds like an adventure-- please let us know what you think of the boat, and share some pictures if you can. I've heard good stories before about sight unseen Ebay buys, but I don't know if I'd have the moxy for it...
Sounds like an adventure-- please let us know what you think of the boat, and share some pictures if you can. I've heard good stories before about sight unseen Ebay buys, but I don't know if I'd have the moxy for it...
San Diego
Congrats! It looks like a great deal to me. I have a CAL 27 footer in San Diego, CA. She is in the water at Harbor Island on the Bay. If you are interested in learning more about your boat or mine, get in touch. w.posner@sbcglobal.net
Congrats! It looks like a great deal to me. I have a CAL 27 footer in San Diego, CA. She is in the water at Harbor Island on the Bay. If you are interested in learning more about your boat or mine, get in touch. w.posner@sbcglobal.net
Cal 28
I owned a Cal 28 many years ago - I think it was hull # 24 or 26 so was an early one. Strong boat - probably overbuilt as fiberglass was a relatively new construction medium. The boat is still sailing in the NYC area and I would love to get it back and move it down here. I t, complete with pictures.hink you'll enjoy it. Lots of room below because of the raised deck. Might look a bit odd but no more so than some of the "modern" boats. Keep us posted. I'm curious if it is need of any repair. Mine had a delaminated deck which had to be rebuilt from the inside. Google Cal28 and you'll find a website for a chap that restored one
I owned a Cal 28 many years ago - I think it was hull # 24 or 26 so was an early one. Strong boat - probably overbuilt as fiberglass was a relatively new construction medium. The boat is still sailing in the NYC area and I would love to get it back and move it down here. I t, complete with pictures.hink you'll enjoy it. Lots of room below because of the raised deck. Might look a bit odd but no more so than some of the "modern" boats. Keep us posted. I'm curious if it is need of any repair. Mine had a delaminated deck which had to be rebuilt from the inside. Google Cal28 and you'll find a website for a chap that restored one
Welcome to the club.
First of all, your wife said "Do it". Can you clone her? Second, any Lapworth design is probably a great sailing vessel. Finally, the boat in the photo is on the water, worth a lot in my opinion, vs. on the hard for 5 years. Welcome to the club of "I have an old glass boat". You will have a great time, just make sure you join "Sea Tow" or a comparable tow service and get that Nissan outboard tuned up! Nice looking craft!
First of all, your wife said "Do it". Can you clone her? Second, any Lapworth design is probably a great sailing vessel. Finally, the boat in the photo is on the water, worth a lot in my opinion, vs. on the hard for 5 years. Welcome to the club of "I have an old glass boat". You will have a great time, just make sure you join "Sea Tow" or a comparable tow service and get that Nissan outboard tuned up! Nice looking craft!
I'll give you $3k right now
just kidding... Good job. You should do just fine with this one. I do not see how you could have been ripped off but where there is a will, there is a way. You might want to pull her out and look at the bottom or if you can find a tide grid that will tell you a lot. Otherwise, take stock of what you got and go from there. Do not hesitate to ask questions.
just kidding... Good job. You should do just fine with this one. I do not see how you could have been ripped off but where there is a will, there is a way. You might want to pull her out and look at the bottom or if you can find a tide grid that will tell you a lot. Otherwise, take stock of what you got and go from there. Do not hesitate to ask questions.
Thanks for the support - so far, so good!
I think I got a great deal! Everything works fine, including the Nissan 9.8 outboard. It's only a two-stroke, but it has already saved our butts a few times. We motor-sailed from Oceanside to San Diego and found a slip at Chula Vista Marina. Since it was our first adventure on the open ocean, we tried to break the trip into two days, heading for Mission Bay the first. Got there at sundown and were told there were no guest slips anywhere. We decided it was a fine time to learn about night sailing on the Pacific and headed back out to go around Point Loma. Things got a bit interesting, but we made it in fine shape. We headed for the south bay, keeping well in the middle of the marked channel. The chart was incorrect. . . . The US Coast Guard pointed this out to us after showing us their handwritten corrected version of the same chart. Lesson learned. Somewhere online is a corrected version of the chart. The marina was clueless about this important fact. We love the boat! We took her out again this last weekend and royally kicked the butt of several larger newer boats returning to port. The rollers looked huge to me. They looked at least nine feet. We were heeled over most of the way in beyond 20 degrees once we hit the mouth of the bay. The whole interior looked like a hurricane hit it when we finally docked. Great fun! Thanks for the welcome! I was definitely NOT ripped-off! I created a web site for the boat at http://www.stirlinglaw.com/cal28 .
I think I got a great deal! Everything works fine, including the Nissan 9.8 outboard. It's only a two-stroke, but it has already saved our butts a few times. We motor-sailed from Oceanside to San Diego and found a slip at Chula Vista Marina. Since it was our first adventure on the open ocean, we tried to break the trip into two days, heading for Mission Bay the first. Got there at sundown and were told there were no guest slips anywhere. We decided it was a fine time to learn about night sailing on the Pacific and headed back out to go around Point Loma. Things got a bit interesting, but we made it in fine shape. We headed for the south bay, keeping well in the middle of the marked channel. The chart was incorrect. . . . The US Coast Guard pointed this out to us after showing us their handwritten corrected version of the same chart. Lesson learned. Somewhere online is a corrected version of the chart. The marina was clueless about this important fact. We love the boat! We took her out again this last weekend and royally kicked the butt of several larger newer boats returning to port. The rollers looked huge to me. They looked at least nine feet. We were heeled over most of the way in beyond 20 degrees once we hit the mouth of the bay. The whole interior looked like a hurricane hit it when we finally docked. Great fun! Thanks for the welcome! I was definitely NOT ripped-off! I created a web site for the boat at http://www.stirlinglaw.com/cal28 .
Get a Survey
Bruce, if it's not too late, get a survey. I bid on a boat on Ebay and fortunately got a survey before sending any money. Much of the listed plumbing/tankage wasn't installed, the sails listed were not present, there was a problem with listed ballast, etc. It's my impression that most of the Ebay boats are ones that people want to sell without a survey or normal scrutiny...for a reason.
Bruce, if it's not too late, get a survey. I bid on a boat on Ebay and fortunately got a survey before sending any money. Much of the listed plumbing/tankage wasn't installed, the sails listed were not present, there was a problem with listed ballast, etc. It's my impression that most of the Ebay boats are ones that people want to sell without a survey or normal scrutiny...for a reason.
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