My wife and I, after having had two 22' trailer sailors, have started our search for a mid-30' range sailboat. Our intended use will be to spend the weekends on (likely marina most of the time) while also doing some overnight trips and a week or two during the year. We live near the coast in eastern NC.
Yesterday we drove several hours to check out a 1981 O'Day 34. Prior to this, I have stayed, for a personal Spiritual Retreat on a Sabre 30, so that is all I can really compare anything to in terms of size a feel. Overall we really liked this boat. The interior space more than pleased us. We did have some concern/questions about the cockpit...it seemed a little small. So, here are some questions I'm hoping some of you will feel like responding to...
1) Generally, I'm wondering if a steering pedestal/wheel will make the cockpit feel smaller?
2) On a 1981, any idea how many through hulls/seacocks there would be?
3) The biggest issue I found in our hour on the boat, is water damage to the two aft bulkheads...in front of the nav station and the galley. The bulkhead connected to the nav station has pretty significant damage...I could stick my finger through it in I would say a square foot area. The broker downplayed it some in that for our intended use it was not necessarily a top priority. I'm not convinced. What are your thoughts? Would this be a project that is reasonably doable as a DIY? (I am a woodworker and do about all maintenance at home).
4) OR...would that kind of damage be enough to scare you off? (I wasn't as concerned as I would have been had it been the forward bulkhead where the chainplates attach.
5) If we move forward on this boat, I would very much like a second visit. I would hope to get the broker to help/allow me to check all systems...crank engine, turn on all lights, check pressure water system and water heater, light stove and heater, locate and test all seacocks, etc... Is this a common or reasonable request?
6) If we were still interested we would then move on towards a survey and sea trial.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
THANKS!
Yesterday we drove several hours to check out a 1981 O'Day 34. Prior to this, I have stayed, for a personal Spiritual Retreat on a Sabre 30, so that is all I can really compare anything to in terms of size a feel. Overall we really liked this boat. The interior space more than pleased us. We did have some concern/questions about the cockpit...it seemed a little small. So, here are some questions I'm hoping some of you will feel like responding to...
1) Generally, I'm wondering if a steering pedestal/wheel will make the cockpit feel smaller?
2) On a 1981, any idea how many through hulls/seacocks there would be?
3) The biggest issue I found in our hour on the boat, is water damage to the two aft bulkheads...in front of the nav station and the galley. The bulkhead connected to the nav station has pretty significant damage...I could stick my finger through it in I would say a square foot area. The broker downplayed it some in that for our intended use it was not necessarily a top priority. I'm not convinced. What are your thoughts? Would this be a project that is reasonably doable as a DIY? (I am a woodworker and do about all maintenance at home).
4) OR...would that kind of damage be enough to scare you off? (I wasn't as concerned as I would have been had it been the forward bulkhead where the chainplates attach.
5) If we move forward on this boat, I would very much like a second visit. I would hope to get the broker to help/allow me to check all systems...crank engine, turn on all lights, check pressure water system and water heater, light stove and heater, locate and test all seacocks, etc... Is this a common or reasonable request?
6) If we were still interested we would then move on towards a survey and sea trial.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
THANKS!