28
the 28 is a solid boat. Look for the usual suspects.....leaky chainplates/stanctions. As the 28 is keel stepped, make sure the mast boot doesn't leak too much (easy fix). Ports might need to be re-bed (no biggie) The keel is encapsulated (no bolts) iron. Motor....look for the Universal diesel. Try to avoid the OMC saildrive (although that was in my 28 and it ran great for 2 seasons after I bought the boat once they start to go, "It's over Johnny") The winches are non self tailing (an upgracde I want to make) so either installing cam cleats or self tailers are important for racing. Check the rudder for moisture. Where the ruddershaft goes into the rudder, there can be a leak due to the sealant wearing away. If you're going to race the boat as well as cruise it,as I do, make the boat racer friendly by leading halyards aft to cockpit....I installed a new garhauer rigid vang and traveller. BOTH these additions improved my sail handleing greatly. Also, the mainsheet system is IMHO undersized for the boat so upgrading the blocks from it's original 2:1 purchase to at least 4:1 purchase is a good idea. The 28 is a beamy boat (10'6")and it is a fairly stiff boat.(ok, a very stiff boat) That being said, light air is the boats enemy (although she's not dead in the water crew weight to leeward is important) BUT in Moderate to heavy air (12-20 kts) she sails remarkable. I raced my 28 this past October in 20-25kts. and she did wonderful with only a crew of 3.I could of used 2 more bodies to keep her a little more upright without playing the traveller ( the cockpit can get cramped a bit while racing becasue the traveller is located on the bridgedeck...a tradeoff to keep end boom sheeting. Some 28 owners moved the traveller to the cabintop for mid-boom sheeting. A fair amount of weather helm (add a little backstay tension to flatten the genny and use the vang to assist in mainsheeting will help this). Sorry if I rambled, but Best of luck in finding anew boat. Mike C. O'28 "Da Capo"
