Picky, picky

[Andy Howard]

The sea gods smiled down upon me and my wife said,

"Honey, what do you think of this boat" one morning, totally out of the blue. Not being one to ever disappoint her, I nodded my head in agreement and called my banker that afternoon.

 

[Ed Dunbar]

Not now, I am building a house

I was in the midst of building a house on my own in Vermont (in the winter with a brand new baby) when a friend calls and tells me I have to come see this boat. Despite my repeated denials, we ended up in a partnership on a fully loaded H27, spinnaker included, a "wonderful" Renault 8 hp diesel, custom built trailer and a old 2T 3rd wheel truck to pull it. The PO had moved the rudder to the transom (nice job) to overcome the weather helm and had died. His son needed the money, boat had been sitting while quite a while and we bought it still on the trailer deal too good to pass up. It has taken all our abuse and stood up rather well over the last 14 years. No regrets and lots of happy experiences.

 

[Ron Anderson]

oday192 buy

I was looking for a used single handed small coastal cruiser. That made for a small list of eligible boats. I looked at several listings but as soon as I saw the Oday 192 I knew it was my boat.That was two years ago and I am more pleased with my choice every time I go out in her.

 

[Fred Forbush]

Tinker Star Traveller

My decision to purchase a Tinker Star Traveller was based on my need to have a simple sailboat that I could store inside our summer condominium on Catalina Island. Since we use the condo. only three months of the year, I did not want to buy a boat requiring dry docking. As for choosing the Tinker for this requirement, it is the only inflatable sailing dinghy on the market! So I paid the big price for the little boat and never second my decision.Fred

 

[Mike]

A long and careful search

My purchase of a 1979 O'day 23 was the result of a lot of research and legwork. I never owned anything larger than a Sunfish, so when my wife and I time-shared in a Catalina 22 for a year, we got to see what we liked and didn't like about "bigger" boats. I came up with a list of must-have features, and started looking. I knew I wanted a boat no bigger than 25 feet since I wanted to keep maintenance, dockage, and all other fees down to a minimum. I also realized that I would be mostly daysailing in protected waters, with the occasional overnighter, so I favored a big cockpit over a spacious cabin. I liked the idea of a centerboard (easier to save yourself from a grounding), but didn't like the idea of all of my ballast hanging by a pin and a wire. My wife also wanted a separate head compartment so that she and our guests could pee in private without having to close up the companionway. I saw a lot of boats and scanned a lot of ads, but it seemed that I would have to compromise on at least one of my criteria. Then I visited a broker who had a couple of O'day 23's in the yard, and once I saw the boat, I knew it was the one for me. I had never seen or heard of it before, but it had the separate head, the keel/centerboard combo (something I had only seen in the Rhodes 22 before), and a large cockpit. It only remained to find one that was in good shape with the other high priority features I wanted (bow and stern pulpits, lifelines, anchor locker. About a month later, I found "Biloxi Blues" through an ad on the internet. She was on the hard for the winter when I bought her, so I did not get a chance to give her a sea trial. A little more tender a sailer than I would have liked, but generally an easy and forgiving boat. Her maiden voyage was in 20-25 mph winds, so I know that even though she heels early, she she is ultimately a stable boat for her size. I also know of at least twice that the centerboard has saved me from a grounding.

 

[Robert W. Bonney]

Timing and Luck

I had researched brands and shopped the internet for almost a year. I was very limited on funds and didn't think I would be able to find a boat I would be happy with for the amount I had to spend. I stopped by one of the local marinas one day just to look. There sat a brand new Cat 22 MkII still wrapped in plastic. The broker (now a good friend of mine) came out to talk Turns out the PO won the boat on The Price Is Right. They were asking less than half the normal retail price. I bought it that day. The broker helped me rig it and get her in the water. Best deal I ever made. I now own a second boat, an Almand 31, that needs some cosmetic work and is a good winter project. I found that boat through the same broker. Great price.

 

[Wayne]

Choosing my boat

I am a first time boat owner and sailor. We had looked around at several boats, I didn't realize when we started that there was so much to ask and consider and had narrowed our choice down to three possibilities, the MacGregor being one of them. After looking at her once we went back a few more times to look at her some more. Luckily it was at a marina close to home. Then I went down to look at her on my own and then got the broker to go over the boat with me. While leaving that day I kept looking back at her. It was as if she was calling out for me to buy her. The 'magnetism' was strange. I think it was then, after 'having' to look back at her, that I decided that this was the boat to buy.

 

[Yakpilot]

Had to have a full head!

My girlfriend said no head, no sail. I wanted to buy NOW! So, I picked the first 32 I saw that had a full head. I bought it without sailing it, or reading any reviews. How did it work out? Great! I love my Hunter Vision 32.

 

[Bruce Lounsbury]

Love and Lust

I always wanted an Oday and kept on putting off being dead serious until one day while driving by the boat yard I saw her proped up against the winter sky, the wind blowing in her rigging and spied the For Sale sign. Gazing at her from the car I felt my heart start to melt and realized that I was lusting for her and then cupid hit my heart dead center, I was in love and had to have her. So thats the way it began. Later that week I struck a good deal with the owner and she was mine. Of course I have to share her with my wife, but I beleive that she too loves her dearly.Bruce

 

[Dave Charles]

But we just got rid of the motorcycle!Actu

Actually, this is being written by his wife. Yeah, so we sell the full-dressed touring bike, and then one of our windsurfing friends starts bragging about this 21-ft Precison that he and his wife are going to keep near Barnegat Bay so they have someplace to sleep when they're down at Trixie's ( one of the prime windsurfing spots in NJ). And I say to my husband, "Don't get any ideas." Right. Within a week, we were checking out boats online; within a month we found our Mac -- though we really went to look at another baot. That one turned out to be trashed inside, while the Mac only needed a little elbow grease and some rewiring. And, dare I say? I'm glad we got her.

 

[Tom Ehmke]

How we found tooth'n'nail

During the fall of 1994 we lost two close friends and decided that it would be foolish to wait for our retirement years to rejuvenate our hobbies. I had not sailed since I was a grad student in 1967-68, but had always wanted to get back to it. Spouse was willing. Kids were gone. No grandkids on the horizon. We discussed buying a travel van and a small sailboat. Decided to take the USPS Safe Boating class during the winter of '94 to get familiar with the rules of the road, and while signing up to become members of the Toledo Power Squadron, found out that the leader of the Safe Boating class who was also squadron education officer, had a boat for sale. We had looked at several. Most were dirty and not well-maintained. (It still amazes me that anyone who wants to sell a boat would leave it in such sorry shape over the winter with a broker... who would want to buy a boat only to have to clean it up after the previous owner??)Anyway... we looked at the ODay 272 and it was love at first sight. We bought the boat and joined the power squadron. No regrets on either count. She is a tidy pocket cruiser. She was clean and well-maintained. She was priced so that we could afford her. We've benefited from the many educational offerings of the USPS. We've never looked back. No camper, no van. Just a honey of a sailboat and some marvelous times on the water every season.Doesn't that sum it up for all of us?Tom

 

[Toomas]

Downsizing

I have been sailing deep-keel-boats for about 20 years and the last one was a 40 foot Lady Helmsman. Now, since I sail alone most of the time, my body required a smaller,less heavy boat. And I wanted one with a retractable keel, so I might find the very nice harbours, that I only could visit using my dinghy before. I searched the net all over Europe and there I found the Mac G 26 and Hunter 26. After a test-tour in both, I decided to go for the Hunter and I was very close to sign up for a new 260, when I cought sight of a used 26. And now I'm in for the third season with my Celeste. And lots of fun.Toomas

 

[Al S]

MOst recently, knew the boat in our marina.

I heard a rumor she might be coming up for trade and told our broker I wanted an E-mail as soon as she did.She came up on Friday and we had a bid in on Monday (was on vacation Fri

 

[Rae Smith]

Next Friday

I had a Tanzer 22 for a number of years and decided I wanted a boat with head room, inboard engine and roller furling.The hunt started and my wife and I spent about a year looking at used boats, found that we wanted about a 27 to 28 foot boat to meet our needs, never found a used boat that we liked. went to the Halifax boat show and saw a Beneteau First 285, then found that a dealer was going to have one in the St. John ,New Brunswick show about a month later, it was the same boat but was a limited edition and had wheel steering and some other goodies. We went to the show and we fell in love with this boat. It had everything we wanted, except the price, but you can't have everything. Decided to buy it . then waited two months for delivery, counted the days, went through books of names, finally my son said "Next Friday" ? well we had been promised it would be delivered next wednesday , next thursday, Next Friday so that is how it got it's name. We have owned her since 1989 and love her, She is the ideal size for single hand sailing, which I mostly do, and I can handle her in any condition and any anchorage. Have added all the goodies and thoroughly enjoy her, can't wait for spring to come and put her back in the water, went to visit her on sunday, and gave her a pat.Rae.

 

[EJ Tews]

Why we bought Jennifer Lea

We (I) were looking for a 22 foot boat that could be trailered. I was looking at the Catalina's and Hunters and did not want to pay what they were asking. I came across an O'Day 22 that I considered and that is how we were introduced to the O'Day line. After we found out what dry storage was we decided to keep the boat in a slip nad then deceided to upgrade to a 25.Jennifer Lea came into our life when i contacted a broker I had been working with, he told me he just received an O'Day 25 the night before. I asked if we could come see it this afternoon and he said that was fine, so during a ligthing storm we fell in love with Jennifer Lea. The best part of this story was the owner was not asking alot and I offered $1500 less and and he took a $1000 less, if he only new I would have bought her for the asking price.EJ TewsJennifer Lea

 

[Kent]

My Boy Scout Javelin

My choice of a boat was easy... At the time I was the Vice President for Properties for a Boy Scout Council, doing an inspection of a summer camp. There in the weeds was a forlorn little red(pink) boat. She looked like she hadn't seen water in a long time, so I asked what the problem was. Well, it seemed that no one knew how to set her up, and then when someone had come along that did know, the boom was gone. That was a few years ago, and since then the transom piece had come off and the stern was delaminated. Since the boat was obviously unsafe for Scout use, it was offered for sale. A few months later, I checked to see if she was still around, and sure enough she was. I offered $150, and the camp grabbed the money and demanded that I come and get the boat. Rudy Nicolson suppiled me with a boom; I epoxied the stern, and we have fully enjoyed our little Javelin ever since.

 

[Jon Bastien / H25 'Adagio']

Easy...

I bought the one my wife fell in love with! We bought it the day we test sailed, and never looked back.--Jon BastienH25 'Adagio'

 

[John New]

Right place at the right time

I was flying back from a meeting in La Paz, Baja California, and by chance struck up a conversation with the woman seated next to me on the plane. Now this is something I very rarely do, but in this case, I'm certainly glad I did. She and her husband had retired a year earlier and were cruising the Sea of Cortez on their 42-footer. After listening to her stories, I got off the plane at LAX and while waiting for my connecting flight home, thought to myself "You've wanted a boat since you were a boy, maybe now is the time to look for one". So when I returned home, I started looking on the Web. One link led to another and I found a good brokerage (Sailboat Sales, here in Chicago) with a 1981 Hunter 27 for sale. I went to look at her in the yard and was immediately smitten; she was exactly what I had been dreaming of! (I had timeshared a 33' Cherubini Hunter some years earlier; a nice boat, but very hard-used). The survey confirmed my original impression that her owners (very nice people) had lavished care and affection on her (they had developed a case of 3-foot-itis). I had to scramble like mad to put together the deal (survey, insurance, bank, etc.) because I had only a week or so before leaving for two months in Hawaii (my job can be hell, sometimes) but everybody pulled together and it all fell into place at the penultimate minute. And that's how I acquired my new mistress, Dulcinea.

 

[Frank / MD / H260]

A long and careful search

I had a list of wanted features, which narrowed my sailboat list down to about 4. I then spent a good 6 months looking at every boat, any one would show me. I was in a hurry, but I kept seeing things I didn't like, so I took the time to make the decision.

 

[George Haus]

Features and Experience with Mac's

Three primary reasons I bought my 26s (in order):1. When I bought the boat I had a 1967 Venture 21' for 14 years. I bought it when I had little money and basically nothing for maintenance. Over the years the boat just kept on working ... It might be light but it doesn't break. Now that I am a bit older, with a much better job, I wanted a newer/larger boat. Mac's are good, solid, relatively maintenance free, boats that I had personal experience with.2. I wanted a boat that was easily trailerable. I live in MI and did not want to sail up the coast (300 mi) everytime I wanted to see some new water. The 26s trailers at just a little over 2000#. I can move this thing using either my 4 cyl Ford Ranger or my 6 cyl Dodge Caravan with no trouble.3. I found my boat in a consignment dealer's lot. It was two years old when I bought it. I got the boat for almost 5K less than the original owner (the origianl purchase papers were in the boat) and it was so unsused that I had to take the tags off of the 150 geni bag and send in the warranty card for the unopened handheld VHS. Buy Used! Let someone else eat the inital depreciation.