Picky, picky

[Keith Alfier]

Worth the wait

12 years ago I went to the Newport in water boat show. I had at the time a O'day 20 that I was enjoying very much, but wanted someting a little bigger and better. At the end of the day while walking the docks at the boat show I ran into a 23 footer that just took my eye. There was nobody around, not even a salesman so I went below and instantly fell in love with the boat. I did not no the model so after tracking down a saleman I found out she was a Beneteau first 235. I filed away the sales brocure and continued to sail my O'day for another 10 years, I just did'nt have the money to buy the new boat. 2 years ago I was driving by a powerboat dealer in Bayville NJ and I said to the wife "look there's a Beneteau F235 like the one I saw at the Newport boat show, lets stop and look it over". I did'nt plan on buying it, but after my wife went below and saw the enclosed marine head with holding tank (I was told she never wants to see a porta-potty again) she said "I would'nt let this one get buy" I rushed into the sales office and put a deposit on her. To make a long story short, I now own the boat of my dreams and after sailing her for 2 seasons I could'nt be happier, I'm in heaven.

 

[Chris Hyland]

Sometimes

There are some things in this world you just buy with your heart! Lets face it, It's pretty hard to truly justify a 100K or 200K boat!We looked, We saw, We fell in love, We wrote lots of checks with commas in them!Anyone who says money can't buy happyness has never been on a sailboat!Regards,Chris

 

[Bobby]

fell into it after over a year

I was looking at boats for sale for over a year and had pretty much given up, but the networking part of it came through. A friend at work that I told about my search came to me one day saying her husband's friend had a sailboat he hadn't used much in over a year and wanted to sell. I said I'll be there Saturday. Well it ended up that the price was not in our budget and I cancelled. She told me the next week he was probably negotiable, so the wife and I took the kids to see it and the wife gave the OK right there and we got it for about 1/4 of what we had thought we would have to spend and the seller was happy. What a day that was, and the boat has been nothing but the best since! It was a Hunter 22 1981.

 

[FREDERIC ANDERSON]

watch out for

I FELL IN LOVEWITH MY 1976 Oday 20 just buy what feels right I grew up on capecod and as far as Im conserned aslong as its an Oday and there are no soft spots in the glass deck and hull and the sails are good cables ext. ILLbuyit GOOD HUNTING

 

[Don]

My First Boat

For years, I secretly dreamed of hoisting sails and setting sail towards the horizon, even though I had never set foot on a sailboat before. Then one Monday on a very cold Michigan winter day at work, I was musing out loud with my co-workers about how nice it would be to be on a sailboat somewhere in the warm Caribbean instead of suffering with the icy chill of the January wind. As we were talking, one of my co-workers mentioned that a friend of his had to transfer to Boston and that he just so happened to have a sailboat that he needed to get rid of quick. My interest at this time was piqued a little and I had my co-worker call his friend and inquire about the sailboat and how much he wanted for it. The boat was a Venture 25 and the price was a little out of my financial reach at the time, since I was somewhat newly married with two small children, new house, new car, etc, so I just let out a sigh and thought maybe I should just start small with an inexpensive sunfish. On Friday of that week, my co-worker's friend called him and said that if I wanted the sailboat he would let me have it for half his asking price. This got my mind churning again and I told him I would like to see it the next day. Well, when I first saw the boat, it was covered with a foot of snow and the trailer had sunk into the ground to the axle. The boat hadn't seen water for a few years and was very dirty and neglected, but I fell for this boat immediately and I offered him a little less than his already reduced price, and since he was in somewhat of a bind he agreed to it. I chipped it out of the frozen earth and trailered it home and for the next 4 months I read everything I could get my hands on about sailing. I was probably the most technically proficient sailor who had never even been on a sailboat before, but I knew the real lessons would occur with practical experience. That spring, after a couple of months of cleaning and prepping, I put the boat in and went sailing for the first time. It was even better that I had ever imagined and now I am hooked for life. I'm now on my second boat and it just keeps getting better!

 

[Dave]

Price of Admission was Right

In college I bought a 12' Topper and caught the sailing bug. I always dreamed of owning a bigger boat (20-30 foot range) but figured that the price would be prohibative for a while. A friend bought a new Precision 23 and we spent a lot of summer days on Lake Michigan. I wanted a boat that could be trailered easily but would also provide room for a family with two young kids for day sailing and overnighters. I also didn't want to buy new. I started looking for used boats on the internet and began to realize that the price of admission to this club was not going to break the bank as long as I stayed in the used market.I found a half dozen boats within a hundred miles of Milwaukee and bought Hakuna Matata (goofy name but the kids like it) after a careful inspection. We both loved the lines of this boat. We have absolutely no regrets. The boat is in excellent condition, and it's the right boat for our situation at this point. It also has prompted my wife to suggest (without prodding) that we may need to look at a larger boat if we want to do some more extensive sailing in the future. No argument from me. In the mean time, I'm counting the weeks until it goes back in the water.Dave

 

[Geoffrey Jackson]

price, condition

I was on my way to the mall to find an anniversary present for my wife, but decided to take the scenic route and stop by a few sales marinas on the way. Found a just-listed Catalina 27 that needed some serious cleaning up. Price was right, it had an inboard diesel in operating condition. After a week of checking around to see if there were any better deals to be found, we made an offer. Survey showed the hull was sound. So we bought it and cleaned it up. We'd sailed C27s before in a club and had chartered on a couple of times, so we knew it would be OK for us.And, yes, I eventually did remember to get the anniversary present.

 

[Darrell Roettger]

Found in a field.

I had passed the same boat sitting in a field on my way to work for 5 years. One day while looking for a fixer upper, I stopped and spoke with the owner who was the original owner of the 1972 Macgregor/Ventor 22. He didn't sail any longer but didn't want to sell it. After promissing to restore her and take him along on for a sail, he agreed to sell it for $1000. The hull needs sanded and painted from the mold growing on it, but, it had a complete set of sails and all the hardward in excellent shape.

 

[PETER MURPHY]

CHOOSE CAREFULLY

VISITED MANY BOAT MANUFACTURERS WEB PAGES DURING 1998-1999. SHORT-LISTED TWO PRODUCTION BOATS.......1 EUROPEAN AND 1 AMERICAN. TRAVELLED TO A NUMBER OF EUROPEAN MARINAS TO VIEW SECONDHAND BOATS. THE HUNTER WAS THE BEST VALUE FOR MONEY AND PURCHASED A 1997 MODEL 376PAID IRISH POUNDS 123,000.00 (APROX 145,000.00US$)FOR THE BOAT.THERE ARE VERY HIGH TAXES IN EUROPE ON SAILING BOATS.......TO HIGH!!!!.THE BOAT IS BRILLIANT BUT TAKES A "LOT OF LOOKING AFTER" PARTICULALRY IN NORTH ATLANTIC WATERS......THE BOATS NEED TO BE TOUGH AND I THINK THAT THE HUNTER 376 IS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST OF THE "PRODUCTION BOATS". I WOULD LOVE A BIGGER ONE THOUGH SAY THE H54, THAT MUST BE SOME BOAT.

 

[Graham]

Yew Years Eve

We had been looking at second hand boats for several months when we saw an add for ownership of a charter boat. It was new year,s eve and we went down to the marina where the charterer was already celebrating the day. He showed us a video of the boat, very cheerfully!! gave us a briefing on the charter/ownership plan, and two weeks later we signed up. Most expensive purchase we have ever made off a video. We did not see the boat for 7 months, when it arrived as deck cargo from America, but we still have and enjoy her 7 years later. We are terminating our charter contract at the end of this summer (April in NZ) so we will be getting even more time on the water, but in Auckland rather than the Bay of Islands.

 

[Mike Whalen]

impulse is better than no pulse at all

While in undergrad (a bit late at 30) I told a friend I wanted a little sailboat. I had never sailed, she had. She wanted to go in on it. I looked around she wanted to look more. I went to look at an Aqua Finn (sunfish with bigger "cockpit"). They guy was my size, about 220. He lived in a cove and we went out to the dock both of us got on and he sailed it 300 yards out into the lake. "Got the idea," he asked. Sure. "Well you sail it back then." I did. His dock was at the bottom of a VERY steep hill. I backed my 20 yr old toyota down that hill. We threw the boat on my kayak roofrack (ok it was two two by fours) on top tied it down and I made it about half way up that hill before the wheels started spinning and I slid backwards about 50 yards. At that point I decided the ditch was better than the lake. He towed me out with his jeep (I suspect thats what he wanted all along) I gave him $500 and sailed the hell out of that boat. My friend is still looking for a sailboat 12 years later.I live on the banks of the Tennessee river and you don't see a lot of sailboats on my narrow stretch through town. You do see barges. My girlfriend at the time was an excentric artist fond of flowing silk pants and tops and was, I must say, quite attractive. She called me from a riverside restaraunt a mile downstream from the house and asked if I'd sail down and eat with her and sail her back to my place. I did. On the way I passed a large barge tied off at the dock. The deck hand said, "that looks like a lot of work" as I tacked back and forth down river. "It is I said, but the damned thing is a babe magnet. Everytime I sail out alone I end up with a beautiful woman." Yeah right. Well thirty minutes later I sailed back by. This time upstream with the wind. So the sail was set and I sat with head over one edge and feet over the other with this wonderfully beautiful, over dressed, obviously not out for a sail woman wedged in beside me. The guy was still there. I just threw up both hands as if to say, What's a guy to do and sailed by.I don't know what he's doing now but I've moved from the Aqua Finn to a 12 foot dingy of unknown origin and now an O'day 25 and am still kicked back. I still have all three.Happy sailing,Mike

 

[Ken Steyer]

She made my heart go pitter-patter

I know it's shallow, but when I walk up to the dock, the boat in my well has to be, well, beautiful. And beauty, being in the eye of the beholder, turned out to be a 2001 Hunter 380. I poked around a landlocked display model for hours, took a 2-hour demo sail, asked tough questions and my infatuation never wained. We celebrated our first anniversary last September.

 

[Bob Camarena]

Lucked Out

I owned a Catalina 27, had decided to move up to a Catalina 30 and had just sold my 27 to a fellow sailing club member. As it turned out, a very nice Catalina 30 concurrently went up for sail at our sailing club. I contacted the owner and we negotiated the deal.

 

[Bruce]

O'Day 31

I read all the reviews I could find, especially Practical Sailor. For my budget, it seemed to be the best combination of sound hull construction, quality hardware, and decent sailing abilities coupled with good cruising accomadations. I compared it with similar reviews of Catalina's, C

 

[Bill Reed]

movin on up

first boat having been a catalina 22 sooner or later we all get the urge to move up.I put on paper what I wanted in a boat. comfort, headroom(something to be said for standing up to put on your pants) uncluttered cockpit,stability,storage. I started looking for a catalina 25 because of their reputation then I looked at the oday 26 and fell in love with those lines.the fact that she is shoal draft not swing keel is all the better having known a fella with a catilina 25. he was raising his keel when the cable broke and his boat started taking on water.had never sailed on a oday but the hull with a masthead rig looked good with a generous rudder. and she is trailorable

 

[Jose Pagan]

I won a "T" shirt

I was in Seattle in the fall and winter of 1996 going over the new boat show models there in Lake Union. Three times I returned to caress and crawl through my dream afloat. After three visits, it was clear to me that I was a fool, a "one" looking for a "ten". The models, not parading on the ramp, but floating before me were beautiful indeed, but I was a pawper and these were queens to owned by royalty and so I walked away. It was but a few short weeks that friends not knowing of my anguished invited me to the Seattle Beneteau Owners meeting and dinner. If they had known the girl I lusted for was a French beauty from the yards of France they might have not teased me further. It was like a reformed alcholic attending a whisky tasting party. But I was weak so I went. It was a terrible experience for I knew my prefer girl was beautiful, but now these dozens of strangers bragged about her peregree, her stealthness, her stregth and her loyalty. It was maddening to be there, but I was trapped. I tried not to listen, but there were pictures, and slides and movies of faraway places and in the center of it all, my girl or her siblings.But this cruelty did not end, this Beneteau lot are bad, very bad people. They gave me a door prize, a Beneteau "T" shirt. Anoter reminder of the girl I could not have. Like a saylor's tattoo I wore my shirt proudly embossed with my girls pedigree.But I am a man of prayer and faith. So it was that just weeks later I spied a tiny ad in Cruising World adverticing a new Beneteau 40CC. I called, then flew to Annapolis to see her again, like an old man in love with a nymph. And there she was as beautiful, nay more beautiful than ever, gleaming new, white trrimmed in green. And though she was covered in ice and snow this cold February day I could see even more of her, her skirt high for she was out of the water and I could spy her better. Her lines were beatiful, sentuous, the wing keel tapering back, her underpinnings were strong yet beautiful. Now it was hopeless, I had to have her. And I did. Arrangement were made, the wedding was set, the papers were done the delivery arranged and then she was mine. I commissioned her myself and named her "GITANA", gypsy, for I knew even then what her mission would be. That was nearly five years ago. She has proven her love time after time, crossing the Gulf Stream, taking me to far flung places and some near, Cuba, The Abacos, the Exumas and more. And yes I still have "T" shirt. Tanks for the T shirt Tom, and the hat George.JP

 

[Jeff Fleenor]

Went without for a year

Had my 1987 272 for 10 years and got the fever to move up to a 302. Had been looking at one for years and had found one in Chicago. Putting my 272 up for sale in the spring meant maybe a few weeks without a boat. My fiance was worried and I told her that it may take all summer to sell. First friend of a friend that looked at her bought her. Figuring I would wait till after my upcoming wedding the process for the new boat would be on. One thing after another and my wife looked a a beautiful 1989 322 on the lake we had spent our honeymoon in December. We celebrated our 1 year aniversary with OUR new 322 and have loved her since....

 

[David Undewood]

Ken... you are a sick puppy

Ken...... You are a sick puppy... LOL, just kidding, I know exactly what you mean.. my affair with "Freebird" a 1982 Hunter 33 has been going on for almost twenty years now.. So, I hope your next twenty years are as good as mine have been.

 

[Gary Jensen]

3rd sail boat is a Catalina 380

#1 an O day 27 (owned for 12 years) #2 a Catalina 36 (tall rig , owned for six years)) and now I own a 380 (for 2 years)...I bought her for LWL, performance, in-mast furling, auto pilot, sleeping arrangement and open transon....We love her!!! (its for sale)

 

[ted]

research

i was on assignment back in native u.k.wife got sailing bug. i had done a lot of small boat in past.she spent two years going round boat yards, clubs, etc.when back she booked day sail on barnegat bay. told by skipper of friend who had almost new condition 89 26.5 hunter for sail. next day we were there and bought it there and then. attempted to find someone to do survey. complete waste of time. told wrong info re condition of boat and refused to pay bill. onemistake was that we saidwe would purchase subject to bottom being painted and an hour being shewn the ropes on water.all great but found next spring he had put on the cheapest paint available and had to scrape all off! perhaps would have done the same myself though.best thing we ever did. work? - hate the winter now with all summer to try to catch up with.put life in perspective in the best of all ways.ted.