$80k and you are getting into First 25 territory. Figure $45K for a new F20. They are just HOOTS to sail. The one I would get for bashing around on a small a lake is the ASA version with the huge cockpit and small cuddy, called the First 22. Hey, only $35K!!!
As I continue to think about the rebuild I need to do on my mast step, and yet not start to tear the boat apart (haven't even un-tarped yet this year,) I WISH I could buy any of the 3 low-end Beneteaus brand new. Wouldn't it be fun to wear them out yourself, rather than to fix them up after 20 years of someone else? Of course, stepping up to a 25 would be very nice, except our lake marina caps at 24'. That means I go old skool and get a used First 235!
Had a former friend who had the 235 fin keel, and he swears it had the original keel removed and replaced by a J24 keel (or something.) He thought he was good, but I know he didn't know how to make it go fast. He never adjusted his jib fairleads, let alone installed remote adjustable fairleads. And he never played his traveler, either. Man, the things you can do to make a boat like that go faster...
Get a 235!! Come on over to our side! There are few out there for sale..... Just sayin....As I continue to think about the rebuild I need to do on my mast step, and yet not start to tear the boat apart (haven't even un-tarped yet this year,) I WISH I could buy any of the 3 low-end Beneteaus brand new. Wouldn't it be fun to wear them out yourself, rather than to fix them up after 20 years of someone else? Of course, stepping up to a 25 would be very nice, except our lake marina caps at 24'. That means I go old skool and get a used First 235!
Also, I am adding a new traveller and adjustable cars in the next few days to mine..... Launch on the 2nd.
It was the author's first post to this forum and the plant is not closed. We speak with them daily. Sometimes people have weird agendas and we try not to support those.
OK I need another boat like I need another hole in my head, but if I DID.... I'd be on my way with a $8K check to buy this beauty. It's a baby BlueJ. The same hull as the new First 20 with a backstayed rig.As I continue to think about the rebuild I need to do on my mast step, and yet not start to tear the boat apart (haven't even un-tarped yet this year,) I WISH I could buy any of the 3 low-end Beneteaus brand new. Wouldn't it be fun to wear them out yourself, rather than to fix them up after 20 years of someone else? Of course, stepping up to a 25 would be very nice, except our lake marina caps at 24'. That means I go old skool and get a used First 235!
so what happens when us old farts are gone ....do they take a trackho and smash all the boats..... if that's the case i may never die....... somebody has to keep the light burning
I don't know Woody, perhaps there will be many "junk yards" with old sailboats, Harley's, & classic cars! Or maybe some of these younger guys will start having mid life crises and buy all of our "old fart" toys!
This is the truth of the situation.. For the most part the relative cost of new boats has actually gotten better. What HAS changed is a depression in true middle-class incomes, and a change in priorities."I have the original receipt (from PO) for our S2 36 and it cost $88K brand new back in 1978"
In 1978 I could buy a brand new Pontiac Trans Am (Smokey and the Bandit) for less than $8K which is 11 times cheaper than the 1978 S2 36. Today I can buy a 2016 Camaro V8 for about $35K. Now 11 times that is $385K so a $200K sailboat should seem cheap!