to buy or not to buy

[Bog13]

Chance to buy the 1979 H30, sitting in water for 3 years, never been moved or sailed in this time,
owner has never seen boat in 3 years, guy selling has no idea about motor(yan 12 hp) Did I say it is Indiana, yes its been in water during winter too. looked at it today looks ok, dirty, floating, smells musty inside,
Can this boat sit in the winter like this?

 

[gpdno]

How much are they paying you to take it off their hands
Seriously, you will probably spend several times more money fixing it up then if you bought one that was already in decent shape.

 

[Bog13]

They are asking $5900.00 I thought about saying $3500.00 ?
Looking to owners here for the answer and thoughts

 

[capjules]

whatever the price get a good survey done, by an accredited surveyor, my experience is that it's impossible to know all the defects a boat has before you buy it but a good survey will point out some or the worst ones that are most dificult or most costly to fix.

 

[Jackdaw]

It depends on the value of your time.

I've both bought and sold a boat in the last two months, so I have an idea about the current market. Personally i'd waste no time on a basket case. And most current buyers I dealt with are looking at things the same way. You could spend $10K to make the $3K boat a $10k boat some time next year.

Unless you don't have the funds available, why not look for the good boat now?

 

[s sauer]

Fixerupper

The Hunter 30 is typically a good solid boat and the hull shape is enough of a 'wine glass' that sitting in/on the ice may not do much to the hull other than lift it. If there were serious wind after the freeze up, that may have damaged the gel coat at the water line & is more of a concern if it chipped thru to the glass. Look at the condition of the water line and scrape away several feet of the grass skirt that probably grew there. The OEM engine is under powered, but if you wanted to keep it on a fresh water lake, maybe less of an issue. So what does the rig and sails look like? If the mast was up and the sails left on... vs sails stored elsewhere in dry conditions, etc. Is there standing water inside or just in the bilge? Can you open the compression lever(s) on the diesel and turn it over with the starter (bring a 12 volt battery and Jumpers). So at that point you should be able to decide on walking away or get a survey and make an offer.

 

[Bog13]

I like what you have to say, Good info, I would love to buy a better boat but dont have the money for that at this point, so a used buy is it for me, That being said however I dont have to buy a junker either, She looks not to bad other then dirty,
the jib is on, the main is in cabin, no water is in other then about 3 inches in the bilge,
the glass looks good it is sitting in water now but with bubble makers for the last 3 years.
I would be keeping it at the same lake it is at now smaller inland lake but someplace we can go to after work. No I dont know much about motors is the big thing for me. I dont know what it would be like to re start it or to know if it was winterized before hand back 3 years ago. power is not a big deal there only need to get out of dock and back to dock, I have had a Mac 26 and a Hunter 18.5 and a Hunter 23.5 in my past sailing life.

 

[gpdno]

Just to give you some perspective. I bought my 27' boat in May 2011. Looked at about 30 or so boat before I made an offer. My biggest requirement was that the boat had to be in seaworthy condition, something I could sail the next weekend if I wanted. Seller initial was asking 10k boat sat on craigslist. Next month he dropped to 8k, then by the time I looked at it he was down to 7k. Offered him 6k, we agreed on 6.5k. Paid cash. Bought my boat. Only issue I new about at the time was a cracked exhaust riser. Two weeks after I got the boat home the water pump failed. Yanmar water pumps are $$$. Spend about $1500 on a new pump, riser, and general maintenance on the Yanmar 2GM. Replaced most of the running rigging and the shrouds myself.

 

[gpdno]

Big thumbs, small iPhone...
Anyway. Since have made a lot of personal upgrade, bought a bunch of Coast Guard Safety stuff because there was none on the boat. Spend about another $4k.
One day I'll add genoa lead blocks and upgrade my traveler.
Is it worth it, you bet. I'm sailing 2-3 time a week. Best $12k I've ever spend

 

[Bog13]

gpdno
Thank you for your input, I think that 99% of my time will be here at the lake that the boat sits on as I cant get away from work, So that being said I might aswell have a boat I can go to after work, That would be the H30, Yes I can do all the cleaning myself with my 1st Mate, (wife) if there are motor problems I can put a small outboard I have in garage, Not going to be going anyplace other then where it is at,
small lake 6 miles long (lot of back and forth) but a place to get away from home after work. I am thinking $4k for the boat $1600 to keep it in its dock and $$$ cleaning and new radio for tunes.

 

[JST123]

For me several things for me in the past have been; 1 is the hull in good condition? 2 is the motor good? 3 rigging in good condition? 4 sails in decent condition, maybe a little cleaning sewing? For me the rest was and is cleaning, minor repairs "arn't there always!" and add ons.... Having the "Escape Pod" to go to after work is priceless.

 

[jtm]

at that age, in any event you'll likely need a survey in order to insure it (for whatever casualty limit) and/or get liability ins on it.