Upgrading - is it a mistake?

[BaySailerBill]

Hi everyone,

Last week I took a step that I hope was well placed. As some of you know I just finished restoring my 1973 Oday-23 and she sails like a dream. All season I had been looking at a beautiful 1984 Catalina-27 sitting on stands at my marina and thinking what a waist that it's not in the water. Last week I met the owner and discovered that it being land-locked had nothing to do with the boat, but the owner. Without getting into details, I learned that she wanted to sell the boat (fully stocked) ASAP and was VERY REASONABLE on the price. (AND I MEAN VERY REASONABLE - AN OFFER I COULDN'T REFUSE)

So now I own an Oday-23 and a Catalina-27. My wife is thrilled, she had wanted a larged boat for cruising and she insisted that we buy her. Now I have the unpleasent job of selling my 23 and starting all over again with the 27. Fortunately the 27 only needs a good cleaning and some normal maintenence issues to attend to. With the exception of a wheeled helm and a autopilot she has all of the extras that I was looking for. Now all I need to do is learn to sail her.

I've learned to rely on the wisdom of you old salts and I was wondering what your opinion is on this move. The Oday has served me well and wll make someone a great boat and I have heard many good things on th Catalina. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

 

[Joe11688]

Oh Bill!

Now you did it. Now you really did it! LOL I really don't know too much about Catalinas, but a 27 is going to give you more head room and cabin space, and where the Admiral is into sailing, I'd say that you'll have some fun with this boat. Boats are kind of a trade off. You get more with a large boat, but the upkeep is more. One of the guys in our club just bought a 1974 O'Day 27 full keel with a sail drive. He picked it up for about $2,000. He and his wife own a later model O'Day 25 keel centerboard which is a beautiful boat, and it has a trailer, too. The 27 has an issue with the sail drive, so he mounted an old transom bracket with an old Johnson outboard. He and his wife took it out to the bay last Sunday and it sailed good, but they realize that buying this boat was a mistake and he's going to unload it even if he has to break even, and go back to the O'Day 25. He said that the 27 has more issues other than the sail drive than he wanted to tackle and it was a mistake to buy it in the first place. I think that you have a better handle when it comes to evaluating used boats than this friend of mine, so hopefully you went into it with your eyes wide open, and will come out with a boat that will serve you well. Hang on to the 23 for a while just in case. This guy was going to sell his 25 and it's a good thing that he didn't. Good luck!
Joe

 

[Capt Jim24025]

I hope it's no mistake

I am upgrading from a 1974 O'Day 27 to a 1973 Chris Craft Caribbean (35'). She's a good boat with some work that I can do (if I can find the time). I hope it is a good move for me.
Good luck and Fair Winds!
Capt Cook