"bgary" hit it out of the park.
I spend several nights a month in the Bay Area for work. Tired of hoteling it, I started looking for The Right Boat to spend my nights away from home on in the Fall of '15.
I started may search with Craig's List (CL), and Boat Trader. Boat trader quickly proved itself limited. CL, on the other-hand, had many prospects. What I found odd was that some sellers really were;t that interested in selling as much as they were gauging what their boat was worth. A total waste of a buyer's time. With this in mind, I approach subsequent prospects with the first question being, "why are they selling this boat?" I quickly concluded that (at least in my case) most boats that are for sale is because the owner used them less and less, and that bringing them up to a sound usable condition was 1) time/work, and 2) money. You WILL pick-up, maintanance-wise, where the current owner left-off.
I broadened my search from the Bay Area, and looked at a few boats in Newport to San Diego. The Right Boat was a 1989 Catalina 30 MkII. Lightly used, but maintained. Bought by the owners more for the social aspect of boating rather than for cruising. I cannot stress this enough: THE SURVEYOR IS YOUR ADVOCATE! I'll add that you use an experienced sailor/surveyor. Mine was, and I made it clear to him that I wanted to know the exact state of the boat. I wanted him to nit-pick the daylights out of the boat. In the end, I felt informed, and knew well what I was getting into. I bought the boat, and due to an El Nino Winter, I had the boat trucked rather than sailed up the coast.
- stick to your budget. I would NOT spend the top-end of my budget, because there WILL be items that will need to be replaced or tended to maintenance-wise. Although my boat was in great shape when I purchased it, I've put in a couple of grand into it (BOAT = Bring Out Another Thou$and) to replace the running rigging, dock lines, and setting-up the interior to satisfy MY creature comforts. And I'm not done yet. The standing rigging will need replacing next season, and the sails in another two or three. Yes, ongoing replaceable items, but their lifespans were shortened from lack of use.
- Work with a surveyor. Work with a surveyor. Work with a surveyor. There are a LOT of boats out there for sale, and there's a reason that they're for sale. (I looked at a Hunter 34 that I thought was in great shape, until I found out that a sale had fallen through mid-survey.)
It's an exciting time for you! Good luck with your hunt!
EJ
I spend several nights a month in the Bay Area for work. Tired of hoteling it, I started looking for The Right Boat to spend my nights away from home on in the Fall of '15.
I started may search with Craig's List (CL), and Boat Trader. Boat trader quickly proved itself limited. CL, on the other-hand, had many prospects. What I found odd was that some sellers really were;t that interested in selling as much as they were gauging what their boat was worth. A total waste of a buyer's time. With this in mind, I approach subsequent prospects with the first question being, "why are they selling this boat?" I quickly concluded that (at least in my case) most boats that are for sale is because the owner used them less and less, and that bringing them up to a sound usable condition was 1) time/work, and 2) money. You WILL pick-up, maintanance-wise, where the current owner left-off.
I broadened my search from the Bay Area, and looked at a few boats in Newport to San Diego. The Right Boat was a 1989 Catalina 30 MkII. Lightly used, but maintained. Bought by the owners more for the social aspect of boating rather than for cruising. I cannot stress this enough: THE SURVEYOR IS YOUR ADVOCATE! I'll add that you use an experienced sailor/surveyor. Mine was, and I made it clear to him that I wanted to know the exact state of the boat. I wanted him to nit-pick the daylights out of the boat. In the end, I felt informed, and knew well what I was getting into. I bought the boat, and due to an El Nino Winter, I had the boat trucked rather than sailed up the coast.
- stick to your budget. I would NOT spend the top-end of my budget, because there WILL be items that will need to be replaced or tended to maintenance-wise. Although my boat was in great shape when I purchased it, I've put in a couple of grand into it (BOAT = Bring Out Another Thou$and) to replace the running rigging, dock lines, and setting-up the interior to satisfy MY creature comforts. And I'm not done yet. The standing rigging will need replacing next season, and the sails in another two or three. Yes, ongoing replaceable items, but their lifespans were shortened from lack of use.
- Work with a surveyor. Work with a surveyor. Work with a surveyor. There are a LOT of boats out there for sale, and there's a reason that they're for sale. (I looked at a Hunter 34 that I thought was in great shape, until I found out that a sale had fallen through mid-survey.)
It's an exciting time for you! Good luck with your hunt!
EJ