Would these items be deal breakers when buying a boat?

Mar 27, 2012
312
Seaward Fox Washougal WA
This seems like a great buy on this boat. We have been on it and the interior is gorgeous and the outside needs some work. For the price it seems like a good buy, but I am not familiar with "black iron fuel tanks" and "box section Alaskan cedar mast". Are these things to avoid? Deal breakers in any of your opinions? There is very little info on the web regarding these boats. I think there were only 9 built but seems to be positive info. Or maybe the only info was from when the owners were trying to sell theirs? Here is the boat:

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1978/Anastasia-32-Custom-2631504/Our-Docks%2C-Portland/OR/United-States#.Uy8WuRdOXIU
 

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
If memory serves, "black iron" is a low carbon content iron that resists rust and doesn't corrode easily. I have seen a few "black iron" ships well over 100 years old in remarkably good condition. However it is a very soft metal, therefor it has limited uses. I would think it fine for diesel fuel tanks.
Wooden box section masts were the standard in wooden masts before the alloy spars came into being. However most were made of Sitka Spruce; I've not heard of a "box section Alaskan cedar mast". I would inspect the mast very, very carefully for rot, especially wherever a bolt or screw enters the wood. Also, check the glue joints of this mast; if they are delaminating, you have a problem. Extra caution if the mast is painted; a varnished spar is much easier to inspect. If it is indeed spruce and not cedar (maybe cedar is OK, I just don't know), then with proper care and maintenance you will have a spar that is so much nicer and quieter than any alloy spar.
 

RECESS

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Dec 20, 2003
1,505
Pearson 323 . St. Mary's Georgia
I would keep looking. There are better deals than that in that price range for a late 70s early 80s boat. Also remember that some people that are selling this era boats that are extremely well cared for are people in their 70s and 80s and do not use the internet. Call or stop by as many marinas as you can, the best deals are usually posted on the community board or word of mouth.
 
Mar 27, 2012
312
Seaward Fox Washougal WA
I would keep looking. There are better deals than that in that price range for a late 70s early 80s boat. Also remember that some people that are selling this era boats that are extremely well cared for are people in their 70s and 80s and do not use the internet. Call or stop by as many marinas as you can, the best deals are usually posted on the community board or word of mouth.
Great, another reason to walk the docks! I'm in :dance:
 
Mar 27, 2012
312
Seaward Fox Washougal WA
If memory serves, "black iron" is a low carbon content iron that resists rust and doesn't corrode easily. I have seen a few "black iron" ships well over 100 years old in remarkably good condition. However it is a very soft metal, therefor it has limited uses. I would think it fine for diesel fuel tanks.
Wooden box section masts were the standard in wooden masts before the alloy spars came into being. However most were made of Sitka Spruce; I've not heard of a "box section Alaskan cedar mast". I would inspect the mast very, very carefully for rot, especially wherever a bolt or screw enters the wood. Also, check the glue joints of this mast; if they are delaminating, you have a problem. Extra caution if the mast is painted; a varnished spar is much easier to inspect. If it is indeed spruce and not cedar (maybe cedar is OK, I just don't know), then with proper care and maintenance you will have a spar that is so much nicer and quieter than any alloy spar.
I was there on a really rainy day and didn't pay much attention to the mast. Now that I look at the picture, it looks painted. I will really need to check closely. Thanks
 
Mar 27, 2012
312
Seaward Fox Washougal WA
I will say we went and looked at her on a day (week) that was very heavy rain and it was as dry as a bone. My wife gives every candidate the sniff test on first step of companionway step and if she detects any unpleasant odor she will not go below. This boat passes with flying colors.
 
Jul 1, 1998
3,062
Hunter Legend 35 Poulsbo/Semiahmoo WA
Wood decks?

Gorgeous interior! They don't make 'em like that anymore! Beautiful! And what appears to be nice layout. Galley looks nice. Refrigeration?

While looking at some of the pictures I notice what appears to be the underside of the deck and there are wood beams and what may be the underside of the deck - in wood. So a question would be: Are the decks wood or is what we're seeing just a wood covering? If the latter, then the builder paid a huge amount of attention to detail. If the former, then wood decks can be more of a maintenance problem. But then so can fiberglass decks with a wood interior.

The reason for varnishing the wood mast was to make it so one could see better if there were any defects. Obviously a painted mast will cover up any defect except for the most egregious ones.

The Yacht World ad didn't say if the hull was fiberglass or wood. The coachroof with it's rounded corners looks like it is fiberglass so the deck may be too.

Iron tanks may not be a deal-breaker if they can be reasonably accessed for replacement but most likely there would have to be a lot of cabinetry removal.

A 32-footer offshore could be a little tough on the motion sickness end of things. A couple friends of ours had a 32 with plans to circumnavigate and went from Seattle to Mexico, then as far as Tahiti, but canceled out of going further due to the boat's motion. Went to Hawaii and back to Seattle where they sold her and bought a 41 footer.
 
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
The ad says fiberglass hull. That probably means a wood hull with a fiberglass wrapper...... and a wood deck with FG over.
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
I think I read that they only made 7 boats in between 1978 and 1979. Obviously those interiors are not original and I can see how a PO could have spent 10 years in hand crafting the gorgeous work of art. The interiors alone could be worth the asking price. Can't help you with the mast as probably could not identify what Alaskan Cedar may look like. The big ticket item are the hull, the auxiliary engine, the sails, the standing riggin and instrumentation; survey them to insure their condition. If all is in working order and the sails are fairly new that price could be a steal.
 

RECESS

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Dec 20, 2003
1,505
Pearson 323 . St. Mary's Georgia
My wife and I owned a fiberglass over wood Egg Harbor 37'. There is nothing that will bring you back to reality when you hear 3 ribs need to be replaced. You better have serious wood working skills or a deep wallet. People that have those skills are getting more difficult to find and they can charge a well deserved premium.
 

higgs

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Aug 24, 2005
3,627
Nassau 34 Olcott, NY
This is my kind of boat and at 30k, assuming she surveys good, it would be hard to get a better off shore cruiser. If they are asking 30, you gotta figure you can get it for at least 27k. You cannot beat a full keeler for a nice ride and excellent tracking. Of course, you gotta look at sails, but only 120 hrs on engine is a plus. I do think she may be a bit underpowered. Is it a two cylinder or a three. A two will give you a little rougher ride, of course. I'm guessing with 6k of lead she must weigh in somewhere around 18k which is heavy for 21 horse and a 2 blade prop. I would google Bruce Bingham and see if you can contact him.
 
Sep 28, 2008
922
Canadian Sailcraft CS27 Victoria B.C.
Based on the numbers here http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=7276 I can see why so few were built. Low ballast ratio, one of the lowest sail area/disp ratios on any boat around. It is fiberglass. Bruce Bingham got it right with the Flicka but not with this one. It outweighs a Westsail 32 by almost 2000 lbs (not including weight added by a previous owner) with a D/L of 597. Sail area/displacement a paltry 13.21. Pretty low ballast ratio as well. Looks well kept with a nice (heavy) interior.

To give you an idea of how it compares to other full keel boats Hal Roth's Whisper was 3' longer, displaced about 13,000 lbs, and had a displacement/length ration of 347. Considered heavy today but a lightweight compared to this one.



There are many good boats available at great prices. I would keep looking.
 
May 16, 2012
90
Catalina Capri 22 IL
I was there on a really rainy day and didn't pay much attention to the mast. Now that I look at the picture, it looks painted. I will really need to check closely. Thanks
This may be somewhat off topic but there is a trick to looking closely at YachtWorld pictures. Right click on the picture of the boat you want and select "Copy URL" or something similar. You'll get a URL like this.

http://newimages.yachtworld.com/res...0071_1_XLARGE.jpg&w=606&h=467&t=1375132405000


Then simply remove everything after the first .jpg and question mark so that it look like this.

http://newimages.yachtworld.com/resize/1/37/79/4423779_20130729131100071_1_XLARGE.jpg

If you put that link in a web browser, now you get a full sized image of the boat. I've seen many details that were missed with the smaller images.
 

Lelo

.
Jan 24, 2014
5
Pearson 27 Pensacola
Is a sweet market.

If you like the boat, buy it!
Have the boat pull out in the hard. Have a surveyor look at the bottom. Shaft, rudder an prop. An last a good cleaning/bottom paint. The mast? They are a dime a dozen this day. A good upgrade for you to do in the future. Tank? Another upgrade. Make sure you got good filters. Engine? Looks like a Universal 3 bangger (kubota) The rest? Elbow grease. And that last is always needed. Go sailing for your decision. My .20 cents.
 
Nov 26, 2008
1,966
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
Most trawlers of that vintage had black iron tanks and most have had to be replaced by now. How hard will access be to cut it out and get something else in?
The excessive weight and small sail plan means it is for all practical purposes, slow; or a motorsailor. Plan accordingly.
 
Sep 29, 2008
36
Hunter 33 Toronto
I have a 1981 Hunter 33, Cherubini design selling for $23,500 CDN that has been in fresh water only. A great boat and in great shape. In the Toronto area. Look for it on Kijiji,
 
Jan 22, 2008
53
Macgregor 21 MN
Not a wooden hull. Deck and house is wood sheathed with fiberglass. Read the description, look at the pictures... Although the builder (Northstar) specs say over 21,000#; displacement is a moving target for a kit boat... This isn't a Hunter or Pearson, that's for sure. As they would say, a good sea boat... and you don't have to go far or fast to enjoy this one with the sparkling interior. Not a lot of brightwork above decks means less maintenance, too.
 
Jun 29, 2010
1,287
Beneteau First 235 Lake Minnetonka, MN
So here is my slightly educated 2 cents. Yes the interior is very nice and yes that is what is high on an Admiral's list but, you don't sail an interior and the maintenance on that is going to be a wee bit o'work. And yeah, the data points don't lie on this. Heavy and slow. Sure you can "ride it out" probably but, that get's old, getting pounded and bobbing in a blow. As I said, just my slightly educated 2 cents....
 

FredMG

.
Mar 21, 2014
1
Sailor None LI, NY
Black iron fuel tanks

This seems like a great buy on this boat. We have been on it and the interior is gorgeous and the outside needs some work. For the price it seems like a good buy, but I am not familiar with "black iron fuel tanks" and "box section Alaskan cedar mast". Are these things to avoid? Deal breakers in any of your opinions? There is very little info on the web regarding these boats. I think there were only 9 built but seems to be positive info. Or maybe the only info was from when the owners were trying to sell theirs? Here is the boat:

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1978/Anastasia-32-Custom-2631504/Our-Docks%2C-Portland/OR/United-States#.Uy8WuRdOXIU
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Black Iron is just that. Cold steel without a lot of carbon. It rusts!

Many black iron tanks rust through from the outside, namely where water stands on top by leaking around the fuel fills. If the owner routinely washed and dryed the standing water, if any, from the top, you are fine. Have the surveyor check on top. If he is a veteren surveyor he will already know to do this. Grand Banks are the worst offenders and the tanks have to be cut out and replaced with a series of smaller tanks. Or remove the engines...or...as a boat yard in Snead Island, FL has been known to do...cut out the bottom of the boat and lower the tanks out and patch the holes.


The sulfur in diesel reacts with a galvanized coating, so the "black iron" actually may be preferable http://www.purdue.edu/envirosoft/fuel/src/tankpipe.htm

An acquaintance of mine had to replace the tanks in his Albin. Rather than remove the engine to get the tanks out, he cut the old tanks up in the boat and removed them. Then he had 4 smaller tanks made to go in the same place the original two had been and put them in himself. I think the new tanks were aluminum.

The Anatasia was a Bruce Bingham design, I think originally intended for ferrocement. Somewhere I have his old, original catalog. I also met him while he and Katy Burke, his then co-designer and main squeeze were living/sailing on Sabrina, their Flicka 20. He claimed it did 7 knots, and since it was blowing like stink out in Long Island Sound, he decided to show me and a few others. We were out on a close reach I think, well heeled over, and the knotmeter read 6.8 knots. I asked him about his thoughts on ferro cement, since he had wrote an "Enclopedia of Ferro Cement Boatbuilding", a copy of which is in my personal library. He said "We don't talk about that any more." and he didn't say another word. I think he's the real thing, good designer, great at designing/drawing/illustrating any boating details you want. The Anastasia you're looking at is likely a fantastic boat, and at under $30K, I'd have a surveyor check it thoroughly, and not worry about the black iron tanks as the overall boat. If the tanks are bad, just use them as a bargaining point to get the boat at a lower price. You don't find many cruising boats that look like they're that well build and finished at that price. As for the wood mast, also have it checked. I had a wood mast break at the spreaders once, due to water intrusion. The mast was sheathed in fiberglass which prevented adequate checking the wood. I'm an engineer/boat designer (retired) and was able to redesign a mast and build it for that particular boat (a 25'er). If the mast is ok, just maintain it well and it should last a long time. Hope this helps you!