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A GRP Lotus 9.2 has come across my radar as a possible purchase but I have no personal experience of them. What are they like to sail single or short handed? How tender are they? How wet are they? How do they handle heavy weather? Could they get a Cat 1 if desired? Any issues or things to be aware of as they have aged? Weak points? What's the current purchase price range, not the advertised price range? 

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A GRP Lotus 9.2 has come across my radar as a possible purchase but I have no personal experience of them. What are they like to sail single or short handed? How tender are they? How wet are they? How do they handle heavy weather? Could they get a Cat 1 if desired? Any issues or things to be aware of as they have aged? Weak points? What's the current purchase price range, not the advertised price range? 

 

They're good boats.  Relatively heavy displacement amongst the typical 80's kiwi 30 foot designs like ross/young/farr/lidgard/whiting etc.  Also some would argue slightly under rigged - Alan Wright went on to design an updated version, the lotus 950 with a few minor tweaks including a bigger rig, so between the rig and the heavier displacement not especially tender.  With good sails and well sailed they still go ok and hold their own in club racing fleets.

 

Big volume inside for the 9.2m length.  Not sure on cat1, see no reason why not other than that they're small by todays offshore norm.  I'd imagine some have been offshore in the past although I don't know for sure.

 

Not aware of specific issues other than that some were factory finished and I think some may have been sold as hull and decks and finished by home builders meaning the quality of interior/fit out may vary.  Also worth checking any 30 year old glass boat for osmosis.  Other than that they do tend to be relatively expensive for an 80s 30 footer, people have still been asking 40-50 for them when tidy young 88s/whiting 29s etc are selling for 30ish and lotus 10.6's/farr 1020s/wright 10s etc are available for 50-70.

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Nice vid. Must admit I was very distracted by that green kite throwing its boat around in the background, so kinda missed the first couple of minutes ????

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Would you like me to jack you up a ride on one, I can easily do that. You can also chat to the owner who's had if for a while and both races and cruisers her. The boat is in Westhaven. If nothing else I'm sure the owner wouldn't mind having a chat about them.

 

PM a contact number/email if you're keen and I'll hook you up.

Thanks, I'll send you a PM.

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 Other than that they do tend to be relatively expensive for an 80s 30 footer, people have still been asking 40-50 for them when tidy young 88s/whiting 29s etc are selling for 30ish and lotus 10.6's/farr 1020s/wright 10s etc are available for 50-70.

 

The asking price for some boats certainly seems high given the age and condition and this is not just directed at the Lotus either. Some people must think boats are a financial investment and should hold or increase in value where they are really an investment in living.

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Met one from nelson down stewart island this year did the whole south island trip mostly solo so are capable enough boats nice big cockpits sailed with one in the early eightys up east coast of oz it crossed the tasman no worrys.theysail well if i remember right.

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I remember Peter doing the Fiji race with Blueprint back in the 70's so I know they can go offshore, just curious how they would go with passing the Cat 1 requirements these days.

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Cat 1 is no more difficult than it's ever been

There is often a flavour of the season as to who's getting tough on what, In some ways technology has made some things easier eg sat coms as apposed to ssb

You would need a stability index but I'm sure Allan can draw you a pretty picture

And be happy to spend at least 10 days getting to the islands, but then again we are all in a rush to get there but wish the trip had lasted longer when it's over (well I am anyway)

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We sold ours in December for 38k just to give you an indication of average price. No osmosis and recently updated rigging etc. Only sold as we wanted an offshore cruiser about 40ft otherwise we'd still be enjoying it! Spacious inside and easy to sail single handed. We went across Cook straight several times and it handled well even on one dodgy crossing. It was our first boat and we weren't (aren't!) experienced sailors, particularly me, but I felt safe in it and liked how simple it felt to sail. There's a decent fleet of them at Seaview in Wgtn if you want to find some fans of them.

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Have owned a 9.2 for seven years. Great boats. Very dry for a 30 footer, stick a bit downwind in light airs. Other than that they sail really well. We have owned. several yachts over the years and the 9.2 would be the best balanced by far and stands up really well and very seldom will they pound like a lot of more modern boats. Easy to sail by 2 60+ year old's.

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Our last Family keelboat back in the 1980s was a 9.2 (Sarney). Would agree with all the above a bit sticky in the light but handle and sail well.overall, roomy, stable etc etc. I was however surprised [at the time] that a relatively new boat would have osmosis, but by now most of them have probably had bum jobs. Great NZ cruiser/racer design IMO.  Usual advice; buy the best well maintained and continually sailed example you can afford, not some sad old shitter thats been sitting unused on a mooring for a decade.  

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Unfortunately this was a problem in a lot of Kiwi production boats of that era. A lot have probably had bottom jobs by now but is a good reason to engage a reputable marine surveyor when purchasing a second hand moored vessel. Insurance companies also require a recent survey certificate before they will insure the vessel and insurance is a requirement in all marinas now.

There are still a lot of good older kiwi boats around that have been well maintained or had significant upgrades done.

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So don't write off older boats too fast nor write off a class due to only one boat. You may just be missing a poorly described gem going for a silly price.

 

absolutely true. on the other hand, if this sort of thing is not done well, it can be a disaster. that means the buyer really has to do his homework in order to figure out where on the gem-to-disaster spectrum a boat lies. that takes work, and hence why buyers tend to stick to class boats...

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