A good buy?

[ballystick 72]

A Farr 38 on Trademe looks to be a super good buy for a person with the skills https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/auction-2186431355.htm?rsqid=9dae92b4904047a5a33da1fdeeb6bad1-002

[raz88 96]

It was on our pier at westhaven a year or so back and I had a reasonably good look at it. Seemed well kept and regularly maintained. I'd say it's a hell of a lot of boat for that money!

[DrWatson 372]

„various altered percussion and moisture soundings on decks and cabin tops; Could be bargin for a savvy boatbuilder.“

 

I‘d say that could be 20k right there, maybe more...

[waikiore 398]

There was a period where these Compass built Farr 38's had to have two inspectors look before signing off for cat 1. In particular the flat area at the back of the keel generally needed timber reinforcement to ensure the hulls integrity in case of touching terra firma .

[philstar 61]

yep sounds like she's got the pox, I'd be surprised if she didn't. 

My father had a lotus 10.6 and the osmosis job on her was around 15k 

[ballystick 72]

It doesn't look to have the pox, most older fibreglass boats can get blistering rather than the osmosis type thing that occurred on boats older than these. Actually reading the report and sorting out the actual faults clears the situation - as spoken by a fellow Farr 38 owner!

[Priscilla II 387]

As the Doctor observes the percussion and moisture irregularities are deck and cabin top not hull below the waterline related.

Would you take it on depends on the depth and width of your wallet.

Soft decks and topside structures can lead to costly complex fixes.

Monies that are spent on fixes and never returned are a common economic feature / reality of yachting.

IMHO at that price bracket it would be a wise move to reach a bit further spend wise and purchase a less initially troubled craft.

[Clipper 343]

Depends if you want to work on it yourself or pay someone. DIY and you will get a great value boat.

[Priscilla II 387]

Could be a bargain for a savvy boatbuilder means not diy territory.

[marinheiro 352]

There was a period where these Compass built Farr 38's had to have two inspectors look before signing off for cat 1. In particular the flat area at the back of the keel generally needed timber reinforcement to ensure the hulls integrity in case of touching terra firma .

The problem with the glass Farr 38's was that they had a moulded stub keel but the floors only bridged the stub, they did not extend down to it. Not sure if this was how the Farr office designed it or was by Compass Yachts.

This meant you contacted ground there was nothing to stop the keel rotating, ie trying to pull the front keel bolt thru the bottom of the stub and push the back of the keel up into it. First boat to experience this was Peter Walker's Firecracker, ironically at the time he was partner with Farr.

There were various solutions employed to alleviate this. I sailed on Flight Path and she had heavy galvanised steel plates from the front and rear floors to the respective keel bolts. These proved their worth when she hit a rock at 7 kts.

Other solutions were used eg on Titoki the whole stub was filled with timber .

The comment from Mate about steel floors is not quite correct, the floors were fibreglass but steel was used to alleviate the problem