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Davidson 31


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Howdy all,

 

I'm in the hunt for an upgrade to my raven 26 (in time) to a more family friendly keeler, and am one of those blokes that can't quite make up my mind on what I'm after. I keep oscillating between gulf type cruisers to bomb proof coastal and offshore capable boats.

 

Lets not go there just now, but one of the boats that keep coming up are Davidson 31's. They look to have a nice layout, and seem like good value as a gulf / sounds type boat. I can't seem to find many thoughts on the either here or on the web. Anyone got any wisdom they could share?

 

 

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I believe that d31 does not preform as well as the d28.The d28 is big volume for size and is what may replace cav26.

my father had one and lived on it for for 8yrs and i enjoyed borrowing :oops: it.

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I want a D28, they look like a well laid out unit.

There are a lot around finished at home,wooden decks/cabin.  The old mans was glass top n bottom never saw any osmosis in hull.

most had a 10hp but he changed to a 15hp.the extra weight didnt appear to affect it.4 adults for 3 weeks one xmas with all our toys/gear and stll had room to move.  Unfortunately when he died we had just purchased our house so couldnt really take the yacht so sold for $2k less than what he paid 8 yrs earlier

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Are the wood cabin/glass hull ones ok?

suppose it comes down to who built/finished them off,boat builder/home handy man? seen some d28 little $15k up to $30k depends on gear I suppose.one sold at our club for $15k needed a window repair,bit of rot but having said that had all the gear 

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Quite a few options around that size and price range, Cav 30 & 32, Easterly 30, some Chico 30, D31, H28. All good boats, just depends on what your intended use will be and how quick you want to go.

Just be mindful that they are all getting a bit long in the tooth. In saying that, there are still some good ones around.

Having owned a Cav 32 I noticed that the D31 didn't point quite as high as the Cav 32 on the odd occasion that I lined up next to one. If you only intend to cruise it, who cares if you are a few deg lower.

No matter what boat you have, there is always some flash Harry who is going to come along and sail all over the top of you.  

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Those mid-80s build D31s on TM look nice. When I was a kid we had a Tasman 20 keeler, Raven 26 and then a Lotus 9.2. Each of these seemed like a quantum leap over the previous. The Lotus was a fantastic cruising/club racer type, pretty damn solid and no IOR design cues like many of the abovementioned. There are a bunch of others in the same ilk; D28, Marauder, Lidgard 29, Farr 9.2, Carpenter 29, Raven 31 and so on. Its amazing how 'affordable' some of these have become now. There are also some bloody good timber boats on the market. This one intrigued me.

 

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/auction-1372649240.htm

and

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/auction-1248901191.htm

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Some of the above mentioned designs are still not cheap if you want a good one. I guess you get what you pay for.

Agree about the Lotus 9.2 but once again not cheap for a good one. All of these 80s boats are ready for a repower so it pays to look for something that has been repowered.

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d28 d31 raven 26 etc end of an era really,all produced when we had a bouyant market,cavalier yachts compass yachts etc,now days it seems if you want a glass boat fairly newish ,appears to be imported,sad for the marine industry unless you build a mold lay up a hull and hope someone will buy your molds

 

As above,plenty of yachts around that fit my criteria but repower needed,my cav26 has a 40 yr yanmar 16hp ,does not use oil but its getting tired and to replace with a new motor $12/$16k fitting myself,not worth it,could fit a second hand 1gm but more than likely buying some elses trouble..

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Thanks guys. This is all really useful perspective. It'd be awesome to know what many of these listings are actually going for - seems like the market is still adjusting downwards from what I can see - lots of good boats for sale sitting around for a looooong time.

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