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cheap raven 26 on trademe


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 have been trawling through trademe .Wife and I are looking to buy our first small keel boat  and have noticed what looks to be a tidy raven 26 on trademe named sandman . are these a good first small yacht ? what are the things to look for when looking at a boat like this ? we are looking more for a floating caravan than a racer . previous sailing experince has been 12ft surf cat and p class when younger . also crewing in winter series at local cruising club . any tips apprecited  ! cheers 

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11 hours ago, aardvarkash10 said:

take extreme care.  The vendor has a somewhat unsavoury reputation.

Others may comment on the virtues of Ravens.  There are many, virtues and rRvens.

Yeah pass that one over , not the best person to buy your first boat off ….ask nathan on the weekend about his experience selling a boat to him 

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Nice  design for first boat, good reputation for sailing kindly, plenty of room. But- please be careful and have the fibreglass hull properly surveyed, boats of this era did have some problems with osmosis.

Also, from personal experience, read the above two comments re the vendor.

Best first boat for me in all aspects would be a Tracker

Good luck

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3 hours ago, waikiore said:

Great first boat and when new Sandman was a good one, be very sus of the engine and the vendor -he is a boat trader of the worst sort.

he is also trying to off load a cheap h28,keep looking

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Thanks everyone for the advice I'll give this boat a pass. If it looks to good to be true maybe it is. Also thinking if we're. Looking at a small keeler there would be easier maintenance and cheaper repairs with an outboard over and inboard? 

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I can't comment on the maintenance issues because the boats my family owned and my subsequent boats were a lot younger than these boats are now.  But I can comment on the sailing and cruising qualities of the Raven, Tracker and the Reactor.  My family had a Raven around the late '70s/early 80s.  I had two Reactors at different times (and raced couple of others), and did a lot of racing (and cruising in company) on/with a friend's Tracker.

I would echo what has been said about the Raven.  If you can get past the looks, they offer significant space below for their length, are a very dry boat to sail, handle beautifully and are a great sea boat.  They have a couple of "features" - not problems, just functions of the design.  As a slack bilged hull they tend to take up a few degrees of heel when at anchor or on a mooring in a strong wind.  The high deck forward caused the boat to sometimes "hunt" on its anchor in a breeze.  These features are of course totally unimportant.  Great boats if in good condition.

The Tracker is, on average, just a little quicker but this is unimportant for cruising.  We had a lot of fun with the Tracker and they are good boats too.  Not quite as much room below as the Raven.  Alan Wright limited the beam to 8'2"/2.5m so they could be put on a trailer within standard limits.  The Raven beam is 8'9"/2.7m.  The Tracker is a little lighter (though certainly not light by modern standards) and so a little more lively in a seaway.

I agree with Sabre's comment re outboards.  When the going gets tough, being able to motor to windward or motor/sail while keeping the propeller in the water keeps a nervous family and young children happy.

The Reactor has not been mentioned in the other posts but is a boat of similar length and age.  It is my favourite of the three, but is also the one with the least interior volume and (arguably) the slowest too - by just a little.  It is my choice as a pocket offshore cruiser, but as that is not on the cards for you, the Raven - or Tracker - would be a better and roomier choice.

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