Looking for recommendations for a 30 - 40 ft liveaboard keeler

[Vin 7]

4 hours ago, harrytom said:

Be interesting to see final sale price. There appears to be water leak in the head,coaming looks wet and going black so could be the start of a minor proplem.

$13100 final price.

[Zozza 263]

1 minute ago, Vin said:

$13100 final price.

Not you?

[Vin 7]

9 minutes ago, Zozza said:

Not you?

Naw, I set my limit at 8, hoping for a bargain haha. Too much risk buying sight unseen at any price over that (for me at least!)

Probably still a bargain for the new owner though.

[Zozza 263]

"Probably still a bargain for the new owner though".

Not sure about that.  Owner admitted engine was old and not trouble free -- figure $25-30K for a new one...and then you have installation fees and other things that go with diesels.....

[Vivaldi 45]

5 hours ago, harrytom said:

Be interesting to see final sale price. There appears to be water leak in the head,coaming looks wet and going black so could be the start of a minor proplem.

Sold - $13,100. 

[Vivaldi 45]

22 minutes ago, Zozza said:

Not you?

No - I’ve got the boat I want already

[wheels 543]

There is one very important point I have not seen discussed. We really need to know what the "cruising" part means. If you want to cruise around the World, you need to plan on any low budget purchase right now as nothing more than a stepping stone. The cost and in some cases the ability of getting an old Boat that has never met Cat1 to that standard today, will make the idea near impossible. Anyone looking for Cat1 really needs to be looking for a Boat that has been there, done the journey and returned home again and the owners looking at selling. Then the list and expense of achieving Cat one will only be daunting, not impossible.

[Black Panther 1,415]

23 minutes ago, wheels said:

There is one very important point I have not seen discussed. We really need to know what the "cruising" part means. If you want to cruise around the World, you need to plan on any low budget purchase right now as nothing more than a stepping stone. The cost and in some cases the ability of getting an old Boat that has never met Cat1 to that standard today, will make the idea near impossible. Anyone looking for Cat1 really needs to be looking for a Boat that has been there, done the journey and returned home again and the owners looking at selling. Then the list and expense of achieving Cat one will only be daunting, not impossible.

If I were in that position right now I would be buying offshore. 

[waikiore 321]

Unfortunately BP is right what you get for your dollar offshore is hugely expanded

[Vin 7]

15 hours ago, aardvarkash10 said:

somewhere we covered the cost of cheap yachts and I did estimates on SO so far (almost two years).

$14k purchase, about $1k on purchase costs (inspection report etc)

Replaced water tanks, new water pump and taps, depth sounder, antifouled (stripped to the sealer coat and refinished with undercoat and 3x antifoul) new sail cover and dodger, minor rot repair in the cabin top, new fridge, added 130w solar, new house battery replacement anchor, recovered squabs, recarpeted, fitted secondary winches, engine out and replaced exhaust mixer elbow and rear main oil seal, fitted LED strip lighting and replaced all other bulbs with LED, new autopilot, minor repairs to anchor winch.

About to replace the diesel lift pump.  This winter she will be hauled, antifoul redone and topsides repainted, possibly decks as well if I get excited.

This is not taking it to Zozza's level, just maintenance and a few little improvements.  All DIY except the canvas work.

The antifoul was about $600 in materials, haul, four weeks on the hardstand (start of last years lock down...) and probably 5 to 8 days of my labour on and off. We ended up garnet blasting rather than sanding to save effort, that added $800, but was a misquote and should have been closer to $1500.  Ended up around $2000 all up, could have been closer to $3k if the sand blasting guy was an asshole.  He wasn't.

Canvaswork was about $3k all up.

I'm picking 3k a year in maintenance as a good working value.  Anything less and we would be falling behind.

Insurance is about $1k a year, mooring about $2.8k

Coastguard is an insurance cost from my pov, thats another hundy or so.

 

This is approx what I had down in my budgeting spreadsheet for ongoing annual maintenance costs, good to know I'm not too far off the mark.

3 hours ago, wheels said:

There is one very important point I have not seen discussed. We really need to know what the "cruising" part means. If you want to cruise around the World, you need to plan on any low budget purchase right now as nothing more than a stepping stone. The cost and in some cases the ability of getting an old Boat that has never met Cat1 to that standard today, will make the idea near impossible. Anyone looking for Cat1 really needs to be looking for a Boat that has been there, done the journey and returned home again and the owners looking at selling. Then the list and expense of achieving Cat one will only be daunting, not impossible.

For me, with the experience I have, and the budget constraints, cruising means sticking between Bay of Plenty and Bay of Islands (at least for the first year), with a considerable amount of time spent messing about in the Waitemata harbour and Hauraki gulf/GBI while finding my feet (I've been away from sailing for a fair few years now and feeling a bit rusty).

If we end up falling in love with the cruising/liveaboard life and it works with the practical constraints of our jobs, I would definitely consider a bluewater boat for getting up to the islands (and beyond!), but we'd likely be going all in at that point and spending a bit of money on something quite a bit bigger and more comfortable.

So this first boat does not need to be capable of crossing an ocean, it just needs to be safe and comfortable enough for coastal cruising on the northeast coast of the north island.
 

2 hours ago, Black Panther said:

If I were in that position right now I would be buying offshore. 

I did have a quick look at the possibility of buying something in central America (Panama!) and cruising the Caribbean, but with the COVID situation and constantly changing visa requirements, it all became too difficult. Maybe if we get to the stage of committing to the liveaboard cruising life and want a capable bluewater boat we could revisit the idea, but I don't think it's on the cards at the moment.

[Zozza 263]

23 minutes ago, Vin said:

 

So this first boat does not need to be capable of crossing an ocean, it just needs to be safe and comfortable enough for coastal cruising on the northeast coast of the north island.
 

 

Raven 26 then.  No question about it.  Cheap, oodles of room for a 26 footer - more like a 30 footer, and can take a lot of punishment weather wise

Did I mention that my friend Annie Hill converted a Raven to Junk RIg a few years ago?.... heh heh, any excuse to plug Junk Rig!
 

 

[Vin 7]

Hmm I'm immediately sceptical of a 26 ft having enough space for two people long-term, but I'll add it to the list. A small boat would be cheaper to keep!

 

[Vin 7]

So that John Spencer 39 still hasn't sold.

I've asked about it earlier in the thread, but thought I'd mention it again in case anybody had any additional input.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/listing/3456493799?bof=oKXpt8xv

It's looking quite attractive for the price due to the large water tanks, water heater, etc. There's a lot already there that I wouldn't need to do myself to get her comfortable as a liveaboard. Just under 12m as well.

In the ad it mentions a full rebuild in mid 2000s. Is anybody familiar with the yacht and knows what was done for this rebuild? I'd feel a lot more confident in buying a GOP boat if it had (somewhat) recently had any rotten ply replaced and reglassed.

 

I've also been looking at a couple of Shoalcraft 30s.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/listing/3455331354?bof=oKXpt8xv

The lifting centerboard sounds quite appealing for coastal cruising. Hull is GRP with foam core so might provide a little extra insulation for those colder months of the year.

I like the idea of being able to take advantage of shallow moorings, and anchoring close to the beach. They seem very comfortable and beamy too (3.2m!). I'm a little concerned about the motion at anchor with the weight sitting a bit higher.

Any thoughts on the Shoalcraft 30?

[aardvarkash10 846]

5 hours ago, Vin said:

In the ad it mentions a full rebuild in mid 2000s.

Mid-2000's is now 15 years ago - plenty of time for a small leak or poor maintenance to have had an impact.

My advice is that if ANY yacht ticks the majority of your boxes and, but for a bit of certainty about its condition, you want to buy it, get a survey done with the owner of the boat covering survey costs OR repairs to make good if anything untoward is identified.

That way you get peace of mind and a fallback position if there is a problem identified later.  You also have a survey report which will make insurance and mooring MUCH easier.

[Black Panther 1,415]

And don't panic. Replacing a bit of ply is pretty easy.

[John B 100]

I like the Shoalcraft . Cal Crookes design, Bob Hinds built the hull and decks, most finished off at owner's  home. Many have that little sprit added which says they needed some sailplan adjustment, a common mod. 

You won't be enjoying beating home to westhaven in a snotty souwester in one but if you shift your expectations to close reaching places , no sweat. Compensated for the fact you'll be anchoring in a metre of water or snugged up tight to the mangroves or beach in a gale, seems like a good trade to me. 

It's all been said above but the big ticket items need to be right. Motor, motor and motor, followed by sails and rig, and inventory. Assuming hull integrity is good of course.

Buying someone's baby is the smart direction as opposed to doing up something from a run down condition. How many times have we seen that, a known boat with 100s of k spent on upgrades or maintenance goes to market and achieves 1/2 or a third what is spent.

Get that boat.

If it was 130 k budget  I'd say buy Forever, that's not a boat you'd be buying, it's a passport to paradise and freedom.

 

Edit. If Chico 30s and cav 32s and the like are on the list then have a look at D28s as well. They punch above their weight for volume and performance.

Lotus 9.2 isn't in your budget but those boats are cavernous for their length and great mid to heavy air boats, in other words, for cruising. A bit newer and often nicely finished off.

[aardvarkash10 846]

another well worth a look at this price.  I have no connection ot it, just looks to fit the profile I described earlier - an orphan representing good value,

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/listing/3470350485?bof=VazwFfQX

[Vin 7]

55 minutes ago, aardvarkash10 said:

another well worth a look at this price.  I have no connection ot it, just looks to fit the profile I described earlier - an orphan representing good value,

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/listing/3470350485?bof=VazwFfQX

I've just seen that come up and have enquired about a viewing. Looks like it could be a good option.

[khayyam 59]

On 11/02/2022 at 5:21 PM, aardvarkash10 said:

 

My advice is that if ANY yacht ticks the majority of your boxes and, but for a bit of certainty about its condition, you want to buy it, get a survey done with the owner of the boat covering survey costs OR repairs to make good if anything untoward is identified.

 

I'd think you're going to have a hard time finding people selling 20k boats who are going to agree to this...

[Vin 7]

Hi all. 

Due to this process taking much longer than I originally expected, the budget is slowly creeping up, and I'm able to look at boats up to $30k now, which has opened things up a bit.

It's been a fun few months looking at different boats and starting to get an idea of what's important to me (headroom!). living in Hamilton makes this a little bit difficult so whenever I need to travel to Auckland for work I try and line up a viewing of a likely looking boat (makes the trip a bit more fun too).

I got on-board a Lotus 9.2 last week, which on paper sounded perfect. Very beamy with a good layout and lots of space. Unfortunately, there was very little headroom throughout, and I was crouching half the time! I also didn't fit in the V berth (I'm 6'3). The Lotus would have been great if I was 6 inches shorter.

This Stewart 34 (Paragon) caught my eye recently: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/yachts/keeler/listing/3574194935?bof=3ZnSqmsN

It seems a bit odd with the aft cabin layout, but having the separation of sleeping and living quarters might be quite nice. Was this a one-off unicorn? Or are there other aft cabin Stewarts floating around. Does anybody know any of the history of this particular example? Any idea on cabin headroom on one of these?