Boat owners, check in here.

[george graves]

I want to see what fellow r3v'er have. Power or sail.

I can't help to see that boat prices are reasonable - or maybe I'm crazy. But you can pick up a something like a Catlaina 27 sail boat for used e30 prices.

[flyboyx]

i am an ex boat owner. i used to live in north galveston county in a boating community called kemah. having a boat was the thing to do so i went out and purchased a 26 foot robalo center console with a pair of counter rotating 200 yamaha's hanging off the back. the boat was incredibly fast. it could do almost 60knots wide open. the reason i sold it was because i spent about 6x more time working on it than i did enjoying it. mostly the carburetors. i could never get it to run right for any decent length of time.

since you live in seattle, i would assume any boat you buy will have been affected by salt water and have corrosion issues similar to what we have down here.

the catalina's you are looking at were a very popular boat in their day. there are still tons of them around and parts are really easy to find. they are pretty cheap unless they are fitted with diesel power. the boat is pretty cramped but there is enough room below deck so you and your wife can spend the night on it without the compelling urge to throw one another overboard.

if you have the time for another almost full time project, i say go for it. boats need continuous maintenance and lots of it. probably to the point where it is a drudgery to even look at it. especially in a salt water environment where you live. boats generally have tons of deferred maintenance exponentially higher than an e30. there is a reason why they say the best boat is the one your friend owns and lets you use.

paying for storage kind of sucks. since its a catalina, you can't just drop the mast, throw it on a trailer and park it in your driveway when you aren't using it. i don't know the cost in your area, but you would want to check on it before you buy. i promise it will be a big expense.

[McGyver]

I can't help to see that boat prices are reasonable - or maybe I'm crazy. But you can pick up a something like a Catlaina 27 sail boat for used e30 prices.

I've been looking into sail boats for the past year or so because I really want to get into sailing. (I check CL daily) I've been out on my old boss' 46.5 ft Hunter and learned the basics of sailing, that's when I caught the bug.

I think I've settled on something in the 26-32 foot range with settees instead of a table, pump head instead of portapotti, inboard engine, fin keel, spade rudder, and a tiller. My goal is enough room for weekend bay/coastal cruises with up to 5 or 6 people getting cozy.

Many things are easy DIY fixes, but deck rot is not really one of them. Leaking chain plates can be a huge hassle and can cause lots of hidden damage. Older boats might still have the original gate valves (instead of proper sea cocks) that break and will make you sink. Make sure you get an engine with the boat as part of the deal. An engine (like an Atomic 4) with a boat increases the price like $500-$1000, a used engine outside of a boat is $1000-$2000. Also, watch out for rusted keel bolts on Catalinas. They call it the "Catalina Smile" as the keel starts to sag and eventually falls off if it isn't fixed in time.

[beta14ok]

I'm in for Dinghy sailing & racing & own a 1947 wooden Thistle #153.

[Gerta]

Hey George ... Picking up a C&C Mk III 27' sailboat in two weeks. Replacing my car needs with sailing. Since I am buying the boat in Canada it is really reasonable costwise, even with the importing.

[Gerta]

I'm in for Dinghy sailing & racing & own a 1947 wooden Thistle #153.

That thing is sweet!

[BlackbirdM3]

I don't own any boats, but from time to time I get to crew on some cool stuff. Here are a few pics from last year when I got to crew aboard the 1908 Schooner "Martha" during the SFYC Great Schooner Race on SF bay.

Martha also took part in the TRANSPAC race from Long Beach to Hawaii. At 108 years old she was the oldest boat to ever enter the race. She finished well, and beat many newer yachts.







Martha at the start of the SF Master Mariners Race last year.


I'm hoping to do some crewing aboard the "Mayan" this year




Martha's home port is Port Townsend Washington. If anyone is in the area go say hello. Currently she is hauled out after last years nearly 10K miles of sailing. (Impressive for a 108 year old wooden sailboat) She sails great, makes nearly 12 kts under the right conditions. A very solid and well built boat.

Will

[Keith M]

My brother owns and races a J/24 and Mumm 36. The amount of time required to keep both of the in tip top shape discouraged me from ever owning a boat.

[M-technik-3]

No mention of the The Three "F's" Fly's Float's or Fuck's aka cheap to rent em vs buying one.

[McGyver]

Any small (26-30 ft) boat owners around to chime in with personal experiences, things they'd do differently?

[gwb72tii]

i've had my two happiest days as a boater, the day i bought a boat ad the day i sold it

actually i'm down to one boat, a 15' Lido. It's a sloop, very fun and thousands have been made so class racing is popular. my boat is #158 and is competetive with Lido's made today.

[J.Rizo]

all I can think about after seeing this thread is Dennis explaining to Mac why girls wont say no... because of the implication...

[ajhostetter]

I'm a Lightinng guy. See sig. Just sold hull #12871 "Dandy Lion" to another Denver sailor and will be campaigning #13991 "Randy Lion" for the 2016 season. We did get to test Randy's flotation in a 50+ gale at Ruedi Resevoir last July. She floats upside down.

Ray makes me jealous.

[george graves]

Amazing pics some of you posted - Damn, some of those pics are insane.

I'm not totally new to boats - I use to be a grinder/rail meat on a 40' doing the Wednesdays rum races, and Sunday stuff out of Santa Barbara. I quit after a while, as being a racing boat - I wanted to learn more about everything - and there really is no time on a racing boat to teach.

We went out once in 20 knot , had a round up, and dipped our mast in the water running down wind with the spinnaker up. That was insane on a boat that size.



I looked at 22' boats, and 30' boats. The sweet spot seems to be 27'. You get a proper head, and maybe a shower. A real forward berth sleeping area (I'm 6'2") 30' seems way to big to take out without experienced help. 22' is too small for anything more then a day cruise.

As someone mentioned - I would love to rent and not own a boat - but you can't really rent a 27' sail boat.

I've been following this youtube channel - and it so amazing: https://www.youtube.com/user/wwwYachtTeleportCom

[mcm185]

Had a nice wakeboat for a few years when living in Charlotte on Lake Norman. We sold it when we moved to Houston but we board almost every weekend on a friends mastercraft x45. Here is a pic of my old boat, never got a pic of it with the m3! Should have got them together.

Boat


m3



Have a thing for red I guess.