About to buy a boat

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Eric79

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I'm thinking of buying a boat, a 16ft sailing yacht. I know the current owner and he is a engineer who's also a perfectionist and workaholic so I'm reasonably confident it will be in good condition. Plus he's offered me an amazing price. I'm a bit of a novice so could anyone give me so tips on what to look out for? I'm going to see it on Friday. The other problems is the current owner has no idea of its make or model which I understand could cause me problems insuring it. How would I go about identifying it? Thanks in advance for any help.
 
If you have the time, post anything you know about the boat and someone may well have good advice for you. Is it wood or GRP? What type of keel? Does it have an engine and what type? Does it have any electrical systems? Is a cooker fitted? And yes, take loads of photos when your looking at it to help your memory whilst you're deciding whether to buy - and to post here for identification.

During the first few weeks of owning my boat, I made long lists of the equipment on board and any identifying marks on them. When the weather is, well, like it is you can search online for manuals and exploded diagrams before you need them to help you fix things! Ask your friend what documents he has for the equipment and also for the boat itself, though many small boats don't have anything.

After having a think about your first viewing, be prepared to go back for another look at the things you're not sure of.

Rob.
 
Forgive me if this sounds a bit rude, but how do you know it's an 'amazing price' if you don't know much about it?
An older and possibly rather obscure boat of that size can be worth surprisingly little. However there is significant value in the trailer and engine, assuming they are in good condition. These two items will make the biggest difference to the total value of the package.
 
379367_10200739499957757_1110860833_n.jpg

It's a photo of a photo so not brilliant.

Thanks for the advice so far. will defiantly take lots of photos and ask about documentation. But knowing the area I'm betting there isn't any!
 
No it's not rude. I've been spending a lot of time look at boats for sale and dreaming and recently the prices seam to have dropped. I've been told its in good condition and knowing the seller I have no reason to doubt his word but will be taking a look on Friday.

It has a trailer and outboard.
 
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Eric79 said:
I'm thinking of buying a boat, a 16ft sailing yacht. I know the current owner and he is a engineer who's also a perfectionist and workaholic so I'm reasonably confident it will be in good condition. Plus he's offered me an amazing price. I'm a bit of a novice so could anyone give me so tips on what to look out for? I'm going to see it on Friday. The other problems is the current owner has no idea of its make or model which I understand could cause me problems insuring it. How would I go about identifying it? Thanks in advance for any help.
Click to expand...

Before you get carried away with the bargain price of buying it, maybe you should add up the costs of owning it ?
 
by the cost of owning it I assume you mean;

Insurance
mooring fees
safety equipment - life jackets etc.
VHF radio
storing out of seasons - the yacht club I've joined has a boat park so surprisingly cheap.

Have I missed anything?
 
Eric79 said:
by the cost of owning it I assume you mean;

Insurance
mooring fees
safety equipment - life jackets etc.
VHF radio
storing out of seasons - the yacht club I've joined has a boat park so surprisingly cheap.

Have I missed anything?
Click to expand...

Mooring and storage fees are the big ones. Plus others as you've identified. Obviously maintenance and repairs have a cost, but on such a small boat they shouldn't be too fierce. Biggest one is likely to be anything engine-related - I assume it's an outboard? Though at 16 feet you might get away with a pair of oars :)

Pete
 
OK - before everyone gets you down - don't worry too much! We started out on a boat like that a few years ago and had a great time. the thing to worry about is that it is addictive and can get very expensive - we are about to sign a cheque for a boat that is going to cost almost as much as our house! :)

You haven't mentioned a price - hard to be sure what it is from those pictures, but you should be able to find seaworthy boats of that size and (apparent) age for a few hundred pounds - possibly approaching a thousand if it is in very nice condition. Our first boat (with a lid on top) was bought on eBay about five years ago and we paid a total of about £500 including a tolerable outboard - up to you to decide if it is acceptable value for money by your standards.

Your biggest cost of ownership will be storage - unless you are willing and able to haul it out every time you use it and have space off-road to park it. You really do need a couple of lifejackets but, on the assumption that you are just going to potter round the Hamble for the next year, you can get away with something pretty basic - any fit person could swim across it!

VHF radio? Again, I assume you are just going to bum around the Hamble for the next several months, so you can get away with a cheap hand-held - actually you'll never be out of mobile phone range, so you probably don't need one at all - if you've followed recent discussions here, it seems that many experienced sailors keep their VHF turned off most of the time 'cos it disturbs their peace!

Insurance? Not mandatory, but a good idea. If you can claim any kind of experience at all, you should be able to get cover for a couple of hundred quid. Do you need comprehensive? Probably not, so you may get it cheaper. We're in the process of upsizing our boat and amongst the insurance quotes I've received was a third-party only cover for £78 - and that was for a vastly bigger and faster boat than the one in your picture. (Admittedly, I do have several years experience and RYA Dayskipper).

Assuming that it floats and that the engine starts, the most likely maintenance work it may need is work on the rigging. Ropes are easy - just buy the same thickness and thread them through. The standing rigging is more difficult and probably not something to fiddle with unless you can get some expert help. Sight up the mast and make sure it is reasonably straight and at right angles to the deck. give the shrouds a twang and make sure they are all reasonably tight and more or less equally tight. If you think they are not right, it's probably best to avoid any temptation to tweak up the bottle screws yourself - if you don't know what you are doing, it's easy to overtension them and an elderly hull like that may not take kindly to it!
 
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Croak said:
The picture makes it look bigger than 16 foot!
Click to expand...

Not by much - there were loads of sub-20-foot pocket cruisers made in that era. Our first was a thirty five year old Caprice by Robert Tucker - similar to the boat in the picture, but with bilge keels. When I bought it off eBay, my wife thought she didn't like sailing, but she came along for a try. Two months later she announced that we needed something bigger and it has been a headlong dash into bankruptcy ever since! This next one has got to be our last - I can't get by on less than one kidney! :)
 
Thanks that's cheered me up a bit! Our plan is to potter around the estuary at first - not the Hamble though wrong county! He's asking £800 including the trailer and fairly new outboard. As we are taking the two kids I think I will invest in lifejackets and hand held radio. I've had a quick look at insurance but most want a survey which I don't think will be worth it so will probably go 3rd party. I'm currently doing my day skipper and have booked up some lessons with a local skipper once the season starts. I have also arranged with more experience friend should I buy the boat he will come out with us the first few times.

Once I've decided to buy I've been given the number of the local firm that sorts out the moorings I'm hoping that's not going to break the bank.

Off season storage is sorted so its just the cost of the mooring I need to find out about.
 
Eric79 said:
Thanks that's cheered me up a bit! Our plan is to potter around the estuary at first - not the Hamble though wrong county! He's asking £800 including the trailer and fairly new outboard. As we are taking the two kids I think I will invest in lifejackets and hand held radio. I've had a quick look at insurance but most want a survey which I don't think will be worth it so will probably go 3rd party. I'm currently doing my day skipper and have booked up some lessons with a local skipper once the season starts. I have also arranged with more experience friend should I buy the boat he will come out with us the first few times.

Once I've decided to buy I've been given the number of the local firm that sorts out the moorings I'm hoping that's not going to break the bank.

Off season storage is sorted so its just the cost of the mooring I need to find out about.
Click to expand...

£800 sounds ok provided the trailer can be made legal and the outboard starts without the need to be a professional weightlifter! Provided it's structurally sound, there isn't much that can go wrong with a boat like that - just pay attention to the standing rigging - particularly where it joins the deck. If you are not a competent mechanic, get someone who is to give the outboard a quick check over for you.

I think you'll have a fantastic time provided you exercise a bit of common sense. Get plenty of experience close to home before you get too ambitious. You don't want to put the wife or kids off with an emergency on the first outing - once you have got some experience under your belt, it will seem so easy. We've been through three boats now and are about to move on to the next, but nothing compares with waking up the first morning having slept on our little 19 foot Caprice and taking a coffee out into the cockpit as the sun came up. Objectively, I had had a terrible night's sleep, woke up with a sore throat, the coffee was cold and the cakes stale, but it was our boat and we had slept the night on her. Our current boat is much bigger, much more comfortable and we go to more adventurous places, but it's still not like the first time!
 
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