Best 32' bluewater sailboat - up to 14.000 pounds budget

[Adrian_]

Thank you guys, some interesting boats here.

As others have suggested, there are a few good boats suitable for what you want, although the asking price may be well over your budget, you will find that due to recession, the seller will accept much much less and they don't want to pay next seasons fees.

Yes, you are 100% correct . I already forun some interesting boats, probably within 10 days or so I'll be able to have a very good short list and start making travel plans .

 

[Zen Zero]

Adrian, you'veopeneda can of worms everyone willtellyou that theirsis the best. I'dlook for a Rustler but you won't get one cheap. Contessa's look nice but tend tobe 'wet'.
Can anyone tellmehowto fix the space bar on my laptop?
Cheers,
Rick

Lever it off with a screwdriver, car key, spoon etc, blow hard to expel the biscuit crumbs and other **** that has accululated there (better still use a hoover), replace spacebar using your own skill, judgement and a little brute force.

 

[nigelm]

Lever it off with a screwdriver, car key, spoon etc, blow hard to expel the biscuit crumbs and other **** that has accululated there (better still use a hoover), replace spacebar using your own skill, judgement and a little brute force.

Maplins have cans of compressed air for just such jobs - blowing carp out of hard to reach places

 

[Seajet]

Adrian,

sorry I've only skimmed over the posts, but the Trapper 500 / 501 strikes me as a great boat and a well kept secret, a bargain.

Remember any boat you buy will probably need thousands, not hundreds, on kit for such a project.

have a look, or PM me for details...

No connections.

Andy

 

[Adrian_]

Thank you, that's a good boat but unfortunatelly it's too small. The first criteria I mentioned is on the OP is a 31'-32' boat

 

[Kelpie]

Adrian,

sorry I've only skimmed over the posts, but the Trapper 500 / 501 strikes me as a great boat and a well kept secret, a bargain.

Remember any boat you buy will probably need thousands, not hundreds, on kit for such a project.

have a look, or PM me for details...

No connections.

Andy

There's 'skimming' and then there's not reading the title of the thread

 

[firstascent2002]

Do you want to look at my hustler? !! Sadly headroom only about 5 foot 9 inches but she'll take you anywhete...against the wind . . . in a blow . . .

 

[robmcg]

Thank you, that's a good boat but unfortunatelly it's too small. The first criteria I mentioned is on the OP is a 31'-32' boat

Hmmm, have to disagree a bit here. Have friends with a Nicholson 32 and it is smaller internally than our old Trapper 500. Agree with Seajet in that a Trapper 500 is a well kept secret, solid, seaworthy and plenty of space for the size ( and I am 6' 3")

 

[Adrian_]

I cannot argue against what you say, since I have yet to set foot on a Trapper 500 (or even to see one).

However a boat with a LOA of 27.33' , a beam of 9.18' and a max draft of 4.25' doesn't strike me as designed for bluewater cruising. Which doesn't mean that it cannot do it, just that it would probably require a very good crew to do it.

Also, from what I was able to dig up, very few early boats (1972) had lead keels, while later models got iron keels. (I'm realling looking for lead encapsulated keel) Plus the rudder on the 500 is rather vulnerable ( I read that on the 501 they fixed it).

This being said, it's a good thing that you mentioned here, because someone doing a similar quest at a certain point might have slightly different requirements then my own.

 

[Tranona]

You are absolutely right. A Trapper would not get on many peoples' shortlist to meet the brief you have given. Sort of irrelevant that it has more space inside than a Nic 32 - many smaller boats have that. It is more a statement about how little room there is in the boat rather than how much there is in some smaller more modern designs. The Trapper was a quite successful cruiser in its time with generally better performance than many others of the day. We have a lot where I live because they were built locally and are still popular as a cruiser and club racer - but not a serious passage maker such as you are looking for.

 

[robmcg]

You are absolutely right. A Trapper would not get on many peoples' shortlist to meet the brief you have given. Sort of irrelevant that it has more space inside than a Nic 32 - many smaller boats have that. It is more a statement about how little room there is in the boat rather than how much there is in some smaller more modern designs. The Trapper was a quite successful cruiser in its time with generally better performance than many others of the day. We have a lot where I live because they were built locally and are still popular as a cruiser and club racer - but not a serious passage maker such as you are looking for.

But a couple have circumnavigated so horses for courses I suppose. My comment wasn't necessarily a recommendation for the OP. Space isn't irrelevant if you are living aboard and/ or sailing long distances if you want some level of comfort.

 

[bitbaltic]

I might have missed it somewhere earlier in the thread, but if 15k is the budget for the boat, what is the budget for fit out afterwards? I can't help thinking that, despite the very good suggestions, a total budget of 15k would be very tight for the intended purposes. A second hand boat is a second hand boat, and even if it looks sound and to be specced for what you want when you buy it, it is my guess that a few weeks of coastal shakedown will throw up all sorts of issues that will cost serious money to rectify to blue water spec, so either you need some contingency budget to cover that, or be happy to find out about it in the western approaches. People like Roger Taylor have proven that you can do blue water for this sort of money, but only by sacrificing a lot of comfort and blending that with tip top seamanship. Unless you have a contingency budget approaching 100%, I think you are asking a lot of the boats that have been discussed so far.

 

[Adrian_]

Actually I already found two very well fitted boats that recently (2011 and 2012) did long passages and have very complete kits coming with them. Negociations are ongoing, since for 14.000 pounds the sellers would want to keep one or two important items from the kit, but I'm hoping to reach an agreement.

 

[bitbaltic]

Actually I already found two very well fitted boats that recently (2011 and 2012) did long passages and have very complete kits coming with them. Negociations are ongoing, since for 14.000 pounds the sellers would want to keep one or two important items from the kit, but I'm hoping to reach an agreement.

That's great but isn't quite what I was getting at. If the standing rigging has just done a blue water passage then great, but if it's more than ten years old or the owner can't tell me how old it is, then that will need replacing, at close to a grand for a 30 ft plus boat. If the sails have just done a blue water passage then that's great, but if the owner can't tell me how old they are or that they're original on a 30 ft plus boat that's 30 years old, then off they go to the local sailmaker for inspection and replacement if necessary. If the storm sails have just done a blue water cruise then that's great, but if they are old or unused or the boat doesn't have any, then off I go to the sailmaker again. If the engine has just motored round Portugal in headwinds for days, then that's great, but if it's 30 years old am I sure it is going anywhere else? I'm not knocking you but would like to know, if 14k is the budget for the boat, what is the budget for the rest of it?

We may see things differently as I bought my boat for fast coastal cruising and maybe crossing the irish sea a year ago and, despite being only 10 years old and in tip top condition, I have spent the sort of money you are talking about in making her (maybe excessively so) bombproof for 'plan B' in bad weather. I think that unless you are looking at smaller and simpler boats than those listed so far, you will have to do just that and maybe more to confidently go far offshore.

 

[Adrian_]

Trust me I know what you mean.
The two boats that made it so far to the short list have good, recent standing/running rigging, plus good sails, plus relativelly recent engine (compared to the age of the boat) plus a great inventory.
This might seem amazing but it's not, given the current economy.

Of course I can expect that the shakedown voyage(s) will show various problems, but they will hopefully be minor and I'll be able to deal with them.

 

[Gnjoutside]

Models?

Which two are they Adrian?

 

[Adrian_]

None of those discussed in lenght here. One is located in the Netherlands (hence this topic ) the other in Greece.

Honestly, I try to line up as much as possible and then I'll head to the location that has most boats on the short list.

 

[bitbaltic]

Trust me I know what you mean.
The two boats that made it so far to the short list have good, recent standing/running rigging, plus good sails, plus relativelly recent engine (compared to the age of the boat) plus a great inventory.
This might seem amazing but it's not, given the current economy.

Of course I can expect that the shakedown voyage(s) will show various problems, but they will hopefully be minor and I'll be able to deal with them.

So do I take it that 14k or thereabouts is the total budget? No issues just want to know after a long thread about big old boats costing about 14k in the first place.

Cheers

 

[Adrian_]

I don't think I follow. It's not like I'm expecting to buy the boat at 14k and set sail for Easter Island without purchasing anything or having to fix this and that.
What I try to do is purchase for 14k a good 32' boat with a complete kit and proceed from there. I don't have another 14k on a separate account, waiting to be spent the next week after the purchase, if that's what you're asking. However I'm capable of providing on month by month basis the money that will most likelly be required during a 2013 season that I plan to use exactly for shakedown voyages and whatever improvements and/or fixes might be needed.

 

[Gnjoutside]

In agreement

In support of Adrian I can confirm that his plan is wholly achievable. I spent the same money on my 32' earlier this year and am now tinkering and tidying before launch in the spring. And insofar as you can be sure with a boat, with no major expenditure to come.

Ok if I was going to fit a self steering system, or a new engine, but these are items that are either already present on boats in this price bracket, or can be done without.

Good luck Adrian!