Champagne tastes, Lambrini budget...

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Admiral Fitzroy

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As a long-standing lurker on the Scuttlebutt, this is my first post so please be gentle! Many of the posts I read on here are from men trying to lure their "SWMBO" into a life on the ocean wave. The shoe's on the other foot for this one. I am the SWMBO, a life-long sailor and commercial YM, my boyfriend is brand new to sailing, keen, but loves his creature comforts.

Having spent the weekend in the west country with him and the dog on my Dad's boat (SJ32) I found him looking at a broker's details for a 2000 vintage Hallberg-Rassy 36 in bed last night. A beautiful thing, but £125k. Naturally, I've spent a large part of my first day back at work staring out of the window and imagining the sea-faring adventures we could have with friends, and later kids, on a beautifully built, teak-tastic cruiser.

I'm seizing the opportunity and we are now discussing what we could buy and where it might be kept (we live on the Hampshire/Surrey border). I have always loved the Scandinavian cruising yachts (Hallberg-Rassy, Najad, Malo and the like), but cannot afford one that isn't 30+ years old. HOWEVER, this will be the first yacht for which I am financially responsible, and whilst I'm very handy with boat maintenance, I'd like to avoid one that's cheap but has already gone to seed and will take a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get back to an acceptable condition.

In summary, I'm after a fixed keel monohull, 35-39ft, nice lines and traditional styling (I loved our Centurion 32 but it had not been well maintained in the past and needed unbelievable time & ££££ to keep fixing), fantastic build quality, comfortable and safe cockpit, and spacious enough down below to not want to murder cabin-mates after a week together. For ideally less than £70k.

I've yacht raced with my Dad all my life and he is always my trusted advisor on all things nautical. But he believes that any racing yacht with cushions and a plumbed-in heads is a "luxury cruising yacht", so his opinions are of limited use here...

Wise counsel of the forum, what d'ya reckon?
 
Getting a high quality boat at a "normal" boat price is the holy grail - and virtually impossible - that is how markets work - the more desirable (not necessarily better) the product, the higher the price.

While asking here will likely get you a long list of possibles, usually the boat that the poster either owns or more likely lusts after, it will do no more than what you can do yourself in drawing up your long list. You may well find, like many of us have when looking for the same thing, that you are very disappointed with what you can actually buy for your £70k. Poorly presented and needing £20-30k to bring them up to scratch. Many of these boats are for sale because the owner knows that and cannot face or justify the expenditure, but hopes the buyer might see past the failings.

You may, of course be lucky and find that rare gem, but remember you need to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince - and boat viewing can become a full time job! On the other hand you can do what many of us have and buy a much newer production boat. There is far more choice, 5-10 year old boats will be in far better condition. So if you want to go sailing rather than fixing boats and spending money, this is far more practical, and the boats even if not of "classic" appearance are far better than you imagine.
 
I am afraid you are going to have to join the rest of us and buy lambrini.

There are masses of post 2000 Ben Jen Bavs in your price and size range.

While they don't have the snob appeal of a Halberg, they are just as well built and seaworthy
 
I owned a classic Hallberg-Rassy 352 for almost 20 years. It was lovely - fun, safe, cosy, comforting and, as you say, teak-tastic. But the teak-tastic appeal of the deck started to wane. I refurbished the deck twice, at considerable pain to my knees, and realised that ultimately a new deck would be needed. That, plus a 24 year old engine, made me consider selling. So I sold and bought a shiny brand-new Bavaria, which has proved to be a revelation in build quality, performance and user-friendliness. As Tranona said, newer production boats are far better than you imagine.

So, with my sensible hat on, I'd suggest you could find a lot of very nice modern boats for your £70K, which would be comfortable in the cockpit, spacious down below, and wouldn't need huge amounts of work.

Or, with my emotional hat on, I'd say you could find a Scandinavian classic for the same money which you might just love a bit more. There's a Hallberg-Rassy 38 which used to moor next to me in the marina, same owner for 25 years, new engine about 10 years ago, decent spec, fairly tidy (although it needs a good polish and the deck is wearing out). I'll PM you some details in case you're interested.
 
Important to remember that the asking price is often way above the price the seller might accept. If I had a £70,000 budget I would be looking at boats up to and over £100,000. Look to see how long the boat of your choice has been on the market, the longer the better in terms of negotiation. With £70,000 I am optimistic you may find something that ticks most of the boxes.
 
Well I'll just open the "posting the boat I lust after" speculations then. If I was in the market at that budget and spec I'd be looking at a Starlight 35. Super build, kerb appeal/cachet, fantastic boat. Got all the teak you want, will give your dad a run for his money if racing too, and not a noughties AWB (if that matters to you).
 
Boats with teak decks are all very well if you sail in cold climates, and can afford the replacement when they wear out, but they are a pain anywhere hot, and most people who have them on boats in the Med regret having them. That Starlight looks good to me.
 
Bobc said:
How about this HR38 at £71k ono. It's immaculate.

https://hallbergrassy38forsale.wordpress.com/
Click to expand...

Thank you all. The Vancouver looks fantastic - lovely lines.

And you're right about the H-R, they are all expensive. Many say you pay for the brand, but I think there's valid reasoning behind it. Not least because everything Scandinavian is bl**dy expensive (except IKEA)!

As for the much-linked Rassy, i do like the look of it. My main concern is that the owner has provided tonnes of detail about absolutely everything except the actual age of the boat, and the age of the sails!

Are there any builders known as a Najaf/Rassy without the badge? I'm not wedded to a canoe stern, but.. you know.. ;-)
 
Admiral Fitzroy said:
As for the much-linked Rassy, i do like the look of it. My main concern is that the owner has provided tonnes of detail about absolutely everything except the actual age of the boat, and the age of the sails!
Click to expand...

I think it's early 1980s, maybe 82.

Admiral Fitzroy said:
Are there any builders known as a Najaf/Rassy without the badge? I'm not wedded to a canoe stern, but.. you know.. ;-)
Click to expand...

You could look for Aphrodite, Malo, etc. They tend to be less easy to resell.
 
As others (Tranona, Davidj, pvb) have said, you can get a decent "noughties" AWB for £70k. Engine still in good nick, not too much to do. Ok, so things might start to need replacing soon, but choose well and you shouldn't get one with a backlog of work that needs doing.

Sure the Scandi boats are lovely, but you might spend a lot of time fixing a 30+ year old one. Perhaps consider one for boat number two in a few years time.

You know it makes sense. :encouragement:

Welcome to the forum, by the way.
 
Angele said:
As others (Tranona, Davidj, pvb) have said, you can get a decent "noughties" AWB for £70k. Engine still in good nick, not too much to do. Ok, so things might start to need replacing soon, but choose well and you shouldn't get one with a backlog of work that needs doing.

Sure the Scandi boats are lovely, but you might spend a lot of time fixing a 30+ year old one. Perhaps consider one for boat number two in a few years time.

You know it makes sense. :encouragement:

Welcome to the forum, by the way.
Click to expand...

Agree with that, when it comes to AWBs, it's a buyers market and you can get a hell of a lot of boat for £70k. Just stick that into yachtworld and see what you come up with!
 
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