Cheap boats in Florida

[pugwash]

A friend of mine in Canada with blue water dreams needs a boat but can't afford local or European prices. He sent me a sheaf of adverts from Florida Sailboat Trader. The prices are amazing, on the face of it -- four berth sloops and cutters 30 to 33ft long, around 15 to 30 years old, for a heap less than £20,000. Given all the usual caveats about need for survey, sun damage, osmosis, VAt and so on, is there anything about these boats such as lightweight glassfibre or crap construction that makes them so much cheaper? Do they compare with our Westerlies and similar, for instance? Or will they simply fall apart under the wear and tear of a couple of northern seasons? Obviously we have to speak in very general terms. Any thoughts welcome.

 

[Twister_Ken]

I'm not very good on US boats, but like boats anywhere there are considerable variations by manufacturer. Catalina and Hunter, for example, are at the light, cheap end and might be shagged out by now, whereas stuff like Tartan, Hinckley, Crealock were better built and more expensive when new, so should have stood up to wear and tear rather better.

One thing's for sure - Google should find the dirt, if there is any, about individual models.

 

[aod]

I had a long chat to a very good American sailor last Cowes week and he was in essence absolutely astounded at the cost of boats in the UK.

He certainly convinced me that price wise there were distinct advantages to buying second hand in the States and then sailing to Portugal where I think VAT is only 12% of the value.

If I sell my boat and look for something else I would definately look across the water for a replacement.

 

[jimboaw]

As a Brit resident in Florida for the past 6 years I have seen some real bargains in none American made boats. My son in law got one. He bought a Moody 33 MK3 one of the last built. Had blisters but otherwise in good shape. $26,000 US. After he had done the deal we were going through the sail inventory and found one sail bag with the name "Moody Magpie" on it, the current name is "Tango" Sounds familiar I thought! A little checking tiurned up the fact that it had once belonged to a chap I new well in Soton! and I and my daughter had been aboard when she was nearly new in Ocean Village. Small world for boats.

 

[Lynette]

About 4 years ago I did an analysis of 200 yachts for sale in the UK and in Florida in the 38-40' range, as part of a business case.

There are all sorts, both good and bad. As in Europe, you need to know your marques or do a lot of checking around. You will find a few types that appear on both sides of the Atlantic; Beneteau, Westerly and Hunter/Legend for example. But the bottom line was that yachts of similar size, age and quality were selling for 28 per cent less in Florida. Of course, I couldn't compare condition - had to assume that was similar on average, which seemed true for ones I looked at. However, I did find a steeper age discount - Americans presumably prefer their boats to be quite new - so the the price advantage in Florida is greater for older boats.

 

[wishbone]

I too have looked at boats in various countries, there are some good realistic prices in the US and Holland with the emphasis on “realistic” I look at some boats in the UK and think that anybody (and they do) must get their money very easy or must be brain donors. I would not have the cheek to let any one look at some of the smelly, dirty, crap, yachts for sale if they were mine, I would be too embarrassed!

Wishbone

 

[Sybarite]

Looking from France I think UK boat prices are high. There are good deals to be had in Guadaloupe and Martinique. A few years ago there were tax schemes to encourage tourism on these French Carribean islands and part of that enabled you to write the complete price of a boat off against tax provided you kept it there for charter for 5 years . At the end of the five years there were a lot of cheap boats on the market.

John

 

[Jacket]

I'd disagree about Catalinas being light or flimsy- if you look at the figures they're on a similar level to westerlys weight wise.

I spent some time working for a teambuilding company that used Catalina 320 - they too a real beating yet never looked the worst for wear. I wasn't wildly impressed with their sailing ability, but in terms of build quality I'd rate them level with my Westerly, and well above some of the older Jen/bens.

 

[davidhand]

I agree that Catalinas are an underated boat, they are indeed very rugged. However they seem to put the settees right back against the inside of the hull leaving very little storage space. Also the companion way is very wide increasing the chances of a lot of water going below if you take one over the stern. Regarding Tartan if you check the figures you will see that they are in fact very light boats, the quality of the joinery is very high, but I was told by a very experienced English boat saleslady that the basic construction of a Tartan was no better than a Catalina. Tartan are however very expensive boats.
If you talk to a Catalina or Hunter salesman they will tell you that one major reason their boats cost less is that being such large companies they get more favorable prices on their raw materials. I am not to sure that I completely agree with that.

 

[Jacket]

Yes, there's no denying that they're aimed more at daysailing and comfort in a marina. But then so are a lot of modern boats, and at least the Catalina's better build than many.

Also, they've got a decent amaount of balast, and handle really bad weather better than I expected. As for the companionway, if you don't have the washboards in in the kind of weather where waves are coming over the stern, then it your own fault if you end up with a swimming pool down below. And the large companionway is lovely in good weather.

If only they had real chart tables.

 

[Tantalus]

All over the US there is a plethora of used boats at, what would seem to UK buyers, bargain prices. What with the economy tanking, it's cheaper to get rid of that seldom used luxury at a bargain basement price than to keep paying the slip fees and upkeep indefinitely. Especially since you're currently working so friggin hard to keep up your lifestyle that you have no time to enjoy that expensive hole in the water.

 

[pugwash]

Huge thanks to Lynette and other posters for this eye-opening advice. Immensely useful.

 

[BIGCHRIS]

If you think they are cheap in Florida, try and get hold of a copy of Australian Boat Mart, or see if they have a website. Bit further to bring one home I know but prices in there are sometimes only 30-40% of what you pay over here for similar. Not much good for anything too small I know, but if you want to spend 30K and have six months off, you will get one hell of a boat!

allergic to tigers

 

[alant]

I delivered a Catalina 42 down to Gib last year & can agree about the 'large' cockpit - with hardly any bridgedeck to prevent water ingress down the companionway. Also their forehatches are hinged aft. But they can be bluewater boats - this one had done the Pacific & still looked in as new condition.
With at least one deep washboard permanently fitted at sea, the danger of water getting below is easily reduced.
Sailing & handling in heavy seas was very good - this was a relatively heavy boat, similar to a Westerley & gave no problems across Biscay. The cockpit kept relatively dry & the boat held its track well. I would have no problems in recommending these to anyone considering purchasing one. My only reservation, which is a personal preference, was the positioning of the Nav station - this is stbd & at forwrd part of the saloon, which can be a hike to reach when in a sea.
There is also a Catalina 35, of 'ancient' age still used by a Solent based sailing school - not a cosmetic gem, but sails exceedingly well in heavy conditions & the sort of chop we experience in the Solent.

 

[Ohdrat]

I have heard that the boats built in florida are not as robustly built as the Euro equivalent .. you will find that one of the most popular are Catalinas which are actually what we call Jaguars over here and really light weather inshore boats as apposed to our Westerleys for instance.