Choice of 3 ex-charter boats in Greece - which one?

V1701

V1701

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Given the choice which one would you go for & why, taking into account comfort, build quality, sailing qualities, etc. Which might have had the hardest life, which will have been better maintained?

All available for around £16k...

1987 Feeling 960 from Sailing Holidays
http://www.sailingholidays.com/content/Feeling960-for-sale.pdf

2001 Dufour 30 Classic from Sunsail
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/2001/Dufour-30-Classic-2542736/Greece

1986 Moody 31 from Nielson
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/1986/Moody-31-2422577/Greece
 
As the owner of an ex Sailing Holidays boat the only thing I don't like about it is that all the mugs, coasters cockpit cushions and the boom cover have "Sailing Holidays" on them in large letters but this is probably outweighed by all the kit which was included.

I would be put off the Moody by the co's name on the mainsail which will be expensive to replace.

Other than that, take your pick, I hope you are as pleased with yours as I am with mine.

John
 
V1701 said:
Given the choice which one would you go for & why, taking into account comfort, build quality, sailing qualities, etc. Which might have had the hardest life, which will have been better maintained?

All available for around £16k...

1987 Feeling 960 from Sailing Holidays
http://www.sailingholidays.com/content/Feeling960-for-sale.pdf

2001 Dufour 30 Classic from Sunsail
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/2001/Dufour-30-Classic-2542736/Greece

1986 Moody 31 from Nielson
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/1986/Moody-31-2422577/Greece
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Not fammiliar with any of these boats but it seams like a no brainer. All about the same price. By the youngest its half the age. must have much less potential problems. less wear and tear. Unless for some reason you don't like it. or its layout.
 
Impossible to say which is best. The Dufour and Moody will have been used for sailing school duties. Folks getting their first taste of cruisers after learning on dinghy. The Feeling may also had some time as a lead boat. All are basic simple boats which will have had reasonable maintenance as they have to be reliable for 20+ weeks a year.
They are only worth buying if you want to keep the boat out there. Low price reflects lack of demand arguably more than poor condition. You have to go out and make your own assessment.
 
We went on a flotilla holiday with Sailing Holidays year and a half ago and in fact chartered Paris, the boat in the top photo of the Feeling brochure. Not a bad boat, to be honest. It's not the biggest boat in the world, and I really wouldn't want to pack three couples in there. However, for two of us the boat was pleasant for a week. Engine access is stellar (it's under the companion way stairs. Remove the stairs and the engine is right there, full access). The mechanic on our flotilla serviced the engine whilst we had the boat and it seemed pretty easy. He explained they have a very strict and constant maintenance routine, so the engines should be in good nick.
The boat itself was in pretty good nick for its age and charter life. The electronics were very basic with just a VHF and a simple GPS. Oh, and an FM radio.

I don't think they would have been used as lead boats - Sailing Holidays use old Maxis as their lead boats.
 
FWIW I've seen how Sailing Holidays maintain their boats when we wintered in Gouvia many years ago. I'd have no hesitation in buying one of their boats, their winter maintenance regime (back in 2005 anyway) was excellent. I've also seen how Sunsail (in Palma Majorca at least) don't maintain their boats over winter at all (at least they didn't over winter 2004) so I'd not buy one of those. I've no idea of Nielson's maintenance regime but they run very good flotillas ;)
 
Tony Cross said:
FWIW I've seen how Sailing Holidays maintain their boats when we wintered in Gouvia many years ago. I'd have no hesitation in buying one of their boats, their winter maintenance regime (back in 2005 anyway) was excellent. I've also seen how Sunsail (in Palma Majorca at least) don't maintain their boats over winter at all (at least they didn't over winter 2004) so I'd not buy one of those. I've no idea of Nielson's maintenance regime but they run very good flotillas ;)
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I'd heard about Sailing Holiday's winter maintenance. Apparently they get an army of Aussies over to overhaul all the boats. I'll hopefully get to experience this when we stay in Gouvia next winter!
 
Purely anecdotal but by far in the way the most problems I have seen with Flotilla/charter boats have been Sailing Holidays. By this I mean things that stop a person leaving a harbour to go with the flotilla. Some of them are pretty minor, throttle cables etc, but I have seen on two occasions boats kept back and refurbished engines fitted. On the plus side was impressed with the speed they do this.
 
Cardo said:
We went on a flotilla holiday with Sailing Holidays year and a half ago and in fact chartered Paris, the boat in the top photo of the Feeling brochure. ... The mechanic on our flotilla serviced the engine whilst we had the boat and it seemed pretty easy. He explained they have a very strict and constant maintenance routine, so the engines should be in good nick.
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Hmm, so I wonder why our start-of-season delivery trip with them last year was held up (and the itinerary changed) due to engine failure on one of the boats...

Mike.
 
mjcoon said:
Hmm, so I wonder why our start-of-season delivery trip with them last year was held up (and the itinerary changed) due to engine failure on one of the boats...

Mike.
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Obviously can't say specifically for your situation, however in my experience boat engines can be temperamental buggers. Even our relatively new (less than 3 years old) with not too much use donk has recently started playing up. I don't think it's anything serious, but it shows the blighters are right little prima donnas.
 
We've often sailed with Neilson's, once with Sailing Holidays and never with expensive Sunsail.
The Moody 31's haven't been part of Neilson's charter fleet for a while now as far as I know, but have been used as training boats. The last time we had a Moody 31 was Sept 2009 [boat name Meribel] which was in it's last week in service before becoming a trainer. Whilst it sailed very well, there were several problems including leaky forehatch etc,mainly just wear and tear 'tiredness' issues.
 
Of the three I would probably pick the Dufour. I like the Classic design and performance, we went to a LIBS a few years ago specifically to assess one for purchase. The main reason we didn't was that the saloon seats were extremely uncomfortable due to upright backrests and inadequate foam thickness but no doubt these could be addressed.
 
Cardo said:
Obviously can't say specifically for your situation, however in my experience boat engines can be temperamental buggers. Even our relatively new (less than 3 years old) with not too much use donk has recently started playing up. I don't think it's anything serious, but it shows the blighters are right little prima donnas.
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The worst engine incident we had on non-SH flotilla (some years ago) was a broken crankshaft. Pretty terminal and way beyond "right little prima donnas" territory!

Mike.
 
mjcoon said:
Hmm, so I wonder why our start-of-season delivery trip with them last year was held up (and the itinerary changed) due to engine failure on one of the boats...

Mike.
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No one, with the exception of the perpetrator, knows what abuse the engine and other parts of a charter yacht may have suffered.
CJ
 
Thanks for the replies, thinking of going out to have a look around & at the boats in a couple of months. It would be for keeping there & spending a few months at a time on a couple of times each year. Have to say I don't like the idea of the saildrive on the Dufour (probably more 'cos I've never had a saildrive before than any other reason) & wouldn't necessarily go for that one just because it's newer. In fact would be a bit suspect of the build quality of a 2001 production boat. All those Dufours have got 5000+ hours on their engines, goodness knows what the hours are on the older boats(:eek:).
I have emailed Mick at Sailing Holidays but does anyone know if those Feelings have saildrives & whether the in-mast reefing on the main is retrofitted?
 
V1701 said:
but does anyone know if those Feelings have saildrives & whether the in-mast reefing on the main is retrofitted?
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I'm pretty certain they have Bamar add-on systems, just like what we have on our Southerly. Aside from needing a spruce up this winter (after 20+ yrs on the boat) it should hopefully carry on working for a number of years.
The system itself has worked well for us.
 
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