Halberg Rassy - something a bit different

The Contest looks very attractive but I suspect has a limited market in the U.K. at those prices if you are looking for a newish boat . would you want to take on an older one though when you could have a much newer model from one of the larger builders and include the flexiteak decks, electric winches and fixed screens etc plus all the nav instruments and heating you might want with self tacking etc?
 
geem said:
But if you are the lucky chap who buys the 30 year old boat with new decks, new engine, new sails and very well maintained then you have yourself an excellent 30 year old boat......
Not all old boats are the same..... The secret is spotting the difference between a basket case and a gem
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It is not difficult to spot as the signs are obvious. However as I have mentioned before the "good" ones you describe are not the ones for sale - for obvious reasons. What prompts people to sell boats is the realisation that they are no longer "good" and they have done the sums required to return them to the condition when they were first bought - and made the sensible decision to move the problem onto somebody else.

This was exactly my experience when I was going through the same process as A1GSS and getting depressed at all the "quality" boats I saw that required huge expenditure, so came to the same conclusion and have now owned two new boats. Buying a project is OK if you don't mind coping with the deficiencies and fixing as you go along (just don't add up the cost and particularly the time), but if you want to sail rather than fix better to buy new - spending a bit more but wearing stuff out rather than fixing old stuff.

Great if you can find somebody selling whoi has already done the fixing, but such opportunities are rare.
 
Our experience as well . Having loved and we thought cherished our Bavaria for approx 12 years we decided to upsize to around the 40ft mark. We found relative few boats in size and all those Hallbergs and lovely Ancona and their brethren were all either as old as our Bavaria or out of budget . We also went for new and in effect planned to get to know her for a few years before hopefully being able to sail further down the French coast on longer breaks. Any new boat will come with snagging but dealer fixable in our experience . Someone we know went through same journey a couple of year before us on upsizing from a smaller Halberg went to Dufour . If you add to search criteria things like cabin numbers or berth layout e.g. Exclude linear galley or whatever the choice of brand is severely limited particularly if you shy away from those which perhaps have less of a uk presence . It is also down to size requirements within budget and running costs for future where hopefully on a newer boat you won't have for a while new headsails rigging and electrics due for a while . The one downside are the high engine service costs under warranty period compared to DIY or guided assistance on services with a mechanic. While the Hallberg is lovely though I just find the differential too great at this segment of market but clearly as they are appealing to a niche segment they probably are happy to sacrifice volume to maintain price.
 
Tranona said:
It is not difficult to spot as the signs are obvious. However as I have mentioned before the "good" ones you describe are not the ones for sale - for obvious reasons. What prompts people to sell boats is the realisation that they are no longer "good" and they have done the sums required to return them to the condition when they were first bought - and made the sensible decision to move the problem onto somebody else.

This was exactly my experience when I was going through the same process as A1GSS and getting depressed at all the "quality" boats I saw that required huge expenditure, so came to the same conclusion and have now owned two new boats. Buying a project is OK if you don't mind coping with the deficiencies and fixing as you go along (just don't add up the cost and particularly the time), but if you want to sail rather than fix better to buy new - spending a bit more but wearing stuff out rather than fixing old stuff.

Great if you can find somebody selling whoi has already done the fixing, but such opportunities are rare.
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In my Italian marina have been some lovely and well-maintained classic yachts owned by fastidious, elderly Germans and Austrians who have reached that sad point in life when declining health - or even sadder, death - has prompted a sale. In one case of the husband's demise, the widow had little love for the object that was her rival in life and just wanted rid of it, a well-maintained HR Monsun - the price was not important.

In another case, I had not long bought my own MAB and invested a lot on renovation, when a good German friend decided to sell his truly immaculate Salar 40, which he offered to me, knowing how much I admired her, for what was a give-away price, much less than what I had paid for my own boat. When I asked his wife who had always cruised with him - we had often sailed in company - if she wasn't sad to sell such a pristine, well-equipped and cosseted summer home, she answered quite openly that she was relieved to be getting rid of it. However, realising that it would be folly to change yet again in my middle 70s, only a couple of years younger than my friend, I reluctantly declined and it sold immediately on the open market.

There can be some good'uns out there.
 
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