I've just fallen in love...

You're right - the prices these seem to command are optimistic.

Compared to these 2 beauties:

Malabar XV - possibly John Alden's last boat, 1955, a snip at £10,800, or...

Nan of Clynder - a 1956 McGruer 8m class for £12k

The only fly in the ointment is that they're on the W coast of North America - small matter, you have the chance of a lifetime to sail them back over!

My wife has even agreed to have a look at Nan when we go over... :cool:
 
Surely it makes mine look cheap, plastic hull as well: is that good or bad? If I do sell her you will be able to call me StaveTheHypocrite!
 
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Tradewinds: "I was looking at it (& admiring it) last week on the hard at Suffolk Yacht Harbour " She's one of the 'stretched' Maicas built in Fance when John Illingworth sold the design to Chantiers Navale in Cherbourg who produced them ten at a time. The counter stern is much more pleasing than the transoms in vogue in the 60's. Were they controlled by RORC rules said:
http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc375/TomPrice1/MaicaatICC.jpg[/IMG]

She became the flagship of a local yard who were venturing into the leisure market. It was sevaral years before I 'graduated' to chartering her for two months every year: first the Westcountry, then the Channel Islands. I knew little of her history and was amazed when locking in at St Malo to be greeted by spontaneous applause!
We went on to round Ushant - it was my honeymoon having married the cook - and again got a warm welcome in Benodet where there is an annual reunion for Maica owners.

Beken produced a set of table mats for me so dinner always takes me down memory lane.

MAICA.jpg


I wish . . .
 
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She is so nice just had another look and compared her to this (which is top of my lottery-winning-shopping-list):


But I suppose at 42ft more handy and I do like those seats in the raised dog house;brilliant.

Like the Macias as well, sailed against one in the Trebruden Classique last year, beat us but nothing touched the Nic 36 with the taller rig.
 
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Spirit Yachts were having a press day last week for the launch of two new yachts. The clip shows them coming past our marina. Apparently one of the new owners decided it was not big enough. Asked Spirit to sell it for him and build a bigger one!
 
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I grew up amongst Dragons and other classic yachts.One of them being Foxhound, Bloodhound's sistership.They're all very easy on the eye and all that but modern boats are IMO much more interesting.Modern interiors are also much more inviting than the tunnel like ones in classic yachts.And I have very unpleasant memories of water dripping on my head as I tried to catch some sleep when offwatch in a thirties sailing yacht.My father had a 40 something footer double ender that was beautiful but in the end proved to be too much trouble and was replaced by an Arpege.That was a wise move.
 
Beautiful - but for me only to look at and to try not to think of the depth of pocket and work required to keep a boat like that in good order. I notice that the interior brightwork isn't quite as good as it looks on first glance at the photos!

If you have got money to burn I note that the broker has a number of restoration projects. There's even a shell of a clasic 46 footer going for $7,000 - the rub is the small print in the advert.

A ball park estimate of the costs of restoration is circa USD 750,000.

So - lets allow a little for contingency and we might have a 46 foot wooden sailboat that costs the thick end of $1m - and then needs lots of time and money to keep her that way.

Even if I won a major lottery win I don't think I will be going down that path... I am always delighted that there are people about who put time and money into these lovely boats.
 
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