What Yacht would you buy?

Re: Saildrives

Daves and OldSaltOz - thanks for that insight.

Saildrives are fitted to so many boats that it is something that I might have to consider anyway. I'm going to look at this boat today - and its saildrive too.

The price has been reduced from 79k to 68k as well.

http://search.boatshop24.co.uk/popup.asp?btsrefno=5909841&make=Legend%2036

Seems like a lot of modern boat for a modest price to me?
 
Got to comment that in the charter market (which does subject boats to a tougher regime) I heard that Elans were not lasting very well.

A simple test at the boat show revealed a number af cupboards not shutting properly on a new boat. The addition of a Volvo engine killed the idea of an Elan for me. Prior to that I had thought them good sailing boats.

There is no right boat only compromises or everyone would have the same car or boat!
 
One thing you haven't mentioned is what you want to use the boat for. Daysailing and weekending might lead you in a different direction than coastal cruising or cruising farther afield for extended periods. A quick search revealed several candidates that meet some but not necessarily all of your criteria:

Junneau SO37 2002
Elan 37 - 2003

Hanse 371 - 2005
Beneteau 36 CC - 2001

You can search on this site for what you are looking for. Personally I would not discount AWBs - if you are looking for a model a few years old it will already have depreciated significantly and you may not suffer much (any?) more depreciation (in terms of actual £s rather than percentage) than you would suffer with a non-AWB.

As for those proposing a lift keel - unless you have a reason to go for a lift keel, why do so? I am not knocking them as they have their place, but if you don't need it, I don't see any reason to have one.

Good luck and I suspect we will all be interested to know what you end up with.
 
Sailfree and BBG. Thank you. Comments on the Elan noted.

Maybe I will just have to "grin and bear it" as far as saildrives are concerned as they are so commonplace in modern boats.

We went and viewed the Legend (which I linked above) earlier today. Good value, good condition and probably a good boat as well. But I want to see a few more similar boats before I start bidding.

Thanks for the link BBG - I have spent some time searching most of the brokerage we sites based on my parameters, but I dont think I found the Hanse. I rang up about it but its sold. Why on earth dont they update their web sites?

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As far as usage is concerned, I suppose that potentially we could cruise anywhere as we have no committments any more. However that does give us an advantage since we can pretty much wait for decent weather when we go sailing.

A lot of the time we will daycruise around the Solent. But assuming health is ok, maybe next June we could clear off for perhaps a couple of months, maybe longer.

Assuming we make a purchase within a month or so, we will have lost the 2006 summer. This autumn we have already got travel plans and I dont fancy a lot of sailing in the Winter!!

At least this will give us time to get to know the boat and sort out any problems before we go very far afield.
 
Too late Tillip, I've looked at 5 already! And another tomorrow.

So far looked at:-

2 x Dufour 36 (both nice but older than I would have liked, 2 x aft cabins and a forecabin)
1 x Legend 36 (again, nice - but I dont like the look of the rigging - no backstays at all. Bilge keels could be a plus where we live)
1 x Beneteau 373 (probably a bit too big)
1 x Hanse 341 (lovely - rigged for singlehanded operation, and self tacking device too, beautiful interior, 2004 boat on the market for 70k)

And tomorrow its another Legend 36.

So I am up and running Tillip!!

(PS Theyve all got saildrives but its almost hobsons choice on that point)

PPS Do I know you??)
 
Personal choice but my understanding is that the hull of the Beneteau is made up of a hull and an inner GRP layer forming the frames and stringers (as an independant moulding) bonded together rather than a hull with individual frames and stringers bonded in. I am just not confident how good the inner bonding is in the event of an impact and how difficult to repair plus whether long term flexes causing debonding.

There is enough of them around so I assume it can't be a problem but from an engineering point of view it doesn't strike me as a good solution. Conversly the inner steel frames taking all the stresses on an X boat and Arcona seem an excellent engineering solution.

I would also look at the hull layup. Do any of the makes you are considering use Kevlar or strengthening in the layup. Inevitably all boats unfortunately get knocks!

On a legend because there is no backstay the spreaders have to be raked aft quite a lot. Have you tried one running with the boom right out and seen how hard the sail presses on the spreader ends. Again probably fine in good conditions but I wonder about the stresses if the wind gets up.

I guess I am quite conservative with the yacht design I choose when its my hard earned money yet I am sure there are many happy owners of both makes so I will duck now!
 
No one else will mention them so its up to me. Take a look at an Etap 37s, look at least. Solid, safe, fast and comfortable. Great quality and low maintenance. It was given rave reviews when it was first launched.

Its not your regular AWB. You know how it is when you pull into a car park and its full of all the regular German, Jap and French cars and you are driving something a little different? Thats Etap!
 
Like I said, no one else will suggest it. It a bloody good boat too!

I know it looks like I'm on their pay roll, theres no chance of that though!
 
Trust you have noticed the sad incident with Mollie Loiuse and I think Shy talks comment that the cockpits are very open.

A difficult call in that I try not to go out in bad weather and if I bought a boat that could handle the worst of the southern ocean I may not wish to go out in it on a lovely sunny day!
 
Go to news at top , click on yachtsman dies at sea. Report states its a Legend 36.

Like all reports I prefer to wait for the MAIB report for all the relevant facts before passing opinions especially when sadly someone has lost their life.

On scuttlebutt there is a thread asking about a Jeanneau 32 that was effectively closed by Shy_Talk as he had helped deliver the persons new boat a Bavaria 32. Might be interested in contacting the people concerned to learn from their experience in looking at boats.
 
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