# Boats we are looking at so far



## blackjenner (Feb 5, 2010)

Here is what we have looked at so far (that are acceptable) in our search for a liveaboard cruiser:

Ta Shing Baba 40
Price: 90K
Pros: price, seaworthyness, interior, honest private seller, good sail inventory, blue water capable and proven, price
Cons: teak decks need recalking, a little dirty outside

Hardin 45 Ketch (3)
Price: 110-140K
Pros: Roomy (did I say roomy), great decks, good rigging, nice lines, good engines all, awesome engine access, blue water capable with window covers.
Cons: boutique boat, one had teak decks, proud owner$, full keel

Hunter 380
Price: 111K
Pros: clean, bright, well equipped, modern, great coastal cruiser
Cons: owner i$ very proud of boat, not necessarily good for leaving the coast, not as roomy as the others.

Morgan 43
Price 114K
Pros: fairly modern, in good shape, clean, well laid out, fairly handsome
Cons: ignorant broker, obvious stern damage from being backed into a dock that broker said, "oh really, where?", once had 6" of water over the sole of the aft cabin (why?), huge mast dead center in salon, some slightly worn and broken pieces.

Freedom 39' Schooner/Cat
Price: 115K
Pros: excellent condition, great single handing rig, almost as much room as the hardin, good decks, good engine, well equipped, blue water capable, free standing masts, awesome private sale owners
Cons: free standing masts (some see it that way), heavily crazed windows (but owner will fix if price is fair), and that's it...

Franck/Seaborn Raised Salon (52')
Price: 119K
Pros: unique, beautiful, masterpiece, floating museum piece, one family owner, immaculately maintained, fast sailing boat, blue water capable with salon window reinforcements, price
Cons: wood construction, length, single handing ability in question, odd berting layouts, 8' draft.

Hunter Legend 40.5 (not seen this one yet)
Price: 119K
Pros: one owner private sale liveaboard boat, well equipped, known history, clean, modern, good coastal cruiser
Cons: not many aside from being a Hunter in some eyes


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

Hmm...quite a diverse list. My advice is to back up and make a list of the top three four things you want to find in a boat...other than costing under $120K, and then start reseearching for that set of boats that happen to have some or all of your requirements...then go boat hunting.


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## blackjenner (Feb 5, 2010)

sailingfool said:


> Hmm...quite a diverse list. My advice is to back up and make a list of the top three four things you want to find in a boat...other than costing under $120K, and then start reseearching for that set of boats that happen to have some or all of your requirements...then go boat hunting.


Thanks.

Right now we are basically in the information gathering phase, seeing boats to determine what is important to us. Some on this list aren't in the running anymore but have informed us greatly.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

sailingfool said:


> Hmm...quite a diverse list. My advice is to back up and make a list of the top three four things you want to find in a boat...other than costing under $120K, and then start reseearching for that set of boats that happen to have some or all of your requirements...then go boat hunting.


That is good advice. The list of possibles is very long and until you know what you want it's going to be hard.

We listed 6 non-negotiables that we would not live without and then went looking. The search field was much narrower.

Our list was:

Centre cockpit (aft cabin)
Two heads (one to have "everything", one to be basic)
Sloop or cutter (no multiple masts)
Encapsulated keel (no keel bolts)
Well supported rudder (top and bottom)
Space for larger equipment (genset, watermaker, extra batteries etc)
If a boat on offer never had *all* of these it was routinely skipped over.

Most lists will be different so think long and hard about the type of sailing you will *dominantly* do then make your own. Once this is done the selection process is way easier.


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

Are you aware that a teak deck has a finite life and is both expensive and time consuming to replace.

Assuming that these are all older boats they may be at or near that point. Also the Ta Shing may have teak over ply and this often means a complete deck replacement as the ply will be delaminating and rotted.

A wooden 52 footer! You can not be serious!!

The Morgan 43 is a nice boat although the ones with Perkins 4108s are a bit underengined. 114k is a lot though it should be pretty near immac at that price with a low hours engine and new/recent rigging etc. There is a nice one on the east coast at 76k with a rebuilt engine. 

Have a look at an Early Hunter Passage 42 too, they have one of the best aft cabins you will see.


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## blackjenner (Feb 5, 2010)

I have to say, I appreciate the the lack of assumptions and the good suggestions so far. 

No, I'm not serious about the Helene. She is an amazing boat but she is not for us.


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## capt13 (Jul 20, 2007)

We have been searching for boats for over a year now, and just bought an old 1967 35 Alberg Ericson, But the Boat we really liked was the Hans Christians, hands down one of the nicest sailboats I have seen with a great Bed, Nice galley, wonderful Sailboats the (Hans Christian 33T) or Second choice would be the Corbin 39. We didn't have the $100.000 in our budget but if we did one of those two would have been the one. LOL but a Hunter or a Catalina Would not even be near my list. Those are not sailboats they are Submarines! LOL


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

Obviously you have not tried to sail that Alberg 35 in a big head sea or chop. Talk about a submarine with a mast! There are few boats that are wetter. 

Jeff


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## doubleeboy (Jul 21, 2008)

When we looked for a boat a year and half ago, we got pretty excited about a Hunter 40.5 that was available about an hour drive away. Broker said it was in excellent shape, well equipped for cruising, factory upgraded rigging, generator, watermaker, etc.

The generator was bolted with lag screws into hull, no wood blocking, 2 of the four screws had vibrated loose making a mess of fiberglass. There were gelcoat cracks near a lot of the deck hardware and the spiderweb cracks near the windlass were atrocious. I have no reason to believe this was a typical Hunter but then again, all the commissioning was done at Hunter.... 

The boat was very spouse friendly down below with an aft cabin that was very pleasant, roomy. If we were to buy a boat for the owners cabin this would have been the boat but the cheesy quality of the mounting of hardware, and the fact that it just didn't ring our beauty bell when we walked up to it or away from it made the decision easy. Since then I have met a couple of 40.5 owners and they both sail the dickins out of there boats, love them for what they are. Easy to sail, relatively quick, tons of room for kids , guests, etc. Both couples raved about Hunter support. 

We ended up spending a bit more and buying a Dehler 39. Not as big, not as cruisy, but a flat out riot to sail. 

Good luck with the journey
michael


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## capt13 (Jul 20, 2007)

*[email protected]*

Um Jeff H we know you don't like the Old Alberg's But Truth is they have been around the world more than once. They are heavy, full keel, and I have heard from many they really handle well in big seas. I rode out Hurricane Charley in a 24ft San Juan, So I know it will out handle that boat. Yes they where not built as cruising boats in their day, but by today's standards, throw a bigger water tank in, and a bigger fuel tank, and you have a blue water cruiser


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## remetau (Jan 27, 2009)

I think your boat purchase should be based on what kind of sailing or cruising you plan to do.

When we were looking, we wanted a boat to go around the world in. So we decided to look for the following (not in any particular order).
1.	A double-ender with traditional lines.
2.	A small cockpit for fast drainage.
3.	A large full keel.
4.	A cutter rig for a little bit more options.
5.	A 32’ to 38’ size.
6.	Etc…

Figure out what you want to do with your boat and then find the best boat that you can afford to do it in.


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## CaptainForce (Jan 1, 2006)

I agree with the trend to dismiss the boats with the teak decks. Take a long close look at the possible corrosion of the embedded chainplates on the Hardin. I would be drawn to the Freedom myself, but as others have posted, the vessel needs to match your expectations. Take care and joy, Aythya crew


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## blackjenner (Feb 5, 2010)

remetau said:


> I think your boat purchase should be based on what kind of sailing or cruising you plan to do.
> 
> When we were looking, we wanted a boat to go around the world in. So we decided to look for the following (not in any particular order).
> 1.	A double-ender with traditional lines.
> ...


Thanks. we are pretty clear on our desires right now.

1) A layout that can support us living on the boat full time. There is no reason to be miserable in our only home.

2) A sailboat with a reasonable ability to sail. I'll trade comfort at points of sail and comfort at anchor for pure speed. Don't get me wrong, I'll take a hot rod but it has to be a comfortable hot rod. This means that I'm willing to look at keel/sail options as a total package. I've owned a lot of different types of vehicles and sailed many different types of small boats so I can deal with a wide range of performance. Hell, I just sold a BMW Z4 and bought a Smart Car.

3) length about 38-45' (though we are looking at a 33 Nauticat Pilot house with an awesome layout and great storage).

4) Ability for us (me and my wife) to handle the boat pretty easily and for me to single hand it when necessary. We want to sail and cruise the boat without having to invite a "crew".

5) Cost: boat about 100K or so and a length that the slip fees are reasonable. We are looking for a financial load of about 16-1800 max to own the boat. This includes 6K a year maintenance fund.

6) bluewater capability. Note that this is last on the list. If I can find it in the boat that meets all our other criteria, so be it. If we can't, and all the other criteria are met in our price range, then we will coastal cruise until we either get off the boat or move to another boat.

That last item gives us quite a bit of flexibility and is the reason why our list of boats isn't as narrow as it would be.

We are seriously keeping Archangel (the Freedom 39) in mind. It meets all criteria listed above.


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## remetau (Jan 27, 2009)

I wouldn't dismiss a boat just because it has teak decks. Our decks aren't in bad shape and they don't leak at all. Bare teak is beautiful and very functional as a non-skid.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I'd point out that an older catamaran, like a Gemini 3200/3400, an Iroquois 30, or a Catalac 9m or 10m, would meet almost all of your criteria.

The Catalacs are a bit wide to fit in a slip, but the Geminis and Iroquois are not. They'd give you more room than your average 40' monohull. They're certainly more comfortable at anchor or in a slip than a monohull. They're all at least as fast as a decent 40' monohull. And they can all be single handed relatively easily.

The Iroquois and Catalac catamarans came over on their own hulls...so are more than capable of bluewater passages... and several Geminis have crossed the pond as well.


blackjenner said:


> Thanks. we are pretty clear on our desires right now.
> 
> 1) A layout that can support us living on the boat full time. There is no reason to be miserable in our only home.
> 
> ...


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## blackjenner (Feb 5, 2010)

sailingdog said:


> I'd point out that an older catamaran, like a Gemini 3200/3400, an Iroquois 30, or a Catalac 9m or 10m, would meet almost all of your criteria.


Thanks for the suggestion, Sailingdog. We haven't found many cats around these parts and liveaboard slippage for them is even harder to find than a monoholl around these parts. I don't think I'd rule one out but I haven't seen one yet that would work. So, good suggestion. Thank you and I will keep it in mind.


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## ughmo2000 (Feb 12, 2003)

Although it differs from your criteria, Tayana 37's might be worth a look. Plenty to be found, relatively cheap, a lot of storage, definitely able to go wherever you might want.


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## blackjenner (Feb 5, 2010)

My father in law lives on a Tayana 37. We have considered one.


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## blackjenner (Feb 5, 2010)

And we have decided...

We have placed an offer, had it accepted, got financing approval, go to survey and sea trial on Monday. After that it's adjustments for survey, close and move to our slip.

It's a 1980 Ta Shing Baba 35 Pilot House called Brigadoon. Apparently the 35PH is quite rare, with maybe seven built. Many people have praised the boat for it's construction. This one is beautiful.

Signature Yachts, Inc (Seattle, WA)

I'm really looking forward to closing this.

For the whole saga...see here:

The Freedom Project


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Congrats and good luck BJ.


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## blackjenner (Feb 5, 2010)

Thanks, Sailingdog. I have recently spent some time on cats and flirted with the idea during this process. Thanks for your earlier suggestions.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

You're welcome... keep us posted on how it all goes.


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## u4ea (Oct 11, 2010)

blackjenner said:


> And we have decided...
> 
> We have placed an offer, had it accepted, got financing approval, go to survey and sea trial on Monday. After that it's adjustments for survey, close and move to our slip.
> 
> It's a 1980 Ta Shing Baba 35 Pilot House called Brigadoon. Apparently the 35PH is quite rare, with maybe seven built. Many people have praised the boat for it's construction. This one is beautiful.


That is a beautiful boat! Its worth looking for long enough to uncover the gems out there, and it sure looks like you found one!


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## HDChopper (Oct 17, 2010)

Congrats blackjenner ! beautiful boat , I envy your choise PH ..


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