Well fellows, it's been a long day trip to Memphis and back. Met the owner of this boat dealership/repair yard/broker and he's a super nice fellow. Spent quite a while looking over the ones on the lot on the hard, climbed up and into a couple of them, and while my first pick of the litter prior to seeing it in person---the Freedom 21----soon brought reality once in the cabin.....wasn't there this J.R.R. Tolkien fellow that wrote books about some hobbit or the sorts??.....sitting on the settee my head was touching the roof of the cabin. Moving forward to the v-berth to get to the porta potty was going to happen on my belly for the only purpose of puking, and hell, I can do that outside in the cockpit over the side! I don't know what 6 year old the designer had in mind of commandeering this boat but he must be talented! There were several others, but this one peeked my interest a bit, probably enough to take the lady friend with me to see it and the others again on a day when she doesn't have to work and the boatyard owner is available.

https://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/pl_boat_detail.jsp?slim=broker&boat_id=2624889&che cked_boats=2624889&hosturl=rookesails&&ywo=rookesa ils&&ybw=&units=Feet&access=Public&listing_id=5433 1&url=


I've read the earlier posts from today while I've been gone, and 2 things about that C&C 30 that were mentioned:

1) The salvage value of the equipment might be pretty close to the initial $5,000 investment---that's nice to know, and
2) Being a 30 foot boat might require a Survey for insurance. If that's the case and it has to be hauled out of the water by the local contractor for the survey, then unless that is negotiable with the seller then that kills that deal right off the bat. Excellent tip.

Good luck

Salvage value... good luck getting a penny for a boat as salvage. Sure, you can spend hours of your life to make $100 on winches and old line. No thanks. Odds are you have to pay a few k to get it moved from your slip, assuming its not sunk.

You can get insurance w/o a survey. Doesnt mean you should. I've never had a survey done. Sorry if I missed some posts, but do you have a moisture meter? Wet decks kill many boats. Inspect the chainplates and any wood close by. Check the hull/deck joint, each boat has a little different setup. Make sure its solid and doesnt leak. If you dont know how to look at sails assume they need to be replaced. Same goes for motor. Outhboard is nice since it can go home with you when its acting up. If inboard make sure its bolted in place, trans has oil (ever changed?), how old is the heat exchanger?, how old are the water lines?, fresh water cooled?, prop shaft aligned? bilge clean?, is the rig solid? inspect every fitting ... get a survey if you cant answer every question. There are lots more.

Agree with Chris on these points. If you are looking at a boat based on it's salvage value best to stay away.

Surveys for insurance purposes are for hull coverage not liability. Surveys are far more important on Wood, steel and aluminum boats.

I know your lady friend and her dad are steering you away from Hunter and Mac26's. Not sure of their aversion to Hunter? It's a great entry level boat. I get the Mac26 from a sailors perspective.

Just an FYI- saw a Mac26 on Facebook market place this morning in Dennisport, MA $2,500.00 including trailer. I didn't look into it but it could be a good value and an inexpensive way to get started? Can't help but think on the body of water you will be navigating and the challenges to splash and haul when the time comes this may be easier to unload than the other boats?

There used to be a bunch of boats in FL that owners simply "gave" to Marina owners, etc. a few years back...available for cheap. Search 'em out imo...not from usual sources imo.

Afterburn... why do you delete your posts? Makes me think I wuz seeing things earlier...
and I didn't remember anything in it that was PARFy or sumthin' ;)

Every marina has a handful of boats that have been abandoned that the marina would gladly give away to save the cost of disposal. I get a boat or two every year for free or very low cost. I apply to the state the boat was abandoned, get a title and sell it.

I also deleted my posts which were a bit negative.
He was talking big boat.
I was talking small boat.

Each to their own. Big fish. Small pond. Big investment. No wind. Whatever. Not my business.

Here is a listing for a pretty well equipped Oday 25.
Have a look.

https://panamacity.craigslist.org/boa/d/pensacola-oday-25/6958726112.html

O’Days are good boats.

Here is another one for a lot less $s, but no trailer.

While probably not a sparkling light airs boats, they are pretty good for a larger sailor, And fairly well built.

https://panamacity.craigslist.org/boa/d/panama-city-25-ft-day/6936885678.html

This 22' has been listed for a while.

https://tallahassee.craigslist.org/boa/d/crawfordville-22-oday-sail-boat/6962386473.html

Cheers Richard

Another great location to search is: CHAPMANS SCHOOL OF SEAMANSHIP in Port Salerno, Fla (20+ miles north of West Pam Beach). Check out their Boats For Sale section. These were donated for tax write offs and the school re-sells them at a very deep discount. I saw a decent 25 footer for $1500!!! complete with outboard. Great bargains on powerboats as well.

_/)

On the Chapman's site, check out the 1984 29 foot C&C with a new diesel on her for $6,500. With a good motor you can take this baby across the Okeechobee Waterway then skirt the coast toward Mississippi for a great adventure. Nice sailboat for the money.

_/)

This is an active site that has lots of boats in the range you are thinking about.

Sailboats for sale from Sailing Texas, Sailboat Classifieds, sailboat for sale by owner

An opportunity to look at a wide range of boats and asking price.
A good study guide even if you don't turn up what you are looking for.

Whew quite the deal for a high performance racer/ cruiser.
http://sailingtexas.com/201901/startan270108.html

Not nesissarily a good fit for SCadiddie, but nice price for what it is.

Cheers Richard

How hard would it be to learn sailing on that Tartan racing boat (the second link in Richard’s Post) in New York? It really looks like a lot of boat for the money.

No harder than any other sailboat above 20’ in length. It’ll be a little tippy when weight is shifted around, but nothing serious. Just realize that where your weight is concentrated impacts boat speed & pointing (angle to the wind). All the basic sail controls are the same. It’s nice that they’re lead aft to the cockpit for convenience. It’ll take some time to learn how to optimize sail trim, but that’s the same issue when learning to sail on any sailboat. It’s handicap for racing (PHRF rating) is pretty low, so it’ll require a skilled skipper & crew to be competitive.

Been watching craigslist from Dallas to Atlanta and everything south to Pensacola, along with the sailing texas, sailboatlistings.com and the usual others for a few weeks. I've seen the ads for 2 out of the 3 listed above. The sailing academy is interesting, long way away.

Thursdays gem was a local Catalina 22 in a side yard on large foam blocks, been that way for probably 10 years and the last tarp over it died 5 years ago. Unfortunately, at this point it is nothing more than "yard art" and a functional mosquito breeder.

Friday's gem will be this one:

https://jackson.craigslist.org/boa/d/vicksburg-22-ft-bayliner-sailboat/6971299654.html

Methinks the "gems" are in the marinas and mebbe not even "for sale" per se. Post Dorian sail-a-thons.....good luck! Jax (my knowledge base)....Mebbe the "club" there, or P'cola, etc...

Get a local 'bird to PPI....Truckin'....not just fer deadheads...I sailed my 911 home tho' ;)

The seach is on....best of luck....she's out there!

All ya need is a coupla experienced folks on board witcha...fantastic way to "jump in"!

How long would that take....enoying the journey, etc. ?

I have zero experience lake sailing so I won't offer any opinions but the questions you're asking are often answered in detail here:

https://forum.trailersailor.com//forum.php?id=1

It's a very old forum style and they like it that way so it takes some getting used to. Introduce yourself, ask your question and you'll likely get a bunch of responses from all corners, be it someone sailing 16' Hobie to someone with a 25T license and pond sailors to sailors with substantive blue water experience.

bayliner built CHEAP POWER BOATS
and some really bad sail boats
price is low but about what that boat is worth