Last winter was just about the last straw for me and cold. Though Pilgrim is still in Maryland I made it to Florida. While convalescing I'm researching the market for good blue water boats. Once you have a feel for what makes a good ocean boat you can really gauge the (your own) value of production boats.
A friend wants a cruiser to retire on. A boat that can go anywhere, handle great and be comfortable. This friend also wants a solid boat that will be as trouble free as possible.
In any search with intent to purchase there is a budget, and of course the higher the budget the wider the scope of the search. And boat size is a huge factor in todays market. With a thorough search you'll see prices all over the place for boats up to 30'-34'. It seems they are a dime a dozen. If a 32' will suite you you'll have leverage in your negotiations. There are ample boats for sale. In this size you may find a fantastic boat for under $10,000 (either sail-away condition or after your upgrades). An example of the kind of buys you can find would be the Camper & Nicholson's Nicholson 33 found at a local marina. After several conversations about the CN which had been in arrears for storage payments for years the Marina owner said he'd take $2000 for her (and she was easily worth $10.000, the engine was like new.) But as I owned 4 boats then, a fifth wasn't feasible. Not successful finding a buyer for her, she was chopped up for her lead. That was a boat with a very interesting pedigree. American production boats pale in comparison to a high end world cruiser. The Camper was 33' long. In the dime a dozen neighborhood. She slipped through the cracks.
In a search for a larger boat, 37' or larger the market stiffens. Great buys are there, just not so frequent. So I'm looking for a boat for a friend. A woman who want's to retire and not have renovations or upgrades to worry about. She want's a boat that will hold it's value, be comfy and sail great and mostly be safe.
Pearson, Catalina, Hunter, O'Day, these are all nice lake Erie boats, Chesapeake Bay boats. Not what this buyer needs. Hallberg-Rassy, Nautor Swan, Shannon, Morris, Camper & Nicholson, Oyster Pacific Seacraft, Baltic...quality sells and holds it's value. With the first group, a boat that's worth $25 thousand can be had for under or around $10 thousand. In the second, a boat worth $200 thousand and up will drop to $130 thousand or so. Still beyond the average weekend sailor.
For a world cruiser safety is of paramount importance. On the ocean there is no rescue you can count on. And the ocean is full of flotsam and jetsam. Everything is encountered from huge containers that have fallen off of freighters to islands of plastic. If a fiberglass boat hits a container in the middle of the night the hull could break and the boat sink. If a steel boat hit a container in the middle of the night you be thrown to the deck, everything would be thrown around, you'd have dents to pound out...and sail on you way. That is why I believe steel.
So the search was on for steel boats. Oscar Estevez, a marine mechanic and shipwright friend, said many steel boats are made privately as one offs. The finest come from the Dutch. I've found a few interesting ones. One is a Denis Ganley design, the Stratos 46. Pilot house, sleek lines, beautiful interior. Cutter rig (which I prefer). Here's one I found that is interesting;
http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/27821
Another interesting designer is Tom Colvin, and his designs the Gazelle and the Pipistrel. There are several around, some Gaff and some junk rig. Here's a Junk in Guatemala that's beautiful:
http://guatemalariodulce.com/boat%20for%20sale/colvin%2060/colvin-60-for-sale.html
There are several one offs out there. One is the Harderwijk 40, built in Gouwzee, The Netherlands. This is a Pieter Beeldsmijder design. His designs are quite impressive, tho most of what I've found online is in Dutch. He she is, and I've also posted additional pics of it on my Google+
http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/44347
I've found several other what look to be really sound steel vessels of interesting design if anyone is interested.
As I always request, I'd love some dialog here. Share your knowledge, questions or observations. Sailing stories. Boat horror stories, repair travails...or music stuff...
but jump in!
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