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On 27 Apr 2005 04:33:25 -0700, wrote:

I am definately thinking smaller (and feeling
wealthier).

Well, you have that part exactly right. Smaller is cheaper and cheaper
still on a per-foot basis. When I got my 33.5 footer in 1999, I was
squarely in the middle of boat size at my club. Six years on, and I am
at the high end of "small" and 27 footers stay unsold for months and
go for what is in my opinion a song. It's a great time to buy a 25-30
foot late '70s-1990 boat, I think. A friend here can't move an updated
race-winning '84 Newport 27 (essentially a C&C 27) for $15,000 Cdn.,
which is about $11,500 U.S.

The good news is that you can reasonably over-budget on the basis of
getting a circa 30 footer that is immaculate and/or discounted on the
basis of known and easily fixable stuff. Frequently you will see an
older fellow or couple who have been the single owners of a smaller
sailboat for 25 + years. The things frequently look factory, and some
have been incrementally improved (hot running water, newer electrical
panels, etc.) by owners who spend a long of time aboard.

Frequently, the only problems are old, sometimes original sails and/or
tired rigging. You can say that as you will need to buy these items,
you wish a discount. Frequently, you'll get it and then some, and with
new sails and rigging on a dry, tight, well-maintained boat, it's
essentially new at 15%-20% of the price of a comparably new boat...if
you can find anyone making a 30 foot or under boat that isn't a pure
one-design. The idea is that you get to buy a better boat for less,
and then do a major gear upgrade at once, given that the hull and
systems are either good or gone, but you'd probably change the sails
anyway.

R.

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