When shopping for a used car a few years back, my mechanic was very helpful
in filtering out the wheat from the chaff. Or, the crap, to be technically
correct. When he said "Jeep??? God no! You wanna be out in the driveway
hunting down electrical nightmares when it's 18 degrees???", he turned out
to be correct, based on my discussions with Jeep owners.

Now, I've fallen in love with the idea of a small (16-18 ft) sailboat. This
happened after a week at Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks, where I saw some
gorgeous boats cruising around. I suspect I'll be looking at used boats, and
I'm wondering if, like the car experience, there are any brands which are
known to be complete garbage, in terms of hull construction, proper
installation of attached gear, etc.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I know it's a vague question, but I can't
be specific about budget yet because I don't have a starting point for
"what's TOO cheap" (like a $3,000 used car).
-Doug

I think you live in (near) Rochester NY -- IF so

If you're looking for a small cruiser I know of 2 at Pultneyville that
just might fit your needs -- I Grampion 26 and 1 (I think) Pearson26.
Grampion is an older cruiser. Pearson (If in fact it is a Pearson) is
club racer, with newish sails. You could probably get a good deal on
the Grampion since the owner is an older gent whose doc has told him to
give up sailing. Both have outboard power, both have a good reputation
as sailboats. Both look kinda beat, but as far as I know it's just
cosmetic, and could be waxed, teak oiled, ect.

Let me know and I can probably set up a look at them this weekend

Doug Kanter wrote:

When shopping for a used car a few years back, my mechanic was very helpful...

AFAIK, the equivalent to your mechanic is called a "surveyor". Find one
in your area and put the question to him, then have him check out any
boat you plan to buy.

What youshouldlookforiseither a SouthCoast 20-25 or a Macgregor Venture 17
to 24 they will all fall in a range from 700 for a fixer-upper to about 5000
for the really sharp high end turnkey boat. I'm the fixer-upper type.I've
had 7 boats and not but one a new one. To me thet are as much fun to work on
as tosail.
Capt. Jack
Orlando,FL
"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
When shopping for a used car a few years back, my mechanic was very
helpful
in filtering out the wheat from the chaff. Or, the crap, to be technically
correct. When he said "Jeep??? God no! You wanna be out in the driveway
hunting down electrical nightmares when it's 18 degrees???", he turned out
to be correct, based on my discussions with Jeep owners.

Now, I've fallen in love with the idea of a small (16-18 ft) sailboat.
This
happened after a week at Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks, where I saw some
gorgeous boats cruising around. I suspect I'll be looking at used boats,
and
I'm wondering if, like the car experience, there are any brands which are
known to be complete garbage, in terms of hull construction, proper
installation of attached gear, etc.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I know it's a vague question, but I
can't
be specific about budget yet because I don't have a starting point for
"what's TOO cheap" (like a $3,000 used car).
-Doug