On Saturday, my wife are going to look at a craigslist SJ21.
The previous owner has passed away and the family knows nothing of the history of the boat.
They say it hasn't been in the water for about 8 years but has been sitting protected in a barn.
I've owned power boats before, but this will be our first sail boat.
Any suggestions on what to look for or out for will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Jeff
Any tips for looking at a boat?
Re: Any tips for looking at a boat?
Maybe too late, but here is what comes to mind:
Deal Stoppers: these two would potentially cause me to walk away
-Deck core is number uno. Walk on the deck, does it flex alot, are there soft spots? Is there crazing or cracks in the deck gelcoat? go inside and look for stains where through deck fittings come in. Look at the deck hardware, is it original? If so, has it ever been rebedded? If not, it is probably leaking. If I were buying again, assuming I liked most of what I saw and was going to make an offer, I would ask to drill a view holes from within the cabin into the core, but not through the deck to check for any water intrusion. I would tell them my offer is contingent on a dry deck and I will buy if dry. If I got liquid water, I would probably walk away unless I felt like doing a re-core. Dry rot is not the end of the world assuming no major crazing/flex. For reference, I weigh ~200lbs, when I walk on my deck it makes a drum sound and the boat shakes, but the deck doesn't change shape under my foot or elsewhere. Unless you are in for a major project, don't buy a wet deck.
- Transom. Same thing. looking for rot in the wood that backs the transom. push hard on it checking for flex. Put your weight slowly on the outboard bracket and see what happens. Mine was toast and still didn't flex, so make your offer contingent on pulling the gudgeons off. If there is water, it will be obvious when you pull off the lower gudgeon. This might not be as big a deal breaker, but believe me, it is not an easy fix.
Everything else: Anything else is really about price assuming the deck and transom are sound. I tried to put them in order of expense
- Sails. Are they original? Probably. Used might run you $300-700, new is closer to $1200. If the existing ones are in decent shape, you can get several years out of them, I did. No tears, worn spots.
-Trailer. A particularly bad shape trailer can get expensive. If the frame is in decent shape, you will at least need to redo the bearings, probably tires and lights/harness as well. I changed the axle on mine for a few hundred. Bad frame means new trailer and now you are into thousands.
-Motor. Is there one? Does it run? If not, I found a 4hp 4-stroke Yamaha with a long shaft on craigslist for $700, but budget $1000.
-Standing rigging. Is it original? probably. probably needs replacing. Here is my cost breakdown as of 2011
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=141
-Running rigging. Are the lines (not ropes, this is a boat) sound? probably not, see above spreadsheet for cost.
-Keel. Open up the keel trunk and look at it. Is it covered in barnacles? Inspect the horn where there is a sheave attached. Is it sound, or rotted out. This can be a difficult repair as it requires dropping the keel. Look at the fiberglass humps beside the keel trunk, do they look original? If they have never been cut out, then you have the original keel pivot bolt. It could be bent or corroded, hard to know without being able to put the keel down to watch it's arc. I replaced mine, but the original was in fine shape, so unless it looks like a shit show, it is probably fine. Crawl under and look at the keel's leading edge. Is the part that would touch ground beat to hell? If so, you will need to re-glass it. Could be done without dropping keel, but not fun repair.
-Paint. If it is the original gelcoat and in good shape, you can just buff and go. If you want to paint, it isn't particularly expensive for the materials, but it is a lot of labor. If there is bottom coat paint and you plan to keep it in the water, you will probably need to repaint. Mine is a trailer queen, so can't advise on that.
-Rudder. I would be unhappy if it wasn't a kick up. If it is fixed, you will probably end up looking for a kick up if you trailer, so budget for that. Maybe $300? assuming it isn't delaminating majorly, just about anything on it is a minor repair and can be cleaned up pretty easy.
-Deck hardware. Original? If so, the sheaves are probably toast. Looking at least $500 to replace everything. Garhauer is your friend.
-Electrical. It is probably shot, but not expensive if you know how to do it. maybe $50-300 depending on what you want.
-Cushions. Are there any? If so, probably musty and you may want to replace anyway. I did my own for about $200.
That is most of it at least. Here is how I would price if I was buying today:
$800-$1200: Project boat. All original materials. Isolated soft spot in the deck or a toasted transom that I was willing to fix and everything else needs to be replaced.
$1500-$3000: Serviceable boat. It has had some upgrades and all the deck hardware has been maintained so it is dry. Someone has been sailing it and it could be sailed today. Or, a barn find that was stored out of the weather and is a time capsule that just needs to be brought back up to speed. Mine was the latter.
$3000-$5000: Shipshape boat. Everything has been replaced within the last 5-10 years. Paint is good, keel bolt has been replaced, good engine, good sails. Probably being raced or at least sailed regularly by someone who will spend the money to do the right repair. These are hard to find, but in my opinion, would be the least expensive option assuming you like the modifications that have been made. And, you get to sail immediately!
Deal Stoppers: these two would potentially cause me to walk away
-Deck core is number uno. Walk on the deck, does it flex alot, are there soft spots? Is there crazing or cracks in the deck gelcoat? go inside and look for stains where through deck fittings come in. Look at the deck hardware, is it original? If so, has it ever been rebedded? If not, it is probably leaking. If I were buying again, assuming I liked most of what I saw and was going to make an offer, I would ask to drill a view holes from within the cabin into the core, but not through the deck to check for any water intrusion. I would tell them my offer is contingent on a dry deck and I will buy if dry. If I got liquid water, I would probably walk away unless I felt like doing a re-core. Dry rot is not the end of the world assuming no major crazing/flex. For reference, I weigh ~200lbs, when I walk on my deck it makes a drum sound and the boat shakes, but the deck doesn't change shape under my foot or elsewhere. Unless you are in for a major project, don't buy a wet deck.
- Transom. Same thing. looking for rot in the wood that backs the transom. push hard on it checking for flex. Put your weight slowly on the outboard bracket and see what happens. Mine was toast and still didn't flex, so make your offer contingent on pulling the gudgeons off. If there is water, it will be obvious when you pull off the lower gudgeon. This might not be as big a deal breaker, but believe me, it is not an easy fix.
Everything else: Anything else is really about price assuming the deck and transom are sound. I tried to put them in order of expense
- Sails. Are they original? Probably. Used might run you $300-700, new is closer to $1200. If the existing ones are in decent shape, you can get several years out of them, I did. No tears, worn spots.
-Trailer. A particularly bad shape trailer can get expensive. If the frame is in decent shape, you will at least need to redo the bearings, probably tires and lights/harness as well. I changed the axle on mine for a few hundred. Bad frame means new trailer and now you are into thousands.
-Motor. Is there one? Does it run? If not, I found a 4hp 4-stroke Yamaha with a long shaft on craigslist for $700, but budget $1000.
-Standing rigging. Is it original? probably. probably needs replacing. Here is my cost breakdown as of 2011
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=141
-Running rigging. Are the lines (not ropes, this is a boat) sound? probably not, see above spreadsheet for cost.
-Keel. Open up the keel trunk and look at it. Is it covered in barnacles? Inspect the horn where there is a sheave attached. Is it sound, or rotted out. This can be a difficult repair as it requires dropping the keel. Look at the fiberglass humps beside the keel trunk, do they look original? If they have never been cut out, then you have the original keel pivot bolt. It could be bent or corroded, hard to know without being able to put the keel down to watch it's arc. I replaced mine, but the original was in fine shape, so unless it looks like a shit show, it is probably fine. Crawl under and look at the keel's leading edge. Is the part that would touch ground beat to hell? If so, you will need to re-glass it. Could be done without dropping keel, but not fun repair.
-Paint. If it is the original gelcoat and in good shape, you can just buff and go. If you want to paint, it isn't particularly expensive for the materials, but it is a lot of labor. If there is bottom coat paint and you plan to keep it in the water, you will probably need to repaint. Mine is a trailer queen, so can't advise on that.
-Rudder. I would be unhappy if it wasn't a kick up. If it is fixed, you will probably end up looking for a kick up if you trailer, so budget for that. Maybe $300? assuming it isn't delaminating majorly, just about anything on it is a minor repair and can be cleaned up pretty easy.
-Deck hardware. Original? If so, the sheaves are probably toast. Looking at least $500 to replace everything. Garhauer is your friend.
-Electrical. It is probably shot, but not expensive if you know how to do it. maybe $50-300 depending on what you want.
-Cushions. Are there any? If so, probably musty and you may want to replace anyway. I did my own for about $200.
That is most of it at least. Here is how I would price if I was buying today:
$800-$1200: Project boat. All original materials. Isolated soft spot in the deck or a toasted transom that I was willing to fix and everything else needs to be replaced.
$1500-$3000: Serviceable boat. It has had some upgrades and all the deck hardware has been maintained so it is dry. Someone has been sailing it and it could be sailed today. Or, a barn find that was stored out of the weather and is a time capsule that just needs to be brought back up to speed. Mine was the latter.
$3000-$5000: Shipshape boat. Everything has been replaced within the last 5-10 years. Paint is good, keel bolt has been replaced, good engine, good sails. Probably being raced or at least sailed regularly by someone who will spend the money to do the right repair. These are hard to find, but in my opinion, would be the least expensive option assuming you like the modifications that have been made. And, you get to sail immediately!
Re: Any tips for looking at a boat?
Hello, I was just wondering if we ever picked up the new boat? And Kuriti That was an awesome explanation as to what to look for when buying one of these boats!
Re: Any tips for looking at a boat?
I picked her up Wednesday!
All this covid response has made everything more difficult!
Driving an unregistered trailer with plates from my other boat an hour from VA back to MD realy had my nervous!
Made it home ok, now the work begins!
All this covid response has made everything more difficult!
Driving an unregistered trailer with plates from my other boat an hour from VA back to MD realy had my nervous!
Made it home ok, now the work begins!