Our dilemma

[Baker]

We aren't gonna be in the market for a little while.* I think we have pretty much decided on a sedan.* We have really really looked into the sundeck type but I think we are sedan type of folks.* Anyway, our problem.

We would like a boat under 80 grand...in the mid 30 foot range...no teak decks....very little/no exterior teak at all....no Mainships(no offense...I am a Mainship owner.* The Admiral just doesn't like the curb appeal of the older 34s).* We have a very strong preference for single engine....meaning it would take a great boat to go with twins.* It's gotta have a flybridge too.

All of the Tawianese boats have teak decks and tons of exterior teak.* The Californians have no teak decks and are great boats but are LOADED with exterior teak.* We used to have a Prairie 29 but looking for something a tad bigger.* We really like the Charlie Morgan designed*Heritage West Indian but they just don't come onto the market very often...not many were made.

Very occassionally you will find a Tawianese boat that*someone has "de-teaked".* Hadn't seen one in a while.

Wondering if we are missing something?

 

[Chris Foster]

John -

I was in about the same place a year ago. I had decided on a CHB, as they do give a lot of bang for the buck. Even put a couple of offers in that were turned down (in one case because I needed 3 weeks to get a survey together - they turned me down and ended up not selling for about 3 months... but I digress).

My plan was to find one that wasn't too "leakey teakey," use it for a few years, and then find some shop space for a winter, pull it out, yank the decks, and fix the rotten plywood corea as necessary.

I blundered into the Rawson and found that there are a class of boats built by smaller U.S. and Canadian yards. With the Rawson, it was a commercial fishing boat manufacturer that branched out into pleasure boats. Most of these that I've seen are without teak decks or trim. Interiors are often a little utilitarian, but well built. Because the names aren't known and the interiors a little less luxurious, they seem to be a bit less expensive.

Looking on Yachtworld, I see a Rossborough 35' sedan, 1988, single Volvo, asking 65K. That looks to be a pretty good example of the kind of boat I'm thinking of.

Anyway, that's my $0.02...

 

[DonW]

I'll add a penny to Chris's comments, this too about using yachtworld.com

I used to do searches there for specific boats. Then, I started using the Advanced Search function and just put in the parameters that interested me. size, price, single diesel, etc etc. without specifying brandname.
The results can be very interesting and display boats for sale that I never would have known to search out on my own. Not often, but sometimes something pops up - I still do this for fun - and I think "WOW! I'd BUY that if I didn't already have this, etc. etc"

 

[Chris Foster]

Yep, that's exactly the way that I used it. I discovered that it was worthwhile to put in a max price 20% or so above budget, as a boat that hasn't sold for a while is ripe for a pretty good discount.

My search was 34-38', diesel, located in Washington State or BC,

 

[Forkliftt]

Baker-
You make good points, but are you sure all of the TT's have teak. Our CHB sundeck has the original non skid and no teak flooring. Maybe this is only the sundecks- I am not sure.
Steve

 

[DonW]

Yup - look at a higher price than your budget and look at boats 1 or 2 (or 4?) feet bigger than the ideal.



Here's a "deteaked" 35' CT Trunk cabin that looks real good in the pics.

The broker even comments about the teak removal being done correctly. Under your budget.
so you could afford to move her from Fla to Texas.


http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=67111&url=

 

[Baker]

Thanks guys. And Don, that is the way I do my searches. Another trick is to purposefully misspell a hard to spell make....like the taiwanese boats.

And, yes, I did see that CT trunk cabin...looks very nicely done. The only problem is that it is not a sedan. I might give it a go but I don't think she would. Again, I know we pay for it in space. PT made some 38s and there is a nice one in NY but it has twins. It does not have teak decks but it still has lotsa teak. Anyway, we gotta get our current boat sold.

Thanks and lemme know if y'all think of something.

 

[Baker]

Forkliftt wrote:

Baker-
You make good points, but are you sure all of the TT's have teak. Our CHB sundeck has the original non skid and no teak flooring. Maybe this is only the sundecks- I am not sure.
Steve

If we were gonna go sundeck, it would be a CHB*for this reason among others......one of the other reasons is I like the way they do their drawers in the master....BIG and lots of them.

 

[Baker]

Thanks Mike. We do like the Heritage West Indian. I'll give it a look.

 

[Marin]

John---

Be very careful in selecting a CHB. They are one of the makes with widely varying quality from boat to boat due to the practices used the manufacturing process. It may be that the later ones were not built using the small-yard completion process, but the boats from the 70s and 80s were. That's not to say there aren't good CHBs out there. There are plenty of them. But if you find one you really like make sure to have it very carefully surveyed for structural integrity in the cabin, decks, etc, because that's where the corners tended to be cut during the manufacturing process.

Another trawler make with a good reputation is Island Gypsy.

 

[Baker]

Since we are trying to stay sedan and no teak, CHB and Island Gypsy really aren't in the running. The later 80s CHB sundecks are a completely different animal and are made quite well. If we were gonna go Sundeck, it would most likely be CHB. We still may go Mainship if I can get her to sign off on it. They are so dam cheap and the exact layout we are looking for....she just doesn't like that white/black look that they all have.

 

[RT Firefly]

Hiya,
Mr. Baker, have you considered re-decorating or repainting to change to look of a Mainship to better reflect your wife's tastes since the $$ and the layout are what you are looking for? Any monies you save could be put toward such a project.

 

[Baker]

RT Firefly wrote:

Hiya,
Mr. Baker, have you considered re-decorating or repainting to change to look of a Mainship to better reflect your wife's tastes since the $$ and the layout are what you are looking for? Any monies you save could be put toward such a project.

I have but she is smarter than that.* She knows any excess monies would go to more important stuff(electronics, etc.) and not to cosmetic things.* I would still have to deal with that black metal stuff....

 

[RT Firefly]

Aw Rats! Well it was a shot anyway. Funny things about wives...Mine didn't appreciate the new fishin' pole I bought her last year....It works great by the way....