Sailboat Candidates

The Long List

Over the course of several weeks, I collected the listings of sailboats in local advertising magazines. In total, I had listings for 56 boats that were ‘in the ball park’. These boats included various models from Aquarius, Balboa, Bayliner, Bristol (Corintian), Catalina, Chrysler, Clipper Marine, Hunter, Kells, MacGregor (Venture), and O'Day. I used classified listings rather than going to boat brokers since there seemed to be plenty of trailer sailboats on the market at the time.

Narrowing the Field

I applied the requirements to my list, to narrow the field to boats worthy of consideration. This gave me a ‘short list’ of about 20 boats to consider. The average age of the boats under consideration was 18 years (1979 model) and the average asking price was just around $3,500.

Overall, the list narrowed down to 5 brands of boats including Catalina and MacGregor, and Hunter (sailing’s equivalent of the ‘big 3’ auto makers). Also in the mix were Aquarius and O'day, both of which were no longer in business.

The Short List

 The Shopping Begins

With this list in hand, I started making phone calls, asking some detailed questions, and arranging to see the boat, if it sounded promising. I figured it would be impractical to see every boat on my list, but I would get the hang of things after having seen a few (after all value is based on comparison). The condition of the boats that I saw ran the gambit between ones that should have been put out of their mystery to some that were pretty nice.

Pearls of Wisdom

• I think it is important to note here that in shopping for boats, there is very little reason to rush your decision. It seems to be a buyer's market out there for boats (something to keep in mind when you go to sell).
• In terms of economics, the boats that were in the better condition were generally a better deal. It seemed like the money that would be required to fix up a deteriorated boat far exceeded the purchase price difference.

After numerous phone calls and six or seven boat-seeing trips, I was sorting things out; and was starting to like the Catalina 22 the best. They say that the right boat will find you, and I was starting to hear the calls.  There were a number of Catalina’s (8 total) on the market at the time I was searching, so it became a matter of picking the one with the best overall value.

  And The Winner is . . .

A 1982 Catalina 22 , sail #10531 (applause). This boat was in the best condition of any boat that I saw, and it was newer than average. The price was also lower than average, but there was one drawback – no trailer. However, I figured in the long run that a better boat is worth having, and I could use the difference in price to buy a used trailer.  

 We agreed on the deal just before Labor Day weekend in 1997.