Looking at a CD 28

[j2sailor]

Wait. Be patient. Used boats are going down. As goes housing, so follows other things, including boats. Many boats are way overpriced right now for a soft market, CDs included. Buyers rule. Same with housing. People want to recover cost. It doesn't work that way, except in a sellers market.

I'm not even actively looking right now. My priorities have changed, but so has the market. This recession will probably be extremely deep. The market isn't soft enought yet. I estimate a buyers market for the next 1-2 years.

If thats the CD28 in Stuart offered by the French gent, I did an extensive (non-pro) survey on her. Got to your post late, but you lucked out by not purchasing. According to her owner, the boat was damaged in a hurricane. The mast was replaced, is oversized and too heavy. You may have noticed the liner beneath the compression post was severely bowed. She has leaks on her port chainplates. Electrical is shot. Several through hulls had their hose or piping hacksawed and were left sticking in the bilge. I don't recall any seacock on the entire boat that had a workable handle. The head is completely shot. Owner indicated the boat hasn't been sailed in a couple of years. The boom was lying on deck without topping lift attached - not good for gooseneck or deck. You're talking many thousands to get her back up to snuff.

Florida boats are iffy. Many haven't been cared for properly and the tropics play hell with a boat if she's not babied down here.

I talked with a broker about the Lake Texahoma, Texas CD28. He says she has extensive water intrusion core damage under the stanchion bases. Oddly, he said he wouldn't touch it. I thought she looked steller via the photos. I haven't seen her, but she's been on the market for a while now.

Again, be very careful when looking at boats in the tropics or high humidity areas. Don't even consider purchase without an out of and in the water (underway) survey with a pro. That's after you've checked her out.

[David Perry]

As a yacht broker, I can say that the advise you received on this board was terrific, and right on. The seller gave you every reason to suspect that he knew the boat would have issues at survey, likely something serious like deck de-laminations. It is one thing to end up with a slightly longer list of small items to deal with than anticipated, But to end up with a boat that cannot pass a survey could be a liability in itself. You have to have insurance (have you ever examined the cost of getting a boat off the bottom and cleaning an oil spill. Or the cost of the repair to that Hinckley 59 you dragged anchor into?) And a boat has to survey structurally in order to get insurance.
Glad to see fellow Cape Dory owners protecting each other!

[MarcMcCarron]

I picked up a cherry cd30k on ebay for 16K....
Keep on looking .
NEVER buy a boat that needs mucho TLC !
Fixer-uppers cost too much in the end.
Find boats for sale and make offers - don't be shy.

[j2sailor]

Follow Marc's example. He picked up a cherry boat for a buyer's market price. You'll see more in the future.

The owner of the Stuart CD28 indicated the mast snapped while on the hard during a hurricane. Any storm damaged boat is likely to have hidden damage that might only be visible to a trained surveyor. When a deck mounted mast snaps, suspect step and chainplate damage along with delamination problems.

[Sea Hunt]

What a "coinkidink" During my long, painful search, I too looked at this CD 28 (Hull Number 174) in February 2008. The French gentleman (his name to me was "Arnold") was very courteous, polite, etc. He said this CD 28 was actually owned by his daughter who was a medical student in "the islands". He said he owned his own sailboat. He pointed to a sailboat that appeared to be in "distress".

Because of my lack of expertise, I did not observe the mast had been damaged/broken in a prior hurricane. I did observe that this CD 28 was in significant "distress" and disrepair.

When I "inspected" this CD 28, the asking price was $9,500. I thought at the time that it would have been a good investment for someone with the knowledge, skill and expertise (and time) to restore her - the "Oswego John" type.

After a week in a motel, I am finally back in my home (such as it now is after significant water damage) and hope to visit my beloved Typhoon Weekender tomorrow afternoon. My plan is to first learn to drop and then pick up the mooring ball/line single handed. Then I will learn to raise and lower sails single handed. The LAST thing I want to do is accidentally bump into another moored sailboat, etc.

[j2sailor]

Sea Hunt,
Good for you. I graduated from my first boat, the Ufa Fox designed O'day Javelin to a Ty in the early 70's. I went to the factory in East Taunton and hand picked her out of a row of Tys inside one of the shops. Cape Dory's quality control was so strict that even minor gelcoat flaws weren't allowed to leave the factory. Those boats had their hulls painted and were kept there until sold. I bought a cherry red hull with black bottom paint at a great price.

I kept her on a mooring at Burr Brothers in Marion, MA. I loved the challenge of sailing through the mooring field and snagging my buoy. You'll learn a lot about control. The Ty handles very well under mainsail alone. Try close reaching on your approach. That way, you can easily accelerate and decelerate to bring you right alongside your mooring. She's the perfect boat to learn to singlehand - and such a sweet sailer...

Best, J.

[Russell]

Still, I would like to know what a good CD 28 hull is worth?

This survey http://tinyurl.com/6jczw9 says the replacement value of a CD 28 is... get this 147,000.00
Now there is a number that someone could use to rationalize...

Replacement value is based on what it would cost to build the same boat again new.

So as an example, a Vancouver 28(a high quality 28' boat built today, the only one I can even think of), brand new from the factory right now, costs $199,0000. So a replacement value of $147K sounds about right for a quality built CD28 (you wouldnt use the cost of a Catalina 28 for comparison).

But the replacement value number has nothing to do with what its worth paying for a boat.

[RIKanaka]

My plan is to first learn to drop and then pick up the mooring ball/line single handed. Then I will learn to raise and lower sails single handed. The LAST thing I want to do is accidentally bump into another moored sailboat, etc.

I assume you have a boat hook, which will aid greatly in picking up the pendant and/or fending off an impending collision. I used to sail in to the mooring on a close reach, depending on the wind and other boats in proximity, and turn upwind to luff when I reach the mooring, but after a mishap last year when the mooring field was packed and the wnd was blowing 20 knots straight into the narrow channel, I now motor in and out or, at the very least, have the outboard in the water and idling as back-up.