Typhoon Purchase Advice

[PC]

Hi Everybody. This is my first time posting, but I have been visiting this board for a while. I live in Buffalo, NY and have been searching for a Typhoon for about a year. I'm new to sailing and this will be my first boat.

I finally might have the opportunity to purchase a typhoon weekender but it needs some work. It has a crazed/cracked spot in the cockpit on one of the seats. It also has a couple soft spots on the foredeck and a small soft spot on the cockpit floor. Some teak is cracked and needs to be refinished and so on. It is a fixer-upper and is priced accordingly.

Basically it appears to be in decent shape, but has some issues. I have only seen pictures so far. I have not seen the actual boat.

My main concern are the soft spots. Should this be a deal-breaker? What is involved in fixing something like that. I'm pretty handy but have never worked with fiberglass. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[Oswego John]

Basically it appears to be in decent shape, but has some issues.

My main concern are the soft spots. Should this be a deal-breaker? What is involved in fixing something like that. I'm pretty handy but have never worked with fiberglass. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Hi PC,

There's not a person reading this who does fiberglass work on his boat who at one time didn't say "I have never worked with fiberglass. Working with glass could be compared with other things like playing the piano, shaping a sculpture, painting a landscape or trimming hair. The more you work at it, the better you get. It's not rocket science, just follow the directions.

The next time you are at a boating supply, check out the material and supplies in the fiberglass area. The West System and several other epoxy and poly manufacturers print soft cover handbooks and instructional sheets to help the DIYer with their projects.

You can do it. BTW, the Typhoon is a great boat. Good luck with it.

O J

[Seawolf]

Here's one listed in NY that doesn't look like it needs too much work. I don't know anything about it other than the listing:

http://rochester.craigslist.org/boa/632308420.html

[PC]

Thanks Seawolf. I actually responded to that ad back in April and was told that the boat would not be ready to be shown until the first week in May. I just sent them another e-mail...

I'm thinking I might need something that is ready to go without many repairs. I don't mind doing the cosmetic stuff but I don't want to get into a major overhaul. The Ty in Sodus Bay does look nice....

[seajunkie]

I would be be careful buying a fixer. Not that it isn't a good deal I haven't seen the boat. Here is what happened to me.

I had about 6k saved up for a boat. That was my budget. I actually got a free Alberg designed boat similar to the Cape Dory for free.

I was really excited about the boat. I worked out a budget to get it going and was all ready to start when my Cape Dory came on the market. My Cape Dory is in great shape, it came with a ton of extras including brand new cavnas inside and out, it needs a few small things (all boats do all of the time). When I did the math I realized that I could pick up the Cape Dory and have money left over to play with. The free boat was going to take up my entire budget and I was going to have to do all of the work. I ended up giving the free boat away.

I guess what I'm saying is sometimes a deal really isn't a deal. It seems to me that boats in great condition are a steal right now.

[shavdog]

An ad came up in the last couple days for a typhoon with trailer on the good old boats site...3750...looks like a great price to me...check it out

[PC]

OK... I'm going to look at this one tomorrow.... http://rochester.craigslist.org/boa/632308420.html

Are there any problems specific to Typhoons that I should look out for? I know about the sagging roof on some Typhoons and soft spots on the deck... anything else I should watch for?

[Oswego John]

PC,

Check out the rudder. Look for splitting at its foreward edge where it's attached to the rudder post.

Wiggle the rudder and post in its shoe at the botton of the keel. Try to move it up and down and see if the post can jump out of the shoe

Check out for rust stains at the shroud chain plates.

These are things that shouldn't kill a deal on an otherwise fine boat. Just things to watch for.

O J

[PC]

OJ, Thanks for the the advice. I checked out the things you described and there seems to be no problems. Its a great boat. Much better than the first one I was considering. Before I can make an offer, I have to figure out how to get it from Sodus Bay to Buffalo.

[Seawolf]

I recently had to transport a Typhoon. It was on a trailer, but the trailer had reached that stage of life useful for around the yard and not for traveling great distances. So, I priced out a few transport companies.

The issue was what the boat was currently on and where I wanted to put it; the actual miles traveled didn't seem to affect the price as much as I had thought. Since mine was on its own trailer, it needed to be crane lifted onto one of their over-land hydraulic trailers. (If yours is just on a cradle now, you may not have the added expense of needing a crane.)

The best deal I found was through the marina where the boat already was. They packaged the crane expenses on both ends, picked up the boat AND the old trailer and delivered them 100+ miles for about $500. The price did sting a bit at the time (especially since I had just bought as much boat as I could afford), but in retrospect the peace of mind for not fish-tailing a new boat all over the highway or risking a flat tire, broken axle, etc. was well worth the added cost.

[A friend of mine had suggested that we trailer it ourselves and just leave at two in the morning and drive 30mph the whole way. Maybe. All I can say is that by ponying up the transport fee, my boat arrived where I wanted it to go intact, and that friend is still a friend. ]

Hope it all works out.

[Oswego John]

PC,

The ad for the Ty says it is on a trailer. From Sodus Point, tow the boat south on Route #14 for 18 miles to Waterloo.

Get on the NYS Thruway, Interstate 90, at Waterloo and drive/tow west for 96 miles to Buffalo.
It makes no sense to sail the boat west on Lake Ontario. You'd have to take the Welland Canal south through Canada to Lake Erie and then to Buffalo. It costs over $200.00 USD to pass through the Welland. Then you'd have to drive back to Sodus to pick up the trailer and extra gear.

A word of caution. Strap the hull down tightly and secure it to the trailer frame. If you don't, at turnpike speed, the hull will bounce around and dance off the supports.

Keep the trailer winch strap taut to the bow of the Ty.

Lash the tiller dead center.

Remove the outboard motor. Don't leave it hanging on the stern of the boat. If you have the Cape Dory two piece motor mount, don't forget to stow the movable part so you don't lose it.

Drive to the right and don't get caught in the E-Z Pass lanes at the toll booths.

Check your auto insurance and, if necessary, put a towing rider on your policy.

Make sure that your brake lights, hazard lights and stop lights are in working order. Of course, have proper plates on the trailer.

Check the air in the tires.

Keep the trailer gross weight as low as possible.If it's under 3,000 pounds, in NYS you aren't required to have brakes on the trailer. The bare Ty and trailer should come in under the weight. If the trailer does have brakes, so much the better.

Check out the trailer hitch. Make sure that you have the right size ball on your vehicle.

Good luck with the delivery.
O J

[PC]

I purchased the Typhoon in Sodus Bay. I worked out a deal to have the owners deliver so now it is sitting in my yard. Thanks to everyone who posted advice. It really helped in the buying process. The boat is in great shape... just needs a lot of cleaning.