Hi Guys I'm a new member but been a sailor for years. I've been thinking about buying a yacht and my budget is small so my question is about buying a custom yacht against buying a regular branded boat. The custom yacht seem to sell a lot cheaper and you appear to get a lot more for money?

There is a reason yachts are made as one offs. If they were good they would sell more. There will be exceptions that prove the rule, but few. Unless your budget is very low, you wil be able to get a Tophat cheap and, in my view, you couldn't do better.

I know that a lot of people shy away from them but as far as a lot of boat for your money, ferro cement would be a option

Regards Don

How about a "Roberts Custom". There must be a BIG market for them.

HG02 said..

nqboats.com.au/townsvilleslipws/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/walker-h28-ketch/165370

My advice is to be a tad wary of Townsville Slipway and Yacht Sales.

They had a Townson 34 yacht for sale that they swore black and blue was an S&S34 as did the owner according to them. They are not just brokers. They are traders as well.

Whether it was an S&S 34 or a Townson 34 was discussed on this forum a couple of years ago and the consensus was that it was a Townson. I know it was a Townson. I saw enough of them in Auckland in 1978 to know a Townson when I see one. They are very characteristic.

A further bad experience I have had in Townsville was driving all the way up there from Bundaberg, some 800 klms each way, to buy a yacht advertised as a Van De Stadt 34 that was actually a Van De Stadt 30. Nice yacht and worth the money, but not what it was advertised as.

Caveat Emptor. Let the buyer beware. What the buyer needs to be more than anything is AWARE.

That Townson 34 is in port here again at the moment, or was yesterday when I was swanning about on the river. Lovely boat.

During the week two Supersonic 27's sold on eBay by Maxiyachts. One went for just over $1000 [needs rudder instal] the other with a dead Yanmar 8 sold for $710. I tried hard to get one of my sons to bid on the second. It needs sails but I have plenty to suit. I would watch on eBay, particularly boats that Maxiyachts lists and Gumtree. When you see something of interest raise it here and we will assist. Add details to your Bio, particularly our location and there might be a lister close by.

Best to stick with stock 'glass boats as starters. Custom often means race oriented boats with nasty stuff like running backstays. There is a 30 foot 'glass boat built in fairly large numbers called a Custom 30 too.

she looks like a lexen 32 hull

crustysailor said..
a couple of Manitou's on Gumtree as well, this one $4k:

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/seven-hills/sail-boats/yacht-fibreglass-32ft-centre-cockpit-manitou-32/1072628705

4k will be the beginning of many more thousands and hours and hours and hours of labour.

just to change that motor over to the new bukh your looking at I bet at least $2000 and hours of frustration.. to give you an example just for the new engine mounts it will set you back $500. then all the other things that will go wrong. then working out how to get the engine in and out of the boat will set you back a whole lot more money.

then all the thing you thought worked... don't work and your looking at another $5000

and then you get picky and want to make your mark on the boat and set it up like you want it ... another $10000

and then just as you think your about to go out and sail, something brakes and your in the hole for another $1000.

in saying all this I love my boat :).. but don't delude yourself into thinking that there's such a thing as a cheap boat , especially around the 30ft range.


my advice if your like me and NOT rich then sacrifice something to spend some more money on your boat. most people drive fancy new cars. I drive a Sh!t box and the money I save on this I can afford my boat.

I know which I would rather own..

The Manitou started out as a 27 foot yacht and had a canoe stern added to create the centre cockpit. Just imagine a Compass 28 like stern where the aft cabin window is. That's why the interior room is just like a 50's 27 footer long keeler. Good concept though at the time. Extend a good old design and sell it in kit form.

bubble7777 said..

crustysailor said..
a couple of Manitou's on Gumtree as well, this one $4k:

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/seven-hills/sail-boats/yacht-fibreglass-32ft-centre-cockpit-manitou-32/1072628705

4k will be the beginning of many more thousands and hours and hours and hours of labour.

just to change that motor over to the new bukh your looking at I bet at least $2000 and hours of frustration.. to give you an example just for the new engine mounts it will set you back $500. then all the other things that will go wrong. then working out how to get the engine in and out of the boat will set you back a whole lot more money.

then all the thing you thought worked... don't work and your looking at another $5000

and then you get picky and want to make your mark on the boat and set it up like you want it ... another $10000

and then just as you think your about to go out and sail, something brakes and your in the hole for another $1000.

in saying all this I love my boat :).. but don't delude yourself into thinking that there's such a thing as a cheap boat , especially around the 30ft range.


my advice if your like me and NOT rich then sacrifice something to spend some more money on your boat. most people drive fancy new cars. I drive a Sh!t box and the money I save on this I can afford my boat.

I know which I would rather own..

Shhhhh bubble7777 the SWMBO's may read that, then we will all be in trouble

Ramona said..

Franrick said..
One thing to remember with the Custom 30 is that it is in WA and will need to be relocated. Either by road or sea. If she is not in a current state to cross the bight it could add a lot of money to the purchase price.

I like the look of the boat and the price seems good though.

I was presuming JBrab was in WA. It's hard to know sometimes where people live if they don't add info on their bio.

I am in WA all you have to do is check my profile if its important to you or actually relevant

brizzydave said..
You get used to the useless "cranky old barstard" comments after a while jBrab.

Yeah ....what he said. After all we got used to you too Dave ... here, have a rum

Franrick said..

JBrab said..

I am in WA all you have to do is check my profile if its important to you or actually relevant

JBrab
I Checked your profile before I made my post.
Where you lived wasn't there when I checked otherwise I wouldn't have made the comment.

Yup, I too had a look earlier and there was no location information listed in the bio.

Gotta nurture this joint fellas. This isn't Lord of the flies.

japie said..


This isn't by any chance the boat you are talking about is it?


I flew up to Townsville to have a look at it. Turned into a nightmare trip and was the principle defining moment which led to my decision to leave the country!

No that is not it but that is a design by another leading Kiwi designer whose name escapes me at the moment. Possibly Alan Mummery.

There seems to be something about Townsville. I drove all the way up there to look at a yacht that was advertised as a Van De Stadt 34 which was a VDS 30. Total waste of $800. It was advertised privately.

While I was there I tried to have a look at an S&S 30 (Defiance) but the broker was out sailing.

Japie- Was it the boat or the trip which was a nightmare?

One thing you can do if you are interested in a boat that is far away is ask on this site if someone is nearby who can take a look at the boat for you. I have done it for somone who was interested in a boat in Cairns and I was heading there. Next week I will pop into Albany-any good boats there?