Do not make the mistake of thinking slow boats are more comfortable.
Any boat smaller than an aircraft carrier is uncomfortable!!!
As a matter of fact fast boats are more comfortable than slow boats, primarily because they get to the anchorage sooner.
Links to a few that may suit you.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/swarbrick-s80/307692

This one posted here before but at $22k negotiable definitely worth a look.
yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/davidson-34/315574

Cheap but with good bones.
yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/compass-28/315562
yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/swanson-27/311865

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/cavalier-28-needs-tidy-up-low-price-add-value-lake-maquarie/307501

Nice yacht for $20k.
yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/eastcoast-31-very-nice-fit-out-one-owner-pittwater/305128

In that context - a couple of lovely/comfortable Halvorsen and Gowland 30ft on Yachthub,but are in Queensland and Victoria - sorry not bright enough to supply direct link

What about these in order of cost;

Heap of room for a 27fter
www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1979-ericson-27/SSE-AD-16692741/?Cr=0

www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1985-mottle-820/SSE-AD-14390371/?Cr=24

www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1985-adams-31cc/SSE-AD-16698933/?Cr=37

Not sure if just the hull is grp on this, and the transom and deck/cabin plywood. The cabin is different to other Easterly 30s
www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1985-adams-31cc/SSE-AD-16698933/?Cr=37

www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1978-santana-30/OAG-AD-20355472/?Cr=50

HMG mentioned before
www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1983-halvorsen-gowland-31/SSE-AD-17833666/?Cr=59

www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1979-cavalier-32/SSE-AD-16416607/?Cr=74

Wow, that East Coast looks like a good buy!

Cheers everyone some great options will keep you posted where we land.

The East Coast 31 is certainly the pick there. Someone has done a superb timber restoration but the original walnut Laminex spoils it slightly. It's a top-class engine as well.

Yes - East Coast a steal !
There are a couple in the bay here. One immaculate,and sailed/raced regularly,whereas the other is a forgotten bird's nest.

That Ericson looks like a lot of boat for 10 grand. Enclosed head and 6'1" headroom - on a 27 footer! Great little galley as well. Easily get away with a couple of kids on it.

They've cleaned it out nicely which is encouraging for a low-priced boat and the work listed at least suggests an active maintenance program.

For thatprice, you'd only need 1 good year to get your money's worth out of it.

Nice varnishing but are the chainplates on that East Coast 31 the standard type? Are they well proven for a yacht of significant use across all weathers and sailing hours? The stbd main bulkhead has bad wood rot at the junction to the 1/2 height cabinet top. Not a show stopper but needs rectifying. The Cav32 is the pick imho.

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Planter said..
Yes - East Coast a steal !
There are a couple in the bay here. One immaculate,and sailed/raced regularly,whereas the other is a forgotten bird's nest.

I think the other one you refer to if it's the same one I'm thinking of is not an East Coast 31. It's a Cole 31 with a timber deck, bit of rot at the chain plates. Might be a cold moulded hull too. For sale at about 8 grand. I like it!

Yes it is a mess but it is a Cole 43 albeit a Johnathan special. Obviously needs new sails and rig and possibly a new engine.
Would it be worth the effort and expences (assuming one has the budget) to bring it back to being a seaworthy yacht?????

I am thinking $50,000 would get it there if you know yachts and what you are doing.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/cole-43-fiberglass-yacht-deceased-estate-sydney/316951

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Cole 43 - looks to have good bones,and not gone yet ?
However the scale/cost of the operation could be intimidating,but with a vision + ability,could be worth a go ,especially for a boys group on the same page ?
Careful not to let her deteriorate further.
Tempted,but beyond me,so will stick to baby sister Contessa .

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PLanter4 said..

Cole 43 - looks to have good bones,and not gone yet ?
However the scale/cost of the operation could be intimidating,but with a vision + ability,could be worth a go ,especially for a boys group on the same page ?
Careful not to let her deteriorate further.
Tempted,but beyond me,so will stick to baby sister Contessa .

Give Ramona some metal gleam and a week and she is good as new ;).

Got to love those trademark Cole spin pole recesses in the deck mould. Wish more boats had them but they never seem to have caught on.

Yes - Jetty - Skip Bin - Metal Gleam + Ventilate Cabin = Away ?
Whack it on the Card ?

OMFG....it looks like Mrs Haversham's house in Great Expectations. I'm very surprised he's trying to sell it like that, when a weekend alongside, a water blaster, the all-cure Metal Gleam and a full skip bin would make it look significantly different. One wonders who could actually have made the mess in there, like the capsized gas bottle and the crap everywhere.

However, from one point of view you're starting off with almost zero dollars for an excellent hull, probably good spars, winches, steering etc. To do it up roughly and keep getting it better would be one way, as would stripping it out and spending lotsa bucks but ending up with something fabulous and possibly better than any other Cole 43 and better in many ways than many more expensive boats. I think she was close to the last Cole 43 built so the 1976 build date would be a few years too early. I've sometimes thought that a C43 modified to fractional rig would be like a classic Eight Metre with more space and less maintenance, but also classically stunning and wonderful to sail.

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julesmoto said..

Got to love those trademark Cole spin pole recesses in the deck mould. Wish more boats had them but they never seem to have caught on.

I have a vague memory that they could also be finger-jammers, especially when there's a few people trying to get the pole away in a hurry and you're the last one hanging on. Nothing is perfect.

However, many of my Cole 43 memories are blurred by the Hobart when the wind blew all the way, suiting the Cole 43 down to the ground, and we did very well on betting against our rivals. I think we won 17 or so jugs of rum and coke as well as the raffle among the fleet for 100 cases of Cascade. We had 50 of them delivered to the boat on the morning of New Years Eve by the big Cascade truck, part of which we spent hanging out with Shirley Strachan (of Skyhooks) who was alongside us with his Mary Blair that had finished just behind over the line. My boss saw me riding a women's bicycle up the mast of a Peterson one tonner sometime that afternoon (I got to the first spreaders) but was NOT a well teenager on the trip back home across the Strait in big nor'easters.

PS - the secret is to ensure the kite halyard is well wrapped around the handlebars, and to get the other guys to wind like crazy while you hang on.

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cisco said..
Yes it is a mess but it is a Cole 43 albeit a Johnathan special. Obviously needs new sails and rig and possibly a new engine.
Would it be worth the effort and expences (assuming one has the budget) to bring it back to being a seaworthy yacht?????

I am thinking $50,000 would get it there if you know yachts and what you are doing.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/cole-43-fiberglass-yacht-deceased-estate-sydney/316951

I like the simplicity of the mainsheet doubling as a backstay.

Reckon the life raft is in service?

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shaggybaxter said..

cisco said..
Yes it is a mess but it is a Cole 43 albeit a Johnathan special. Obviously needs new sails and rig and possibly a new engine.
Would it be worth the effort and expences (assuming one has the budget) to bring it back to being a seaworthy yacht?????

I am thinking $50,000 would get it there if you know yachts and what you are doing.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/cole-43-fiberglass-yacht-deceased-estate-sydney/316951

I like the simplicity of the mainsheet doubling as a backstay.

Yea ha ha might want to reinstate that as a first step before trying so sail it - mind you sails might be required first.

I thought my North shore 38 was slender and long but even it has marginally more beam than the Cole. Big contrast to the 31s and 32s which always look tubby. Waterline length is more than 11 foot shorter than LOA which is more than 25% of LOA. Pretty boat when in good nick tho. Hadn't seen one for ages but I was admiring one for sale in Paynesville at the beginning of the year.

The backstay is coiled up at the rear of the cockpit and has a hydraulic ram on it.

The inner forestay is parallel to the forestay and has a lever tensioner at the deck so would be removeable when sailing with a No1 genoa and could carry a good sized staysail sheeted on the inner tracks when the No1 is furled or dropped.

Looks like running backstays going to turning blocks a little way aft of the mast.

I would go with:-
1 Complete dejunk.
2 Pressure wash inside and out.
3 All new standing and running rigging.
4 New main, genoa, staysail, trysail and a spinnaker of some sort (flat cut triradial, an assymetrical or a genniker).
5 Rebuild engine, second hander or fit a new Kubota based 43 hp engine.

The result would be a fantastic harbour racer that over time could be upgraded to full offshore capabilities.

? Kanga Birtles boat ?

That Cole is an excellent buy. Lift up Aries is worth two grand! Another thousand for the wheel clutch. 5 litres of Metal Gleam. Dump the sails. That inside furniture will need a good wipe down to get rid of the mould. It's too big for me but I would have jumped at it if I did not have the SS34! I have bought one yacht off Jonathon and missed out on another so the seller does not bother me.

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Ramona said..
That Cole is an excellent buy. Lift up Aries is worth two grand! Another thousand for the wheel clutch. 5 litres of Metal Gleam. Dump the sails. That inside furniture will need a good wipe down to get rid of the mould. It's too big for me but I would have jumped at it if I did not have the SS34! I have bought one yacht off Jonathon and missed out on another so the seller does not bother me.

Ramona, Does the Cole 43 have a solid glass deck or is it balsa cored ?

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Planter said..
? Kanga Birtles boat ?

Hey Planter
Which boat is Kanga's??

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Andrew68 said..

Ramona said..
That Cole is an excellent buy. Lift up Aries is worth two grand! Another thousand for the wheel clutch. 5 litres of Metal Gleam. Dump the sails. That inside furniture will need a good wipe down to get rid of the mould. It's too big for me but I would have jumped at it if I did not have the SS34! I have bought one yacht off Jonathon and missed out on another so the seller does not bother me.

Ramona, Does the Cole 43 have a solid glass deck or is it balsa cored ?

I have no idea. These were high end local construction yachts and I should imagine they would be cored decks with solid sections for the fittings. Solid boats that are not going to fall apart or drop a keel!

Glory...........another Jonathan ransom note type advert but a lot of boat for $28k..........................I don't know if these were structurally suspect there are plenty of links on-line.......................

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/beneteau-38-needs-tidy-up-low-price-opertunity-sydney-harbour/317152

www.yachtingmonthly.com/reviews/yacht-reviews/beneteau-first-38-review-from-the-archive

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r13 said..
Glory...........another Jonathan ransom note type advert but a lot of boat for $28k..........................I don't know if these were structurally suspect there are plenty of links on-line.......................

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/beneteau-38-needs-tidy-up-low-price-opertunity-sydney-harbour/317152

www.yachtingmonthly.com/reviews/yacht-reviews/beneteau-first-38-review-from-the-archive

Looks like it's been full of water at some stage.

Beneteau - definitely had the tide inside .
Makes the Cole 43( Kanga's ? ) look a real recoverable proposition ! ?

Also,lovely TopHat/HMG 32 now on Yachthub - sedate motor sailer .

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Planter said..
? Kanga Birtles boat ?

I don't think so. I have a very vague feeling that she was a late build that didn't do much apart from sailing around the harbour a bit.

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julesmoto said..

r13 said..
Glory...........another Jonathan ransom note type advert but a lot of boat for $28k..........................I don't know if these were structurally suspect there are plenty of links on-line.......................

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/beneteau-38-needs-tidy-up-low-price-opertunity-sydney-harbour/317152

www.yachtingmonthly.com/reviews/yacht-reviews/beneteau-first-38-review-from-the-archive

Looks like it's been full of water at some stage.

It's full of mould so it might have had a few cup fulls of freshwater. I think Jonathon has priced it wisely. Someone who is prepared to get their hands dirty and wear a mask is going to get a good buy.