Hi all! It's my first post here so apologies if I miss any etiquette.
Im looking for my second yacht, my first having been sold in India (on the way to Oz from the UK) last year due to COVID. it was a '78 Trapper 500, super strongly built and seaworthy.
Now I'm looking again for something equally seaworthy, and around the same size to cruise around the east coast, down to Tazzie, NZ and beyond.
I'm keeping an eye out for the following boats, but need more options!
- International Folkboat
- TopHat 25
- Contessa 26
My budget is around 15k.

Let me know what other options we have in Australia!
Thanks!

Hi Luke
If you go to the "Interesting boats for sale" post in Sea Breeze and look trough the recent posts you ill get a feel of what's available , the pages to search (like Gumtree) and the prices.
Prices are high at the moment.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/Interesting-boats-for-sale-2?page=66

gary

Compass 28, some are still under $15k

www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/bairnsdale/sail-boats/yacht-compass-28/1275102307

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luke000 said..
Hi all! It's my first post here so apologies if I miss any etiquette.
Im looking for my second yacht, my first having been sold in India (on the way to Oz from the UK) last year due to COVID. it was a '78 Trapper 500, super strongly built and seaworthy.
Now I'm looking again for something equally seaworthy, and around the same size to cruise around the east coast, down to Tazzie, NZ and beyond.
I'm keeping an eye out for the following boats, but need more options!
- International Folkboat
- TopHat 25
- Contessa 26
My budget is around 15k.

Let me know what other options we have in Australia!
Thanks!

As you'd probably know, those are substantially different boats to the Trapper. They are all narrower, lower in freeboard, slightly slower, and older in style. You may mean the Contessa 25, the lovely but very small Peter Cole design, rather than the Rogers Contessa 26 which is very rare here.

For something more similar to the Trapper, you could look at the following;

Bonbridge 27;
Triton 28;
Santana 28; all are a bit more "modern" in design style than the Trapper, which is a very nice boat and ahead of its time in many ways compared to Oz boats. They are a lot roomier and significantly quicker than the Contessa/FB/TH.

Looking at other types, the Triton 26 is a "Folkboat type" that is in that price bracket, but not too many of them were made.
The Duncanson 29 is a modified Compass 28 (separate rudder on a skeg instead of long keel, reversed transom) that sometimes appears to sell for less because of the name. The Clansman is sort of like a big Folkboat with masthead rig; a nice boat but very wet in a chop upwind. The Compass 28 was designed partly to be a sort of drier Clansman.

Then there's the usual selection of early '70s Quarter Ton types; Tasman 26, Supersonic 27, Holland 25 (a beamier version of the Eygthene 25), Cavalier 26. These were designed as mini offshore boats. There's also the Endeavour 26 but I'm not sure that they were as tough.

Obviously you're very experienced, but if you come from the UK cruising scene you may be used to an area where there is much less distance between ports than there is around here, and more all-weather ports.

Personally for the East Coast sailing I've done, I prefer something with a fair bit of speed because otherwise the slogging up the coast against the set and the nor'easters can make it hard to get from one barred entrance to another within the tide windows. If you wait for a southerly to get north, you will encounter steeper seas because of the breeze blowing against the set. Others have different opinions and experiences, probably because they have more free time to wait for a window or can make shorter hops.

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luke000 said..
Hi all! It's my first post here so apologies if I miss any etiquette.
Im looking for my second yacht, my first having been sold in India (on the way to Oz from the UK) last year due to COVID. it was a '78 Trapper 500, super strongly built and seaworthy.
Now I'm looking again for something equally seaworthy, and around the same size to cruise around the east coast, down to Tazzie, NZ and beyond.
I'm keeping an eye out for the following boats, but need more options!
- International Folkboat
- TopHat 25
- Contessa 26
My budget is around 15k.

Let me know what other options we have in Australia!
Thanks!

Normally 15 grand would get you a very decent boat. Once overseas travel is again an option there is going to be some phenomenal boats on the market cheap. I would suggest a throwaway boat and mooring to get you through the summer months.
www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/rose-bay/sail-boats/hood-23-yacht-sailing-boat/1281130017

Thanks everyone for the replies! I think the charm of the long keel-ey boats got to me, though, like most, I like to go fast. One of the quarter ton style boats may be better suited! II'll keep an eye on the interesting boats page, it's a treasure trove of good finds! cheers!

There is Dunkanson 29 for sale in Sydney at the moment for $11,999 www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1980-duncanson-29/SSE-AD-4554034?pageSource=details&id=SSE-AD-4554034
which is great if there is nothing seriously wrong with it. In a whole different league to Folkboats and Tophats room wise although there is certainly nothing wrong with them sailing wise. Long fin type keel fully encapsulated is great (if true) as no old keel bolts to worry about. There are a couple of really good posts on this forum under the title "Dunkanson 29 Spec" from around 2019. Seriously doubt that any more modern quarter tonners such as the Holland 25 are even in the same ballpark for strength and hence blue water safety.
Have not sailed one myself tho. Easy on the eye too provided you can tolerate the deck/coachhouse colour.

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luke000 said..
Thanks everyone for the replies! I think the charm of the long keel-ey boats got to me, though, like most, I like to go fast. One of the quarter ton style boats may be better suited! II'll keep an eye on the interesting boats page, it's a treasure trove of good finds! cheers!

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luke000 said..
Thanks everyone for the replies! I think the charm of the long keel-ey boats got to me, though, like most, I like to go fast. One of the quarter ton style boats may be better suited! II'll keep an eye on the interesting boats page, it's a treasure trove of good finds! cheers!

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luke000 said..
Thanks everyone for the replies! I think the charm of the long keel-ey boats got to me, though, like most, I like to go fast. One of the quarter ton style boats may be better suited! II'll keep an eye on the interesting boats page, it's a treasure trove of good finds! cheers!

Select to expand quote

luke000 said..
Thanks everyone for the replies! I think the charm of the long keel-ey boats got to me, though, like most, I like to go fast. One of the quarter ton style boats may be better suited! II'll keep an eye on the interesting boats page, it's a treasure trove of good finds! cheers!

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luke000 said..
Thanks everyone for the replies! I think the charm of the long keel-ey boats got to me, though, like most, I like to go fast. One of the quarter ton style boats may be better suited! II'll keep an eye on the interesting boats page, it's a treasure trove of good finds! cheers!

Hi Luke
I bought a pocket cruiser last year. There seemed to be a lot of good priced boats coming up in Adelaide, so I drove over and bought a Nimble 30 (Ted Brewer design). It cost about $5500 for travel lifts, truck to Melbourne, rigger to re-step mast etc etc.

Lock-downs are making it hard to move around, but keep an eye on Adelaide boats ... a lot of Duncansons come from there.

Or, if you feel like a huge amount of renovation work, there's this Albin Vega 27 going cheap ... www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/coomera/sail-boats/albin-vega-27-yacht/1278303558 ... they used to have a good reputation for ocean passages.

Apart from that, as others have said above, there have been a few Pearson Tritons popping up (not to be confused with the local Tritons) - both the 26 and the 28. This one has been on the market a long time in Tassie ... www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/sailing-boats/triton-28/264255

Good luck!

This SP30 has been on the market for a while. Didn't realise they were built in Japan as well as Sydney. One of the first built in Sydney smashed the local JOG fleet with it's power. Shame they didn't do a swept back spreader rig no runners. If this one is solid it would probably scrub up well after a re-paint............note that these weren't designed to the IOR 1/2 ton rule - just to be a big fast 30 footer.

www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/sailing-boats/peterson-30-sp30/262417

The Triton 28 referred to I presume is referring to the Alsop designed Aust built model which was a small 1/2 tonner IIRC. See here. Not many were built but they are a neat boat - search for prior comments on it in this forum.



Looks like this Supersonic 27 Mk2 is still for sale - again search for prior comments on Supersonic 27s on this forum for a good summary of history and capabilities.

www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/killarney-heights/sail-boats/27-yacht-supersonic-mk2/1273834447

That Supersonic 27 is damn good value in today's market.

This has turned into another great thread

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julesmoto said..Seriously doubt that any more modern quarter tonners such as the Holland 25 are even in the same ballpark for strength and hence blue water safety..

Dunno. In the early '70s when these boats were built, there were lots of small boats built for fairly serious offshore racing. The CYCA had more boats half ton size or under than over that size bashing around the ocean. Big JOG regattas would get scores of boats racing overnight, from Endeavour 24s to Crossfire 20s and even, in an earlier era, a converted 16 Foot Skiff (yep; it sailed to Lord Howe as well). The QTs of the time were designed to be able to bounce around upwind fast in heavy conditions, whereas as far as I can dredge up ancient memories from talking about the Compass 28/Dunc 29 design with Don Lees, that wasn't really high up in the list. Of course the Compass/Dunc 29 are probably pretty tough, but there doesn't seem to be much reason to think that the QTs and small halves (like the Santana 28 and Triton 28) were significantly less tough, if at all. Many of the people who built those boats used to sail them offshore themselves, and boats as small as the Cole 1/4 Evergreen, Max Tunbridge's Bonbridges and a Triton 28 did Mooloolaba or Hobarts.

It's interesting to think that out of all the miles the old heavy/medium displacement QTs and HTs ran up, including singlehanded Trans Tasmans, Hobarts, JOG races, Noumea races, Lord Howe Races, etc, I think the only ones that ever sank offshore were the Viking 30 Copper Top off WA in about 1985 (cause unknown) and the Custom 30 Sfida, which was scuttled on purpose after propeller shaft issues on her way back from the Ambon race of about 1981. Their record of durability was pretty damn high

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BluewaterBound said..
. This one has been on the market a long time in Tassie ... www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/sailing-boats/triton-28/264255

Good luck!

That Triton for sale in Tasmania is not the same as the Alsop ones from later years. I think they were a lot older than 1978 build as well. If I remember correctly they were another company that took over the moulds for a mid 60's yacht.

If I were to be looking for a coastal cruiser of this size I would be just considering one with headroom and an inboard diesel in one of the fin keel [lead] production boats.

I personally would be taking a close look at the Scampi 30 for sale in Darwin. Out of budget but you never know!
www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/fannie-bay/sail-boats/yacht-30ft-monohull-scampi30/1279644219
I think there is another Scampi for sale in Brisbane but can't find the ad.

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r13 said..
www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/sailing-boats/peterson-30-sp30/262417

That Petersen SP 30 is the duck's nuts especially with that solar stove.

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Ramona said..
I personally would be taking a close look at the Scampi 30 for sale in Darwin. Out of budget but you never know!
www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/fannie-bay/sail-boats/yacht-30ft-monohull-scampi30/1279644219
I think there is another Scampi for sale in Brisbane but can't find the ad.

What is that he is leaning against in the main picture?

Assume one of the careening piles in the Port of Darwin Mooring Basin as per here;

www.mysailing.com.au/darwin/

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Ramona said..

BluewaterBound said..
. This one has been on the market a long time in Tassie ... www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/sailing-boats/triton-28/264255

Good luck!

That Triton for sale in Tasmania is not the same as the Alsop ones from later years. I think they were a lot older than 1978 build as well. If I remember correctly they were another company that took over the moulds for a mid 60's yacht.

If I were to be looking for a coastal cruiser of this size I would be just considering one with headroom and an inboard diesel in one of the fin keel [lead] production boats.

Yes it is a Triton 26 - see another one here launched 1972.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/triton-26/259893

Good closely related prior post here

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/Comfortable-seaworthy-25-30-foot-yacht?page=5

Not sure if the Cavalier 28 has been mentioned above but it is probably out of the price range.

Marauder 27 another one but not many built - and wheel steering which can be a turn off in this size range.

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r13 said..
Assume one of the careening piles in the Port of Darwin Mooring Basin as per here;

www.mysailing.com.au/darwin/

Interesting and a little scary not to mention inconvenient. You would definitely want to make sure you got it right and didn't end up tying off to a rung that becomes a submerged object at high tide

Luke mentions - International Folkboat- TopHat 25- Contessa 26 for around $15 000.

What other options are there for a similar boat for around the same money, but pre covid price? I know its hard to predict prices, but Surely once international travel opens, (hopefully in 3 to 12 months), there will be a buyers market. Which is why I suggest pre covid prices.

Cheers

mike

Here Mike: Yachthub, 26-30 foot yachts, ascending prices: yachthub.com/catlist/used/yachts-for-sale/sail-monohulls/26-30ft/19?order_by=price_asc&se_region=au&cat=19&order_by=price_asc

There's a few around 8 - 10k that would suit you.

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FabulousPhill said..
Here Mike: Yachthub, 26-30 foot yachts, ascending prices: yachthub.com/catlist/used/yachts-for-sale/sail-monohulls/26-30ft/19?order_by=price_asc&se_region=au&cat=19&order_by=price_asc

There's a few around 8 - 10k that would suit you.

Hey Phill, yes I've been keeping an eye on that site. But I'm not sure what is considered "blue water capable", and I'm in no hurry.

By the way, we still have to go for that sail, on day..

Cheers

Mike.

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Mike367 said..
Luke mentions - International Folkboat- TopHat 25- Contessa 26 for around $15 000.

What other options are there for a similar boat for around the same money, but pre covid price? I know its hard to predict prices, but Surely once international travel opens, (hopefully in 3 to 12 months), there will be a buyers market. Which is why I suggest pre covid prices.

Cheers

mike

The PM reckons overseas travel well before Christmas. I should imagine we will see a reduction in asking prices soon after but not in this price range. The larger, shiny and almost new boats will be the ones taking a hit.

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luke000 said..
Hi all! It's my first post here so apologies if I miss any etiquette.
Im looking for my second yacht, my first having been sold in India (on the way to Oz from the UK) last year due to COVID. it was a '78 Trapper 500, super strongly built and seaworthy.
Now I'm looking again for something equally seaworthy, and around the same size to cruise around the east coast, down to Tazzie, NZ and beyond.
I'm keeping an eye out for the following boats, but need more options!
- International Folkboat
- TopHat 25
- Contessa 26
My budget is around 15k.

Let me know what other options we have in Australia!
Thanks!

15 grand will get a decent boat if you think outside the box. This Roberts 34 built in Cflex is a lot of boat that would probably sell for 15 grand. They sail OK and have excellent accommodation and will be inherently more seaworthy than the smaller boats listed. You may know all about Cflex already or there is plenty of info online.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/roberts-34-well-built-charming-fit-out-great-opportunity/266944

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Ramona said..

luke000 said..
Hi all! It's my first post here so apologies if I miss any etiquette.
Im looking for my second yacht, my first having been sold in India (on the way to Oz from the UK) last year due to COVID. it was a '78 Trapper 500, super strongly built and seaworthy.
Now I'm looking again for something equally seaworthy, and around the same size to cruise around the east coast, down to Tazzie, NZ and beyond.
I'm keeping an eye out for the following boats, but need more options!
- International Folkboat
- TopHat 25
- Contessa 26
My budget is around 15k.

Let me know what other options we have in Australia!
Thanks!

15 grand will get a decent boat if you think outside the box. This Roberts 34 built in Cflex is a lot of boat that would probably sell for 15 grand. They sail OK and have excellent accommodation and will be inherently more seaworthy than the smaller boats listed. You may know all about Cflex already or there is plenty of info online.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/roberts-34-well-built-charming-fit-out-great-opportunity/266944

I guess it depends on the definition of "decent". I used to own a Roberts design, would not have one again. There's a reason why they are all so cheap and its mainly a combination of the design (mostly poor) and being home built.

I wonder if Luke would find this suitable?

www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1980-adams-26/SSE-AD-7352956/?Cr=16

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Ilenart said..

Ramona said..

I guess it depends on the definition of "decent". I used to own a Roberts design, would not have one again. There's a reason why they are all so cheap and its mainly a combination of the design (mostly poor) and being home built.

They do vary a lot. I have two near me, one of them I did not realize it was a Roberts 34 until I saw it listed for sale. Both are fibreglass. One is a centre cockpit! This boat has traveled the Pacific and there are videos of it on Youtube with the usual good looking crew-members wearing skimpy gear. The one advertised above has a much more modern rig and first class deck gear for the money.