Well, I'm about to retire and after having three different yachts in the past have decided to give myself a retirement present of a small (32 foot or so) cruising yacht.

Now here is where the problems start.

After having three smaller yachts in the past It is a good thing to know what I don't want.

It's also good to recognize that being on the other side of 60 y/o I need to purchase a boat that I can manage by myself at times.

I have been looking at boats for several months but living in north Queensland means some quite distant travel by road or air to look at prospective boats.

Here is where I am continually frustrated.

I am totally pissed off with driving several hundred kilometers or flying even further to look at boats that are advertised on the internet with glowing reports and brilliant pictures only to realise when I get to actually see the boat that the reports are almost pure bull**** and that in most cases the pictures were taken 20 years ago when the boat was at it's best.

What happened to just old fashioned honesty.

I asked one private vendor recently if he would reimburse me the cost of a 900 km round trip to look at his yacht. It was not one bit like his advertisement and was just a floating pig sty. The cushion covers were worn and threadbare and weren't even the ones in the photo's on the .net. The deck paint was peeling and the mast had serious corrosion problems visible from the deck. He had told me in a phone call a few days before that the rigging was almost new and the mast was two years old.

I'm guessing I will find what I want in due course but there is so much overpriced crap out there at the moment that I think It will be a lot harder search than I had anticipated.

My first boat I purchased was love at first sight and I had it for many years. My second was the first boat I looked at and was 800 km from home. My third was the third boat I had looked at and I sailed over 14.000 miles in here. This time around I have looked at many, many boats and so far have only seen one that I might consider worth making an offer on.

Talk about frustration.

I'm still looking, lol.

Thats one of the reason I bought a local boat might have been more expensive which it was, but at least you sort of know some of its history.
Im not one to take chances bring an unknown yacht half way down the east coast your asking for trouble . Most of my work is restoration so I enjoy it
I get **** canned on here but I'm a big boy I can handle it
Iit came with its own seagull repellents ropes every where.,
I retire in three years so this is my restoration time . I figure if a allowed 30 ft Id be able to still sail her when I'm over 80.
Hope so any way





Lots more to do but Ive a couple more years yet
Good luck on your search

Word of mouth is probably the best way to find a vessel. That and having funds on hand to snap up that special boat that suddenly appears. At 66 your the same age as me and I often think about updating to a larger vessel because there are so many out there and cheap. I was thinking just that today when I returned to my mooring and was standing in the cabin looking around before I went home. There are just no other boats I can think of that would be more suitable for singlehanded sailing. And I mean singlehanded sailing in all conditions! Plenty of men our age with large yachts on moorings around here, I wave to them as I sail past.

What you could do is if you find one you are interested in but it is a fair distance away see if there is a forum member in the area that can have a look for you and make sure it is as represented on the internet advert before you make the trip to see it

If you find something in southern Tassie I would be happy to have a look at it for you

Regards Don

IF its on lake maquarie I will check it out for u cheers ray

Hi Franrick
Sure not easy as you would think.
when you compare US boat market, Aussie yachts market passed use by date.
someone mentioned, it's buyers market, mostly old, mostly neglected, mostly not cheap.
not everyone is keen to complete overhaul, that's what most of yachts need.
,,wort of mouth,, good idea, just put us in perspective....length ....price range..
friend of mine getting old, thinking to sell fine boat Hutton 36, ...cheers..

When I bought my yacht recently at Lake Macquarie I thought it was a pretty right thing. I had to spend the best part of $2,000 to get the safety gear up to date including life lines and a 406 EPIRB.

I think I got off lightly.

You are right though. Many yachts advertised are not with up to date photos and have incorrect information.

I wasted $800 driving from Bundaberg to Townsville to buy a Van De Stadt 34 which was actually a Van De Stadt 31' 10" yacht and nothing like a VDS 34.

You just need to be aware of how desperate some vendors and brokers are and be a bit more cunning than they are.

What is the answer?? I don't know.

What I do know is that I am really happy with the yacht I bought but as I progress through her setting things the way they should be, I realize I should have inspected her more closely, finding her faults and bargained for a lower price. She was 90% there so we are only talking two or three thousand.

It is done, so I will live with that.

If you spot a yacht you are interested in between Bundaberg and the Tweed River, I could have a look at it and give you an opinion. I am on my seventh yacht at the moment so I have a reasonable handle on it. Private Message me if something comes up.

Stop trying to buy a bargain!
Look at the most expensive yacht out there in your realistic range, one that the owner takes pride in.
Boat aren't cheap ! They are priced right now, instead of the over inflation years ago of a product that needs
attention all the time.
there is still some honesty out there, Me!
I sold my last two boats sight unseen over the phone for full asking price and both those guys are very happy.

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Dezman said..
Stop trying to buy a bargain!
Look at the most expensive yacht out there in your realistic range, one that the owner takes pride in.
Boat aren't cheap ! They are priced right now, instead of the over inflation years ago of a product that needs
attention all the time.
there is still some honesty out there, Me!
I sold my last two boats sight unseen over the phone for full asking price and both those guys are very happy.

Fully agree Dezman. Spend as much as you can reasonably afford.
Allan

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Ramona said..
Word of mouth is probably the best way to find a vessel. That and having funds on hand to snap up that special boat that suddenly appears. At 66 your the same age as me and I often think about updating to a larger vessel because there are so many out there and cheap. I was thinking just that today when I returned to my mooring and was standing in the cabin looking around before I went home. There are just no other boats I can think of that would be more suitable for singlehanded sailing. And I mean singlehanded sailing in all conditions! Plenty of men our age with large yachts on moorings around here, I wave to them as I sail past.

Right on about having a boat you can singlehand Ramona. Mine's a 34 footer and I often wistfully look at 40 footers with all that space and comfort in testing conditions, but the reality is I probably couldn't handle a 40 footer on my own in those conditions - let alone singlehanding it around marinas. I have enough embarrasing situations in marinas in my 34 footer!
regards Allan

Apart from word of mouth there are those vessels some of us missed out on. They appeared on the market when we were short of funds but now have re appeared. "Vanguard" is one example, a VDS 34 with a different layout.
http://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/van-de-stadt/147128

Here is another one. To make matters worse a local bloke bought it and I had to see her everyday! Has wheel steering but I was prepared to live with that. Stunning interior.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/king-custom-31/152263

Both are composite construction.

If it's in Sydney anywhere I will have a look. I work everywhere on motorcycle and can easily quickly to a little detour to a marina/mooring area. my boats moored near lane cove, so I go past a lot of moorings as well.

unfortunately people are pricks. The last 3 things I bought on ebay were falsely advertised . Glowing report of a 60s ovation. After buying it I saw that the neck had been snapped off and replaced and I had to spend 200 on it to make it work like a guitar.

recent purchase from a dickhead in Sydney was a wooden dinghy. He had freshly painted over rotten wood. The next day I used the dinghy and it started falling apart. I paid $300 for it And I still need to fix it.

Unfortunately people don't care. Yah need to ask ask ask....

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Ramona said..
Apart from word of mouth there are those vessels some of us missed out on. They appeared on the market when we were short of funds but now have re appeared. "Vanguard" is one example, a VDS 34 with a different layout.
http://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/van-de-stadt/147128

Here is another one. To make matters worse a local bloke bought it and I had to see her everyday! Has wheel steering but I was prepared to live with that. Stunning interior.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/king-custom-31/152263

Both are composite construction.

Bugger. That VDS 34 is a nice thing.

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Ramona said..
Apart from word of mouth there are those vessels some of us missed out on. They appeared on the market when we were short of funds but now have re appeared. "Vanguard" is one example, a VDS 34 with a different layout.
http://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/van-de-stadt/147128

Here is another one. To make matters worse a local bloke bought it and I had to see her everyday! Has wheel steering but I was prepared to live with that. Stunning interior.

yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/king-custom-31/152263

Both are composite construction.

That VDS is actually in Franricks neck of the woods (Cairns)

Regards Don

When I was interested in the VDS it was for sale at $42,000 about 6 years ago. It has had a lot of money spent on it since with a headsail furler etc.. Lovely boat.

The other one, the King 31 is actually a composite version of the Jarkan 31 at basically half the price. Was painted white and much nicer painted white too. The varnish work needs a touch up since I viewed it last. The new owner has not owned her long, she was still here earlier this year.

Yeah. I felt your pain too, it took me over two years to find what l wanted. In the process l have seen all the overpriced wrecks and failed projects between Adelaide and the Sunshine Coast. Never forget, patience prevails!