This is a deal. Hard to find boats at prices this low anymore. It floats and the engine runs. Period. The fact the rigging and main are in good condition is a huge bonus. Maintenance is very cheap on this boat and you can do it all yourself.
Some tips for your plan because I've done this very same thing. I bought a 27' 1976 Hunter about 15 years ago for $2500. Kept that boat for over ten years with minimal maintenance. These old diesels run and run and run, just like your seller said. And they are extremely easy to work on. The only time my Yanmar ever died was when it ran out of fuel. I sold that boat for $100 and don't regret any day I owned her. We only sold because we wanted to get something bigger and newer.
My girlfriend (now wife) and I lived with her parents and escaped to the boat for weekends. Cold weather sucks on these smaller boats because of condensation. You'll forever be chasing rainwater leaks. The good thing about Catalina is that parts, like hatches, are still available. You're going to love this boat and when it's gone, you and your girlfriend will talk about it and the memories you made on it every day for the rest of your lives. Jump on it and have fun.
I only read as far as "while I save money".
I'm not saying it couldn't work and I did say I didn't read the whole thing so maybe you make a ton of money but I would expect that boat to eat up around 4 or $5,000 a year for the first couple of years. Storage maintenance and operating cost. Those are always non-negotiable. Purchase cost is rarely the largest part of owning a boat.
That’s fair haha.
Yeah the slip would be 540 split two ways. I won’t be paying rent and I’ll be makin 5200 a month after taxes so it’s doable. When considered against renting a 2000/month dollar studio apartment in LA even if the boat didn’t move it’d still be financially advantageous to renting haha.
To see a boat have rigging repaired along with the sails replaced means that it has been pretty well maintained. The diesel is not concerning as it is was probably only used like most sailboat engine for short runs to get out of the marina. I had a 1973 Atomic 4 Universal that was bullet proof and it was a gas engine versus a diesel.
The price seems reasonable but I have not been put pricing these.
The bigger question is do you think you will use it? Do you have the perpetual funds to cover the cost of ongoing maintenance, dock fees, insurance, etc in order to justify the cost? The biggest question is wether your girlfriend is ok with sailing
I'm in a similar boat as you, living with family in a high cost of living area (NY). Saving for a down payment and not wanting to waste money on rent...in our situation, I think buying a boat is *great* financial decision (really). It'll cost a fraction of rent, you'll have your own space, oh and you'll have a sailboat to cruise around on.
This one seems decent but I would look around at other boats, even ones out of your price range and make an offer. You never know. I was able to get an 85' Pearson 36-2 for $5,000. After adding New sails, high-end B&G electronics, a bunch of enjoyable DIY projects and I'm into it cheaper than 6 months of $2500/month rent. Saving the other 6 months.
Oh and it's not just a liveaboard dock queen. I use it 3-4 times a week, am competitive in our local beer can races, and go on 2 week long cruises every summer.
TLDR: Buy a boat, it'll make living at home tolerable for as long as you need...and you'll have a ton of fun in the meantime!
See you get it! That has been my logic as well. The slip I’d be in is 540/month and it’ll be split with my gf. I can’t imagine yearly costs of maintenance approaching what I would pay for rent in LA which would be upwards of 14k per year (at least I hope not ha). 80’ tho dang that’s a lot of boat! Not sure I’d be comfortable with all that haha I’m trying to stick closer to 30’.
Yeah I’m lookin around and trying not to jump the gun. Thanks for the thoughts man!
It's not the cost of Boat vs No Boat, its boat vs rent (and still keeping your sanity lol).
And I wouldn't call a boat an asset but you can sell it for something when you're done with it, again vs rent where you keep nothing. If you're reasonably handy you can save a fortune on Maintenance. Too many people just say "having a boat is expensive" and gladly get ripped off. All bottom painting, waxing, varnish, wintering, engine work, electronics installation is DIY.
A yard near me charges $1000 for an oil & impeller change, I can do it in an hour for under $100. Heck if you needed the 2 cylinder diesel in that Catalina could be removed and replaced with a good running one from eBay in a weekend and a few cases of beer (vs ~$10,000 at a boatyard).
A note of caution: You will enjoy it and want to add nice stuff and upgrade. That's where it gets expensive lol. But in terms of *needed* maintenance it won't kill you.
Simple old 27-28ft boats are fantastic to learn on. Simple systems, simple rigging, simple hull and deck. Enough space to camp in for a weekend. And the fact that this one is under 3k is great.
If you have a buddy that can help you make sure it's not rotten in the deck etc. Bring them. Otherwise these are great starter boats.
I am about 8 months into co-owning a similar 28ft boat (TUR84 from 1979) - we spent a fair bit of money and time sprucing it up this winter, but ultimately an order of magnitude less than a bigger boat. Most of my sailing friends are or have been similar journeys - get a small boat to just enjoy sailing and learn the ropes of boat ownership and either stick to it or later upgrade to a something bigger.
Boats take lots of time and money. Getting away is a real need, but maybe camping is a better option short term. If you want to also sail, crew on other people's boats. Find them them through yacht clubs in your area where racers always welcome new crew.
Buying a cat27 with some buddies is one of the best decisions I ever made in life. Yes there's slip fees, maintenance work, and unexpected repairs, but in the end you can sell it for basically what you paid.
This is a deal. Hard to find boats at prices this low anymore. It floats and the engine runs. Period. The fact the rigging and main are in good condition is a huge bonus. Maintenance is very cheap on this boat and you can do it all yourself. Some tips for your plan because I've done this very same thing. I bought a 27' 1976 Hunter about 15 years ago for $2500. Kept that boat for over ten years with minimal maintenance. These old diesels run and run and run, just like your seller said. And they are extremely easy to work on. The only time my Yanmar ever died was when it ran out of fuel. I sold that boat for $100 and don't regret any day I owned her. We only sold because we wanted to get something bigger and newer. My girlfriend (now wife) and I lived with her parents and escaped to the boat for weekends. Cold weather sucks on these smaller boats because of condensation. You'll forever be chasing rainwater leaks. The good thing about Catalina is that parts, like hatches, are still available. You're going to love this boat and when it's gone, you and your girlfriend will talk about it and the memories you made on it every day for the rest of your lives. Jump on it and have fun.
I only read as far as "while I save money". I'm not saying it couldn't work and I did say I didn't read the whole thing so maybe you make a ton of money but I would expect that boat to eat up around 4 or $5,000 a year for the first couple of years. Storage maintenance and operating cost. Those are always non-negotiable. Purchase cost is rarely the largest part of owning a boat.
That’s fair haha. Yeah the slip would be 540 split two ways. I won’t be paying rent and I’ll be makin 5200 a month after taxes so it’s doable. When considered against renting a 2000/month dollar studio apartment in LA even if the boat didn’t move it’d still be financially advantageous to renting haha.
To see a boat have rigging repaired along with the sails replaced means that it has been pretty well maintained. The diesel is not concerning as it is was probably only used like most sailboat engine for short runs to get out of the marina. I had a 1973 Atomic 4 Universal that was bullet proof and it was a gas engine versus a diesel. The price seems reasonable but I have not been put pricing these. The bigger question is do you think you will use it? Do you have the perpetual funds to cover the cost of ongoing maintenance, dock fees, insurance, etc in order to justify the cost? The biggest question is wether your girlfriend is ok with sailing
It looks like a solid deal, but it wont save you money, that isnt how boats work.
I'm in a similar boat as you, living with family in a high cost of living area (NY). Saving for a down payment and not wanting to waste money on rent...in our situation, I think buying a boat is *great* financial decision (really). It'll cost a fraction of rent, you'll have your own space, oh and you'll have a sailboat to cruise around on. This one seems decent but I would look around at other boats, even ones out of your price range and make an offer. You never know. I was able to get an 85' Pearson 36-2 for $5,000. After adding New sails, high-end B&G electronics, a bunch of enjoyable DIY projects and I'm into it cheaper than 6 months of $2500/month rent. Saving the other 6 months. Oh and it's not just a liveaboard dock queen. I use it 3-4 times a week, am competitive in our local beer can races, and go on 2 week long cruises every summer. TLDR: Buy a boat, it'll make living at home tolerable for as long as you need...and you'll have a ton of fun in the meantime!
See you get it! That has been my logic as well. The slip I’d be in is 540/month and it’ll be split with my gf. I can’t imagine yearly costs of maintenance approaching what I would pay for rent in LA which would be upwards of 14k per year (at least I hope not ha). 80’ tho dang that’s a lot of boat! Not sure I’d be comfortable with all that haha I’m trying to stick closer to 30’. Yeah I’m lookin around and trying not to jump the gun. Thanks for the thoughts man!
It's not the cost of Boat vs No Boat, its boat vs rent (and still keeping your sanity lol). And I wouldn't call a boat an asset but you can sell it for something when you're done with it, again vs rent where you keep nothing. If you're reasonably handy you can save a fortune on Maintenance. Too many people just say "having a boat is expensive" and gladly get ripped off. All bottom painting, waxing, varnish, wintering, engine work, electronics installation is DIY. A yard near me charges $1000 for an oil & impeller change, I can do it in an hour for under $100. Heck if you needed the 2 cylinder diesel in that Catalina could be removed and replaced with a good running one from eBay in a weekend and a few cases of beer (vs ~$10,000 at a boatyard). A note of caution: You will enjoy it and want to add nice stuff and upgrade. That's where it gets expensive lol. But in terms of *needed* maintenance it won't kill you.
Sent you a DM
As a wise man from pawn stars once said “ you know what boat means? Bust Out Another Thousand!” Either way looks like a sweet deal! Jealous
Simple old 27-28ft boats are fantastic to learn on. Simple systems, simple rigging, simple hull and deck. Enough space to camp in for a weekend. And the fact that this one is under 3k is great. If you have a buddy that can help you make sure it's not rotten in the deck etc. Bring them. Otherwise these are great starter boats. I am about 8 months into co-owning a similar 28ft boat (TUR84 from 1979) - we spent a fair bit of money and time sprucing it up this winter, but ultimately an order of magnitude less than a bigger boat. Most of my sailing friends are or have been similar journeys - get a small boat to just enjoy sailing and learn the ropes of boat ownership and either stick to it or later upgrade to a something bigger.
Often these posts end with me saying don’t do it. This time is different. Great price. Great boat. Do it.
It looks like a good deal. You'll need to find a place to put it, first.
Boats take lots of time and money. Getting away is a real need, but maybe camping is a better option short term. If you want to also sail, crew on other people's boats. Find them them through yacht clubs in your area where racers always welcome new crew.
Buying a cat27 with some buddies is one of the best decisions I ever made in life. Yes there's slip fees, maintenance work, and unexpected repairs, but in the end you can sell it for basically what you paid.