The Five Most Important Things We Need to Check When Buying a Boat

It's a nice paint job, but what's lurking underneath?

Given that Phyllis and I are considering replacing Morgan's Cloud with a smaller boat, I have been thinking a lot about the process of buying a boat that will meet our specification:

• 15,000 to 22,000 lbs (6800 to 10000 kgs) displacement, which will typically result in a boat around 36 to 42 feet (11 to 13 m) long.
• Good sailing performance.
• Almost certainly fibreglass.
• Not a project boat. We are happy to do the usual tweaks that any new-to-us boat requires, but no refits and certainly no rebuilds. (That said, read on.)
• Trans-ocean capable (in reasonable comfort and safety).
• Price under US$250,000.

I have also:

• Paged through thousands of broker listings.
• Researched the boats suggested by you, our members (thank you).
• Inspected two boats.

This work has yielded a couple of conclusions:

Gonna Be Really Hard

I said right from the beginning that this was going to be a difficult spec to fill, but I was wrong. In fact, and contrary to what many people will tell you, because of two of the above requirements, it's going to be very, very damned difficult.

The culprits are:

1. Trans-ocean capable (in reasonable comfort and safety).
2. Not a project boat.

Drop either, and literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of boats jump into the frame.

The other problem is that really good, well-maintained boats, from consistently good builders, are way more expensive than most people—including me, up until a few months ago—think.

And often, maybe mostly, when we find a boat that seems to break that rule, a closer look reveals a lurking problem that explains the price—teak decks that need replacing, often with water in the deck core under them, are a classic example.

So, if we had more than US$250,000 to spend, that would obviously help, but we don't, so what to do?