Hi Alan, IMO, condition and equipment means more than model year. Do you want to sail NOW, or work on a project boat? What's more precious to you -- time or money? Only you can answer that question. Nothing makes a C27 sail better than good sails, a good bottom, and a good rudder. I didn't see any mention of sail inventory and condition, bottom condition, or the rudder in your description. All those things cost money and time. My personal preference is to ALWAYS buy new sails before anything else, other than a bottom job. A suit of 3 sails for a C27 starts at about $3500 (for a base crosscut dacron mainsail, 110 jib furling , 150 genoa furling). A modern Asym spinny will run you another $1500. Cruiser/Club-racer laminates cost an additional $2000 (approx). Hot rod racing sails cost even more. I don't recommend converting hank-on jibs to furling, so consider that as part of your decision. It's not worth it; converted hank-ons never work as well as purpose-designed ones for roller furling. You're better off selling your old sails and buying new ones designed for roller furling. I suggest you make up a spreadsheet with your ideal boat. Then compare the boats you've found for sale and add in the time and cost to upgrade. That way you're comparing apples to apples. I also suggest that you consider having a survey done, (unless you feel comfortable doing the inspection yourself). Inspect the rig carefully for wear and tear. Too often, people buy boats without a survey and then find must-fix items that cost thousands (weakened masts, rotten bulkheads, rotten decks, structural damage from groundings/collisions, etc) Fair winds, Judy B 1977 C27 TR #3459 "Bijou" 1985 West Wight Potter 19 #266 "Redwing" Two 2005 Laser Pico's and a snark.... :^)
--- On Tue, 7/27/10, alanrothenbush <[email protected]> wrote: From: alanrothenbush <[email protected]> Subject: [IC27A] Which Catalina To: [email protected] Date: Tuesday, July 27, 2010, 7:29 PM I'm getting back into sailing after 30 years away. I'm hoping my wife will get into it as well, but it occurs to me that even if she doesn't, I'M GOING SAILING. It also occurs to me that the ability to single hand may turn out to be pretty important. The intended usage is day sailing in coastal waters most of the time, a short sail to an overnight once a month and a 10 day excursion once a season. After a bit of time spent looking, the best options seem to come down to three. 1. A LOADED 1988 Catalina 25 with 6 hours on it after a SERIOUS refit. I have all the receipts for $28,000 worth of "stuff". He plunked 6 self-tailing winches on the thing! Spent $500 on custom carpet. More electronic goodies than a Best Buy store. New standing rigging, new running rigging with everything running back to the cockpit. Stainless steel framed dodger, biminis for front and rear, you get the idea. Loaded. And a Yamaha 9.9 outboard; brand new, but an outboard. $16,000 2. A 1978 Catalina 27. Standard dual settee interior (which I prefer), dodger but no roller furling, which I really want but can of course add. Atomic 4 gasoline inboard. Otherwise completely stock. $9,700 3. A 1977 Catalina 27. Dinette arrangement, which I can live with. Dodger, roller furling and self tailing winches. Inboard diesel (not sure what make). Inconveniently located. (LONG sail home .. longer really than this rookie would like to make) $12,500 For a whole number of reasons, it's these three, really. I REALLY like the 25, being COMPLETELY ready to go, but am a bit leery of the outboard and leerier still of falling victim to "2 foot itis" within days of buying it. I like the big engine in #2, JUST in case, and being a mechanic and electronics guy, am not at all put off by a gas engine. I like the fact that #3 comes with the "stuff" already there, making it pretty much ready to go. So I'm looking for opinions, and feel confident that asking 10 different sailors will result in 15 different opinions. <G> Thanks for any thoughts. Alan
