What should I look for when buying a sailboat?

Question

I am going to look at a late 70's catalina 22 and since I am new to sailing, I am wondering what questions I should be asking the current owner. What should I be looking for to help determine if the boat is in good condition? Any advice would be great!

Answer 1

does it float?

Answer 2

Jeff,

The Catalina 22 is a neat little boat, should be a lot of fun.  I use to race against them years ago.  They are pretty nimble (read here tippy).

Questions I would ask:

1.  Has it ever been sunk (this should not matter too much, but if it has been sunk, ask "Why?"

2.  Has the boat ever been damaged beyond what you can readily see?  Again, proper repairs could have been made, OK.

3.  What is in the sail inventory, condition of sails.

4.  What is the Out board motor like?  Check this out pretty weel, it will be about 1/3 of your cost.  make sure it is good.

5.  Does it come with all necessary gear and then some?  Life jackets, mooring/docking lines, plenty of running rigging, Spare fittings, etc.

6.  If it is kept in the water, is there to be mooring/docking space available.  If it comes with a trailer, check its condition.

7.  If it has a swing keel, what is the condition of the raise/lower cable and winch.

8.  If it is a fixed keel, how are the keel bolts.

There will be other questions, but this should give you a start.  I do not know what you are looking to pay, but the prices vary around the country.  Some places think there must be gold in the keel.

Answer 3

A catalina 22 is a great little boat for sailing in protected waters on nice week end days... doing round the bouys races and beer can races on Wednesday nights... otherwise they are a waste of space at the dock because they are too lightly built and too small to use for more than an overnight stay.

HAVE A SURVEYOR look at it.  You can get the boat surveyed OUT OF THE WATER for a hundred or two and it's worth the cost.

I had a 22 footer and used a MikiKota trolling motor for the Auxilliary, because it doesn't take much of a motor for docking on a boat that small.

Answer 4

Think about where and how you plan to sail. There is a general principal regarding boats, that the easier it is to use, the more you can use it. I say this from first hand experience over many years. Many sailors with years of experience owning numerous boats have concluded that an ideal boat is the Seapearl. I have sailed in quite a few different kinds of sailboats and believe it would be hard to go wrong with a Seapearl.

Answer 5

In addition to everything Tom B said, and expanding on his last item, check the keelbolts for any significant rust or other damage. 1970's vintage Catalinas, especially fixed-keel 22s and 25s, have had some problems with this. Not surprising for a 30-year-old boat, but it could mean that the entire keel needs to be replaced. Given the large number of older Catalinas out there, it pays to shop around and find one without this issue. Most of them have no keel problems at all. And in any event, they're excellent boats!

Answer 6

The all over appearance> Rigging>sails condition> bottom> There are a lot of parts that need to be checked> Make sure the mast base on the deck is not soft>