i want a cheap sailboat!!

[druidking]

does any1 know where i can get a very cheap sailboat in NH
i would prefer it have a cabin and all the sailing equipment (unless it is cheap and easily attainable)
also i dont care the condition of it!!! (weather it be stripped/gutted in the inside, scrached, or have a hole in it)
i was looking at a nice boat last summer like this that was only $200 it was perfect but they sold it before i came up with the money (i had to pay some one back for helping me)

any info on boats for sale that are very cheap is much appriciated

(i've looked on craigslist, and uncle henry's but cant find much of anything)

my price range is probably about $0- $500

[robherc]

That's a REALLY short budget for a sailboat with a cabin. I guess your best bet would be to spend a few days digging through Google results & try to find one that everyone else missed. ;)

[druidking]

what do you propose i search in google?

[robherc]

Search for sailboats, boating classifieds, boats for sale, anything that might give you a boat on pg 34 of results that nobody else has found and bought yet...that's what I'd do if I needed a sailboat w/cabin badly, and only had $500 to buy it with....
...or I'd visit my local lumber yard, order some epoxy & fiberglass...draw some ideas up on graph paper, and see if I could find an older gentleman who's been around boats all his life (sorry, at 26 I'm hardly qualified here) and see if i could convince him to look over my plans & help me with the info I'll need to do a build. ;)

[kerosene]

craigslist and patience - also wooden boat magazine has boats fro free section - though I think the donaters hope that the boast would be restored.

[PAR]

Don't bother with any of the conventional ways to find a sailboat. No one looking to sell a $500 (or less) boat is going to spend money or time on a conventional ad of some type.

The best way to find a boat like this is to do some leg work. With the current economic climate, there are thousands of boats just waiting for a new owner to come along and save them.

To find them, check car ports, under tattered tarps in back and side yards. Check every marine and boat repair place in your area. The boat you'll want will be hiding under a few old car tires, that formerly held down a now well thread bare, plastic tarp. It'll look terrible, will have mold and that green stuff that seems to like the northern exposures, all over it. Every marina and boat repair place has these derelicts. Of course it's really important to have a clue what you're looking at, so you don't end up with a pile of boat needing to be dragged to the land fill. This is especially true when looking for a project boat.

[alan white]

You really should care about the condition of the boat. Many boats have a negative value.
Owners of such boats often put a price tag on them anyway, something that at first glance looks like a fantastic deal.
Then there are some really great boats whose owners simply don't care to clean them up enough to attract most buyers---- they just put them up for sale for a givaway price.
It takes a lot of knowledge to know the difference between the two deals above. Good judgement takes that kind of knowledge. There are so many ways to go wrong.
There is also value in learning by making mistakes, and still coming out of it with a good boat (and enough experience to know what to look for next time).
Whatever deal you think you've found, make sure it's a boat you can love, just in case it isn't the wonderful bargain you thought it was.

[kerosene]

Alan is right - if you need to pay for slip you'll quickly pay more for keeping the boat than buying it - that is the reason why you do find really cheap boats

in my area:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/boa?query=sailboat&minAsk=min&maxAsk=1500&hasPic=1

check for example:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/boa/983076166.html
(not far from your price target)

[masalai]

Or steal it and set off immediately for Colombia or wherever? - - the definition of a boat is "a hole in the water into which one pours money to maintain/retain that hole...." no such thing as cheap in the long term....

[pkoken]

My first sailboat cost me $400, I believe it would come under the realm of "cheap". I loved that boat even though it was falling apart and absorbed several thousand dollars over the three years I operated it.

The purchase price of the boat is going to be the LEAST of your costs. Often a more expensive (purchase price) boat will cost you less than a "cheap" boat simply because you spend less fixing it.

[TeddyDiver]

The best way to find a boat like this is to do some leg work. With the current economic climate, there are thousands of boats just waiting for a new owner to come along and save them.

Best chances at local bar desks. Give tips to bartenders and your phone number. Stay alert an money in your pocket and ready to start at small hours :D

[Zappi]

Check with marina offices. There are many boats in the marinas that have recently been abandoned.

[masalai]

maybe one could buy one of those parked on the hard and in arrears on rent & sent final notice for removal to defray losses......?

[safewalrus]

probably the best way to go Mas, or a half finished self build project that's run into problems..............look for screetching wife!!

[MikeJohns]

Just keep watching the "Good old boat" classifieds "fixer Uppers"

http://www.goodoldboat.com/resources_for_sailors/fixer-upper_sailboats.php

good luck

[Petros]

I have run across lots of sailboats for free, all needed work but many were seaworthy and just needed a lot of TLC. I have seen many on Craig's list, it just takes time to find them. There was one fantastic 30' Norwegian folk boat with all the new equipment, sails, rebuilt diesel and hardward ready to put together. The owner had to move it out of dry storage and had no time for it, was willing to give it to anyone who would finish it. I found one totally seaworthy 23' minicursier in great shape for just paying the back slip fees, the owner had moved to another state and was willing to give it away to stop the monthly slip fees from getting higher.

Par is right, keep your eyes open for abandoned projects or hulls that are neglected. Get one with a trailer so it will not cost you anything when you are not using it. Another good place is to go to any larger boat yard, there will always be abandon projects that the yard had to seize for back fees. Often they will sell them cheap, or even free, just to free up the space.

Wood boats are more maintenance (and more likely you will find one cheap), but the material costs are less and you can get by with hardware store quality finish and adhesives if you are storing it covered out of the water. Fiberglass hulls of course are much lower maintenance, but usually heavier, and major repairs use much more costly materials.

Good luck on your search, finding partially restored projects that has been abandon is your best bet.