Hi GreenRacer,
I am the immediate VP of the Red Witch yachting association.
I can tell you there are plenty of red witches for sale well under $8k. But for what sounds like fairly ambitious plans, the 8k will get you a yacht and will also help get the yacht in a sea-worthy state (rigging, structure and sails)
If you would like to contact me by email, we can discuss this further and I can recommend a few people who are looking to sell.
My email is o_marshall @ hotmail . com (make sure you delete the spaces)
Good to hear you are interested in the yacht, they are heaps of fun and a pretty sturdy boat. Great value for money in my opinion.
Cheers,
Ollie

Have emailed you ozza925

Many years back we sold our S80 to continue racing red witches and loved it. We found the S80 class a but hard to sail with only three people. We actually managed to finish national Champions from memory (It was a long time ago) but we would also take the RW to Rottnest and she always handled herself well for a small yacht..

They were the good old days, Nearly 20 years ago now..

Some of the best class sailing to be had, especially on a reasonable budget..