cisco said..
Ashley, you are looking at fixeruppers.
In my experience, fixeruppers end up costing more than readytogoers and reduce your sailing time.
I bought my Lotus 9.2 as a readytogoer which it was for the trip from Lake Macquarie to Bundaberg. She did the trip well motoring 95% of the way.
Since getting her to Bundaberg I have spent countless hours taking out the rubbish from the previous owner and after three years of ownership I still have not had a good sail out of her. I am getting closer though. The clue is that I love the yacht for it's design and known capabilities.
It appears that is what you are persuing. You have a yacht already which can give you your sailing jollies, so if you can get the ultimate yacht delivered to your front or back yard for $10,000 or less, you would be doing well.
The key of course is being to be able to have the yacht close to home (it does not get better than your yard) at no cost.
Over the years I have spent over $30,000 on yacht storage. Avoid that.
Yes Cisco, although I'm still deciding on the extent of the fixer-upper.
The Brolga is no good for me, but that is one option, start from scratch, and for that the boat would need to almost be free. For that Brolga, a new engine, rigging, mast rebuild etc quickly adds up to the value of a decent ready to sail(RTS) Brolga which I've seen for $25-30k(asking). I think that yacht is for the boneyard unless someone absolutely has to have a Brolga, or they have access to a cheap engine and have a rigger best friend etc.
With the Cheoy Lee, it's had the big ticket jobs completed and is capable of being sailed now, and I could do a lot of the required work on the mooring if I worked in a surreptitious manner. Plus, I'm a boat builder by trade so my labour is free, but I can't do rigging and engines. Although, even that Cheoy Lee would need to be secured for under 30k given that your mate sold Starlight Express for under 30k if I remember correctly.I would like a solid, roomy yacht with a good pedigree that I can tailor to my liking and go around Australia one day, in the meantime I want a solid, roomy yacht that doesn't bounce around like a cork in the few nice Moreton Bay anchorages which are pretty exposed.
I can see why you like your Lotus 9.2, my dad has what is essentially the Mk2 version, the Lotus 950. It's roomy, sails beautifully and is as stiff as a board. It's a great boat. It's great at anchor as well, being so stiff. His last yacht, a Cav 32, used to roll around at anchor with only the slightest provocation, not the Lotus.
