Advice on buying a 7.9

[bartman99]

It doesn’t look like the forum is terribly active, but I'd like some advice. I am looking at a S2 7.9 sailboat 1982. Asking price is $6,000. Most of the boat is in good condition however on examination of the area around the Mast step it looks like the core is saturated. The sound changes around there to tapping, it reads high on a moisture meter and there are lots of small “spider” cracks around the tabernacle. I didn’t notice any bogginess, but then I weigh less than 150lbs.
It’s an ‘82 (#59) and is being sold by the original owner. The main is in good shape, the genoa needs significant repair (it has RF). It has a working and smooth 9.9 Tohotsu. The trailer looks good, but hasn’t been used for a long time, so its workable condition is unknown. There’s not much else additional to the boat (ie no other upgrades). Other than outlined above, it seems like it is in good condition for an old boat.

When I told OO about my findings (maststep), I don’t think he believed me.

I'm still interested in the boat so I have a couple questions. If I were to just purchase it how much less should I offer? Is it worth it? I’m handy, but never attempted anything like a fiberglass/mast step repair.

Bart

[AJ Oliver]

Hey Bart -
lots of us have made that fix, if you search the repair thread (mast step repair) you'll find lots of info.
it does need to be addressed.

[bartman99]

Thanks AJ.
I know negotiating for something (ie a boat) is kind of a personal thing, but any thoughts on the listed price and what I should expect to pay?

[Jameso]

IMHO the asking price is in the range of reasonable for the condition. I would still negotiate some. If you have a yard do the work it could be a few thousand dollars. Take a look at the For Sale tab on the home page, at the bottom is a list of all the boats listed that have sold the last couple of years with the asking price. This will give you an idea of the range older hulls in similar condition are selling for. Good luck.

[normbue]

I have a question.. I've seen it through out this site, but what does IMHO stand for??? Nothing I come up with works

[bartman99]

In My Humble Opinion

[MnM20]

Look at it this way... Assume the worst and say the mast step makes the boat a total throwaway and you have to part it out.
1. Daggerboard/Keel - $800
2. Rudder - $600
3. Mast - $500
4. Deck Hardware - $500
5. Trailer - $800
6. Sails - $300
7. Outboard - $800

To me that's $4300 you could recoup in parting it out. Offer that and see if he takes it. Otherwise, i'd walk away.

[Stef]

I have minimal fiber glassing experience. I did this exact repair on my boat 2 seasons ago. I was able to do all the work from underneath, inside the cabin. I made a careful cut to the carpet liner and moved it aside. Cut glass skin, removed/replace wet core, put new skin back on, glued carpet back in place. This is assuming you fixed the leak. My leak was from tabernacle and small block mounted on the cabin top in front of mast.

You don't need to be an expert or make it look good if you do it where the repair can't be seen!

[bartman99]

I know I'd have to fix the mast step, but what potential damage would there be if I sailed the boat for a season (weekending, not racing) without fixing it? The deck does not seem soft yet. Is it just likely to make the mast step worse? catastrophic failure? slower/abnormal sailing? Other?















first?

[AJ Oliver]

Hey Mr. Bart -

That should work - and is what I did.

Watch for an increase in step compression

FYI, I did the job myself for about $ 400 - a friend hired a pro for $ 3,000

Good luck