Buying a sailboat in Canada is not simple!
Last summer I took my "Day Captain" course. Unfortunately our course time was cut short due to covid measures and of course, the weather. The instructor promised to wrap up the course with me this year with another day on the water. Despite the pandemic I managed to get out in two different 30 foot sailboats and one lightning racing dinghy. It was a great introduction and ever since I've been salivating at the idea of spending more time on the water.
"Spending" seems to be the operative word in that last sentence. It's no surprise that boats aren't cheap. Some classic boating jokes are that they're "a hole in the water you into which you throw money" or that boat is an acronym for "Bust Out Another Thousand." But there are some surprising inconsistencies. Two examples of the same model of boat, only a few years apart, can go for prices that are separated by thousands.
And the online sellers... Wow. What a crowd. There are some real sentimental types who are asking way over market price for their much-loved family memory-maker. And then there are some cold cash-fast-please quick sales in which seemingly sound hulls with acceptable finish change hands for only a few thousand dollars. I've seen at least a couple ads that were downright adversarial where sellers demand that any potential buyers be familiar with the make and model and be willing to place an offer before even having seen the tub, and don't you dare ask questions because it's perfect, alright?
Anyways these are just my preliminary thoughts from looking at kijiji and yachtworld. I've been looking at these sites for months now and am starting to figure out what I want. It's getting painful to see some of the full-keel boats that would do so well in our coastal waters go for a song. Hopefully I'll be able to snap up one of my own soon.