The 26S/D is a value but the boats are older and require more work. My bargain is now at about $7K but I have a lot of new goodies. My budget for buying a used boat was $6K-$8K so finding a bare-bones one has given me the chance to fit it out how I wanted. Nothing wrong with my boat but it needed some fixing.... nothing drastic.
I'm installing the depth finder, & chartplotter before my first splash. I bought a brand new IDA rudder & daggerboard so I don't want to tear them up on the first launch. Overall, fitting it out has given me a chance to understand the boat better. I have all new standing and running rigging and I'm learning how to patch holes in fiberglass. All lots of fun.
Which Plotter/sounder did you choose?
(I might have brand new one avail for sale).
I picked a bare bones one with just a digital display of the depth. It is the Norcross Hawkeye. I was driven by price, the fact that the transducer can be mounted inside without drilling a thru hole and power consumption.
I don't fish. I'm scarred for life by early childhood experiences of fishing with my grandfather. He wouldn't let me move, talk or fidget for hours on end. He was a dawn to dusk fisherman who took all things fishing very seriously.
Which one do you have? I've not even taken mine out of the box yet.
I'm a Lowrance guy. I bought the LMS-332c last summer, but haven't installed it. This one measures about 5x7 inches, has the 5-inch diag screen -- comes w/GPS antenna and depth skimmer, plus the NMEA-2000 network. I paid $675, including the NauticPath chip for all USA coasts. (reasonable offer??).
My only reason for delaying the installation ... widget envy. Lowrance has a new model w/ the 8" screen (LCX-38C-HD). Yes, it sells for an extra BoatBuck more than my other one! But it has that larger screen and it includes all maps on a hard drive.
I spent more than I should have. The chartplotter was more important to me than the fish scope. I bought a Northstar unit with a 5" screen & 640x480 resolution. It was $480 and then I sprung for the Puget Sound C-Maps which brought me in around $660 for the package.
Sweeeeet kev! Congratulations.
The D is a killer boat. There's one around here that can run me down in my X any time the owner feels like playing with me....drives me nuts. I think the PHRF handicap is like 214... and I like the feel of a tiller boat. Plus Ds and Ss are faster on any point of sail IMHO, and much faster upwind.
Compared to my 50hp money sucking transom ornament your tohatsu will be low maintenance and reliable. But I bought my X mainly for interior roominess and the cockpit, so it will do. ...For now.
Keep us posted, I need to learn your fiberglass hole filling technique when you get it perfected. My dpo left little screw holes here and there I'd like to fill.
argonaut wrote:Sweeeeet kev! Congratulations.
The D is a killer boat. There's one around here that can run me down in my X any time the owner feels like playing with me....drives me nuts. I think the PHRF handicap is like 214... and I like the feel of a tiller boat. Plus Ds and Ss are faster on any point of sail IMHO, and much faster upwind.
Compared to my 50hp money sucking transom ornament your tohatsu will be low maintenance and reliable. But I bought my X mainly for interior roominess and the cockpit, so it will do. ...For now.
Keep us posted, I need to learn your fiberglass hole filling technique when you get it perfected. My dpo left little screw holes here and there I'd like to fill.
I'll take some pictures. I have a lot of small spots to fix. I'll probably patch what I need to now and spend more time on the cosmetic things off-season.
Kev...be sure and get a pier hook as a priority boat item. Ive found that having that extra long arm to reach for the dock or what ever, comes in mighty handy. Docking with a pier hook makes it much easier. Its even great for picking up caps, hats, toys, etc. when accidentally dropped off the boat when sailing.
SnickerFlub << clever choice. (that give both kids equality in naming the boat )
LOUIS B HOLUB wrote:Kev...be sure and get a pier hook as a priority boat item. Ive found that having that extra long arm to reach for the dock or what ever, comes in mighty handy. Docking with a pier hook makes it much easier. Its even great for picking up caps, hats, toys, etc. when accidentally dropped off the boat when sailing.
Hey, if you're gonna buy a boat hook (and I agree, they are *really* useful), have a look here.
We have ours mounted vertically using two clips, located just at the aft edge of the head (i.e. by the companionway hatch for easy reach.
She came with a boat hook so I'm not in the market.
Man... you can get widget envy even with something as simple as the boat hook! I'd never buy that thing though because my teenage son would be spraying me with water every chance he got.
Things that still have me reaching for the credit card:
Just imagine that bridge tenders and coasties will hear your cute boat name someday over the radio. Short easy to remember names save time in a situation and a certain amount of humiliation when you're hailing others on the water.
Or you might like to have to say "Uh.... flubber doodle here... my put-put fall down, go boom...uhhh, somebody wanna give us a tow?"
argonaut wrote:Just imagine that bridge tenders and coasties will hear your cute boat name someday over the radio. Short easy to remember names save time in a situation and a certain amount of humiliation when you're hailing others on the water.
Or you might like to have to say "Uh.... flubber doodle here... my put-put fall down, go boom...uhhh, somebody wanna give us a tow?"
Overall, fitting it out has given me a chance to understand the boat better. I have all new standing and running rigging and I'm learning how to patch holes in fiberglass. All lots of fun. 
