need opinion on price to bid for this boat

[priceless9192]

hey guys i dident really want to do this on a daysailer only forum but i am looking at aquiring this 1976 newport 17. the price seems very high for a boat that has been sitting for 3 years but it is complete. my biggest fear is a soft hull but my reasearch hasent fouund that a issue. i have a 1970 daysailer and just want a small cabin sailboat. what would you guys bid this guy?
http://newlondon.craigslist.org/boa/2636156123.html

[Baysailer]

Priceless,

I don't know the newports so I can't offer much there but if you are looking for a small cabin boat I think you should consider the Mariner. I owned one for quite a few years and think they are fantastic sailing boats that can handle weather and are not bad to set up (trailer sailing). they also have a solid class association.

[GreenLake]

I would take a look at it first.

Trailer alone is probably worth $300 depending on where you live. So you're really talking $800 for the boat. Probably not wildly overpriced unless you can spot a need for definite repairs. Can't judge that from a distance.

[K.C. Walker]

I had a 1980 18 foot open cockpit Newport boat called the Whitecap sold originally by Spicer's in Noank. It's a nice enough made boat but mine was double hull so repairs were a pain in the butt. Mine was a very stable boat and fine for Long Island Sound, of course picking your weather. My particular boat had no problem with stiffness nor blisters. If it's the same set up as mine it had a 5 foot steel reinforced concrete centerboard. The mast was 26 feet on my boat and larger section than a daysailer so I could not set it up by myself.

What I found was that no one knew anything about these boats. I would check on the Internet and see if there's any info available, if not that's a definite sign. I go along with Baysailer. A class Association with some support for information and problem solving is invaluable. One of the reasons I love having the DaySailer.

I did buy my Newport for $1200 including a motor and trailer. I sold it 10 years and lots of use later without the motor for $600. As long as you don't have to put a lot of work into the boat you're not going to get hurt very bad for $1100. This time of year you could probably offer considerably less. I think I'd start out at $600 if I really wanted the boat. There are really a lot of boats in people's yards in this area and for most people the sailing season is over.

Check the trailer carefully because saltwater really eats them up.

[priceless9192]

thank you so much guys, yeah like i said the hull is really my only fear. i had a 1963 daysailer that would practically fold in half when i tried to push it off the beach, but i have visited numerous boat in these condition that the hull was going to need thousands in fiberglass work just because of soft spots. we will see