Boulder Sailer
New Member
I am a newbie to sailing. I have never owned a sailboat. I took sailing lessons 20 years ago and I have sailed a sunfish a few times a summer for the past few summers. I have been looking for a sailboat to sail at Grand Lake in the mountains of Colorado. I saw a 1992 Capri 14.2 Mod 2 listed on Craigs List, started reading this forum and I think it might be a good fit for me.
I called the owner and drove by and looked at the boat. The owner was not there. It is parked outside. The mast, boom, sails, and rudder were at her house and I have not seen them. The boat's hull appeared to be in very good condition to my untrained eye. Small surface scratches, no gouges or scrapes. No obvious repair work. All the cleats appeared to work. There were small hairline cracks where the seat mold bends up. 3 to 5 on each side perhaps 2 to 4 feet long. I pushed down on the seats, they had a slight give but the cracks did not change or widen. The webbing on the bottom of the boat was faded from sun exposure and appeared to have torn cloth attached to it. I did not understand what it was. The center board looked good from the small amount of it I could see.
All and all I thought the boat looked pretty good. The trailer was in good shape, very little rust ( we are in Colorado ) with one flat tire and no spare.
So here are my questions:
1) Should I be concerned about the cracks in the seats. I read the FAQ and saw that they are common, but I can't tell how much is too much.
2) What is the best way to evaluate the sails? What should I look for?
3) Do I need to look at the bearing on the trailer? How do you do this?
4) What is a fair price? The NADA lists the average retail as 1750. The owner is asking 2250 and has mentioned the price is negotiable. The prices I have seen on the internet are all over the place and there are no other Capri 14.2 for sale in the area.
Any comments or advice arewelcome for this Newbie.
I called the owner and drove by and looked at the boat. The owner was not there. It is parked outside. The mast, boom, sails, and rudder were at her house and I have not seen them. The boat's hull appeared to be in very good condition to my untrained eye. Small surface scratches, no gouges or scrapes. No obvious repair work. All the cleats appeared to work. There were small hairline cracks where the seat mold bends up. 3 to 5 on each side perhaps 2 to 4 feet long. I pushed down on the seats, they had a slight give but the cracks did not change or widen. The webbing on the bottom of the boat was faded from sun exposure and appeared to have torn cloth attached to it. I did not understand what it was. The center board looked good from the small amount of it I could see.
All and all I thought the boat looked pretty good. The trailer was in good shape, very little rust ( we are in Colorado ) with one flat tire and no spare.
So here are my questions:
1) Should I be concerned about the cracks in the seats. I read the FAQ and saw that they are common, but I can't tell how much is too much.
2) What is the best way to evaluate the sails? What should I look for?
3) Do I need to look at the bearing on the trailer? How do you do this?
4) What is a fair price? The NADA lists the average retail as 1750. The owner is asking 2250 and has mentioned the price is negotiable. The prices I have seen on the internet are all over the place and there are no other Capri 14.2 for sale in the area.
Any comments or advice arewelcome for this Newbie.