Considering a 1989 32-200 Any Advice?

[Rick R.]

Looks like I may have found a boat for the Admiral and me. It's an 89 322 and appears to be in pretty good shape.

Haven't had her surveyed yet.

The seller will take $23k.

Is this a good model?

Are there any known isues we should look out for?

We intend to cruise the ICW, bays and coast near Destin and Pensacola, Florida.

Thanks in advance!

 

[PDX]

I assume you're talking about an Ericson 32-200? There is another boat of similar vintage, the O'Day 322.

If you're talking about the Ericson, yes it is an excellent model. The price seems low. Is it in decent shape?

 

[Rick R.]

I assume you're talking about an Ericson 32-200? There is another boat of similar vintage, the O'Day 322.

If you're talking about the Ericson, yes it is an excellent model. The price seems low. Is it in decent shape?

You are right, it is a 32-200 and is in excellent shape. Haven't had a survey yet.

Are there any inherent problems with this model and year?

 

[Mark F]

Hi Skabeep,

That sounds like a good price!

 

[newpbs]

Should be good

Skabeeb,

I currently own a 32-200. She sails well and there do not seem to be any issues specific to the boat. I am looking forward to the 4th summer with this boat. We've mostly day sailed but have done some cruising too.

I agree that the price is low. With that said, I hope all turns out well. You will find this site to be very helpful.

good luck

Paul

 

[Blue Chip]

Our is a 1990 one owner 32-200.
Love it..Sails well, handled easily by two OLD people, and just plain fun. It is simply rigged and all led back...Enjoy!!!!

 

[Rick R.]

I hope the deal works out.

 

[Seth]

Why so cheap?

23K seems like a fire sale price, and I would worry that something is seriously wrong with the boat..Be sure to check it out very carefully.

It IS a fine boat-no doubt, but the price is questionable..

S

 

[C Masone]

I paid under 20000 for my 87 32-3 two years ago, not perfect but no big problems. I looked at three boats at the time and all were fire-sale priced because the owners were in financial trouble and there are no buyers. Look at what has happened to the price of housing in Florida and home are a necessity, therefore I can see 23000 a fair price in these market conditions. Like the housing market there are yachts sitting in boat yards unsold.

 

[Seth]

Standing corrected

WOW- I guess I was not aware of how things have changed in the market.

That is a great value no matter how you slice it.

Humbly,

 

[C Masone]

Boats are a great value right now, till you start paying the yard bills

 

[Brian K]

I own a 1988 32-200 and I agree with the comments already mentioned. That is a VERY low price. If all is good with the boat and sails, go for it! The only thing I don't like about my boat is the 6' 1/2" keel. But life is nothing but trade offs and the deep fin keel does perform well,,, it just limits access to shallow waters.

 

[C Masone]

All doesn't have to be perfect at these prices, the boat is 22 years old and this leaves a lot of room for new sails and such. If the boat has tons of stuff wrong this may need to be passed by because it adds up quick. Just be careful. As I said before, this is Florida many home prices have been cut in half and there are boats everywhere.

Also, I bought my boat in 2009, the economy was falling off a cliff, everyone was scared, the fellow I bought the boat from had no orders coming into his buisness and a daughter heading to college, nobody was buying boats. People are not as scared now. $22,000 is about 10% better than I paid for a boat the same age as mine was then sounds like a good price.

 

[Rick R.]

I own a 1988 32-200 and I agree with the comments already mentioned. That is a VERY low price. If all is good with the boat and sails, go for it! The only thing I don't like about my boat is the 6' 1/2" keel. But life is nothing but trade offs and the deep fin keel does perform well,,, it just limits access to shallow waters.

I thought the boat only had a 4.5' draft?

We have a lot of shallow water around here (ecpecially in the ICW).

 

[C Masone]

There were at least 2 if not three keels

 

[thomthod]

I would not worry too much! My Uncle is trying to sell his 1981 Islander 36 in primo condition, and has it down to 38.5k. I have found there are 3 kind of sailboat buyers; Catalinas, Hunters and your hybrids( Ericsons, Islanders, Morgans etc). The hybrid buy has become few and far in between. With that said the hybrid sellers are dropping thier prices. Just have a keen eye on the engine, hull and rigging.


T

 

[Rick R.]

There were at least 2 if not three keels

What do you mean?

 

[Loren Beach]

Florida- no Fountain of Youth for boats

One other factor not mentioned so far is location. Florida and other regions closer to the equator have lots more heat and UV exposure. Even in the best of financial times one could always find screaming bargains in Florida and SoCal. But, there was always a reason...

Gel coat is degraded, over time, in proportion to UV exposure. And then, hot salt environments are the hardest on all metals.

If you follow boat pricing over the decades, you will find that fresh water boats from northern states can cost twice as much as a sister ship from the "deep fried South" and even in the NE states boats are often only in the water half the year.
Here in the NW, we have lower UV and a very moderate climate, which also preserves fiberglass boats better over time.
(I know of one C&C fan in our club that deliberately brought back a C&C 35 from the Great Lakes just to obtain a boat "half as old" in usage compared to boats here.)

So that late-model Ericson in Florida may certainly be a wonderful deal now, in a recession, but... it was always gonna be 10K less than any similar sister ship in the north.

So first look at condition carefully, and price. And don't overlook Location. Having said all that, it does indeed sound like a bargain.

Loren

 

[Seth]

Keels

Skabeep,

What he meant was that the boat was offered with 2 different choices of keels. The standard boat had a keel of about 6.5 feet draft (not sure exactly, but in this area), and there was an optional "shoal draft" keel in the 4.5 foot draft range.

The standard keel gives a much better performing boat, especially upwind, but in Florida with so much shallow water, the shoal draft keels are very popular.

Hope that helps!

S

 

[Brian K]

There were 3 keel versions:

Deep fin 6' 1/2"
Shoal draft 4' 4"
Wing keel 4' 5"

​

See attached brochure.