29 June, 2015

Where can I buy a junk-rigged boat?

I recently had a comment from someone called James, in USA.  He asked "Where do I start looking for a small boat that is junk-rigged in the U.S.? Have searched the Internet and have found only one boat in the U.S. And it was 36'."

This reminded me of something that I've heard said so many times by people debating re-rigging their existing boat with junk rig.  "What happens if I want to sell the boat?  Won't putting a junk rig on it make it more difficult?"

My usual response is to ask them why they are fitting the junk rig in the first place and generally they say because they couldn't find a boat already converted that would suit them.  Well, doesn't that answer the question for them?  There are lots of people looking for junk-rigged boats and there aren't many for sale.  Of course, if you happen to be in a country with a very restricted market, with a boat that is unlikely to be easy to sell anyway, having a junk rig may not necessarily swing the deal, but most of the people I know who have wanted to sell a junk-rigged boat have moved them along pretty quickly.

And to James, and other people who would like to buy a junk-rigged boat, I recommend you visiting the Junk Rig Association website, where there is a Swop, Sell or Buy forum that members use to list (and look for) boats.  And if you are thinking you'd like to buy a boat to sail distant climes, why not make it easy for yourself and buy one that's overseas to start with?!


Just think of the joy of owning something as delightful as one of these:










at

2 comments:

  1. WhatIfWeAllCared?5:00 am

    I will be purchasing my first bot this coming spring. Although my parents owned a small houseboat I have no personal experience with ownership, and specifically with sailing. Any suggestions you could offer would be greatly appreciated 😊

    ReplyDelete
  2. Annie Hill10:45 am

    Two suggestions: you could join your local yacht club, in which case you will probably have lots of opportunities to sail with people, but it may well be limited to racing. Alternatively, join the Junk Rig Association (www.junkrigassociation.org). When you join, you have the choice to say that you would like to try sailing junk rig. Once you've joined, all you need to do is go through the membership list of people in your area and see if anyone has offered to take people out for a trial. If they haven't, you can always ask, anyway!

    ReplyDelete