by tomodda » Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:55 pm
Yes, that's a DS1. Looks a lot like mine when I first brought her. The price is great (same as what I paid). Absent any obvious issues (holes in the hull), there's no reason not to buy it. You WILL discover problems, but everything is fixable. Get rid of the jumper stays first thing, though! Realize that $750 is just your "scratch" to get into the game. To give you a ballpark, I've poured about $5K into my boat in 4 years, although a lot of it was "nice to have," not "need to have." All I did in my first season was general cleaning, build new benches (I have the original style wooden benches), strip the old paint, and paint my bilges. And then I went sailing with a very ugly boat, but who cares? Everything else can wait.
Some practical tips: before you buy, make sure the previous owner has a good title to the trailer. Boat title is good too, of course, but getting a new trailer title is a true pain in the ass. Do some research on what papers you need in your state, don't expect the owner to know. Make sure the wheels spin well, depending how far you have to travel, you may want to repack the bearings before you start out. Again, do some research, don't expect the owner to know or care. When I bought mine, I had the wrong size trailer hitch ball, so I had to run to nearest auto parts store. Don't expect the lights to work, etc. In general, be ready for the "taking the boat home" adventure to take all day and then some. Figure out where you're going to keep the boat/trailer when you're not on the water.
That's really about it.
Good luck!
Tom