Advice on Buying a Used Buccaneer

Finding – Don’t get too enthusiastic. It’s easy to say to yourself “Yes, I will drive for 6 hours across 3 or 4
states to get a Buccaneer” but it is unlikely that you’ll complete the quest. Or worse, you may put in along day of driving for a boat that is not really what you want. So keep it realistic! How far would you drive to see a boat that you’d better turn down?

FINDING – Another important step is to decide how much you are willing to spend. Remember that even if you are buying new (Nickels Boat Works 888-609-2827; they do beautiful work), you will have some stuff to buy afterward, so don’t shoot your wallet in the foot.

Rough Price Guide – as always, the market makes it’s own rules. However here is what I have seen (we will have a section on evaluating condition, see below). Thru 2015, I was actively hunting for Buccaneers in the eastern US, I and found they average about $1,250 in asking price. About 1/3 had galvanized trailers (more below). Under $1,000. You can find lots of boats in this price range, but they will need new gear, rigging, or repairs. $1,500 In this range you should be able to pick up a boat that is truly ready to sail.

Maybe the sails and ropes are tired, and it needs some minor work. $3,000+. In this range you should be able to pick up a boat that is in good shape and close to competitive.

It should have good blocks and cleats, good lines, sails less than 6 years old. $7,000+ second-hand Nickels boats, 2006 and newer. There are fewer of these than any other make/builder.

Sails are a HUGE part of the value of the boat. Many of us have spent more on sails than on the boat itself.

Spinnaker – you don’t need the bow launcher to fly a spinnaker, but you do need the pole ($200), sail ($600+), sheets and halyards ($100+ for the good stuff), blocks & cleats ($225+ for the good stuff). That means a good-racing spinnaker rig adds at least $1,000 to the value of the boat. Obviously the contributed value will be less if no ratchet blocks, 2nd-hand Flying Scot spinnaker (which is what one of my boats has; hey it works and it cost $110) etc etc. Note: you don’t really need a spinnaker to race.

The Buccaneer genoa is large that winging it out can provide a LOT of drive downwind, and I’ve personally seen Buccs sailing wing-n-wing keep up with spinnaker-flying Buccs. Spinnakers are a lot of fun though!

Main & Jib – It is difficult to find second-hand sails for the Bucc. It’s possible, but assume that if the object of your Craigslist desire has no sails, or 40+ year old rags, then part of enjoying your Bucc will be to fit her with some sails to make her GO properly.

Kit Sails – Yes you can get a pre-cut kit and sew up your own sails. Still gonna cost about $500 or more. “Bargain” or “sweatshop” off-brand new sails. Some only cost a little more than a kit and look very good. Pay attention to sailcloth weight, and details like whether you’re getting battens, etc etc.

Big-Name Sails – Don’t kid yourself, even the big names have their sails cut and assembled in third-world sweatshops. However, the big names have the best airfoil

designs, for gaining best performance in close races. And the finishing of the new sails I’ve seen the last few years range from beautiful to fantastic. Mainsails range from $850 to $1,250, genoas from $495 to $795 (prices as of 2015) Also remember that you may have a local sailmaker. Give them a call. Don’t expect them match the cheapest sweat-shop price, be ready to pay something for better and more personal service.

Trailer – Also a big big part of the value. You see Buccs on yard trailers or those Home Depot kit trailers; yes, this can work, but it’s not good long-term gear. Condition of the trailer is important, but the way it has been fitted to the boat is also important. Are the bunks in good contact with the hull? Are the rollers mounted and adjusted so that the hull can launch & retrieve smoothly? How about the winch and the mast prop? A well-cared for boat may be run down but all these details will have been attended.

Trailer – Tires? Make sure they are inflated to within 10% of their rated pressure, even if they look a bitcracked. If they are badly cracked or sun-rotted, plan to stop by the closest tire shop (call first!). If you know how to grease bearings, it would be a good idea bring some tools (don’t forget the clean-up rags) and make sure the bearings are good before hitting the road. I don’t worry about trailer lights and wiring, because I always use a “light bar” that goes on the stern of the boat.

Hull – No cracks, duh. Actually, with older boats, spidery cracks in the gelcoat are very common and not necessarily bad. Obvious structural cracks, well if you want to fix them then go ahead. Sight along the bottom of the hull to see if it is ‘mushed in’ around the trailer supports. Note- I consider a damaged hull to have zero monetary value. In fact, the owner should to have it hauled out of his yard. A damaged boat might be worth considering, if everything else about the boat is premium.

Hull – Gunwhale (should be smoothly curved & uniform); Mast Step (low or high); Hatches; Access; CB trunk & gasket (look underneath!); Centerboard; RudderNote- when inspecting a hull, look out for critters. Wasps, ants, spiders and snakes… they like the boat too.

Rig – First sight along the mast aand boom, make sure they are not hooked or bent. Look for dimples in the metal, and corrosion around fasteners. Look at the chainplates, especially inside the gunwhale where they’re attached.

Rig – (furler)- A major component is the roller-furling. Obviously, you want a modern Harken roller, but there are older/simpler versions that work well enough. The oldest system is a pipe in the jib luff, this can work but is not optimal for many reasons. Unless the seller demonstrates it working perfectly, assume one of these old pipe-luff rollers is non-functional and budget to replace it with a wire luff and modern furler.

Rig –  (lines and blocks and cleats)- Inventory the rigging to see how much of the rigging is present and functional. If my experience is any guide, any boat short of brand-new will have something missing or broken. Main halyard and cleat; mainsheet, blocks (ideally, the ones on the boom should be spread out), and swivel cam-cleat.

Main Outhaul, shackle and cleat (ideally internal to boom with pulley set close to gooseneck). Main Downhaul;

Boom vang (ideally 6:1 or more with swivel cam-cleat); Cunningham; Jib Halyard and tensioner; Jib Sheets, blocks (ratchets on track at seat) & cleats; Jib Barber Haulers (few Buccaneers are equipped with these, no worry); Jib Furling Line & cleat; Spinnaker Halyard and dousing
line, blocks & cleats; Spinnaker Sheets blocks (turning & ratchet) and cleats; Spinnaker Pole topping lift &
cleat; Spinnaker Pole hold-down & cleat; Twings/guy hooks; Rudder hold-down & cleat on tiller; Rudder Uphaul & cleat (often the same as the hold-down, on tiller); CB hold-up & cleat (very important for trailering, see if it really pulls and holds the centerboard ALL the way up); CB hold-down.

Now, the Buccaneer is a simple boat. You could sail it with just the halyards and sheets, outhaul, and the jib sheet blocks on the gunwhale. But it would a pain to have to constantly force the centerboard back down as the speed of the boat brings it up, ditto the rudder. In fact, if the rudder tends to kick up, that makes the boat much more difficult to steer! And you will want a vang the first time you start going really hard on a broad reach or run. Then the ratchet blocks on those sheets, the first time you ever sail with some, you will want some too because they are really nice and they make the boat a lot easier to handle. They also cost $65 apiece.

One thing leads to another, and you could easily spend over $800 on line and blocks and cleats for rigging up
a Bucc for “just for fun” sailing. So it will pay dividends to double-check the running rigging and all hardware BEFORE you buy.

Builder/Year Models – There is not really a direct correlation between age or builder and price. Some of
the older boats are real gems!

1968 ~1977 Chrysler, the “classic” Buccaneer. These have a reputation of being heavy, with clunky gear like the standpipe bailers and pipe-luff furlers, which don’t work very well.

1978 ~1981 improved Chrysler, these are also heavy but have rigid hulls and several improvements. The mast step is above the crown of the centerboard, making it much easier to raise and lower the mast. The jib sheets are on the seat, improving the boats’ performance close-hauled. The spinnaker tube was an option. Chrysler built thousands of Buccaneers and these are the majority of the ones on the market.

1981~1983 TMI basically an improved Chrysler, but after the gov’t bail-out forced Chrysler out of the
sailboat business.

1983 ~ 1989 the Bucc transformed into the Starwind 18 (manufactured by motorboat builder Wellcraft).
These boats are also heavy but not as well-built, and may not be recognized for class racing.

1989~ 2005 Gloucester and then Cardinal, same company renamed. Much better boats, lighter but
some are flexy; generally better rigged than any previous models.

2006 ~ present Nickels Boat Works, a high-quality one-design boatbuilder. The best Buccs ever built,
also the most expensive, for obvious reasons.