New to this, should I buy this Kelt 8.5?

[out2sea]

Hi, nice to meet everyone!  I've always wanted to have my own boat and am seriously considering this one:

   https://longisland.craigslist.org/boa/d/levittown-sail-boat-kelt-85-for-sale/6926462748.html

I just went to take a look at it, and I was wondering what people on this forum think?  The engine doesn't work, so that is a big unknown.  However, when I looked at the bottom, the swing keel and actually much of the bottom seemed to be fairly rusty.  It could have just been surface rust, but it didn't look like this guy every painted his bottom.  Is this something that can be easily fixed, ie, maybe just resurfacing and painting?  Also, his keel looked like it was 1/2 way down - the keel (which is shaped a fin, long and thin, was pointed at a 30 deg angle to the boat bottom, not 90 deg).  Does the keel go all the way up into the ballast, and swing all the way down to 90 deg?  I wish I had taken a picture to upload here.  I'm afraid maybe it's stuck in a weird position.

The boat was on stands on the guy's lawn when I went to take a look at it, and he's owned it for about 10 years.

[Mark Williamson]

Not that familiar with the 8.5 but if it's like the 7.60 then it's got a fiberglass hull and an iron keel.  The iron keel is probably pretty rusty.  Not a big deal because it's a big lump of iron.  They can be sanded down and painted with a little effort.  I've done a few posts on this.  The centerboard should probably be full up inside the keel.  It may be clogged with barnacles and/or the lifting mechanism may be in bad repair.  If the rest of the hull has barnacles or remnants on it then it could be a chore to scrape them off.  Typically hulls are power-washed when they come out of the water and that should get much of the junk off if the bottoms were properly painted.  I'd be wary of the lifting mechanism especially where it enters the inside of the boat.  This should be secure with no potential for leaks.

The engine should be a big concern.  If it needs a rebuild or replacement then that's a huge expense.

The new sails are a bonus.  Potentially that's a good portion of the asking price, especially if the running rigging is also new.

So, the question you have to ask yourself is what's your total budget and how much risk do you want to take on?  If you're lucky you may only have to spend a few hundred bucks to get the engine running.  If you're not lucky it may be $7000 or more (depending on the route you take).  In my opinion it's better to have someone else do the repairs and upgrades then sell you the boat.

Before buying I highly recommend reading "Inspecting the Aging Sailboat" by Don Casey.  It's a 138 page book with a lot of great information in it.

Best of luck!  Post more information if you can.

Mark