need advice

[gabo94]

Newbie here and I need some advice. I am going to see an Ariel this Thursday. It is a 1968 model with an asking price of 4,900. Broker says it's in good shape, just needs a little TLC. The pictures look really good but I need to know what to look for and what questions to ask. This will be my first sailboat. Does the price seem reasonable? Thanks for any help.

[c_amos]

Looks like a nice boat.


There is tons of info on these forums about problems to look for, but very few of them (short of soft spots on the deck) would drive the price down where that price is too high.

Do you have any more info on the boat, a link to an add, or the hull number? It is hard to give good advice just looking at pictures.

I will tell you this, as to the general characteristics of an Ariel......

.... You will do well to find one. :D

Good luck!

[Bill]

She looks good in the photos. On the Ariel home page there is a "plank" titled "Maintneance Alerts." Check it out. Also, check the decks for soft spots. Blisters are usually not a big problem with these boats.

In 2002 Commander Pete wrote:

I really haven’t heard of any problems particular to the ariel, aside from what is on the website. Of course the boat is getting on 40 years old, and may share some problems common with older boats. The expensive and/or time consuming ones to fix are usually:

springy delaminated deck

brown rigging

old soft sails

worn nonskid

corroded thru hulls/ rudder post

corroded aluminum at foot of mast

leaky deck fittings

humps,depressions or flat spots in the hull from seperated bulkheads

stress cracked gelcoat


The best time to look at a boat is during or just after a rain storm. However, you can usually suspect leaky fittings if they are surrounded with gobs of sealant.

Hiring a surveyor was a good investment. If you take pictures of any suspect areas and post them on the website I'm sure somebody has dealt with the problem already.

Good luck.

[mbd]

Here you go, someone posted this thread a while ago... FS: Ariel in LA (http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=1209) :rolleyes:

If you're new to this, hire a surveyor after you look at the boat and think you may be interested in pursuing it. A good surveyor will remove the rose colored glasses and let you know what you're really in for.

When I was looking, I told my surveyor, the one "deal breaker" would be soft decks. He pointed them out shortly after we got started, but I was way to in love with this boat to continue looking at others. Foolish way to do business. The upside though, is I was able to renegotiate the price as a result of the survey. But now I get to do a deck recore. Don't kid yourself though, they're a lot of work. But it's "good" work.

An Ariel/Commander is an excellent choice for a first boat. They sail great, are very forgiving, darn near bullet proof, and look damn good. If I'd started with this one, I'd never have looked for the second one. :)

Best of luck! Keep us posted!

[gabo94]

I certainly appreciate the help. Don't know the hull number yet but will find out thursday and let you guys know. I also will hire a surveyor should I decide that I want the boat. Then comes the little matter of learning how to sail.

[Dan Maliszewski]

Greetings,

I'll probably catch h*ll for posting here as an "ex", but after being owned by an exceptional Ariel for thirteen years, I found very little that could not be repaired/rebuilt or fabricated, scrounged or invented to make an injured A/C whole again. This site has remarkable members of all skill levels who will help you through the dark nights. Do not be afraid, Scooter, these boats are the Harleys of watercraft - you can't kill 'em. Just pace yourself and do not try to do it all the first year, lest you find yourself still on the beach come July. These vessels have the sweetest disposition you'll ever see, and if you just listen, they will teach you how to sail all nice and gentle like. Sail her every chance you get, no excuses.

Surveyors are expensive, and not always accurate. If you want to scare yourself, go to www.yachtsurvey.com. This site is by and for surveyors and is an eye opener. Buying boats is always a roll of the dice, but what isn't?
Welcome aboard.

[mbd]

Hey "Gabo" - how'd the looksie go?

[gabo94]

I was a little disappointed. The pics were about 3-4 years old. All the varnished wood needs to be stripped and redone. Thats the good part. The inside was junky, cluttered and neglected. Bilges were full of water. Cabin top was sagging under the mast. Counter tops were delaminated. Cabin deck was composed of just wood slats over the water filled bilge. There was no head, sink or counter top were one should have been. No hull number nor could anyone tell me what it might have been. The owner did bring the price down to 3500 but I really don't want to rebuild a boat at this stage of my life. Clean up, painting and minor fixes are ok during the off season but this looked to be too much. All in all, I was very disappointed. :(

[ebb]

Hate to say it, but don't get the boat.

Unless, of course, you are in the trades or pretty handy.
Have some tools and some money for materials and upgrades.
You shouldn't pay more than two grand for a mess. As is, where is.

But the owner can't sell a boat like that,
what it needs, unless what you describe is ONLY cosmetic,
is a good home. At auction it'd go for $200, sounds like.

If you have a cheap/no rent place to work on it,
and you can imagine or SEE a restoration taking place -
then that is the boat.
It is a great boat, it's a sound platform, for a rebuild.

There are some people who can fix up a boat quickly
without ripping it apart. They tend to be experienced sailors
and boat owners who want to go sailing.

Explore these pages here and find all the dolled up ones,
and then take a look at some of the agony of starting from scratch
that some of us are doing - like Tony G's on the Gallery pages.


If that Ariel is already speaking to you ..>save me... s a v e m e..<...
you're lost! :D

[mbd]

I find it so aggravating when a boat is advertised with glossy old pictures taken right after some cosmetic work was done, then you take the time to go all the way out to look at it, and it's a mess! Like I said, that "needs TLC" in the ad was worrisome - and telling. I think it was CPete who posted some pretty funny "what they really mean when they say..." a while back.

Sellers should be honest with interested parties. (Yeah right.) In fact, I'd venture to say, if you find any half-truths in what you're being told by a seller, chances are high that there is a host of other items that you don't know about.

Sorry for the disappointment. The right boat is out there. Be patient, she'll find you. Best of luck!

[commanderpete]

Yeah, here's some things you often see in ads, with translation:


"1969 Arial 27 foot"----Owner doesn't even know what kind of boat he has

"Needs TLC"---A cosmetic mess

"Sink, compass, water tank, lifejackets, flares & more"---No upgrades ever

"5 bags of sails"---The original sails plus some more blown out laundry

"Yard maintained"---Clueless owner grudgingly paid the boatyard to fix things after they broke

"Asking $____, negotiable"----Getting desperate

"Owner motivated"---Wife about to kill him

"Fully rigged"---Mast is standing

"Ready to sail"---Still floating (last I checked)

[ebb]

Atomic 4, rebuilt 1982 ----Replaced spark plugs.

[mbd]

Heh! Zactly! :D

[gabo94]

You are right ebb, there still is a whisper in the back ground saying Buy me, buy me. I'm fighting it. Trouble is, everytime I look at other boats or look for others, my mind keeps wondering back to it. We'll see who wins, heart or brains. Thanks for the input guys, really appreciate it.

[mbd]

Oh oh! Sounds waaaaay too familiar. After seeing my boat, I spent a whole Fall and Winter looking at other boats and found I was always comparing them to this one... If reason doesn't win out, you should negotiate the price down further. ;)