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Reply to: Update on "should I buy a 5.7?"

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[quote=Edchris177]First up, I'd like to thank the people who gave me advise. I went to look at the boat on Sat, & their version of "pristine" is not quite the same as mine. The older gent who owns it is in very poor health, lives 1000 miles away, & had asked a friend who lives close to the boat to sell it. The friend means well, seems like an honest hard working guy, & readily admits he knows nothing about boats.
So when I got to the actual location I couldn't see the sails or any of the gear that gets taken off for winter storage, as they were locked up in the cottage. Bummer. What I could see seems OK, a few gelcoat cracks, but no soft spots in the hulls. There were some gelcoat cracks around the bottom outside of the port gudgeon. I think it is gelcoat only, as I cannot flex the fibrglass at all in this area.
The tramp is hanging loose, I don't know if they slacked it off for winter, or it is shot
I couldn't find/feel any broken strands in any of the cables, but I could only inspect closely the bottom 7 feet or so. I think some of it must have been replaced, as the shrouds look like they are new, & covered with some sort of black vinyl material. 
There are no patches on the hulls, & does not appear to be any grind marks on the skeg portion.
It does have the captive mast system, but does not have the Privmatic rudder kick ups, though I see a set of those is only $80 from Murrays.
The trailer is a piece of crap, I honestly don't see how you could ever move the boat more than from the water to the lawn with that trailer.
The frustrating part is the owner has had several strokes & the poor guy is not really lucid, the son-in-law is dealing long distance & doesn't know much, & the friend caught in the middle trying to sell it is not a boater, and can't provide much in the of answers. OF course I will have to look at the sail before I make a final decision.
You were all correct in that it is a bloody big boat, with a bloody tall mast! I have since come across two 5.2
one a 1982, the other a 1983. They are very reasonably priced, though I'm sure you pretty much get what you pay for. It is an easy job to fly to the States to inspect them, & they are close enough that I could go pick them up.
 What do you guys think, would I be better off with the smaller 5.2? I know it has the boom, they both  have the bar across the middle of the tramp, & daggerboards. I have dealt with the daggerboard on my invitation, no big deal. If single handing,is it possible when coming onto shore to pull one board up, then sail the last hundred yards or so with only one board, in order to cut down the chaos factor for a new cat sailor? Or will it just pivot around the remaining board?
I guess what I'm really asking is would I be better off with a 5.2 vs the 5.7? Realistically I will probably singlehand the boat 40% of the time.
I'm off to Beijing this afternoon, have to work to buy these toys, so I'll read all replies on Tue night.
Thanks, I ve already learned lots about these boats...I really want a NACRA!
P.S. to the chap who sailed on Simcoe, I also fly for Air Canada.[/quote]

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