seeking boat purchase advice
Sandy Sorlien
Hello all,
I am a novice sculler in the US (Schuylkill River Philadelphia),
female age 55, 5'7", 155 lbs. After only 8 months sculling and erging
with dedicated intensity and good coaching (and a lifetime on ocean
waters in other kinds of boats), I am convinced that sculling in a
single is the greatest activity I have ever undertaken and want to do
it for 30 more years. It turns out I am competitive and might even
race, having already entered the Main Line Slide indoor rowing event
and a club gig race.
I want to buy a boat so I can row more on the river in winter (they
remove the seats from the club singles for several months here) and
also during summer vacation in Rhode Island on Narragansett Bay. I
have been reading your wonderful forum for several months and know
that you will give me good advice.
As I can only afford one boat, I have settled on those hybrid models
that seem stable but fast in their class, and easy for me to carry
alone, and to get onto a car a few times a year with my husband's
help. Which of these would you recommend (or another):
Maas Aero (21)
Maas 24
Little River Regatta (21)
WinTech Explorer 21.
They all weigh about 40 lbs fully rigged but are more portable
unrigged. From the website, the Regatta appears to be somewhat lighter
(their specs are confusing) and better looking than the others.
I note that in the classifieds there are no used Aeros for sale which
probably indicates they are the best. There are three used Explorers,
very good deals including oars, car rack, cover, slings, etc. One of
the Explorers is in New England so I could actually go see it and get
it home.
Launching in Narragansett Bay would likely be done from a pebbly beach
but possibly a floating dock. Launching in Philadelphia is from my
boathouse dock, no problem, and they do have rack space.
I would be able to try the Explorer and the two Maas shells on the
water at Chesapeake Rowing a few hours' drive from here.
Before I go to that trouble, any thoughts on boat quality and
suitability for intense recreational use and some racing? (n.b., I
can probably use faster club boats for racing, too.) The Bay can
certainly get rough but if I go out in the mornings it is usually
calm. However, I like wild weather and would be tempted to go out in
it.
Sandy
Charles Carroll
I was at the Club this morning in Sausalito. Liz Stone, our boatman, was
preparing a Maas 24 for sale.
It is a bit of a sad story. The boat belongs to an attorney who is a member
of our Club. I have never met him, but apparently he is well-liked and a
good sculler. The shell is for sale because he has not sculled it for years.
The story I got is that he has really built up his law practice and become a
kind of local celebrity, and now he has had hip surgery, and between his law
practice and the hip surgery he doesn't think he will ever go sculling
again, so he has donated the boat to the Club, which has decided to sell it.
The shell is a 1993 Honeycomb Carbon Maas 24. Liz told me that Chris Maas
built about 8 or 10 honeycomb boats before he stopped using honeycomb. Chris
said that he had too many problems getting the boat out of the mold with the
honeycomb, and so he gave up on this design.
In any event, the boat, which is 17 years old, looks brand new. Liz
inspected the inside of the hull with a flashlight and said it looks as good
as the outside. It is really beautiful.
I don't know how long a carbon boat will last. You'll have to find someone
with more knowledge than I to give you an opinion.
The only downside to the shell that I can see is that it has wing riggers.
Otherwise, as I said, it is just like new.
I don't know what the asking price will be. Maybe someone else could give
you advice on what you should offer.
If you interested, email Dana Forbes at ow...@owrc.com.
Oh, and one other thing. There is a lady who is coming to Sacramento in the
very near future. She is hauling a trailer of boats and is going to return
to Boston with another trailer. In the past she has taken boats to the east
coast for us. Dana says that she is reliable and quite reasonable. She
charges about $200 a boat.
Cordially,
Charles
Bob
Sandy,
I'm a 61 year old sculler, and also a novice - one-year. Like you, I
have spent many years on the water (still an active sailor and
surfer). In April of last year, fresh from sculling camp, I bought a
used Maas Aero. I think it was a 1996. I paid $1,000 for it. It had
old macon-style oars, so I bought new C2 hatchets.
For me, the Aero was a very good boat on which to learn and gain
confidence. After about six months, I wanted something more "zippy"
shall we say. I was thinking of a Maas 24 or Peinert Dolphin (also
24'). This was because of storage considerations, and the feeling
that I should progress in steps. After talking to some more
experienced scullers, particularly the man who bought my Aero, I
decided to go with a regular single. I ended up buying a used Peinert
26. His argument was that (a) I would probably want to move up from
the 24' after a several months or a year, and (b) I was not going to
row on open water. I was able to solve the storage issue.
It sounds like you're going to row on Narragansett Bay, which I recall
from my Navy days, can be pretty choppy. I agree that an open water
boat would make sense. From my understanding, the Maas 24, Peinert
Dolphin, and Wintech 24 can handle open water. I would suggest
something in this category, as I feel you will tire of a 21' boat.
As to builders, my Maas had some age, some dings, but stayed dry
inside. I was the third owner. The man who bought it from me is
going to use it in a youth program. My Peinert is a 2002. I am the
second owner, and it is in very nice condition - I think I'm in heaven
when I look at it. Peinerts are built in Massachesetts and have a
reputation for ruggedness.
As to places to look for used boats, the Row2K site seems to be the
best. I never saw anything worthwhile on Craig's List or Ebay.
Craftsbury Sculling sells fleet boats, and some builders have used
boats on their websites.
Hope this helps. I would be glad to discuss further.
Bob
Sandy Sorlien
purchase questions. I really appreciate it. We have a few of the
recommended boats at our club, so I can be sure to try those in the
spring. I recently realized I was already rowing the Aero, and we have
a Maas 24, Maas Flyweight, and Alden Star. It may be that I'll have to
buy for the conditions on Narragansett Bay and windy days on the
Schuylkill, and just use our club boats for optimum flat water
conditions and Philadelphia racing. We shall see. Thanks again!
Sandy
Jonny
I know i'm getting in late here, but our club has Maas 24s, Aeros and
Doubles in our training and recreation fleets (and a Flyweight in
private hands).
I'm going to cross the Wintech Explorer boats off your list, not
because they are not nice boats, but primarily based on the durability
of the hull construction. The local rowing association has a number of
the singles as part of the adaptive program.
Maas Aero is most stable - so this would be the choice if the weather
and cold water immersion risks are high.
Maas 24 would be a 'nicer' rowing boat - faster, requiring a bit more
skill. However, at your weight I think it could be a bit big for you
and poses a greater risk of capsize.
Maas Flyweight might be spot on as it is effectively a scalled down
Maas 24. This would be more stable, yet still faster/more rewarding
than the Aero.
Jonny
Charles Carroll
> because they are not nice boats, but primarily based on the durability
> of the hull construction. The local rowing association has a number of
> the singles as part of the adaptive program.
Johnny,
One more thing to note about the Wintech singles is that they do not
self-bail. If you are going to use one for your "rough water shell," you
need to add a scupper, or at least you did the last time I saw one on the
water.
Cordially,
Charles
Jonny
>
> Johnny,
>
> One more thing to note about the Wintech singles is that they do not
> self-bail. If you are going to use one for your "rough water shell," you
> need to add a scupper, or at least you did the last time I saw one on the
> water.
>
> Cordially,
>
> Charles
For the record, we have the self-bailers installed in all of our MAAS
boats. The do work very well.