G'day all,
First post, new member. Yes, I've hit the search bar and not found much other info :)
Hopefully looking at one of these this weekend and I can't seem to find much info about them.
I know they were sold in Nedlands & built by the Court family etc and have googled for hours. Just wondering about their seagoing ability, is it a wet ride etc.
This'll be a first yacht for the missus and myself. I've had plenty of boats and although I sail a Hobie Outback regularly (no comparison I know) I have ZERO yachting experience. I have a couple of older brothers on hand who used to sail MANY years ago though!
Just planning on eventual rotto trips and then maybe tackle a few other areas around WA to get some sailing hours up.
I've been researching for a while now and have settled on spending a couple of grand on a first yacht to get a taste.
Was considering waiting a few years and looking at a Macgregor as a first boat as it'll be more forgiving on me but I want to start now and then upgrade to a "proper" 28 plus foot yacht if we enjoy it.
This one in question is pictured below and is a couple grand as mentioned. It needs a day or two reassembly of a few things (I'm a chippy so no worries there and always been a tinkerer), has everything ready to go including good sails, new 15 hp motor and licensed trailer. Have detailed photos of patching up and repainting. On first impressions it looks very good value, but yet to see it in person.
I know they command decent money in good nick I just hope there's no leaks around the swing keel as I saw the work required to fix that, however I'm more than happy to drop several thousand $$$ into it if required, however hopefully not.
Bring on another thousand as they say!
P.S. Yachts do need rego right as they are fitted for a motor? And do I need a survey for insurance as I'm led to believe a survey for this size would be around $500 which is ridiculous if that's the case!
Cheers in advance, Ben.
That's good value and a lot of gear for 2 grand. Outboard might be a bit big. Any of the WA designed trailer sailers are going to be fairly seaworthy, they are designed for fresh conditions and chop, unlike Macgregors which are really lake sailers. Sail it like a dinghy with a lid. I would suggest 3rd party property damage insurance only and be prepared to walk away if there is a major problem. Two grand invested in a yacht is no major loss and even with a moderately priced 30 footer, I think it's always better to be prepared to lose the lot. It will make you a better sailor!
Keep the interior basic and maybe plan on cockpit cushions for the missus. Buy an EPIRB,VHF radio and all the associated safety gear. Lightweight high holding anchor with about 3 metres of chain and rope that's easy on the hands. Then get out on the river and see what she needs.
Welcome aboard! Good strategy you have, I do believe you will need to keep the yacht licensed as it's over 3.6m, it's only about $50 a year so shouldn't break the bank. I have done the same and bought a cheap trailer sailor about 4 years ago and since upgraded, also in WA, few parts I learnt.
I don't keep my trailer sailor insured, but that's a risk I am willing to take. my only niggle wasn't about damage to my boat or others boats, but always one gibe away from a boom to the head of a novice who stands up at the wrong time, which on a trailer sailor is quite easy, my wife learnt that one the hard way.
I would look to fit out the functional parts first, like decent ground tackle, much respect to Ramona but personally I would go for an anchor two sizes larger than you need and one size smaller than your back will allow, The first time I threw the anchor over that came with my yacht, that I thought was plenty big enough, dragged horribly and I almost ended up in the rocks, learnt that one the hard way.
Also make sure all the running rigging are fresh, last thing you want is to go out on your first outing and have lines snapping left right and centre, I replaced all my lines before I started, but with the same size line on the yacht, first time the wind picked up over 20knts things started to snap, make sure the line you have is the right size and not just the line already on there.
Check the mast hasn't rusted around where the rigging connects in, you can have an ally mast with stainless fittings, and dissimilar metals are not friends, I had to fix my mast for this exact reason.
Also run the little engine for an hour and make sure it idles nicely, 15hp is oversized and full throttle may even break your engine mount (learnt this the hard way), majority of my issues in learning was from dodgy outboards coming in and out the ramp, in the end I gave up and just learnt to sail the whole time and only used the outboard when there was 0 wind, good habits to build your skills for a bigger yacht.
That's a few things I learnt the hard way, hopefully you have better luck, All the best mate and hope to hear more about your stories!
Good plan. Any TS or fixed keeler that size will be wet as the seaway and wind gets up. The C650 seagoing ability would be comparable to most others in that size range - am sure you will enjoy the boat.
Yes mast and boom galvanic corrosion of the alum mast wall thickness under stainless fittings is a perennial issue - if the barrier used between these in the original build has broken down there would be wall thinning - suggest drill out the rivets and check, re-attached with suitable barrier paste - Duralac has been around for a long time. If you don't want to drill the fittings off, on painted masts paint bubbling around them is a sure sign of problems. If no bubbling then should be ok. Looks like the mast is anodised so maybe the signs of galv corrosion won't be as evident as for a painted mast - anyway have a good look at the perimeter of all ss fittings. If any loose rivets renew these - monel rivets set in Duralac.
New Wave Marine insurers provide cover with no survey - at least for yachts assume they do trailer sailers. There are others also - see prior entries on insurance with no survey.
Surely 6-8hp outboard is all that would be needed?
Check the standing rigging - forestay, shrouds, backstay and renew if they are not in good nick - any rust marks, frayed strands etc .
Hi BMD ,
With the Court 650 which is a great ts it's what you can't see that could
be a lot of heartache ie. the cast iron swing keel and swing bolt.
Even at a couple of grand I would want to see it . www.trailersailerplace.com.au/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=12028&p=134821&hilit=Court+650#p134821
Just found this 2016 article with a bit of a story about rudders........so check the rudder is the original.......
www.mysailing.com.au/cruising/how-to-be-a-successful-yacht-hunter
Welcome BMD!.
If everything checks out properly with all the advice above you will do very well! Glad to see you're not going with the MacGregor - part yacht, part powerboat - but not great at either.
Cheers for the replies all! Yes will definitely be downsizing the outboard or leave it out of the deal completely. Prefer an 6-8 HP or similar size. Thanks for the tips, I've seen the rudder and keel article yep. It's a bit hard to check the keel on the trailer though. I have pictures of the refit with it down about 6 months ago so that could be a good sign however I will check the cable and whatever else I can see, probably not the bolt I'm guessing... Thanks for the mast tips, I'm well aware of dissimilar metal issues so will be checking that thoroughly! I'm guessing the rigging will be around the $700 plus odd mark so will be checking that or maybe replacing it as a precaution. Will keep you posted.
Cheers, Ben 
Select to expand quoteJake888 said..
Welcome aboard! Good strategy you have, I do believe you will need to keep the yacht licensed as it's over 3.6m, it's only about $50 a year so shouldn't break the bank.
If only. I paid about 6 months ago so can;t remember exact amount but try $250+ a year for a 6.5m boat. In WA anything with any sort of engine needs rego and fees go by boat length, anything up to 5m about $120, 5-10m about $250, 10-20m probably double that and over 20m even more.
