Cavalier 32 Tough offshore classic

This price is FIRM. No offers will be considered. PLEASE read the description below before contacting me. The boat does need some money spent on it, but it represents very good value for anyone who can do most of their own work.

If Mehitabel does not sell by the end of the year, I will forget my idea to trade down to a smaller boat, complete the refit myself, and go cruising. The major issue for me is that I have a damaged knee and cannot jump down off the deck onto a dock on this boat, making me dependent on outside assistance whenever I come alongside (I am a solo sailor).

Mehitabel, ex Cavalier One, was the original Cavalier 32 built in Australia, by and for the founders of Cavalier Yachts Australia. These boats are famous for their seaworthiness. It was launched in 1974 and came 46th out of 58 finishers in that year's Sydney-Hobart race, a heavy-weather event, despite being one of the smallest yachts in the fleet. It won the 1978 Sydney to Brisbane race on handicap, coming fourth on elapsed time to the legendary Apollo, and placed consistently well in the half-ton championships on Sydney Harbour for several years. For many years after that, it was daysailed on Moreton Bay and has never cruised, or been lived aboard, until I purchased the boat 12 months ago. I find it a very comfortable boat to live on.

The Cavalier 32 is very strongly built, with a heavy fibreglass layup. One has circumnavigated the world through the Southern Ocean, and many have made long cruises in the South Pacific Islands. The previous owner did a great deal of work to the boat, including a total refit and rerig of the mast, with all new wire, tangs, throughbolts, turnbuckles, masthead fittings, lights and wiring. The Furlex headsail roller-reefing unit was also serviced with new bearings. He also fitted solar panels to a new rear arch, rewired much of the cabin, and fitted a DC to DC system. The prior owner had fitted a 20hp Yanmar diesel in about 2009 that is in superb condition, and in 2020, new windows and forehatch.

What remains is to fit a bow roller and anchor winch, though there is reasonable ground tackle aboard, plus replace the backing plates for the stainless-steel keel bolts, as the backing plates are mild steel and have some rust on them. Despite this, the previous owner regularly sailed the boat on the ocean. The interior is attractive, though the varnish is a bit scuffed.

I doubt if you could find a boat of this size and pedigree for this amount of money that was in better condition.