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Possible purchase of a Down East Cruiser 23?

Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2022 4:32 pm
by DE23
I’m very interested in buying a home-built boat from a local boat dealer.

The dealer doesn’t have any details of the build/construction and only says that it is a 2017 22’ home-made boat, 2015 70 HP Yamaha 4-stroke with 35 hours, and 2019 dual-axle aluminum trailer.

From the research I’ve done on home-built boats, it appears to me as though this could be a Down East Cruiser 23.

I was hoping someone could chime in and confirm or deny that model from the photos.

Also, are home-built boats such as this as strong as a similarly-sized fiberglass boat? Can these boats withstand rough-water pounding that can happen in coastal waters.

This would be a boat that I would solo for about a year around “America’s Great Loop” which is approximately 6000 miles.

Thank You!

Rod
North Carolina

Re: Possible purchase of a Down East Cruiser 23?

Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2022 7:07 pm
by cape man
Looks really nice. Don't know the builder but if it's a DE23 built to plan here you're good.

Re: Possible purchase of a Down East Cruiser 23?

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:37 am
by fallguy1000
May be hard to find insurance. Hagerty may cover it.

Boat looks good. Hard to know whether or not it has flotation foam. That would be a requirement for me.

Re: Possible purchase of a Down East Cruiser 23?

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2022 1:22 pm
by DE23
Thank you for the replies cape man and fallguy1000.

I was going to forgo insurance. Looper insurance can be complicated and fraught with stipulations. Hence a primary reason for doing the loop on a less-expensive boat.

I came across an old boat registration with the owner’s address that was located in a drawer of the boat. I wrote a letter to the owner requesting more information today. Hopefully he’ll contact me. I’ll keep you informed.

Thank You!

Re: Possible purchase of a Down East Cruiser 23?

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2022 1:26 pm
by fallguy1000
You can always add flotation foam.

Re: Possible purchase of a Down East Cruiser 23?

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2022 9:58 am
by Matt Gent
I bought my DE25 out of NC, and similarly had little contact with the builder. It wasn't documented on the web either.

I had no issue getting insurance through progressive. It is titled as home-built.

My journal linked below has details on my experience.

That boat looks nicely finished!

Re: Possible purchase of a Down East Cruiser 23?

Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 2:56 pm
by CNYBoater
I'm curious, did you end up making the purchase? It looked like a nice vessel in the pictures.