Buying & Selling notes

A notable missing item is any guidance to “Buying and Selling a Corbin”. If you would like to volunteer to write a first draft of this please contact us. In time other people will contribute and it could become a really useful document. (By the way, there is a listing of Corbin 39’s that are for sale on a different page of this website, click here.)

In the meantime here are some bullet points applicable to both buyers & sellers that are particularly relevant to the Corbin 39 :

  • Who is selling her, owner or agent(s) ?
  • Which boat is it ? Get the hull (mould) number, and ideally the full HIN.
  • What is the model, the layout of the internals, the key rigging selections.
  • What is the mast height ? Double spreader or single spreader ? Which position is the mainmast stepped in ? Short boom or long boom ? Reefing/furling arrangements ?
  • It is probably worth reading up on the weather helm issue, see this FAQ entry.
  • If she is a aft-cockpit pilothouse version, does she benefit from the more spacious mk2 mouldings for cockpit and pilothouse (these later mouldings were used by many of the boats that were moulded pre-1982, so you cannot just assume this applies to only boats after the 1982 factory fire).
  • If she is a centre-cockpit version, does she benefit from the mk2 mouldings that include provision for a pilothouse fwd of the cockpit (again, these later mouldings were used by some of the boats that were moulded pre-1982, so you cannot just assume this applies to only boats after the 1982 factory fire).
  • Does she have a bowsprit ? If so is it for anchor handling only, or does it carry the forestay and the opposing bracing bobstay ?
  • Know the boat’s history. Who fitted her out and to what standard, where did she sail, who maintained & refitted her. Have any unusual major modifications been made. The first step in this is to make sure the boat is correctly identified as a mk1 or a mk2 on this Corbin 39 Association website, with a good spread of photos, and all the historical details clearly set out.
  • Which engine was fitted and what drive arrangement (conventional, V, or saildrive) ?
  • What steering arrangements ?
  • What condition is she in ?
  • What documentation do you have ?
  • Plenty of good quality photos are important. They tell the story for you. Do not wait until you have decided to sell the boat before compiling them.
  • What is the price ? Tax paid ? What location ?
  • Bear in mind that there are about 200 Corbin 39’s and so if each owner sells after 10-years, then there should be about 20 boats for sale at any given moment assuming it takes 1-year to get a sale.
  • Read the Newsletter #4 (issued Feb-2022) which contains an Analysis of the Corbin 39 Fleet – Composition, Sales Volume, Prices, etc as this gives a good background understanding. Subsequent newsetters give brief updates on this but it is worth reading #4 as well for a fuller analysis.
  • And of course all the normal stuff to do with buying and selling any boat.

A few of places to read on this site are the section in the FAQ regarding “Identifying your Corbin“; the downloadable “Summary List” of all known Corbins; and of course the “Boat index” which gives more detail on what is known about each boat. Then when you are ready you can put up, or peruse, the “For Sale” adverts depending on whether you are a buyer or a seller. If you are a serious buyer you could ask to join our Corbin 39 Facebook Group (make sure you answer the entry-questions) and get more advice/information.

As well as the above list a pretty good place to start reading if you are thinking of buying a Corbin 39 and weighing up that option, compared with other options, is Horacio Marteleira’s blog. In particular his ‘Shakedown Conversation‘ that does some absolutely spot-on maths and his whistle-stop tour of his Corbin, the #073 “Jakatar” on his “The Sailboat” page. The rest of his blog is worth a long read as well. Then go and drink some beer and buy a boat anyway. By the way, don’t let Horacio fool you, he is proof that Corbin 39’s can and do win races.