Aussie Boats

We're hunting for a very low cost boat (relatively speaking of course, to the extent any boat can be low cost). Our main boat is an hour's drive from home but we miss saltwater so badly I'd like to keep a cheap but serviceable sailboat on one of the coasts just for sailing fun. I happened upon Ranger 33's, nice looking, old enough to be cheap but not ancient (1970's), prices range from around $20K/high teens to one as low as $3800 asking price. While surfing I came across this YouTube sales video for a Ranger 33 in Brisbane, AUS:


Granted it's an old sales video, 2011, but that's a nice boat I thought, well kept, blah blah, has to be mid-1970's originally. I watched nearly the whole video and then he mentions the price. SEVENTY SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Now I know the AUS dollar is around .75 lately, and I know you all pay very high prices for boats down there, and I know that's just asking price, but YEOW!!! I had no idea it was that out of whack. No wonder so many boats get shipped from here to Australia. Yikes Waltzing Matilda, that's brutal.

A small price to pay for living in such a great country - well actually its a bloody BIG price to pay for living in such a great country - spare a thought for those of us down here, and I include our Kiwi mates, when the talk on the forum turns to moaning about the high price of second hand trawlers and how $100k is way to high - down here it won`t get you a seat at the table................ and guys, please don`t start on complaining how expensive your fuel is - down here its about double (even though the price is easing lately).

I just read a story of a delivery trip of a large express cruiser (60ft) from Sydney to Brisbane - about 400nmiles - they were happy with a consumption of 270 litres/hour running at an average of 20knts - - yikes - I would have to mortgage the house to run it. - well beyond my pay level! At about $1.20/L, that delivery trip cost about $6500.

And anchors - don` even think about mentioning the cost of a Rocna..........

Safe boating

$76K AUD for a 1970`s 33ft sailboat (we call a yacht)sounds outrageous. I`d expect high 20s-mid 30s. Ranger is not a known brand here, being a US import.
There is another Ranger brand/class here, a near vintage yacht, raised foredeck,usually gaff rigged. A highly experienced yachtsman(?Sean Langman) sailed one in a Sydney-Hobart a year or so back.
Importation of US boats is not what it was now the dollar has gone from 110c US to about 72c. Absent a real bargain, I can`t see many people bothering with it.

Its not just the price of boats in Australia its the lack of boats for sale and choice of design. In the whole of Australia there is only 1 Mainship 39 2001 for sale asking $220000 it seems without any competition one can ask what they like. In 6 months I have rejected many boats solely on first inspection .I know that no boat will be fault free but spending another 30% on top of inflated purchase price is a recipe for financial disaster and when spending top dollar I'm looking for a turn key boat not a project