| The old Paceship line of large daysailers and overnighters was built by a
Nova Scotia company, called, to no surprise, Paceship Yachts. I think the
company was located in Mahone Bay. They were acquired by an American company.
For some reason AMF comes to mind. AMF dropped the old line of daysailers
and pushed the 23 and a 26. Both the 23 and the 26 were big boats for their
size with a lot of freeboard. I don't know what happened to the company or
the boats, except they disappeared from the new boat market. AMF's dealers
probably didn't know how to sell big boats.
Don't know too much about the '23. Sorry
Does any one out there know what happened to Paceship?
Ed
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| I looked at a PY26 last Spring and bypassed the boat in favor of a better
known boat, largely because of resell. Sometimes, I kick myself for this
reasoning because the PY26 was a good boat with many desirable features
(diesel, roller-furling gear, dodger) at an outstanding price.
I learned a few things about AMF/Paceship from my present boat's surveyor.
Paceship ceased manufacturing of the larger boats in or around 1980 because
of sluggish sales. The company had a reputation for building "pocket cruisers"
that were good, but not great boats for the dollar. Beyond these sensibilities,there were no outstanding features which differentiated the boats from volume
manufacturers such as Hunter/Catalina (even the Paceship line were better
crafted). And, the parent company's (AMF) forte was small craft volume sales.
So a good line of boats died out.
My advice to you is to buy the boat if the price to value ratio is outstanding
and resell is not an issue. If you're planning to move up to a larger or more
expensive boat in the near future - you may wish to reconsider (even if the
logic is for the wrong reasons).
-RPR-
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| Years ago, when an independent company, Paceship made some very nice boats,
rugged, good performing vessels that held their value. In particular, the
Bluejacket (23') is one of the all-time fine daysailers, with a small cuddy.
The later 23' flushdeck sloop is also a good boat. Prices on the used market,
especially broker listings, more or less fairly reflect their value.
Unfortunately, when AMF took over, they did a redesign of the entire range,
and the beauty, speed, and seaworthiness of the old line was forsaken in
favor of bigger interiors, lighter (cheaper) construction, and more mass
market 'appeal' for the new. AMF bought Paceship's name and (then) good
reputation, but not their wisdom and approach to quality.
John.
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| Having bought a new boat twice, I have come to the conclusion that
buying a used boat is a much better financial decision. True, there
is more risk in buying a used boat (even with a good survey) and there
will likely be things to replace and repair. On the other hand, the
equipment you need to add to a new boat can be hundreds to many
thousands of dollars.
Alan
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