Chiquita II? For Sale in the U.S.?

I love the spirit of our European friends... they totally get it when it comes to helping us improve the quality of our fleet and have fun at the same time. Here is how the game works... bring a high quality used Folkboat to the US, by-pass any in country qualifications for our SF Cup, race it for one week then sell it and get out of town... hopefully for us, without a trophy. But, not so bad if they do win, it means we got a good boat here now and for the future of our fleet. This makes coming here even more attractive to our European friends because then they don't have to concern themselves so much with getting a not so up to speed current racing Folkboat.

These picures are of a boat that is potentially coming to SF next year if we can line up the buyer. This is one of 3, possible 4 boats that could be imported in the next year. I put this one out there for comment and consideration because it the most tangible prospect at this time. I've made myself the unofficial and unpaid brocker of used Folkboats and would be happy to facilitate the deal... there will be an interview process. Folkboats don't get sold to those who are not worthy. Below all the pictures is some details about this boat. In my opinion, this boat will be what we call a turn key... ready to race with little, if any major maintenance.

Here comes the deal as told by Torben: We will bring this boat, lets call her Chiquita II, to San Fran in 2009 to sail the Internationals on this boat and afterwards leave it in San Fran.When we bring this boat to San Fran it will be an excat copy (even the age of this boat) of the famous and notorious Chiquita you know from the Gold Cup. Even better, it will be the first stage of development (regarding the configuration of winches, traveler etc.) after sailing Chiquita for two seasons.What we will do to this boat:- doing the body; this means that we are getting all the old paint off, getting the primer on and getting the body as smooth as you know it from Chiquita. We will not paint her…- the cockpit layout will bet he same as on Chiquita (maybe some improvements we dicovered after sailing Chiquita for two seasons); this means we will move the traveler and the winches slightly forward- new traveler with new blocs, Harken base- H-Tracks on the cabin- new alloy boom, for main and jib- new sheets- we will step our new mast which we sailed for the first time at the Gold Cup 2008. It is a stiff mast from Schütte in Niendorf with all brand new gear, brand new blocs, brand new shrouds mounted on it- we will leave our new set of sails which we will use for the Internationals with the boat- we will sail this boat in Germany to see if everything is working at some weekend races in Berlin, Eckernförde, Kiel and the Kieler Woche. After the Kieler Woche which is the last week of June we will ship her to san Fran- well before we will do all this we need a fix buyer and a kind of disposit or initial payment- the only thing we will not do, is doing a paint job, neither the deck nor inside the cockpit and cabinSo what do you think about it? Except of the hull (you know these overdimensioned Folkboat hulls only too well, age doesn’t matter…) you are getting a brand new boat, brand new equipment, new mast, new sails and a perfect body, you are getting a race proven bullet at a price of EUR 25.000,-!!!

You asked what is wrong with the other boat for EUR 23.000,-. Well to get her ready to race you have to do the body, get a new traveler, some equipment, a new alloy boom, new sails and if you take a closer look at the pictures: you will need a new mast as well… thats out opinion regarding this boat.

I hate to say it, but this is a good deal... I just hope Peter Jeal doesn't buy it.