Capri/Omega 14 - good deal?

[EasyBreezy]

Hi, I’m buying an early 70’s Omega 14. Of course it needs some work, yet it currently sails. I’m curious what you all think of the condition and the deal for $700.
Condition items:
Bow beat up on hull & cracking deck
Transom cracked heavily from trolling motor clamp.
Cracks running lengthwise along base of both benches.
Sails are tired:
jib has large crack/hole in window.
Main sail has duct tape holding a couple battens in.
Trying to post pictures

 

[FreeRide]

It's not a bad deal, if you're comfortable doing a little glass and gel coat work. Probably should look into the price of a new set of sails and see how the total price feels to you.
If the trailer is doing that to the boat, it might need work too. You should roll in those expenses too.
Cheers, Karl

 

[aquaman]

Wow! Now one thing to be wary of is structural weakness. As beat up as that boat is you could possibly have a mast failure if one of the 3 points of anchorment let loose. I have a 1978 Mod 1 and had the transverse mast support crack while sailing aggressively. Culprit was rotten wood. Luckily the mast just dropped about 1/2" because it was only a partial failure. Cost me about $3000 to have a boat pro do the repair. Check out my posts if you want to see the story of the 6 seasons I have under my belt. I paid $1200 for mine and have put abut $5000 into her throughout the years but now have a top quality boat custom set up for my needs. A new 14.2 probably runs about $10k (trailer not included), so I'm still ahead of the game. There was another structural area that later needed attention also, that cost me some more $$$. The moral of the story is spend another $500 - $700 ($1500 range) and you'll get something far from perfect but certainly much better than what you have here. The way that motor was attached to the hollow transom is ridiculous, one thing you don't want is that weak transom! Also most likely rotten stringers. Unfortunately the next stop for subject boat will probably be the dumpster, she's way too far gone. Then the $$ you spent to buy it would be wasted.
Happy Hunting!

 

[EasyBreezy]

Thank you both so much for your replies. New sails are about $1300.
I showed a local shop and he confirmed the sails are way past tired and to look elsewhere especially with how beat up it is.

 

[aquaman]

Absolutely! Like I said, look for a Capri in the $1500 range and then you're starting with something you can build upon and may require minimum investment to get her in decent shape!

 

[Miker415]

I was looking for one of these boats specifically. When I saw the damages especially to the transom I veered away from buying this boat. There is a nicer one in Long Beach on Offer Up that I know you can get for $550. It has a 1958 trailer but the boat is an '84. There are some stress cracks by the follower mounting brackets but easily repairable. The sails are not original and need some cleaning but appear to be in decent shape. For the price you can buy hubs and wheel/tires and take to pick up the boat. I was going to buy it but something else came along and I grabbed it.