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Thanks to Karl, Mark and Robin at Stewartby for their advice and time on Sunday showing me round the 15.
I am now in the position to look for a 15 having just sold the Phantom, been advised to check:
the trampoline,
pintel areas
rudder blades and tillers
mast for cracks and being straight
if there are any others areas to look at please add to the list.
If you click on the "Buy and Sell" link on the Home Page, near the top of the page that pops up is a link "Tips on buying secondhand" which should help you some more. This advice was added some years ago, but is still valid (except that some cost estimates will now be too low!!). But it doesn't cover everything - and I think that no such list ever could replace the eye and knowledge that comes from experience of the boat.
My tip is to have the cat on level ground (grass is clearly best) and raise just one bow to see whether the other bow rises almost concurrently. Then repeat with the other bow. If there is a lag of a few inches between the bows rising then there is wear in the hull mouldings that the beams go into (note there is going to be some lag because there has to be some "slack" in the mouldings or you'd never be able to assemble the cat). I once asked Steve Sawford about the possibility of reglassing the hull mouldings to remove any such slack - he was not optimistic about such repairs. So if this happens with the tramp in and fully tightened, then bear in mind there should be better alternatives around!!!!!!!!!!!! To minimise such wear and tear, always sail with a tight trampoline - it's what mostly holds the boat together and keeps it "stiff" for better performance.
