Buying a used Mariner: confirm which lineage before anything else
A "Mariner" listing alone tells a buyer almost nothing: at least five unrelated builders across Japan, the United States, and Britain have used the name, and a boat's age, construction, and pedigree all depend on which one built it. A Japanese-built Far East Yachts ketch, an O'Day-descended Mariner 19, a Rochester, New Hampshire-built Mariner 39, and the smaller British Mariner 17 or Rhode Island Mariner 28 share nothing beyond the word on the transom -- treat every listing as its own investigation until the model number and builder are confirmed.
Which era to target
Hull material is the fastest way to place a Far East Yachts ketch in time: wood points to the earliest boats, built before the fiberglass Mariner Ketch line took over in 1968, and a 36 in particular could be the original Far East Yachts hull or a later hull from the same mold badged as a Tayana -- worth pinning down before comparing anything else about the boat. The O'Day-descended Mariner 19 spans the longest ownership history of any lineage, so the era also tells you which builder actually stands behind a given hull -- O'Day itself through 1979, Rebel Industries' Spindrift banner from 1980, or Stuart Marine from 1982 -- and which rig and keel configuration to expect, since both changed over that run. The Rochester, New Hampshire Mariner 39 belongs to a single narrow window, commissioned in 1980 and built only until the company folded a short run later.
What to inspect across the range
The one documented issue tied to a specific Mariner is the 39: Cruising World, reviewing the boat, called out its rudderstock as prone to crevice corrosion and worth close inspection on any example. No comparable issue recurs across the other lineages.
Navigating the lineup
Because these lineages share nothing but a name, builder and country are the filters that matter most on the full model directory on this page -- not size or price band. A heavier, full-keeled Japanese ketch, a small O'Day-descended daysailer/cruiser, and a charter-bred New Hampshire cruiser call for entirely different inspections and expectations, and the smaller British and Rhode Island lines call for their own separate research before comparing them to anything else here.
Where they're listed
Mariner listings appear across 10 countries. United States has the most listings with 31 (53.4%), followed by Germany and Spain.
Country view
58 listings · 10 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $36,900 | 31 | 14 | 53.4% |
| Germany | $39,503 | 8 | 2 | 13.8% |
| Spain | $69,334 | 5 | 2 | 8.6% |
| France | $46,495 | 3 | 1 | 5.2% |
| Poland | $25,520 | 3 | 3 | 5.2% |
| Switzerland | $7,140 | 2 | 1 | 3.4% |
| Mexico | $49,999 | 2 | 0 | 3.4% |
| Netherlands | $92,640 | 2 | 0 | 3.4% |
| Canada | $118,000 | 1 | 1 | 1.7% |
| Italy | $139,833 | 1 | 0 | 1.7% |
All Mariner models
2 models grouped by length overall. Open any model to see recent asking prices and active listings.