Buying a used Northshore: know which company built it
A used Northshore for sale could be either of two entirely different boats. Most of what is listed under this name traces to the Sydney-built numbered lineup from Australian builder John Buck's company; a smaller number, models like the Vancouver 27 and the MGC27, actually trace to an unrelated UK company that also traded as Northshore Yachts and built the separate Southerly, Fisher, and Vancouver ranges. Before condition or era enters the conversation, confirm which Northshore you are actually looking at - the two companies never shared tooling or a factory, so the model name settles it.
Which era to target
Design credit is the clearest marker within the Australian-built lineup: Hank Kauffman's early collaboration with founder John Buck produced ocean-ready cruiser-racers like the 38, while Scott Jutson's later designs, including the 369 and 370, pursued a similar dual-purpose brief on a newer hull decades on. On the UK side, the company behind the Vancouver 27 and MGC27 changed hands repeatedly - a 2003 purchase, two receiverships, a reopening under a new company name, and eventual acquisition by the Trafalgar Group - so a buyer weighing one of those boats should expect any factory support trail to route through several different owners depending on when the boat was built.
What to inspect across the range
On the Northshore 38 specifically, boatsales.com.au's review draws a useful inspection line at 1984, the year the yard adopted vinyl ester to fight osmotic blistering: on an older hull, that means paying particular attention to blister history during survey, and on anything built from 1995 on, it is worth asking whether paperwork survives for the factory's five-year warranty against that same defect.
Navigating the lineup
From the small, first-of-the-line 27 through the 33, 38, and 46 to the later 369 and 370, the Australian-built range spans a genuine trailer-to-bluewater size progression, while the Vancouver 27 and MGC27 sit outside it entirely, belonging to the unrelated UK company. The full model directory on this page breaks out years and length for each, so you can match hull to era once you know which Northshore you are actually shopping for.
Where they're listed
Northshore listings appear across 11 countries. Australia has the most listings with 45 (68.2%), followed by United Kingdom and Croatia.
Country view
66 listings · 11 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | $32,313 | 45 | 16 | 68.2% |
| United Kingdom | $74,669 | 7 | 1 | 10.6% |
| Croatia | $58,154 | 3 | 0 | 4.5% |
| Netherlands | $62,932 | 3 | 0 | 4.5% |
| Germany | $146,841 | 2 | 0 | 3.0% |
| Switzerland | $29,789 | 1 | 1 | 1.5% |
| France | $137,517 | 1 | 0 | 1.5% |
| Greece | $138,683 | 1 | 0 | 1.5% |
| Ireland | $34,846 | 1 | 0 | 1.5% |
| Italy | $51,278 | 1 | 0 | 1.5% |
| Portugal | $180,637 | 1 | 1 | 1.5% |
All Northshore models
3 models grouped by length overall. Open any model to see recent asking prices and active listings.