Niagara 31 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

Every Niagara 31 shares the same core layout: a starboard galley at the companionway foot with a two-burner propane stove, a port-side icebox in the aft navigation station whose seat and table stow, a forward head just aft of the V-berth with folding-door separation and a teak-grating shower, and two main-cabin settee berths (port double). Ventilation is two translucent hatches plus six ports, four fixed and two opening. The first 50 hulls left the factory with a 13-horsepower Volvo diesel saildrive, while later boats received a 22-horsepower Westerbeke v-drive—so a buyer must confirm which propulsion layout a specific hull carries, as the two are distinct systems anchor.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

On the brokerage market these boats commonly carry a bimini, dodger, autopilot, and chartplotter as standard cruising fitments. For buyer consequence, the most relevant clusters are canvas and sail handling—bimini and dodger improve cockpit livability—and navigation, where a chartplotter paired with an autopilot supports short-handed sailing. The original rig hardware remains period: genoa sheet tracks to two coaming winches, a coach-roof winch for halyards, and a mid-cockpit 4:1 mainsheet, so any rod or line upgrades to that suite are owner-driven rather than factory standard.

What to Inspect

The primary build distinction is mechanical, not structural: verify whether the hull is among the first 50 with the Volvo saildrive or later with the Westerbeke v-drive, since each has its own service path. The hull and deck are fiberglass with balsa cores, so a survey should assess core integrity in way of deck fittings and hull penetrations as a matter of course. The caveats applicable to any balsa-cored 1977-era design apply here.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

Niagara 31s are found in Canada. For a shopper, the short checklist is: confirm hull number to lock down engine type (Volvo saildrive vs Westerbeke v-drive); survey the balsa-cored deck and hull around fittings; check that the stowing nav-station hardware and forward head folding doors are intact; and expect a commonly fitted bimini, dodger, autopilot, and chartplotter rather than exotic upgrades. She rewards an experienced owner comfortable with a tender, early-reefing racer-cruiser.