Hi Doug,
I have owned a Prout 26 for 15+ years. Prouts stopped trading a few years ago, they were taken over by, I think, a US or Canadian company who then shut down the business after a couple of years. It had been a viable business up until then. There were various rumours but I dont have the inside information. So there is no longer a factory to provide assistance. The boats are solidly built and tend to have lower aspect ration rigs that other designs. This makes them very stable in strong winds. I have only reefed the main once and that was because I didnt want to frighten my wife & small children. Quick reefing is carried out by rolling up part of the enormous genoa and it is easy to sail single handed. The mast is stepped immediately in front of the **** so everything can be controlled while still at the wheel. The prices used to be quite a lot higher for second hand boats a few years ago so I can only assume that as the available boats are ageing the values are gradually dropping as people switch to other manufacturers when they upgrade their boat. After all there is no longer a Prout sales & brokerage team to hype up the values of second hand boats that they sell for customers.
Cheers, John