If I Knew Then What I Know Now

[decktapper]

That I would be better off without junk that didn't work, it is more work to rip the junk out to start work than to start with a boat without much and do it right in the first place

To select a better surveyor

That the cost of fixing it myself was as high as getting it fixed if I count the value of my time.

How much I would like the Islander 36, she is never too big, and rarely too small.

That there was a purpose to most of the junk on the boat, and to be very slow to throw anything away, until it was determined what the thing was for. But my all means get it off the boat.

[extremeadven]

thanks guys and gals. that was helpful. I'm looking for my first sailboat, looking for a multi-hull. Hopefully i can avoid some of your regrets.

[SabreKai]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

I am curious about people buying boats and then finding out what they really wanted. What are some of the things you thought you needed or could live without when you were shopping for a boat but then found out otherwise?

Bunks big enough for my carcass to fit into. I love Espie to death, but I should have actually stretched out in a bunk or two before I bought her. I am 6'1.5" tall and her bunks are at best 6' for one wide enough or 6'3" for the the really skinny ones where I need to use the leecloth or fall out in the middle of the night. This is the reason I bought Sabre Dance. Big bunks as well as tight seaberths. I don't mind being trussed up like a christmas package when underway but in harbour I like to sprawl.

Otherwise, its only been a quest for a larger boat with more space for stores for a long voyage. I don't regret the small boats I've owned, they are what taught me to sail in the first place and to help me develope the knowledge base for choosing the next step up.

Sabre
65 days n a wake up

[Talbot]

Selection and purchase of a boat needs a large degreee of hard headed realism, and considerable research and analysis. Unfortunately too many people get lead into purchase by what the eye sees rather than a long process of analysis.

You need to sit down and work out exactly what you need in terms of boat capability and features. You then need to assess a weighting for those factors. Having established this baseline, you can look at a number of different vessels to establish reality against that baseline. Finally, you can look at specific vessels against that baseline.

This is the standard methodology for assessing contracts, and worked well for me onb purchae of my first boat - a purchase which met the requirements for the following 20 years.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by Talbot

Selection and purchase of a boat needs a large degreee of hard headed realism, and considerable research and analysis. Unfortunately too many people get lead into purchase by what the eye sees rather than a long process of analysis.

You need to sit down and work out exactly what you need in terms of boat capability and features. You then need to assess a weighting for those factors. Having established this baseline, you can look at a number of different vessels to establish reality against that baseline. Finally, you can look at specific vessels against that baseline.

This is the standard methodology for assessing contracts, and worked well for me onb purchae of my first boat - a purchase which met the requirements for the following 20 years.

I totally agree with this but at the same time know that at the end of the day I am not very pragmatic about buying boats.

It's good to hear that logic won out in your circumstance though.