Newbie here-a few questions

[Colin A]

Good on you for recognizing the issues quickly. It seems you have some experience with glass work, so you may be OK with out a surveyor. It really depends on your comfort level thou, if there is something you don;t know about bringing in somebody is a good idea. If your not familiar with diesel a survey of the engines from a some one who specializes in that sort of thing is a good idea.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Emoh

Thanks Scout. I'll be keeping my eyes open-I have 3 yrs till I retire-then the fun begins: Cruising/liveaboard! I recently looked at a 38 Marine Trader Europa. I really liked this layout. For my purposes, I don't care for the traditional "aft cabin" trawler. The more I look, the more I learn!

The Grand Banks 32 is a Europa design you might want to check out. A step up in quality over a Mainship or Marine Trader. The reason I like the aft cabin layout is you're not sleeping in a v birth. They are a real pain to get in & out of. For a liveaboard I'd convert that area to a shop & storage which you can never have too much of.